Polygon.com / 25.07.25

All your questions about the Fantastic Four's cosmic baby Franklin Richards, answered

In the opening scene of Marvel Studios Fantastic Four: First Steps, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) discovers that shes pregnant and breaks the news to her husband and fellow superhero team member Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal). Reed freaks out about normal parent stuff, like babyproofing their retro-futuristic home/headquarters, the Baxter Building. But hes also worried about the possibility that the cosmic rays that gave him and Sue superpowers might cause abnormalities in the kid. Although Reed causes some family friction by spending more time developing scanning technology for prenatal inspections than on building nursery furniture, hes right to be worried. Franklin is a very special baby with a long history in Marvel Comics, and his birth has big implications for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like the rest of the Fantastic Four, Franklin Richards was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the 60s. But while his parents have fairly standard powers stretching for Reed, invisib...
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