Why Does Everyone Want Franklin Richards?

He's a kid in the MCU, so why are the most powerful beings in the multiverse lining up for him? Franklin Richards might be the most important character in the MCU right now, and most people have no idea why. In this deep dive, we break down the full comic book history of Franklin Richards, from his near-fatal birth in Fantastic Four Annual #6, to Reed, Johnny and Ben's mission into the Negative Zone to take the Cosmic Control Rod from Annihilus, to the reality-warping powers that make him one of the most powerful mutants in Marvel Comics. We look at what it cost villains like Galactus, Doctor Doom and Thanos to reach the power to reshape reality, the Beyonders, the Molecule Man, the Infinity Gauntlet, Battleworld, and why Franklin was simply born with it. We cover Ego-Spawn, the Heroes Reborn pocket universe, Onslaught, Mephisto, the Mad Celestials, the resurrection of Galactus, and Franklin's role in rebuilding the multiverse in Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars. Then we bring it all back to the MCU: Galactus's deal in The Fantastic Four First Steps, that mid-credits scene, Doom's "stolen lives", the incursions, and what Franklin could mean for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Is he a weapon, a successor, a reset button, or something Marvel Studios can't afford to use? Once you understand what this kid can actually do, that mid-credits scene hits completely differently, stick around to the end for the full theory.