He is just a child, but Franklin Richards of the Fantastic Four has proven more than once to be one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful characters. As a young child, he was so powerful that he began to alter reality, forcing his father Reed Richards to blast him with a weapon that put him in a coma until they could learn how to control him. Franklin is so overpowered that Marvel Comics often takes away his powers randomly to keep him from being too powerful to overcome current storylines. Franklin is also someone who has been retconned more than once, and he is no longer a mutant, despite that being his storyline for many years.
Franklin Richards has done everything from defeating one of Marvel’s most powerful demons to creating brand-new universes from scratch. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe introducing Franklin into the movie world, he should become one of the most OP characters there as well.
1) Franklin – As a Toddler – Destroyed Mephisto
Franklin Richards has been overpowered since he was a child. In Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #277, Mephisto has captured the spirits of Reed Richards, the Invisible Woman, and Franklin. He has been torturing Reed and Sue while Franklin remains asleep in a tube. Luckily, Doctor Strange shows up, and Reed convinces him to free Franklin. This is when Mephisto makes a big mistake. He threatens Reed and Sue with more pain if Franklin doesn’t do what he says. Franklin powers up and blasts Mephisto with an eye-blast, which saps the demon of most of his powers. Franklin then hits him with one more blast, seemingly obliterating one of Marvel’s most powerful characters. Franklin was not even five years old yet.
2) Created an Entire Pocket Marvel Universe
When Franklin Richards was five years old, Onslaught attacked Earth. Onslaught was the manifestation of Professor X and Magneto, created after Xavier shut down Magneto’s mind. With this much power, no one had a chance to defeat him, and he soon killed The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hulk, and anyone else who tried to fight him. Finally, Onslaught destroyed the Earth, and the next month, Marvel Comics rebooted the entire line with a fresh take on the characters. This all happened because of Franklin Richards, who created a pocket universe and “Counter-Earth” to keep his family safe. Finally, when Franklin found a way to end Onslaught’s threat, he recreated his Earth from the moment before it ended, and everything returned to normal without anyone knowing what happened.
3) Saved His Sister’s Life During Susan’s Difficult Pregnancy
Not all of Franklin Richards’ OP moments are about creating worlds and destroying demons. Sometimes, he uses his powers to save a life, even when he is too young to know what he is doing. This happened when Susan Richards was pregnant with a second child. Sue got pregnant while in the Negative Zone, and this caused Valeria to become endangered while in the womb. By the time Sue delivered the baby, it was too late, and the baby was stillborn. However, Franklin had done something no one knew about. He went back in time and saved his sister, sending her to an alternate timeline where Sue married a heroic Victor Von Doom and raised the child.
Valeria was a “time dancer” and ended up back in the 616, where she was accepted into the Richards’ family, but this all ended after an attack by Abraxas. This is finally when Franklin admitted what he had done to save his sister. At the end of that battle, Reed used the Ultimate Nullifier to reset time, and Valeria was gone. However, as a result, Franklin lost his cosmic powers, while Susan suddenly became pregnant with Valeria again, Franklin’s last gift to his family.
4) He Turned Himself Into a Mutant Because He Wanted It
When Franklin Richards was born, he was thought to be a mutant. While most mutants don’t manifest their powers until puberty, Franklin was considered someone who developed his powers early. However, his powers are cosmic, thanks to his parents’ cosmic abilities. The reason everyone thought Franklin was a mutant was that he wanted it so badly that he made it happen. He even got the chance to be part of Krakoa, a mutant country only available for entry by other mutants. However, when Franklin lost his powers, he sought a way to regain them. He planned to go to Krakoa to seek help, but that is when Professor X denied him entry. In Fantastic Four (Vol. 6) #26, Xavier told him he made himself a mutant because he wanted a way to fit in somewhere, but he wasn’t and was no longer welcome among the mutant community.
5) Franklin Created Multiple Pocket Dimensions & Races
When Franklin Richards was a toddler, his powers began to manifest themselves. One day, he was seen under his bed with glowing orbs. It turned out that, as a child, Franklin was creating multiple pocket dimensions, universes, and entire races from scratch. This ultimately played into later storylines when the Fantastic Four assumed their roles as explorers and began to visit other dimensions, many of which Franklin had created himself. When they arrived on strange planets, the beings there began to realize Franklin was their creator, calling him their “God.” This led to trouble as the Griever at the End of All Things wanted to destroy everything Franklin had built, which meant genocide of entire races that he had created. This became Franklin’s greatest enemy and a threat to all living things.
6) Franklin Richards Re-Created The Universe After Secret Wars
As mentioned, Franklin Richards created entire pocket universes as a toddler, and several races of alien beings only exist because Franklin created them. He also made the Counter-Earth after Onslaught destroyed everything to keep his family safe. In Secret Wars, Doctor Doom used the power of the Beyonders to create a new Earth with Molecule Man’s help and ruled it with an iron fist. After Reed Richards finally defeated him and helped end his reign of terror, he then worked with Molecule Man and Franklin Richards to restore the Multiverse. Valeria explained it by saying that Franklin is “a universal shaper, a dreamer,” and he had ideas for the new multiverse. Reed used the Beyonders’ powers and Molecule Man’s assistance to create what Franklin envisioned, resetting the Marvel Universe once again.
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