Warning: contains spoilers for Fantastic Four #45!
Marvel’s Fantastic Four may be a family, but Reed Richards is one of the worst friends a superhero can possibly have – even if that superhero is the Human Torch. The leader of the Fantastic Four is a scientific genius and a leader of explorers and superheroes, but often puts scientific discoveries before his own family. This all comes to a head in Fantastic Four #45, in which Reed Richards’ inability to help his friends finally comes back to haunt him.
In current comics continuity, the Human Torch can no longer turn off his power. After ruining Doctor Doom’s wedding (by sleeping with the bride-to-be), Johnny is transformed into a super-hot version of himself; he cannot eat, drink or even get close to others lest he risk burning his friends alive. Johnny begs Reed Richards to find a cure for his condition, but Reed is preoccupied with the beginning of the Reckoning War: the moon is shattered by a Badoon invasion fleet, spurring the Fantastic Four into action.
In Fantastic Four #45, written by Dan Slott with art by Fared Karami, the grand finale of the Reckoning War takes place: Reed Richards has just fired the Ultimate Nullifier, which erases the threat the Reckoning species posed to the universe. In the process, it erases the Watcher part of Reed’s brain, which contained untold knowledge from the Watcher’s suppository of information – including a way to cure Johnny. When Reed reveals he’s lost the information for a cure, Johnny is furious, and eventually decides to leave the Fantastic Four for the planet Spyre.
This is perhaps Reed’s worst failing yet. For three days, Mr. Fantastic’s mind contained the knowledge of the universe, and he would almost certainly have time to either create a device that could cure Johnny Storm or write down plans for a machine at the very least. But Reed still fails to help his friend – and while he failed to do the same for Ben Grimm, at least the Thing does not endanger others by simply appearing in the same room. While the universe was indeed at stake and Reed had other priorities, there are plenty of moments in the Reckoning War in which Reed could have spared at least five minutes for his wife’s brother.
In short, Reed Richards’ failure to help the Human Torch leads directly to his journey away from Earth. While it’s certainly possible that Johnny will eventually return to Earth, he will still resent Reed for failing to help him in his hour of need. The Fantastic Four’s leader makes his worst mistake yet in the Reckoning War, proving once again that Reed Richards is a successful superhero but a terrible friend.
Fantastic Four #45 is available now from Marvel Comics.
