Mr. Fantastic Might Be the MCU's True Tony Stark Successor — GeekTyrant

Geek Tyrant

4 hours ago

Ever since Tony Stark snapped away Thanos and exited the MCU in Avengers: Endgame , Marvel Studios has been circling a massive, Iron-Man-shaped void. Sure, they've toyed with the idea filling it with other characters like War Machine, Doctor Strange, and Ironheart, but none of them quite clicked into place. They've carried pieces of Stark's legacy, but not the weight of it.
Because Tony Stark wasn't just a genius or a billionaire in a cool suit. He was anxious, brilliant, driven by guilt, and often making things worse in the name of making them better. He was the flawed engine that powered the Avengers.
Now, Marvel might have finally found the guy who can carry that emotional and intellectual mantle. Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards is being positioned not just as the leader of the Fantastic Four, but as a foundational figure in the MCU's next chapter.
Director Matt Shakman recently told Empire Magazine:
'There's the very cerebral Reed Richards, and then there's the action hero, the leader, the husband, the father, the friend. I knew Pedro could do all of that…'
But it's Pascal's own read on the character that really feels like the handoff from Stark:
'He does the ultimate version of catastrophising – a brain that has an overview of threats on a mathematical level, but also being emotionally available. It was a fascinating contradiction.'
That word, catastrophising, might as well have been engraved on Stark's arc reactor. Stark didn't create Ultron because he was confident. He did it because he was scared. He backed the Sokovia Accords out of fear of what unchecked power might do. He prepared for threats that hadn't even materialized yet. Every suit, every upgrade, every decision was driven by panic and guilt.
Now we have Reed Richards, a man so smart he can see the end before it starts, yet still capable of being emotionally undone by it. It's like Tony 2.0.
Reed, like Tony, isn't perfect. He's someone who will miscalculate, who will overreach, who will think he's the only one who sees the full picture, and act on that belief. And just like Stark, that will make him both dangerous and necessary. Because the MCU doesn't just need a brain or a leader. It needs a character whose inner world hurts in ways that push the story forward.
If Fantastic Four: First Steps sticks the landing, then Reed Richards won't just be leading the First Family. He'll be filling Tony's shoes.