u/Competitive_Side6301

ONE “An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”

A Jedi Knight is very different from your typical hero in a hero’s journey or fairy tale. They are also very different from superheroes despite having the same drive to protect the innocent.

Unlike most heroes, Jedi are not flashy. They don’t wear cool capes. They don’t have iconic symbols on their chest. They don’t have any vanity. They avoid making extravagant choices that draw much attention to themselves.

They wear a plain cloak, one that usually hides their face, and makes them look mysterious and eerie. And that is what they are. In that sense they are very similar to biblically accurate angels who are terrifying to demons but tell the innocent to “be not afraid”. They use deadly weapons that can strike down anything yet they are dedicated to peace.

They are people of few words but when they do speak it’s so eloquent, so poetic. Their speech is controlled, much like their way of life. A life dedicated to achieving harmony or “oneness”.

TWO “It’s your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my power.”

Their power isn’t fuelled by passion or feelings. Well it can give them power but the wrong kind of power.

The dark side looks cool. It has cooler abilities like force lightning and it’s quicker to access because it operates off of passion and desire. But that is what makes it seductive. It’s puts one’s awareness on hold and draws them to operate on pure impulse. That’s what makes it weak. Succumbing to your emotions instead of regulating them is weak and resisting this is true strength. Being incorruptible, being committed to internal balance, that takes work.

Not only is it what makes a Jedi powerful, but it also applies to real life. Patience, control, and balance are what you need to truly succeed in many hard things in life. Lack of impulse control will harm your life, harm others’ lives, and can get someone killed.

It’s not surprising that many fans’ fantasy is to be a Sith Lord rather than a Jedi. The Sith have cooler powers, usually aura farm harder, and take whatever they want. Everyone wants to feel powerful, and anyone would be tempted by easy opportunities to amass such power.

The difference between Luke before and after the end of Empire Strikes Back is hard to miss.

Before he was a young man full of goodness but also full of emotion. He never waned from doing the right thing but he let his impulses get the better of him. He was so afraid for his friends that he let his fear consume him and left Dagobah to try and rescue them. But he was no use to anyone. He couldn’t even lift his X-wing out of the pond. He didn’t have the confidence, or the fortitude. He went to Cloud City unprepared to get maimed and had to GET rescued.

Then after it, he was different. He constructed his own lightsaber. His voice was controlled and less whiny (heh). He spoke fewer words but deeper, more eloquent ones. He was calm, level-headed, and acted with more patience, more REASON. When he met Vader again, he saved his father and defeated the Sith, giving the galaxy hope once again.

Not only did he did he act with patience, he GAVE patience to his father. He had hope for his father. Luke is like his mother that way, seeing that gorgeous soul behind the angry face of a suffering slave. And make no mistake, Vader WAS a slave. He was power incarnate but that power consumed him whole. He had nothing left to live for but his master’s bidding. But Luke never gave up on trying to save someone, no matter how entitled he was to hating him for trying to kill Luke and his friends. Rarely in hero fantasies do heroes defeat a villain by saving them.

Then when we saw him in the Mandalorian, he was a fully realized eerie guardian of the light. He came last second in a cloak to easily dismantle the threat that was causing Mando’s team such worry. His movements controlled, his mind mastered. His power unstoppable. Mando’s team was in awe of this mysterious being of legend.

THREE “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.”

Another way Jedi are unlike a typical hero is the lack of attachments. It makes sense that in order to keep that balance and emotional control, they must abandon certain activities. No vices, no big commitments other than the Force, and yes no romantic relationships.

Love is a powerful force. More powerful than anything in the universe. It often SAVES the universe in many hero’s stories, and rightfully so. Peter Parker’s love for the people in his life create endless joy and bliss. Phoenix’s love for her friends saved them and the universe. Batman’s love raised a legacy of protectors that could continue protecting a city on the brink of being swallowed by chaos.

But love can be volatile. Love can cause jealousy and grief and fear. People have thrown away dreams and opportunities for it. They’ve ruined their lives and other people’s lives over it. They’ve murdered over it. They’ve abandoned rationality for it. Why did the great city of Troy meet its end??? Why did an immature Luke suspend his training to go on a suicide mission that had negative results??

Committing to something that could have such a devastating effect is reckless and dangerous and so to be a Jedi, one must adopt the life a monk. Because love, no matter how good a person is, instills a lot of fear.

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hatred…. You get the point.

Anakin didn’t heed this. Instead of abiding by the code, he got married in secret because he couldn’t make the selfless choice of abandoning all attachments for the Jedi Order. He then started getting visions of Padmé dying, and with this fear, he began acting irrationally and without balance. Now he wanted power. Power to save them ones he loved and he was willing to do anything for it, even submitting to the dark side for more power.

In the name of love, Anakin threw away his soul and did the equivalent of a school shooting, lead a genocide against his own kind, and helped destroy democracy in place of an Empire built on conquest. The same democracy that his wife worked her whole life to preserve and build.

And when she was afraid of who he became, he physically intimidated her out of anger. He put his hands on her (i mean the Force but same concept lol). The heart break cause her to faint and that heartbreak combined with the birth of their twins, she couldn’t handle the stress and died. Meanwhile Anakin was mortally wounded and became a terrifying Cyborg and discovered that his wife was dead.

In the name of love, Anakin Skywalker wanted power and became a monster in search for this power, but this same search killed the woman he loved and left him broken and a slave once more. He made a deal with the Sith and he lost EVERYTHING.

So um yeah. Best for Jedi not to date lol.

It’s a good subversion of the typical hero fantasy, and it is for good reason.

It makes sense why a lot of fans cannot accept this and make wild excuses such as the Jedi being evil or something and removing all agency from Anakin.

But I’m glad Luke stayed single. I’m glad Obi-wan controller his desire for Satine and I’m glad Ahsoka got over her crush on Lux.

FOUR “Your skills are complete.”

Another reason the Jedi are so compelling is their abilities and their structure.

They have supernatural powers but they also all use a terrifying weapon that requires profound skill and connection to the Force. This makes it enjoyable to consume because it’s not just a magic battling story. They are actually genuine knights.

They have a blade that they must practice using and they must use it with control and restraint. Strike down those who threaten peace but never attack first and NEVER an innocent.

And their structure. They are an order of brave warriors with the same title and same cause. They are quite literally a part of something bigger than themselves. “Jedi” is a not a superhero code name. It’s a life that many dedicate themselves to. I’m a huge fan of Green Lantern and so I’m a sucker for the GL corps and how “Green Lantern”, like “Jedi”, is a title donned by those who didn’t give it to themselves, but to those who earned it.

And as I said before, they are minimalist in attire and mysterious in demeanor. It’s a bit spooky how much they can turn the tides of a conflict.

CONCLUSION “May the Force be with you….”

The Jedi Order and Jedi Council were marvelous to know and it’s sad that they died. But Luke proved that all took was on Jedi to destroy tyranny.

I love the Jedi. They are my favorite type of fairytale hero.

Goodbye.

ONE “An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”

A Jedi Knight is very different from your typical hero in a hero’s journey or fairy tale. They are also very different from superheroes despite having the same drive to protect the innocent.

Unlike most heroes, Jedi are not flashy. They don’t wear cool capes. They don’t have iconic symbols on their chest. They don’t have any vanity. They avoid making extravagant choices that draw much attention to themselves.

They wear a plain cloak, one that usually hides their face, and makes them look mysterious and eerie. And that is what they are. In that sense they are very similar to biblically accurate angels who are terrifying to demons but tell the innocent to “be not afraid”. They use deadly weapons that can strike down anything yet they are dedicated to peace.

They are people of few words but when they do speak it’s so eloquent, so poetic. Their speech is controlled, much like their way of life. A life dedicated to achieving harmony or “oneness”.

TWO “It’s your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my power.”

Their power isn’t fuelled by passion or feelings. Well it can give them power but the wrong kind of power.

The dark side looks cool. It has cooler abilities like force lightning and it’s quicker to access because it operates off of passion and desire. But that is what makes it seductive. It’s puts one’s awareness on hold and draws them to operate on pure impulse. That’s what makes it weak. Succumbing to your emotions instead of regulating them is weak and resisting this is true strength. Being incorruptible, being committed to internal balance, that takes work.

Not only is it what makes a Jedi powerful, but it also applies to real life. Patience, control, and balance are what you need to truly succeed in many hard things in life. Lack of impulse control will harm your life, harm others’ lives, and can get someone killed.

It’s not surprising that many fans’ fantasy is to be a Sith Lord rather than a Jedi. The Sith have cooler powers, usually aura farm harder, and take whatever they want. Everyone wants to feel powerful, and anyone would be tempted by easy opportunities to amass such power.

The difference between Luke before and after the end of Empire Strikes Back is hard to miss.

Before he was a young man full of goodness but also full of emotion. He never waned from doing the right thing but he let his impulses get the better of him. He was so afraid for his friends that he let his fear consume him and left Dagobah to try and rescue them. But he was no use to anyone. He couldn’t even lift his X-wing out of the pond. He didn’t have the confidence, or the fortitude. He went to Cloud City unprepared to get maimed and had to GET rescued.

Then after it, he was different. He constructed his own lightsaber. His voice was controlled and less whiny (heh). He spoke fewer words but deeper, more eloquent ones. He was calm, level-headed, and acted with more patience, more REASON. When he met Vader again, he saved his father and defeated the Sith, giving the galaxy hope once again.

Not only did he did he act with patience, he GAVE patience to his father. He had hope for his father. Luke is like his mother that way, seeing that gorgeous soul behind the angry face of a suffering slave. And make no mistake, Vader WAS a slave. He was power incarnate but that power consumed him whole. He had nothing left to live for but his master’s bidding. But Luke never gave up on trying to save someone, no matter how entitled he was to hating him for trying to kill Luke and his friends. Rarely in hero fantasies do heroes defeat a villain by saving them.

Then when we saw him in the Mandalorian, he was a fully realized eerie guardian of the light. He came last second in a cloak to easily dismantle the threat that was causing Mando’s team such worry. His movements controlled, his mind mastered. His power unstoppable. Mando’s team was in awe of this mysterious being of legend.

THREE “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.”

Another way Jedi are unlike a typical hero is the lack of attachments. It makes sense that in order to keep that balance and emotional control, they must abandon certain activities. No vices, no big commitments other than the Force, and yes no romantic relationships.

Love is a powerful force. More powerful than anything in the universe. It often SAVES the universe in many hero’s stories, and rightfully so. Peter Parker’s love for the people in his life create endless joy and bliss. Phoenix’s love for her friends saved them and the universe. Batman’s love raised a legacy of protectors that could continue protecting a city on the brink of being swallowed by chaos.

But love can be volatile. Love can cause jealousy and grief and fear. People have thrown away dreams and opportunities for it. They’ve ruined their lives and other people’s lives over it. They’ve murdered over it. They’ve abandoned rationality for it. Why did the great city of Troy meet its end??? Why did an immature Luke suspend his training to go on a suicide mission that had negative results??

Committing to something that could have such a devastating effect is reckless and dangerous and so to be a Jedi, one must adopt the life a monk. Because love, no matter how good a person is, instills a lot of fear.

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hatred…. You get the point.

Anakin didn’t heed this. Instead of abiding by the code, he got married in secret because he couldn’t make the selfless choice of abandoning all attachments for the Jedi Order. He then started getting visions of Padmé dying, and with this fear, he began acting irrationally and without balance. Now he wanted power. Power to save them ones he loved and he was willing to do anything for it, even submitting to the dark side for more power.

In the name of love, Anakin threw away his soul and did the equivalent of a school shooting, lead a genocide against his own kind, and helped destroy democracy in place of an Empire built on conquest. The same democracy that his wife worked her whole life to preserve and build.

And when she was afraid of who he became, he physically intimidated her out of anger. He put his hands on her (i mean the Force but same concept lol). The heart break cause her to faint and that heartbreak combined with the birth of their twins, she couldn’t handle the stress and died. Meanwhile Anakin was mortally wounded and became a terrifying Cyborg and discovered that his wife was dead.

In the name of love, Anakin Skywalker wanted power and became a monster in search for this power, but this same search killed the woman he loved and left him broken and a slave once more. He made a deal with the Sith and he lost EVERYTHING.

So um yeah. Best for Jedi not to date lol.

It’s a good subversion of the typical hero fantasy, and it is for good reason.

It makes sense why a lot of fans cannot accept this and make wild excuses such as the Jedi being evil or something and removing all agency from Anakin.

But I’m glad Luke stayed single. I’m glad Obi-wan controller his desire for Satine and I’m glad Ahsoka got over her crush on Lux.

FOUR “Your skills are complete.”

Another reason the Jedi are so compelling is their abilities and their structure.

They have supernatural powers but they also all use a terrifying weapon that requires profound skill and connection to the Force. This makes it enjoyable to consume because it’s not just a magic battling story. They are actually genuine knights.

They have a blade that they must practice using and they must use it with control and restraint. Strike down those who threaten peace but never attack first and NEVER an innocent.

And their structure. They are an order of brave warriors with the same title and same cause. They are quite literally a part of something bigger than themselves. “Jedi” is a not a superhero code name. It’s a life that many dedicate themselves to. I’m a huge fan of Green Lantern and so I’m a sucker for the GL corps and how “Green Lantern”, like “Jedi”, is a title donned by those who didn’t give it to themselves, but to those who earned it.

And as I said before, they are minimalist in attire and mysterious in demeanor. It’s a bit spooky how much they can turn the tides of a conflict.

CONCLUSION “May the Force be with you….”

The Jedi Order and Jedi Council were marvelous to know and it’s sad that they died. But Luke proved that all took was on Jedi to destroy tyranny.

I love the Jedi. They are my favorite type of fairytale hero.

Goodbye.

HOLY SPOILERS!!!!!! READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!!!!!!

“Anytime anybody’s gettin’ a raw deal? Reed’s right there, fightin’ for them like they wuz his own blood. And if you ARE his blood? There ain’t even a word for the kinda love and loyalty you get from him”
- Ben Grimm, F4 #552

I’m growing pretty tired of fighting with ignorant people in comment sections so I’m making a long post about this.

People say Reed is evil. A LOT. TOO MANY. Mainly people who don’t read any Fantastic Four comics of course. And what’s funny is that they use the same few pieces of evidence over and over again despite them having been explained away. You can see the numerous upvoted posts/comments in other subs that push this nonsense that makes me roll my eyes each time.

To me, Mister Fantastic is a deeply kind and selfless person with a heavy burden. He always tries to do the right thing even when it seems impossible. Because Reed Richards can see possibilities nobody else can as such he can reach heights others can only dream of. He is fundamentally and unquestionably a hero. The father of heroes in Marvel. His team, his family, will follow him anywhere because they know this. Sometimes he has to make a desperate hard call and sometimes he’s written out of character. Many times he’s just a tragic hero.

So here I will do my best to debunk the most common example events used against Reed Richards’ character.

SPOILERS if you haven’t read all of this yet and plan to.

1. Naming himself Mister Fantastic.

So people call him “tone deaf” for giving himself a name that sounds cool right after his best friend gave himself a tragic one. “Fantastic” had a different definition in the 60s. It didn’t mean “awesome” or “spectacular” as we know it. It was much closer to “weird” or “freaky” and so it was appropriate since they were all turned into freaks after all.

With the updated meaning of “Fantastic” in the modern age, Mark Waid finally gave a backstory to why Reed named himself that name. It was not out of ego or self centeredness. It was because the name sells and makes headlines. He does not care about fame, but he wanted to make sure his family were revered instead of feared. Pretty noble if you ask me.

2. Putting Franklin into a coma.

Okay, I’ll admit that the writing in this era was not my favorite lol. However, why exactly do any of you think he put his son into a coma? Let’s focus and use some context. Franklin has godlike power. In that instance, he was about to go off like a psychic bomb and nuke the entire solar system.

Reed thought of everything he could and with seconds on the clock he had to make an awful choice. He literally did it out of desperation and hated himself for it later. But you know what else he did?? He saved the damn world. He didn’t want any of this to happen and was heartbroken but had he done nothing, there would be no more world to be mad at him. So why exactly are we calling him a jerk for hurrying to make a last minute desperate decision while nobody else had a better idea?

Again, I don’t like this era at all but this story is repeatedly referenced with zero context and used to try and paint Reed as heartless when his face is very visibly emotional and heartbroken. What would you have done in the moment?

3. Slapping Sue while she is Malice.

I don’t even know how this is still used as proof of anything. It’s very clear to anyone who just reads the damn issue that Reed was purposely trying to ragebait Sue and make her hate him in order to stop Malice and get Sue to turn back to normal. He doesn’t actually treat Sue that way. The fact that this still gets brought up unironically is proof that Reed haters are LARPers. John Byrne’s Reed is like one of the most gentle human beings alive.

4. Supporting the pro-registration side in Civil War.

Ok so now we are out of Fantastic Four comics which is telling honestly. I can’t lie he is written so out of character here it’s insane. Again, because most people don’t read F4 comics but probably have read Civil War, this is their first and only exposure to him. This was a straight up character transplant and even JMS, the Fantastic Four writer at the time, expressed the exact same frustration in an interview.

However, Fantastic Four tie-ins by Dwayne McDuffie (RIP) do some much needed damage control and explain Reed’s in universe reasoning. He didn’t support the SHRA because he was a jerk or had no empathy.

When he was 12 years old he read a sci-fi novel called Foundation by Isaac Asimov (a real novel irl) and was intrigued by a concept called psychohistory. It could predict future trends by mathematically modelling history. He invented it in-universe and had been using it for decades already to correctly predict societal trends and he had also done so for the SHRA. He did the math and saw 31 different possibilities. He picked the least catastrophic of 31 possibilities, that being the implementation of the SHRA. Any other choice would result in the destruction of humanity. He got his work peer reviewed by the Mad Thinker who acknowledged that his equations were all correct. So yeah, he locked up some superhumans temporarily to save all of civilization. But once again he’s being punished for saving the world because he couldn’t think of a miracle like he usually does. That’s a tad bit unfair.

Like I said, in the core Civil War issues Reed was definitely character assassinated, but this tie in explained his reasons for choosing to go down this path. He did not want to fight his allies or lock anyone up. But this was the best possible solution and so he took it. Everyone mad at him should be grateful he saved the Earth (again).

5.0 Illuminati shenanigans.

Ok so now I’m getting into very controversial territory. Even among Reed defenders who acknowledge the first 4 points, the Illuminati was still a sour topic.

And you know what?? They are not completely wrong. Even Reed himself regretted forming the Illuminati. Maybe in the Bendis era they weren’t such a great group in the long run, but man people are WAY too harsh on them to the point that it’s clear they are just following the bandwagon.

The following 3 are stuff he did with the Illuminati:

5.1. Sending Hulk to space.

Yep, this one. People LOOOOVE to say that this was some deplorable act and that they later DESERVED to get beat up by Hulk and almost killed for it. With all due respect, this is total nonsense and I’d be embarrassed to openly have this opinion.

Hulk is a Monster. Capital M. It doesn’t matter that he may sometimes save the Earth if he spends more time smashing it and causing everyone trouble and fear. Hulk went on his latest rampage killing 26 innocent people in Las Vegas. 26 innocent people. All the ANGER and SYMPATHY for poor Hulk but NONE for the dead innocent people. Wow such wise and enlightened comic readers amitrite??

So what do the Illuminati do? They recognize that Hulk is an unsolvable, uncontrollable problem. Years of research for a cure as well as therapy from professionals like Doc Samson and no real progress. They also recognize that Bruce Banner voluntarily secludes himself from civilization to avoid letting the Hulk hurt anyone in a rampage.

So they take these into account and just…. help him out? They put Hulk on a spaceship and send him to a peaceful planet for nobody to bother him. “LEAVE HULK ALONE” that’s what Hulk says right??? Ask and you shall receive.

Then Sakaarian wizards poach him off course and bring him to Sakaar because they believe he will save them. Long story short he liberates the planet and gets married to Caeira and has kids. He’s HAPPY. The Illuminati’s plan indirectly WORKED. Then his new friend Miek sets off a bomb that kills a bunch of people including his wife, and with nowhere else to put his rage other than the Illuminati, he invades Earth and tries to torment them even though they had nothing to do with his wife’s murder. Then Miek reveals his betrayal and Hulk gets so mad he almost destroys the world until Iron Man neutralizes him with an orbital strike.

So to summarize, the Illuminati exiled Hulk from Earth because he was too dangerous and monstrous and he came right back to….. prove them right that he was a monster???

And somehow the takeaway for many people is that they “had it coming” or “were the bad guys here” or “Hulk was justified”.

I guess bro………..

5.2. Skrull invasion.

Okay I won’t even hold you lol the Illuminati fucked up here. They shouldn’t have traveled to warn the Skrulls against invading Earth without bringing more backup. The Skrulls were going to invade anyways but them getting kidnapped and dissected for information helped them do it more easily.

But this was more of an accident than an act of evil. They were trying to protect their planet not hurt anyone.

Nevertheless, it was a bad idea that had dire consequences.

5.3. The Incursions…..

Okay so Bendis is gone and now the goat Hickman took over to write the Avengers and the Illuminati. They formed to try and figure out how to stop the incrursions and save their world alongside the entire multiverse. Pretty noble idea right?

They learned that incursions worked by two Earths colliding and the cascading energy destroys both universes. If one Earth is destroyed, it spares the other as well as both universes. So we have ourselves a good ol trolley problem. They built an arsenal of planet killing antimatter bombs as a LAST RESORT.

Because Captain America was too much of a moral absolutist they did not see him as a productive ally anymore. This was the fate of everything they knew and he was trying to slow down their progress. They wiped his memory and sent him home.

HOWEVER, they were all still heroes (most of em at least) so they dedicated all their effort to finding a way to stop the incursions WITHOUT destroying any inhabited Earths and killing billions. Cap was annoying but they were all still trying to honor his words.

A few incursions come that they can sleep without guilt for nuking because these were dead Earths. Okay cool.

Then finally a live Earth comes. And they all refuse to pull the trigger because it crosses too far of a line. Except Namor. He blows up the Earth and saves Earth 616. They get angry at him for committing mass genocide and kick him out of the group.

But then Namor formed his own team and started blowing up oncoming Earths to protect Earth 616.

Blah blah blah some more shit happens and the Illuminati settle on building a ship called the Life Raft that can survive the end of the multiverse.

So now that I covered the gist of Hicklluminati, let’s go over what haters have to say.

“They were destroying other universes”. Number one and most obvious revelation of a larper. They didn’t even read the damn story to understand the details. A very common pattern with Reed haters.

“They were doing horrible things” I mean yes but no? They were trying to look for a not so horrible way to do things. And again this was a lose-lose scenario. This was bigger than anything in reality.

“They were too cowardly to blow the planet” So they are upset that they were okay to do horrible things but now upset that they “didn’t have the guts”??? Stick to one criticism. Either call them horrible or call them cowards for not being horrible.

“They were arrogant and tried to solve it themselves and didn’t tell any other heroes” I too would try to avoid the mass hysteria of a scenario like that. If the world knew that reality was ending there is no telling how they would react. That’s not helpful. That’s just opening up a whole new pandora’s box of problems on top of the ones they are currently facing.

And btw this is just another larp. They did tell other people. Other QUALIFIED people. They slowly grew their ranks by recruiting more super geniuses on the team. Reed actually told his family from the start and the Future Foundation were hard at work trying to find out how to solve it. Val told Reed it was impossible. Franklin’s powers couldn’t save them. AIM was working on it the whole time and failed too.

There you go, he told his family and they agreed with his course of action. Are we going to call the whole family evil now?

So all the smartest people in the world were working on it, and couldn’t figure it out. Yeah there was no saving anything. It was armageddon regardless.

Moving on…

6. Masking Franklin’s x-gene to stop him from going to Krakoa

People get mad at Reed for doing this….. for what???? Putting a parental lock on his son??? Preventing him from going to an island ruled by people like Mister Sinister and Mystique, an island that his OWN family is not welcome on???

Why do you even think Professor X and Magneto PERSONALLY visited the Richards family to ask for Franklin to come to Krakoa?? Do they do this for every mutant?? No. It’s not because he’s a mutant. It’s because he’s an OMEGA-level mutant.

They didn’t want to give him sanctuary. They wanted to gather more weapons, the reality warping kind, for their new ethnostate. That’s it.

Franklin can be mad at his father while sitting safely at home in Manhattan rather than strapped to a gurney in a basement in Krakoa while Sinister is doing horrifying experiments on him while Franklin is screaming for his father to come save him.

Get fucking real guys. You wouldn’t let your kid go to a spooky island either, no matter how much of a teenage tantrum they are throwing.

7. The Maker.

Using an AU is next level bot behavior.

People unironically look at the Maker as some sort of cautionary tale against Reed when he doesn’t have a family to “keep him from turning evil”. This is the single stupidest take on Reed Richards I’ve ever heard and it’s so stupid that I’d much rather hear people call him a jerk than a guy who is “one bad day away from evil” or “needs his family as a moral compass”.

First of all, the Maker is an alternate reality version of Mister Fantastic. He has no connection to Mister Fantastic and Mister Fantastic is not at all responsible for any of his actions. The Maker is his own character who made his own choice and went through his own trauma and suffering.

The Maker is not the “real” version of Reed Richards when he doesn’t have a family to put him on a leash. He’s just a young guy who went through abuse and became an edgelord.

You know another Reed that went through shit? 6160 Doom. Even WORSE shit, and he still stayed a good guy. 616 Reed is also a good guy whose moral compass is inherent to him. He always tries to do the right thing and help anyone who needs it. He puts his family’s well being above everything even with his crazy workload. That’s who Reed Richards is.

Imagine holding Superman responsible for the sins of Ultraman. Foolish.

____

So anyways that is it for now?? There are probably a few more examples people try to use to call Reed a jerk but they are less common because they hold even less water. These are the main ones.

If through my yap session you think that I think he’s flawless, I promise you I don’t. But having flaws like everyone else does not make you a bad person. Again, I recognize that even among Reed defenders I made some pretty controversial points so I’m open to disagreement.

Also, my attempted debunks are not meant to completely absolve Reed of all blame. In many of the discussed instances he should have been less secretive, trusted people more, and did indeed on some level screw up. However none of these mistakes are severe enough to call him evil, at least imo. He’s a principled hero.

Thank you for reading. Goodbye.