Fantastic Four Is Setting the Stage to Make Reed Richards Sorcerer Supreme – Theory Explained

Warning: Spoilers for Fantastic Four (2022) #22 ahead!

The conclusion of the Blood Hunt event has shaken up the Marvel status quo: vampires no longer fear daylight, Doctor Doom is now Sorcerer Supreme, and (most curious of all) Reed Richards has finally begun experimenting in the field of magic – kind of. This presents a fascinating potential scenario for Marvel where the title of Sorcerer Supreme is up for grabs, with none other than Reed Richards and Doctor Doom as the main contenders.

Fantastic Four (2022) #22 by Ryan North, Ivan Fiorelli, and Jesus Aburtov picks up after the previous issue’s cliffhanger, with vampires breaking into the shelter Reed and Alicia have created for the Blood Hunt’s survivors. While Reed stresses about creating a cure for vampirism, Alicia points out that he knows next to nothing about magic and needs to think smaller.

The trick works: using his scientific knowledge as a base, Reed creates a device to interfere with vamprically altered cells – which, technically, is his first foray into magical study.

Mr. Fantastic Is Branching Out Into Magic – And Just In Time

Fantastic Four #22 by Ryan North, Ivan Fiorelli, and Jesus Aburtov

Reed Richards and his nemesis, Victor von Doom, have long stood as polar opposites – kind of. Reed is an incredible scientist, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the Marvel universe; meanwhile, modern depictions of Doom show him as one of Earth’s strongest sorcerers. The disparity arises when one remembers that Doom is also one of Reed’s closest scientific peers, with their academic rivalry going as far back as Doom’s first appearance in Fantastic Four (1961) #5. This means that Doom technically has the advantage over Reed, having mastered science and sorcery combined (though Reed is the better scientist).

Reed’s anti-vampire device marks his first foray into applying his technological know-how to magical principles, and the implications therein should not be overlooked. Reed is frequently hailed as one of the most intelligent people in the Marvel Universe, mastering advanced concepts and entire fields of study in the span of weeks (if not days, or even hours). While Reed admits that “my entire foundation of knowledge…simply doesn’t apply” to magic, his past history and instant success with his anti-vampire device suggests that he remains capable of learning magical principles at a frighteningly rapid pace.

Reed’s Magi-Science vs. Doom’s Sorcerery

Although Doctor Doom has successfully swindled the station of Sorcerer Supreme from Stephen Strange, the concluding panels of Fantastic Four #22 make it very clear that Reed and The Fantastic Four aren’t going to take Doom’s latest bid for world domination lying down. This is what makes Reed’s determination to create “a new science – one based on tested and repeatable properties of magic” so exciting: it suggests that, for the first time, Reed is exploring options that will allow him to contest Doctor Doom in the field of sorcery.

Reed Richards and Doctor Doom have been rivals for over sixty years of comics publication; as such, it makes for delightful narrative symmetry for Reed to be the one to challenge Doom’s reign as Sorcerer Supreme. While Doctor Doom has the advantage when it comes to magic, Fantastic Four #22 sews the seeds for Reed Richards to begin his own foray into the magical arts, elevating this classic Marvel rivalry to a whole new level.

Fantastic Four #22 (2024)
	Writer: Ryan North Artist: Ivan Fiorelli Colorist: Jesus Aburtov Letterer: Joe Caramagna Cover Artist: Alex Ross