The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to have a larger-than-life story featuring Galactus as the villain, but his motives for attacking the team's planet could be really dark. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) prepares to introduce their First Family on the big screen, there has been a lot of speculation about what could happen in their debut movie. And while Galactus is confirmed to appear in the film, the movie has only hinted at what could have drawn his attention.

However, looking to the comics for inspiration, there are some shocking reasons why Galactus may have selected The Fantastic Four's planet as his next target. Of course, as the Devourer of Worlds, with an insatiable appetite, Galactus needs to eat to stay alive, but it feels like Marvel Studios is hinting at there being a reason for his arrival. However, the trailer may also serve to misdirect the audience, and conceal a much darker truth about his motives.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Shows Galactus Targeting The Team's Earth

Galactus Has Already Chosen His Next Meal In The Fantastic Four: First Steps

In comics, Galactus usually has his heralds go ahead and scout out planets for him to eat. This leads to characters like the Silver Surfer finding planets they deem suitable to appease their master, and guiding him to these worlds. This also means that characters like Silver Surfer will often direct Galactus towards uninhabited planets to stave off getting a guilty conscience. However, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' trailer, the Silver Surfer says that Galactus sent her due to choosing this planet.

Also in the trailer, Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, says that he feels he may have attracted the attention of Galactus due to his research into the Multiverse. While this could be true, it's not very clear why Galactus would be all that interested in Reed's research, unless he wanted to use it to access more worlds than he already has at his disposal. However, there is another reason that Galactus could be targeting the home of The Fantastic Four, which is also hinted at in the trailer.

Sue Storm's MCU Story May Secretly Explain Why Galactus Is Targeting The Team's Earth

Marvel's First Family Is Already Expanding

The trailer reveals that Sue Storm is pregnant, and that Reed, and she will soon be parents. If the film follows the comics, this likely means they will soon give birth to their child, Franklin Richards, who is depicted in the comics as one of the most powerful mutants of all time. Franklin has the power to bend, warp, and reshape reality at will, and all of this from a remarkably young age. Even though he has yet to be born, Franklin's powers may be beginning to manifest, and make waves throughout the cosmos within his own reality.

This actually happens in the comics, when Franklin's fledgling powers attract the attention of powerful beings like Annihilus and Galactus. These powerful beings sense Franklin's strength, and the abilities he possesses, and often they attempt to, and occasionally succeed, in kidnapping the child. With Franklin Richards' powers at their disposal, they could theoretically access infinite realities, and create worlds without end. Obviously, for a character like Galactus whose hunger is never satisfied, this would be a powerful ally.

The Fantastic Four Movie Theory Could Be A Perfect Plot Twist For The MCU Story

First Steps Appears To Be Setting Up Some Major Plot Points For The MCU

But up to this point, it's clear that the marketing for the movie is trying to push the idea that Reed has inadvertently gotten the attention of Galactus, leading to the destruction of his world. While this is certainly captivating and tense, the idea that Galactus is actually after Reed and Sue's son, and that Franklin could be in danger by the end of the movie before heading into events in Avengers: Doomsday would significantly amplify the stakes for the movie.

The Cast of Fantastic Four First Steps in Their Blue Uniforms Standing on a Stage

Will the Fantastic Four have the same suits once they make it to Earth-616?

Due to their existence in a retro-future 1960s reality, The Fantastic Four have suits to match the aesthetic in First Steps. However, I wonder if they'll end up getting new costumes once they make it to the more modern Earth-616 MCU. Personally, I hope they don't, as the costumes we've seen are so fun and unique.

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This would be an incredible plot twist, and one that would stop Franklin Richards from being immediately accessible in the final chapters of the Multiverse Saga in a way that keeps the stakes high when fighting Doctor Doom. After all, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been pushing the idea that Reed and Sue's child will be important, and according to comics, this has always been true. Evidently, making Franklin Richards the primary target, and the person who attracts Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps would then make it a much more compelling story, and add a great unexpected twist.