Annihilation: Scourge Proves Why Reed Richards Is Marvel's Dumbest Genius
by Renaldo MatadeenWARNING: The following contains spoilers for Annihilation: Scourge - Fantastic Four #1 by Christos Gage, Diego Olortegui, Juan Vlasco, Cam Smith, Scott Hanna, Erick Arciniega and VC's Travis Lanham, on sale now.
For all the talk of the Marvel Universe having some of the most brilliant minds in fiction, those super-geniuses have left a lot of problems unsolved. With real issues like poverty, famine and disease still largely unaddressed and many of their own experiments unleashing more fantastic threats, it's a wonder that super-smart heroes like Tony Stark and Black Panther haven't torn the world apart.
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These super-smart heroes might make technological advancements for war but these geniuses usually have a god complex that tricks them into making some very stupid decisions. Now, Annihilation: Scourge has shown that dumbest genius of all might just be Reed Richards.
Mr. Fantastic has had a history of really questionable decisions. From opening up the Negative Zone and not really watching over it to cloning Thor and his decision with the Illuminati to shoot Hulk off into space, Reed has a startlingly bad track record for a man with such a high IQ. And now, in Annihilation: Scourge -- Fantastic Four #1, Reed finally admits he needs to own up for his stupidity, especially as it relates to another hero.
When the Fantastic Four use a memory device on the refugees from the Negative Zone, they learn that the undying forces of the Cancerverse, particularly the Revengers, are getting ready to invade Earth. When Reed sees their leader, the Sentry, he immediately begins feeling guilty and confesses to his family that he's to blame for what's happening. As he recalls a moment that carries on from the Sentry's return in Black Panther and Agents of Wakanda , Bob Reynolds asked if Reed could help separate the Void, his dark alter ego, once and for all. They couldn't come up with a solution, so the choice was made to send Bob into the Cancerverse where laws of physics didn't apply, Once the Sentry separated himself from his dark side, he'd ping Reed and come back home.
While this plan makes a micron of sense, it has a few fatal flaws. While the Sentry could've been killed by the Negative Zone's creatures, he also could've been co-opted to their cause, or the Void could've taken on a new form there. Sending the Sentry alone into the Negative Zone is like throwing a lit match into a barrel of gasoline. This is hands down one of Reed's worst calls, and now he has to reap what he sowed. As he watches the Sentry go on the rampage while under the influence of the Cancerverse, he admits how awful he feels to his teammates.
The blame for all of the trouble in Annihilation: Scourge rests squarely on his shoulders because the corrupted creatures of the Cancerverse are a force to be reckoned with. Now, thanks to Reed, they're being marshaled by the strongest Avenger in almost any reality.
In short, the Sentry was always a wild card, and Reed's stupidity gave the Cancerverse a general that Marvel's other heroes don't know how to defeat. Not even the World Breaker Hulk, Avengers or X-Men could handle an unleashed Sentry. But now, thanks to Reed, a twisted Sentry is coming for Earth with a zombie horde, and global extinction is the only thing on his mind.
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