Spoilers for Fantastic Four: Road-Trip #1 ahead!
The Fantastic Four is led by the worst father in the Marvel Universe! In the one-shot Fantastic Four: Roadtrip by writer Christopher Cantwell, artist Filipe Andrade, and colorist Chris O’Halloran, Reed Richards puts science above his family when he asks his son Franklin to use his fantastic powers to help him at a meteor impact site.
Reed Richards is perhaps the most intelligent person on Earth in the Marvel Universe, capable of creating fantastic inventions and achieving scientific breakthroughs. Yet for all of these otherworldy smarts, Reed can sometimes lose sight of the people around him, and that is exactly what happens here. His son, Franklin Richards, is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe, able to create pocket universes and command Galactus to do his will. Franklin’s powers happen to be in flux at the moment as well, adding another complication.
While on a road trip with the rest of the Fantastic Four, Reed tells everyone he wants to examine a meteor crater nearby, after hearing reports of an unexplained phenomenon. When they arrive, Reed finds tiny particles in the crater, but he is unable to get them out, so he asks Franklin to use his powers to extract them. Susan, who is far more grounded than Reed, reminds him Franklin’s powers are unstable, and using them could cause them to go away. Reed overrules her, saying that Franklin’s powers are potentially infinite. Franklin uses his powers to extract the meteor dust as his father asked. As it goes this was no ordinary meteor—the particles were created by a demented Reed Richards called the Overseer, and were found by The Mad Thinker, who used them to get back at the Fantastic Four. Once the team figured this out and defeated the Thinker, Reed expressed regret over his actions.
The Mad Thinker played on Richard’s curiosity to spring his trap - he knew Reed couldn’t resist a good scientific mystery, and he was right. Reed sprung instantly on it, potentially putting his son in danger as well as endangering the lives of the rest of the family.
Reed Richards may be one of the greatest scientific minds in the Marvel Universe, but he at times is not the greatest of parents, and that was on full display in this issue. Susan tried to argue with him over his parenting skills but was brushed aside. And Reed’s arrogance and willingness to push his family aside in the name of science almost cost him and the rest of the Fantastic Four dearly.