Warning! Spoilers for Iron Man #16 by Marvel Comics
Marvel has confirmed Reed Richards is actually smarter than Tony Stark in a hilarious way, as the Fantastic Four hero became dumber after Iron Man shared his intellect with every living person in his city. In Iron Man #16, Stark comes back to Earth after gaining the Power Cosmic, and one of his first acts with his new powers is to make everyone close by as smart as he is. For Reed Richards, that means becoming instantly dumber.
In a world filled with super-genius heroes and villains, Tony Stark and Reed Richards are among the smartest people in the universe. Iron Man has proven to be a brilliant scientist whose on-the-fly thinking and technology have helped the Avengers more times than can be counted. Meanwhile, Reed Richards is the Fantastic Four’s smartest hero, as he’s made numerous incredible scientific discoveries and routinely deals with space and extra-dimensional travel. Both heroes are among the top-ranked scientific minds in the galaxy, alongside the likes of Lunella Lafayette, Hank Pym, and Amadeus Cho. Marvel is now confirming Reed is more intelligent than Tony in an unexpectedly hilarious moment.
In Iron Man #16 by Christopher Cantwell, Julius Ohta, Frank D’Armata, and VC’s Clayton Cowles, Tony Stark shows off his new god powers to the Avengers. The superteam doesn’t seem too excited that Iron Man can alter reality with the Power Cosmic, despite Stark’s insistence he won’t use his powers for anything other than to make the world a better place. Stark decides to make everyone as brilliant as he is in a bizarre gift to his fellow heroes and people in the city. For Reed Richards, that means getting dumber, not smarter.
Sue Storm asks whether Reed feels any different after Tony Stark gives everyone his intellect. Richards admits, “I… I actually think I just became dumber.” The answer is hilarious, but it makes sense that Reed Richards would lose some of his smarts, as it’s been shown he edges out Tony Stark when it comes to who is a smarter hero.
Making his fellow heroes and people nearby as smart as him proves to be a terrible plan for Tony Stark. Unfortunately, not everyone will use their newfound intellect to make the world a better place, as he hopes. And for Reed Richards, he just became dumber, which isn’t the best news for Marvel’s heroes as his brain may be needed as part of the solution in depowering Stark. Ironically, Tony Stark gifting his intellect just proved Reed Richards is the smarter hero. Iron Man #16 is in stores now.