10 Ways To Get The Fantastic 4 Into The MCU (That Wouldn't Suck)

10. Super-Science Space Summit

The assembled eggheads of the Avengers have a conundrum they can't solve. It involves space travel - perhaps they're trying locate whatever extradimensional asteroid field Thanos is hanging out in and decide to take the fight to the big blue Titan, or need to build an orbital version of Stark Tower that's a little more resistant to rampaging supervillains and/or Hulks. But space engineering is outside their areas of expertise, so they need a hand.

Step forward arguably the most brilliant super-nerd in the whole Marvel comics continuity, Reed Richards, aka Mr Fantastic. His origin story has him building a spaceship, the same one that bathes him and his homies in astral radiation when they launch it, so space travel is one of his specialisms. Stark and Banner, perhaps reluctantly, accept the help of this outsider, who proves to be even more than the genius he seems.

His super-stretchiness need barely play into his introduction as it’s his intelligence that makes him really stand out. Once Richards is established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Fantastic 4 seem like less of a shoehorn if and when they show up in full.