The Interdimensional Council of Reeds is a fun concept that the Marvel Cinematic Universe can use to set its Fantastic Four franchise apart from the others, expand the MCU’s multiverse, and bring back the previous Reed Richards actors for cameos. But the Council of Ricks parody in Rick and Morty might have already taken the air out of the Council of Reeds’ tires before they could make it to the big screen.
Given that the Fantastic Four are led by one of the smartest scientists in the world and their MCU reboot will land in the final stretch of the “Multiverse Saga,” it stands to reason that interdimensional travel will be a crucial element of their story. The Fantastic Four are known as Marvel’s first family. A big part of their characterization in the larger Marvel Comics universe is that they’re among the veteran superheroes who have been around the longest. Despite debuting in Phase Six, the MCU’s Fantastic Four can maintain this veteran trait if Marvel uses the multiverse to explain why they’ve been away for so long. The Council of Reeds would provide a neat shorthand for the Fantastic Four reboot to use to show that Reed and his team have already explored the multiverse and mastered reality-hopping.
But casual audiences today are more familiar with Rick and Morty’s spoof of the Council of Reeds than the Council of Reeds itself. Self-parody is all a part of the MCU’s M.O. – if Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four movie did feature the Council of Reeds, fans could count on the writers including plenty of jabs at how silly the whole concept is – but Rick and Morty might have stolen its thunder.
What Is The Interdimensional Council Of Reeds?
The Interdimensional Council of Reeds was founded by three variants of Mr. Fantastic who had each acquired the Infinity Gauntlet in their respective universes. They built an elaborate meeting hall in the space between realities where the other variants of Reed could meet with their interdimensional counterparts and work towards making the multiverse a better place. The idea was that if every version of the world’s greatest mind got together to pick each other’s massive brains, they could “solve everything.” If a near-unstoppable Fantastic Four villain like Doctor Doom or Galactus reared their head in one of the Reeds’ universes, then the Council would unite to help that Reed fight them off. Conflicts arose when the cost of the Council of Reeds became clear. In order to serve the multiverse, they had to abandon their own reality. This would be an interesting conflict for the MCU to adapt, especially since Marvel has, so far, struggled to engage audiences emotionally with its multiverse storylines.
In Rick and Morty lore, the Trans-Dimensional Council of Ricks was created when a handful of Ricks from alternate universes teamed up to find a way to protect each other from their many interdimensional enemies. The Council of Ricks includes Riq IV, Rick Prime, Quantum Rick, and Maximums Rickimus. Our Rick, Rick C-137, is one of the few Ricks that refuse to comply with the Council’s laws and has been dubbed “the rogue” as a result. With Rick’s many antagonistic brushes with the Council and the iconic “Tales from the Citadel” episode, Rick and Morty has had plenty of fun with the Council concept before Marvel even had a chance to explore the Council of Reeds on the big screen.
Can The MCU Still Use The Council Of Reeds?
A Council of Reeds appearance in the MCU could see the return of Mr. Fantastic actors like Ioan Gruffudd, Miles Teller, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ John Krasinski, not to mention parody versions of the character played by the likes of Seth Green and Stephen Colbert, or stunt castings like Randall Park (Steve/“Asian Jim” from The Office). They could even bring back Alex Hyde-White from the unreleased 1994 Fantastic Four movie for a brief cameo. But Rick and Morty has already squeezed all the comedic juice out of the premise of a bureaucratic organization revolving around countless alternate versions of the same man.
It’s similar to the way George Lucas borrowed the concept of “The Emperor” from Frank Herbert’s Dune. But by the time Dune made it to the big screen and Star Wars was a global cultural phenomenon, it seemed to some casual viewers that Dune had borrowed the Emperor from Return of the Jedi, not the other way around. If the Council of Reeds showed up in the MCU, non-comic book fans might assume that Marvel is ripping off Rick and Morty. It doesn’t help that Marvel has raided the Rick and Morty writing staff and recruited Michael Waldron, Jessica Gao, and Jeff Loveness to pen scripts for them, so the MCU already feels like a watered-down version of Rick and Morty.
Regardless of the inevitable Council of Ricks comparisons, it would be fun to see the Council of Reeds in the MCU. Not only is it an excuse to get Gruffudd, Teller, and Krasinski’s Mr. Fantastics all in the same room; it’s also a great way to tell movie audiences who this guy is. The Council of Reeds is one of the key concepts that make Reed stand out from the Marvel universe’s other geniuses. Tony Stark has the arc reactor he built in a cave with a box of scraps, Shuri has a high-tech underground lab full of precious vibranium, and Reed has an interdimensional brain trust with every other version of himself from across the multiverse.