One of the most intriguing mysteries surrounding Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four reboot isn’t Doctor Doom, Galactus, or even how the team gets its powers; it’s the world they come from. The home reality of the Fantastic Four, Earth-828, seems to exist in a weird and yet intriguing contradiction: it is aesthetically set in the 1960s, but its technology is decades ahead of even the current MCU.
A small detail in the marketing of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ has now led to a theory that could finally bring all this together, and it revolves around Wakanda.
MCU Might Have Just Solved Its Most Confusing Fantastic Four Mystery
Rather than being a purely aesthetic choice or the result of Reed Richards’ genius alone, this theory suggests that the Fantastic Four’s advanced world may be the result of a much earlier global shift. One that would have not been impossible had Wakanda been introduced to the world stage much earlier than it was in Earth-616. The latest ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ teaser features what seems to be the first encounter of the Fantastic Four and the heroes of the main timeline of the MCU.
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In the scene, Ben Grimm encounters M’Baku, who is now King of Wakanda. It is not spectacle or tension, but the feeling of normality in the exchange. Ben does not respond with shock, interest, or even bewilderment when M’Baku presents himself and talks about Wakanda. Rather, he is casual, introducing himself as being of Yancy Street. It is a minor, nearly insignificant line; however, in the MCU, minor lines can have major consequences.
To viewers who have watched Earth-616, Wakanda is a mysterious country whose real strength was unknown for centuries. Anyone encountering Wakanda for the first time would understandably have questions. The fact that Ben Grimm does not react in any way is surprising. It indicates that Wakanda is not a secret on Earth-828. This scene has made fans speculate that the Fantastic Four universe already has connections with Wakanda and its people. If Wakanda had appeared in this world decades ago, it would have changed the development of it radically. Suddenly, Reed Richards’ futuristic city doesn’t feel implausible. It feels inevitable.
Wakanda’s Influence Makes The Retro-Future Timeline Feel Earned
Wakanda has always been depicted by the MCU as the technological outlier of humanity. Wakanda had developed advanced transportation, medicine, energy systems, and AI even in the main timeline, long before the rest of the world did. Projects like ‘Eyes of Wakanda’ support the notion that Wakanda has always been way ahead, preferring secrecy to influence. However, what will become of it when it is no longer secret?
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If Earth-828’s Wakanda chose openness instead of isolation, the ripple effects would be enormous. A world where Wakandan technology is introduced into the global circulation in the middle of the 20th century would follow a completely different course. Cities might skip decades of development. Clean energy, advanced materials, and new scientific paradigms could emerge long before Cold War militarization defined technological progress.
This fits well with ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘, which reportedly mentions global demilitarization. A de-weaponized world, led by cooperation, not warfare, would provide the ideal environment of a retro-futuristic society, which is optimistic, bold, and imaginative. In that regard, Reed Richards does not need to create the future single-handedly. Rather, he joins a larger intellectual movement, perhaps working with Wakandan scientists or being inspired by their discoveries.
