Reed and Wanda

[history79]

from Fantastic Four #11

Comments

[crimsonmoonmist]

It's nice to see Reed finally show some conscience after all his mad scientist-y escapades, with or without his illuminati-pals, even if just for a couple of panels. Makes me remember I actually liked the guy a lot once upon a time.

[drtechnobabel]

Same. As much as I tend to shit on the guy, I tend to genuinely like him when he's written even somewhat decently.

[night4345]

Don't worry Reed, writers will eventually retcon you helping murder an entire planet into not being your fault. Failing that they'll turn characters into strawmen who'll learn the errors of their ways in a forced revelation after holding the idiot ball for issue after issue.
Also what's with that ending?

[umbrall]

Eh. Its not like the planet had a long and happy life in front of it. When you got the choice between your own planets existence or a strange ones, you're entitled to pick your own planet.

In this case though, it was both die or one dies. Not mach of a moral dillemma.

Reeds crime lies more in not exploring the alternatives, and its so vastly out of character that its hard to hold it against him.

[sanctaphrax]

No, you're not entitled to pick your own planet. Your planet has no more right to exist than the other one does.

[flint_marko]

So they should do nothing and let both universes be destroyed?

[sanctaphrax]

Of course not. What they should really do is tell everyone about the problem, then either solve it or evacuate and destroy the Earth. Maybe build a replacement earth afterwards.

But if the author interferes and forces them to destroy a planet, it's immoral to choose the other one just because it's the other one. Your family doesn't deserve life any more than some random other family, and killing innocents to save yourself/the people you care about is evil.

I think they should probably destroy the planet with the lower population. If it's impossible to tell which one that is, maybe flip a coin. They should also try to move as many people as possible onto the world that would survive, of course.

[theflames]

your answer to the issue is riddled with conveniences. and then you say destroy the planet with a lower population.

So if its my family or the other family, i kill the family with less kids? thats in no way morally better, maybe even a little worth since you're literally quantifying people's worth in numbers.

No, people from planet X have a right to stop there own demise. So do people from planet Y, if they have to destroy each others planets to do so, when no other immediate opton presents itself and they have no time, I can't just paint them as evil for choosing to do so. Because in the end, billions of lives are saved.

Also, going off planet probably wouldn't work, if the earths collide the universes that house them are destroyed. At least, thats how I've understood it.

[sanctaphrax]

Going off-planet wouldn't stop you from dying in a collision, but since you might need to destroy your own world to stop the collisions it's a good idea to be off of it.

That aside, the root of most evil is the belief that "I am more important than other people". That it's okay to hurt or kill other people for your own benefit.

It's really not!

And frankly, I'm not inclined to believe anyone who claims to be "sacrificing lives for the greater good" unless they put their own lives on the table. How am I supposed to believe that they have good intentions if all the sacrifices are made by other people?

[mastiff]

Would you really prefer that everyone you have ever loved, and everything you have ever known, came to an end? It's not really a "right" to live, it's a choice of giving in to extinction, or fighting for your species' future.

Let's put it this way; whether it's moral or not, I'd do whatever it took to make sure my children got to live another day.

Or did I misunderstand your statement?

[lbd_nytetrayn]

So... What IS Doc Strange up to, then?

[drtechnobabel]

Probably either making a deal with demons for power or moping about the most recent time he made a deal with demons for power.That's all he really seems to do nowadays.

[bewareofgeek]

His third "corruption by black magic, making him unworthy" by my count.

[bruinsfan]

And so soon after his rally from the last time. He had what, about a year with his confidence restored before Hickman's neverending borefest started?

[thatnickguy]

I don't pay attention to many of the big name books these days, but has Wanda had that outfit for awhile now? Because I really like it. It's sexy without being revealing and honestly really suits her character.

[silverhammerman]

She got it back when Uncanny Avengers first launched, so it's been around for about two years.

[norj]

Reed has forgotten that science is about figuring out how the universe works, the more you learn the more you realize that the things you thought you know are wrong, there is no certainty.

[icon_uk]

It's not like magic doesn't have rules... very strict rules in fact.

Odd that Wanda refers to him as Mr Richards... he's always know as Dr Richards, for very obvious reason.

Oh and that better not have been Salem's Seven Reed was fighting, because they just showed up as the good guys in New Warriors a couple of months back

[md84]

Reed isn't too hung up on the whole Doctor thing. Unlike Doctor Doom, even though Reed actually EARNED his title (Doom is technically a college dropout).

Edit:

As for the rules of magic, it probably doesn't help poor Reed that the being who literally wrote the book on magic (Cthon) is a malevolent demonic elder god.

[icon_uk]

It's not a question of REED being hung up on it, it's common courtesy from anyone TOWARDS a Doctor.

And yes, Chthon wrote the book, but writing something down actually tends to codify it, pin it down more.

[md84]

It's kind of weird then, that his superhero name is "Mr." Fantastic. Yeah, it is a common courtesy to refer to a Doctor as "Doctor". Making it all the weirder that Reed himself doesn't seem to care.

In the panels depicting Chthon writing the Darkhold in the original story, it's noted that the reason he wrote it wasn't just to pin it down, but because naming something grants power over it. Also, Chthon's particular brand of magic is CHAOS magic. Magic being capricious isn't too surprising since the being who wrote the rulebook on it is essentially the embodiment of Chaotic Evil. There's a reason just about every single spell in the Darkhold does something bad.

[md84]

Reed being able to admit that he made mistakes, big mistakes, is why he is ultimately smarter than Doom. Doom more or less makes the same kind of mistakes over and over again because he can never really admit that they were mistakes in the first place. Thus, he never learns from them. In particular he never quite gets that his huge ego is a hindrance, not a strength.