Late in The Fantastic Four: First Steps , a quiet moment between father and son takes a brief and despairing, turn. Ever since the world-devourer Galactus expressed interest in the boy, Reed had been monitoring Franklin for signs of powers, not unlike the irradiated abilities he shares with his son’s mother Sue. In frustration, Reed finally turns off the equipment and simply holds the baby.

“I don’t want you to be like me,” he confesses. “There’s something wrong with me.”

To viewers, that’s a weird statement. Sure, Reed blames himself for the accident that led to the team’s exposure to cosmic rays. But time and again, his teammates—including the mutated Ben Grimm, aka the Thing—assured him that they do not hold him responsible. Moreover the guy calls himself Mr. Fantastic. So what’s

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