The Fantastic Four: First Steps ending explained - Unpacking Franklin Richards' powers, Sue Storm's rebirth, and MCU's next big villain

After making its streaming debut in India on JioHotstar (OTTplay Premium) yesterday, November 5, 2025, The Fantastic Four: First Steps—Marvel Studios' newest film—has sparked a lot of talk. The film's high-stakes, action-packed conclusion reimagines the team's chemistry and immediately sets up future conflicts within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Instead of a typical origin narrative, it presents a fully established superhero team in a retro-futuristic 1960s setting.

Threat of Galactus and perverse ultimatum

Galactus (Ralph Ineson), the Devourer of Worlds, is the film's principal antagonist, and Julia Garner's Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer, heralds him. Earth is marked for consumption, as the tale swiftly establishes. The Fantastic Four—Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm (Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Ben Grimm (The Thing)—attempt to face Galactus early on, but their efforts fail, and a surprising revelation follows. Galactus detects a tremendous amount of power in Franklin, the unborn child of Sue and Reed, who has the dormant Power Cosmic. Galactus issues a perverse ultimatum to save Earth: give up the child, whom he believes could satisfy his ravenous need. Refusing to sacrifice their son, the team returns to a planet that is both terrified and divided, and they face public outcry because of their decision.

Using his experimental teleportation technology, Reed comes up with a massive, last-ditch scheme: he plans to move the entire planet to a faraway solar system where it will be safe. International cooperation results in the construction of massive teleportation towers. The immediate return of the Silver Surfer, who starts breaking the bridges, complicates their effort.

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Johnny Storm's revelation and Shalla-Bal's conflict

Johnny Storm's dogged pursuit of understanding the Silver Surfer's language marks a pivotal turning point. After deciphering communications, he learns that she is actually Shalla-Bal, a scientist who swore allegiance to Galactus in order to rescue Zenn-La, her home planet. To get Shalla-Bal to open up about the planets she helped destroy, Johnny plays recordings of their screams on the radio. This action saves the last teleportation bridge in New York City by making Shalla-Bal hesitate and run away.

The group decides to change their strategy with the last surviving bridge: instead of teleporting the entire planet, they would entice Galactus into the vortex and send him flying. They reluctantly use Franklin, a newborn, as bait. Galactus decides to invade New York due to the child's tremendous power. Thereafter, the team had no choice but to depend on each other in the next battle. Following a fierce battle in which Galactus manages to evade their first decoy trap and tries to kidnap Franklin, Sue Storm unleashes her extraordinary force field powers, physically pushing the enormous Galactus in the direction of the portal. Sue passes out from the extreme exertion, but Reed manages to get Franklin back.

Shalla-Bal's selfless redemption

At the very end, Galactus comes dangerously close to escaping the portal. When Johnny tries to sacrifice himself to get through, Shalla-Bal, who is now overwhelmed with guilt, stops him. As a selfless gesture of redemption, Shalla-Bal throws herself and Galactus into the portal, sending them flying into space.

The short-term effects are mixed. Despite sparing Earth, Sue Storm succumbs to her wounds and dies on the battlefield due to the overwhelming strain of fighting Galactus. Everyone else on the squad is in mourning at the loss. As a touching farewell, Reed lays infant Franklin on his mother's chest. The latent Power Cosmic of Franklin suddenly becomes apparent, shocking everyone, as the baby unknowingly brings his mother back to life. By reawakening, Sue alludes to her son's actual, enormous potential. Reunited and ready for their next adventure, the family recommits themselves to each other as the film comes to a close.

Ominous arrival of Doctor Doom

The film's mid-credits scene sets the most important future plot point for the MCU. Here we see Franklin Richards at home, a toddler, four years later. While Sue briefly exits the room, Doctor Doom stands over the boy in the shadows. With a brief glimpse of Doom's back and trademark costume, the sequence announces the entrance of the Fantastic Four's worst enemy, sets the stage for their sequel's main villain, and hints at the giant events that will unfold in the next Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars sagas. The sequence emphasises that the First Family is now safe from Galactus's cosmic threat, but that their greatest intimate and long-lasting danger has only just begun.

FAQs:

Q: Did Sue Storm die in The Fantastic Four: First Steps?

A: Yes, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Sue Storm (Invisible Woman) did die on the battlefield after using the full, unprecedented extent of her force field powers to push Galactus into the teleportation portal. However, her death was immediately reversed when her newborn son, Franklin Richards, unconsciously resurrected her, hinting at the vast, latent Power Cosmic he possesses.

Q: What is the Power Cosmic that Galactus seeks in Franklin Richards?

A: The Power Cosmic is an unlimited, godlike source of energy that transforms mortals into cosmic entities, like Galactus himself. Galactus sensed this immense power in Franklin, believing the child could become his successor and potentially take on his own insatiable hunger. Franklin's unconscious use of this power to resurrect his mother confirms he possesses reality-altering abilities far beyond those of his parents.

Q: Who was the Silver Surfer who sacrificed herself?

A: The Silver Surfer in the film is Shalla-Bal, a scientist from the planet Zenn-La who became Galactus's herald to save her own world from consumption. After Johnny Storm (Human Torch) appeals to her suppressed conscience, she returns to Earth in a moment of redemption to sacrifice herself, plunging both herself and Galactus into the portal to banish them from Earth's solar system.