How I would introduce the Fantastic Four into the MCU

One of the biggest things the MCU is missing when compared to the Marvel comics is the Fantastic Four. This was partly due to Marvel licensing off the characters to various studios prior to Disney buying them and partly due to Disney and 21st Century Fox never coming together on a deal to incorporate the FF into the MCU. With Disney acquiring 21st Century Fox, fans are clamoring to see the FF jump into the MCU and really shake things up.

Of course, many people see a bunch of challenges to get Marvel's first family into the MCU seamlessly. Tony Stark was already cast into the role of the MCU's greatest scientific mind, with Shuri and Bruce Banner being seen as slightly more knowledgeable in certain fields, so introducing Reed Richards as the big brain he is from the comics will seem weird if they try to retcon him into existence. To say nothing of Dr, Doom who is also one of the premiere scientific geniuses of the Marvel Comics Universe, also joining the MCU as part of the FF package.

Another big hurdle to adding the FF into the MCU would be the same obstacle Captain Marvel faced, where were they during all these major events? There are a few good answers, stuck in the Phantom Zone for instance, but even those would open up a slew of plot holes for other MCU properties. There would also be a ton of events that just don't make sense if the FF had existed in the MCU this entire time.

If you want to introduce the FF into the MCU then you have to throw out all notion of retconning the FF into the history of the MCU. The only place the FF fits into MCU history is the 5 year gap between Infinity War and Endgame, and that is where I am going to pitch my idea for introducing the FF into the MCU. What follows is my version of a FF movie, complete with an updated but still familiar origin.

FF 2099 comic cover courtesy of Marvel

After Thanos snaps away half the Universe, including half the Earth population, the governments of the world were scrambling to figure out what the hell just happened. With some of the most brilliant minds turning into ash and others retiring from public life, the US government is forced to turn to university students for help figuring things out. Reed Richards, a student prodigy and someone already on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s and Stark's radar, is tasked with leading a team to get to the bottom of the "Ash Event."

Reed is able to isolate a surge of gamma radiation that originated from Earth(Infinity War snap) prior to the Ash Event. Unable to get clearance to investigate in Wakanda, Reed is forced to continue studying the gamma wave from his laboratory in New York. A second gamma wave(Thanos destroying the Infinity Stones) originating in deep space is detected by Reed and he convinces the US government to allow him to go and investigate. Within weeks a special space craft is built, complete with gamma shielding, and Reed is ready to set off to study the gamma wave.

Three surviving NASA astronauts(Ben Grimm, John Jameson, and Vance Astro) are selected to accompany Reed on his mission. After Vance fails the medical test, due to his X gene, the mission is put on hold. Reed and Ben, who has never gotten the chance to go into space, try to convince John to go without Vance but he refuses and the mission is now canceled. Reed and Ben refuse to give up and convince Reed's girlfriend and her brother, Sue and Johnny Storm, to take the place of Vance and John. Unbeknownst to Reed and his crew, Redd's old university rival Victor Von Doom, is also investigating the gamma wave and he has his Latverian agents sabotage the spacecraft to weaken the gamma shielding.

After Victor is introduced we learn his face was damaged in an experiment after his assistant was turned to ash and unable to shut down the machine Victor was using. This fuels Victor's quest to figure out the source of the Ash Event. Additionally, Doom concludes that the energy released could also be used to free his mother from her prison in Hell. (Mephisto is briefly seen tormenting Doom's mother)

Stealing the space craft Reed and crew go into space and are caught in a gamma wave(Hulk's snap) that disables their ship and leaves them stranded in space. Reed and Ben come up with a plan to get the ship to return to Earth by redirecting the gamma shields power to the thrusters. They finally achieve re-entry when another gamma wave(Stark's snap) hits the ship and bombards them with gamma rays directly. The craft crashes to Earth and we see Reed, Ben, Johnny, and Sue emerge from the shuttle with their bodies changed into the familiar Fantastic Four forms.

A scene from Roger Cormen's Fantastic Four movie

This would kick off the second half of the movie as Doctor Doom was able to harness the power of the two gamma waves created by the Hulk and Iron Man. Doom begins to use a gamma powered machine to open a portal into Hell so he may retrieve the soul of his mother. Due to Latveria being a sovereign nation, the Avengers and others are unable to respond. After recovering from the crash, Reed detects the gamma energy being used by Doom and he and the Fantastic Four head to Lateveria. Reed is able to enter the country under the false pretense that he needs Doom's help to cure Ben. Doom, always looking for a chance to gloat, allows Reed, Ben, and Johnny into the country. Sue, who is invisible, secretly tags along.

As Doom is busy gloating in Reeds face Sue is able to deactivate Doom's portal machine. An alarm goes off, alerting Doom to Reed's treachery and soon a massive battle between Doom's robotic army and the Fantastic Four takes place. Things culminate with Dr. Doom wearing gamma powered armor facing off against the heroes 4 on 1. Neither side is able to achieve victory until the Fantastic Four combine their efforts into joint attacks. Doom retreats into a hidden passage as the Fantastic Four leave, unable to arrest Doom due to his status as legal ruler of the country.

In the mid credits scene we watch as Dr. Doom is using the last of the gamma power he gathered on a human subject, turning the seemingly ordinary human into the Molecule Man! A post credits scene would reveal the gamma wave ripples going into space and alerting the Silver Surfer to Earth's presence.

Well, there you have it, the way I would bring the FF into the MCU. What do you think? Is my idea good or is it pure trash? How would you bring the FF into the MCU?