When Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hit screens, one scene set Marvel fans ablaze:
Reed Richards, the “Smartest Man Alive,” smugly informs the Scarlet Witch how Black Bolt’s power works — seconds before Wanda weaponizes that knowledge to horrific effect.
It looked like Reed Richards had become the Dumbest Man Alive.
But was this really an out-of-character blunder? Or exactly the kind of arrogant miscalculation he’s always been known for?
Let’s break it down.
The Fatal Mistake: What Happened in Multiverse of Madness
Faced with a Wanda in full Darkhold-fueled rage, Earth-838’s Illuminati (Reed, Black Bolt, Captain Carter, Maria Rambeau as Captain Marvel, and Charles Xavier) confront her.
And what does Reed do?
He confidently warns Wanda:
“Black Bolt can destroy you with one whisper from his mouth.”
Wanda, unimpressed, seals Black Bolt’s mouth shut with magic — leading him to panic and accidentally implode his own skull.
Why This Was Spectacularly Stupid
- Revealing your ace in the hole to the enemy? That’s not genius. That’s schoolyard mistake #1.
- Underestimating a reality-warping threat you don’t fully understand? Classic hubris.
- Relying on bravado over tactics? When has that ever worked against someone like Wanda?
The Illuminati’s Fatal Flaw: Arrogance
The Illuminati aren’t just Earth’s smartest and strongest — they’re also its most dangerously arrogant.
In both the comics and MCU, they consistently believe they can control every situation because they’ve done it before.
This isn’t unique to Earth-838’s Reed either. It’s the Illuminati playbook:
- In the comics, they sent Hulk into space thinking they knew best — which led to World War Hulk.
- They tampered with multiversal threats and the Incursion crisis — and nearly destroyed existence.
- They voted on decisions like gods, assuming their genius exempted them from accountability.
In every case, their downfall wasn’t stupidity. It was pride.
Reed Richards: The Smartest Man with the Dumbest Decisions
This wasn’t even Reed’s worst moment in Marvel history.
He’s got a long résumé of genius-level arrogance backfiring:
- Backing the Superhuman Registration Act in Civil War, building the Negative Zone prison.
- Underestimating Doctor Doom countless times — usually with catastrophic consequences.
- Creating devices that tamper with multiversal barriers without considering the fallout.
- Keeping secrets from the Fantastic Four “for their own good” — usually resulting in disasters.
Reed isn’t dumb. He’s dangerously overconfident.
Did the Movie Get Black Bolt’s Powers Wrong?
Another reason this scene broke fans’ suspension of disbelief — it wasn’t just Reed Richards acting dumb.
Black Bolt’s powers, according to Marvel Comics:
- His voice generates destructive energy linked to a unique psionic mutation.
- He constantly controls this power through intense mental focus.
- In the comics, Black Bolt is immune to his own voice’s destructive effects — or at least capable of suppressing it internally.
- Even when silenced or gagged, the energy doesn’t ricochet back and kill him. It might knock him unconscious or injure him in extreme circumstances, but not explode his skull.
What Multiverse of Madness did:
They showed Black Bolt panicking and trying to speak with his mouth magically sealed — resulting in his brain exploding from the inside out.
No explanation. No setup. Just a horror shock moment.
Was this a mistake or creative license?
Probably both.
- As a shock scene: It worked visually — but ignored canon logic.
- As faithful lore: It failed. Black Bolt’s own power doesn’t normally kill him in this way.
The Scene Makes Sense… But Not in a Good Way
Was Reed acting in character? Sadly, yes.
Was it still a bad writing choice for the film? Also yes.
Because while Reed is prone to arrogance, the Illuminati’s behavior in Multiverse of Madness felt less like a realistic flaw — and more like lazy plotting. They weren’t just arrogant… they acted tactically brain-dead.
It turned the “Smartest Man Alive” into a meme.
Final Thought
Reed Richards didn’t suddenly become the dumbest man alive. The Doctor Strange 2 writers just cranked his worst flaw — unchecked hubris — up to eleven for shock value.
And that’s why the Illuminati fell. Not because they weren’t smart… …but because they thought they were too smart to fail.
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