On a Facebook group dedicated to Marvel, someone voiced an interesting speculation: What if, on an alternate Marvel Earth, Reed Richards had died around the time of the Kooky Quartet's formation? Might Ben, Johnny, and Sue, bereft of Reed's leadership, have discontinued the Fantastic Four and instead joined the Avengers?

Picture a comic titled, "The Fantastic Avengers," starring (at least at the outset) Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, the Thing, the Human Torch, and the Invisible Woman. Imagine this book as the flagship title of a line of comics called, "Marvelous Alternative."

The idea here is that the death of Reed Richards has far-reaching implications. Might Sue, as the executrix of Reed's estate, suddenly have found herself with enough wealth to bankroll the Avengers in lieu of Tony Stark? Would Tony still have felt the sense of ownership for the project if he wasn't bankrolling it?

With Reed out of the picture, would Victor Von Doom have altered his approach to supervillainy? Might he instead have gone deeper into sorcery and the diabolical? Might he have fixated on Stephen Strange as his new nemesis, since, truth be told, Doom without a nemesis is robbed of all joy?

With Reed out of the picture, might Sue have found herself attracted to Captain America? I've always felt they'd make a great couple. And if the triangle of Reed/Namor/Sue was compelling, would the obvious alternative - Cap/Namor/Sue - be equally compelling? Maybe even more so?

With Reed out of the picture, how would the Fantastic Avengers have dealt with the coming of Galactus?

With Reed out of the picture, how would the Black Panther have introduced himself, and Wakanda, to the world? How would the Inhumans have come onto the scene?

Does any of this interest you?