Molecule Man VS Analysis (Marvel Comics)

 

“You may have heard the world is made up of atoms and molecules, but it's really made up of stories. When you sit with an individual that's been here, you can give quantitative data a qualitative overlay.” - William Turner

Owen Reece, Marvel’s matter-manipulating Molecule Man. 

We have long speculated about what “makes up” the universe as we know it. What comprises our fragile human shells and the rock floating in space that we call home? Beyond existential talk of the supernatural, the scientists among us can all tell you we are composed of matter; such as molecules. They may literally seem too small to be important not, since we have bigger things to talk about, but one who controls those fundamental building blocks of the universe may very well be one who could rend it asunder at will. This is the story of one such man, and his complicated history in the Marvel Multiverse. 

Before We Start…

This is a new subject for me, so let’s talk about it for a moment. Bang’s Blogs (and my bro BangJang69) have been cooking up a storm in the highly anticipated Doctor Doom vs Lord Vecna (Marvel Comics vs Dungeons & Dragons); a masterful clash of magic, gadgets, and goons, oh my! As my way of helping, I am covering a critical part of Doom’s history as the being known as God Emperor Doom during the second major Secret Wars nearly a decade past through Doom's powerful ally. I wanted to help due to my liking Molecule Man, and him being an underrated character nobody ever really talks about. After beating back my procrastination and such, I have indeed done so, and posted my findings in a character analysis as best I could given my situation (long story, tell you later). 

Actually discussing the relevant stuff, this will be analyzing Molecule Man from the depths of Marvel history, but that requires us to understand just what he is. His history has varied and been retconned a lot, but let’s clear up the basics. Owen started as a one-time villain for the Fantastic Four with a magic wand, was banished to an alternate dimension by the Watcher, and then got wrapped up in one really long story between that and Secret Wars; his finest hour for many comic fans. Essentially, while trapped in that alternate dimension, he aged rapidly, and would have perished if he didn’t create a humanoid robot who he infused his consciousness with while having him believe he was his son and infusing his consciousness inside the Wand (...not even trying to explain that further). After that, this son of the Molecule Man inherited all his powers (and poor taste in costumes) until his wand finally gained a true body, which resulted in the true Owen Reece being reborn from his Wand. Then, his powers origins’ got retconned several times as he changed throughout the eras, until he will inevitably be used again. 

Covering his powers, they are usually all the same kind of central ability that has evolved to be what it is. His Wand, known by many hardcore nerds like myself, was what he used to use to harness his powers, but it was merely a mental block he imposed on himself to feel limited in the first place despite his incredible power. So, anything he could do with it across his many adventures pre-Secret Wars, is something he can replicate now. As for his phase as his own “son,” this is still Owen Reece (weird as it sounds) and the same standard with his Wand also applies. However, he was using a variety of possession and such for a complicated way of using his Wand, don’t ask, and since those abilities are all forgone along with that silly trinket, they will not be discussed much (he also jobbed to children in that field before so… yeah). His abilities after the revelation with the Beyonder are thankfully solid and straightforward, so anything he has done across his history in the universe or even multiverse will be discussed as well. 

Enough of that though, let's get into it!

Background

“It’s just that, now that I’ve realized my potential, I feel so much better about myself! I guess that’s what it’s all about: realizing that whether you’re omnipotent or not, there’s good inside of you, and that makes you okay!”

• Full Name: Owen Reece

• Height: 5’7” / 1.7 m

• Weight: 140 lbs / 63.5 kg

• Born in Dinosaur, Colorado

• Former lab technician for Acme Atomics Corp

• Affiliations: Former ally of Doctor Doom in both of the Secret Wars 

• Went to therapy for his mental problems and has alternate personality disorder

• Had an incredibly sweet relationship with Volcana… before Marvel screwed it like all of his good moments really

• Likes: Volcana, F-Troop, Hogan’s Heroes, Ren and Stimpy, Hamburgers (Thanks kid)

If you were to look at Owen Reece’s life, you would no doubt think him an unremarkable waste of space if you were most people. He grew up a meek young man bullied for being a nerd, and the result was a literal nobody employed at Acme Atomics Corp of all places; working like a dog while his masters couldn’t be bothered to remember his name. On one such day of mediocrity, Owen’s anger caused him to make a fatal accident, and he was subsequently caught in a blast that should have killed him. Instead, Owen was certainly destroyed, but reborn as a force of nature in the cosmos itself. He gained the power to manipulate molecules at will (except organic kinds) and became the mightiest being to ever stride the cosmos. Befitting his need for attention the godlike power he gained, Owen gave himself a new name to match his stature, so, what better than Molecule Man! It had zing, pizzazz, and all the kooky kind of fun the comics of the 60’s brought. 

Even despite the emotional high Owen was on after tearing his employers up and single-handedly taking on the legendary Fantastic Four, his weakness of wielding a wand to harness his powers was exploited by his adversaries. Thus, the mysterious Watcher known as Uatu banished him to a dimension where his powers couldn’t help him escape, and where the flow of time worked much differently. Even so, he persisted from sheer hatred of the team that trapped him there, and found a… roundabout way out. Constructing a robot that mirrored living flesh in more ways than one, he infused his conscience into that construct, and had it believe it was his son. With a squared hunger for revenge after his “father” aged to death before his eyes, he underwent the same experience his father had to gain his powers and came out with the same abilities. After escaping his prison, the second Molecule Man ran into all kinds of new heroes. In the first of these encounters with Thing and Man-Thing, the two managed to separate him from his Wand, which was the only thing allowing him to adjust to our separate axis of time from his dimension (why the original Molecule Man aged rapidly there). Undergoing a similar experience himself, the new Molecule Man managed to infuse his consciousness into his Wand, and he could thus possess anybody who picked up his old weapon. 

After that mishap, he went through several more misadventures trying to get his real body back, all while facing many more heroes like Iron Man. He possessed people of different age, build, race, or even sex (true story, he possessed the body of a young girl in Iron Man Volume 1 Annual 3, it was odd), until he finally managed to gain a new body even while merely a wand out of sheer annoyance (and his genetic patterns being imparted into the wand). After scrapping with the Avengers and having yet another brush with death, the once timid Owen fell back into his old tendencies and found he didn’t like the life he was leading. So, like any good comic villain from parody skits on YouTube, he made the logical choice to go to… therapy? A rather surprising endeavor, but one he actually stuck to and did personally. He found that he had actually wanted a peaceful life where nobody would bother him, and made great strides toward that dream. Then came the Secret Wars. 

From beyond the known universe came an infant deity known simply as the Beyonder. He was curious, and desired to learn about our universe. So, he gathered the finest fighters both hero and villain across our planet, whisked them off to another galaxy, and blew up that same galaxy to form Battleworld, where they would duel each other for the promise of ultimate power. This may have interested a power-hungry madman like Dr. Doom, but Owen already had an ultimate power of his own, and was little interested in the contest. That is, until she appeared. You see, Doom had empowered a few new supervillain ladies, named Mary MacPherran and Marsha Rosenberg. The two, like Owen, had known a life of mediocrity while dreaming for more, and Victor granted their wish by giving them legendary powers. Mary became a Titan in physical stature that she fittingly dubbed herself as Titania, while Marsha gained Geothermic powers that she decided made her Volcana. 

When Owie met Marshie, it was love at first sight. Little known fact, Owen was yet another shy child who was a mother’s boy, and loved the maternal attention he received… or never had any to begin with since he has at times claimed his mother never loved him at all. Whatever the case, Marsha’s doting and caring nature quickly led to Owen falling in love with her, and Marsha herself reciprocated those feelings. Their romance was hugely impactful on Reece, who had never really received that kind of companionship before. Out of all the specks of dust in his life who waved him away as meaningless, here was one unique woman who viewed him as anything but a mistake; but rather a blessing. Her feelings for him and his feelings for her drove Owen to further break his preconceived limits on his powers, especially after a conversation with a Dr. Doom who had stolen the power of the Beyonder. You see, Victor had been kind to Owen before, and thus Reece viewed him as a friend. Offended by being used along with everyone else for Doom’s bid for power, he raced up to threaten the new deity, who merely offered insight into Owen’s own nature.

Let’s turn back to the “accident” that created Owen to begin with. That mesh of molecules and abomination of atoms was no mere accident, but instead his destiny. This very act introduced Owen as a new deity in mortal form for many reasons as he got retconned and retconned, but first, it simply served to explain how the Beyonder manifested. It tore a hole through reality itself that opened a hole to Beyonder’s universe in the first place, and gave Owen himself power nearly on par with the Beyonder. Whatever the case, Owen genuinely had no limit to his nature in power, potency, or potential, and Doom was the first one to teach him that. You see, Owen making a Wand for himself to use his powers or cowering behind an inability of not being able to alter organic molecules were all a false narrative that he believed. When he looked into the abyss that was unlimited power, Owen flinched, and thus unconsciously imposed these limitations on himself so that he could still feel human. Otherwise, he would have no weakness to exploit, and nothing to stop him from rewriting everything that ever was to suit his desires. When Doom helped him see that, Owen decided, for the first time in his life, to truly accept what was. 

Drinking deep into his abilities, Owen became even more powerful than before. However, this only made him more comfortable with human life, because ultimate power only incites conflict. What good is destroying a planet when all you want is to sit back and watch Hogan’s Heroes with your girlfriend? So, he attempted to live that quiet life with love that he had always wanted, but the universe itself rebelled against that notion by sending the Beyonder once more to his doorstep. This creature was in many ways a reflection of Owen, accept he never denied he was a god, nor wanted to be anything but. All he wanted was to understand mortality itself, and Owen decided to help him due to their similar situations. After speaking to the Beyonder about the love he felt for Marsha, they parted ways until the next time his near-equal showed up. By and by, their interactions grew more angry as the Beyonder became increasingly fed up with existence, until eventually he threatened Marsha. Owen knew and was shown that even despite his powers, the Beyonder was ultimately beyond him, and he left the man as pitiful as he had been former; with his lover shaming Owen in order to save his life.

This action devastated Owen to be sure, but he managed to pull himself back together by admitting he didn’t need Marsha… but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her, and they rekindled their relationship all the same. Perhaps that want for his newly found love is what drove him to ally himself with the heroes of Earth against the Beyonder in a last stand to save all of reality. Owen gave it his all, but he was never a hero who could find the drive to push beyond his limits, and he hit his when facing the Beyonder. Nearly killed, he spent most of his power saving all heroes from his wrath, and this heavily wounded him. Pairing with those physical injuries were mental duplicates; gained from being the only one with the mettle to slay an infant Beyonder (it’s a long story). His injuries from this made him nearly comatose, and drained all that he had left to truly fix the Earth. However, that “end” was prevented by the Silver Surfer, who aided his repair of the Earth, and saw that such an act would remove all that Owen had, so he lent him energy to ensure his powers would not be lost forever, and left the happy couple alone while the world believed Owen normal once more. 

You’d think this could give Owen the happy ending he deserved, but things never stopped being what they were. Take, for example, the Beyonder still existing and being meddled with by people like Doom. Owen popped up once more with Marsha in tow, and sacrificed all that he was in both power and body to fuse Beyonder with other deities in order to make a new female creation known as Kosmos. Cosmic perfection was not what awaited Owen though, as his essence was spit back to Earth powerless and without much to prove him anything but Owen Reece. Beforehand, he had left Marsha with a bit of his power; figuring she could better use it than he could. She had done so for a while, until she found her Owie who had been hiding in fear of whether she would care for him when he was the nothing that he was prior. In a coming fight with other foes, Marsha would grant her lover his powers back, but that gift was not without a substantial taking. Owen not being honest with her and his subsequent attitude about his power caused Marsha to truly leave him, and that? It broke the mighty Molecule Man.

Love was what drove everything Owen had done across his life. His lack of love from the world was what caused his fateful accident, his love for Marsha was what drew him to become a better person, and losing that love made his prior need for therapy all the more evident. Mentally, Owen became a recluse who wished for Marsha to return, but knew using his power to make her would only prove him no better than someone like the Beyonder. He strove to be better than that, but for who? Nobody cared about Owen Reece, they only sought the power of the Molecule Man. Shockingly, despite the nonsense he went through after, like being possessed by the Puppet Master to deal with Aron the Watcher, Owen was still more akin to a hero than a villain. Take, for example, when he underwent a psychic episode where the “Molecule Man” aspect of his personality harnessed all his rage at the world and directed it at the Beyonder. 

He literally ripped his former foe out of Kosmos and put her on Death’s door; all for a rematch with his prior foe where he would be vindicated. In that duel, while he won the physical match, it did nothing to sate his horrid feelings. Marsha was still gone, and nothing would undo that without undoing him; proving that absolute power had corrupted him absolutely. Strangely enough, he returned Beyonder to Kosmos, as he could see that her ally Kubik cared for her just as much as he cared for Marsha. After all, he was well experienced in new beginnings as a being of incredible power as well as the nature of romance, and bid them farewell before returning to his life. After, he spent his days arguing with super-powered shrinks like Doc Samson, getting trapped in Ryker’s somehow, or battling the Dark Avengers and subsequently getting killed by Sentry. A bit different from his grandiose beginnings, but hey, it’s not like he was m̶̡̡͇̖̩̹̘̎͑̿̌̉͋ë̸̛͙̼̞̫̰̭̱̺̬̈́̔͐̌̽̏̚ą̷̈́̉̉̕n̴̖̲̦̦̘̔t̴̛͉̒͊̀ ̷̢̤̥̘̫̞̩̝̩̮͙̯̈́̃͊̈͛̈́̈́͗̐̆̉̆͘͘̕f̷̭͒́͒͋̄͊̕͘õ̴̯̼̦̫̉̌̿̅̃͛͋̔̅͒͝͝r̵̢̛͚̹̲͚̎̌͒̊͛̽̉̾̂̈ ̸͖̖̘̮̻͐̕m̸̓̑̍ͅǫ̸̬̬̻̠̳̻͔͉̻̪͎̃̎͒̕r̴̫̯̬̦̳̤̂̅̽͐̽̽̀̍͊̕̚͘͝e̸̡̲͌͑̇̚͜, right? He’s just plain old Owen Reece, the guy who a̵̢͕̫̘̪̫̞̦̠̺̹̙̓̀̿̾̏͂̌͊̅̓̒͝č̸̮̾͆̈̈́̽̒̚ç̴̤̥͙̗̏̏̎̏̓i̵̻͔͓͎̘̠͇̭͕̟͉͂̈́̎̏̇͑͒ḍ̴̈́̑̓̅͋̐̒̈͐́̊͑̚̕ė̴̻͍͎̭̪̠̲̠̅͛͜ń̵̢̡̻̳̘͓̳̬̞́̔̈́͘ţ̸̛͎̖̓͂̈͂̓͋̈́͊͘̚͝͠ͅa̵̱̲̦̣̥̭̋̔͒̊̂̕l̴̄̽̋͐̐̓́͂̀͘̕ͅl̷͔̼̪̝͇̞̳̜̺͐̌̈́̇́̀̉͗ͅy̶̡͓͉̫̻̩͚̘̒̀̃̂̚ got struck by the lightning bolt of destiny to become the most powerful man in the multiverse, right? He’s just Ỏ̷̬̫̣̪̮͉̼̜̙̫̌̐̄̈͒̚w̵̝̘̘̌̋̇̚͝e̵̢̧̘̳̠̞̫̫͉̤̓̈̇ͅn̵̢͉͔̖͔̙̭̪͐̇̅̀͆͐̐͗̄͑͘͘͘͝ ̷̛̻̺̭̼͖͎͈̤̭̮̦͛̈́̈́́͗̋͊͊͌̃̒̕͝R̷̡̳̳̜̬͎̣͉̲͕̲̝̭̀̄̀̀͌͊͐ȅ̸͖͔͖̻̉e̶̛̳̪͖̲͇̋̆̂̾͘̕͘̚͝͝͝c̸̨̨͓̭̙̮̙͉͓̬̼̎̏̓̒̚͝e̵̩̋̑…right?

Wrong.

All that you know about Molecule Man is a narrative you have heard from some secondhand source. Owen was never an accident. He was always exactly as he intended. The Beyonder was merely one of an entire race of the Beyonders, and they placed Owen in the multiverse as a bomb to destroy it all. By splintering him across all dimensions and ensuring he dies in all of them, that act subsequently destroys each dimension all at once; rending existence itself into ash. Was Owen aware of this? Was any of his history ever true? What was the meaning of it all? We don’t know. All that we do know is that Owen was given free will despite being a weapon for killing reality itself, and he used that free will to aid Dr. Doom in stopping this madness. Not exactly a hero's move, but not exactly a villain’s either. Their plans eventually came to fruition, and Owen stole the power of the Beyonders, which Doom used to become the God Emperor of… everything. With Owen as his nigh-omnipotent fuel supply and the power of this one above all, Doom remade the entire multiverse in his image, and Owen had little objections. However, his rule was not perfect, and his old foe Reed Richards managed to screw it all up once again. Siding with Mr. Fantastic, Owen remade the multiverse a second time, rewriting Doom’s machinations as he ventured across the new frontier and remade it with the aid of Franklin Richards. 

So, it seemed Owen was back to being more heroic again, right? Well, not exactly. While he certainly remained that way, it was not to last, as the quite literal Griever At The End Of All Things destroyed him entirely while seeking Franklin. Owen survived through a roundabout molecule trick like he had before, of course, but then again, that is all just a narrative created for the Molecule Man. In truth, his act with the Beyonders caused him to transcend the multiverse itself; taking up residence in the Superflow and chilling with games, junk food, or perhaps that Hogan’s Heroes episode this Tuesday? He grew so powerful that he stepped out of the omniverse as we know it, able to kill a Galactus who had previously defeated cosmic abstracts and literal concepts of the Order and Chaos that had embodied his life prior. Now separated from it all, Owen is even more of an anomaly. Is he good? Is he evil? Is he human? Is he a god? I can answer all. He is, and he is not. Now, finally, he is whatever he chooses to be, and never bound or stopped by the machinations of others who wish to manipulate him. Should you wish to try however, just remember: he is Owen Reece, the Molecule Man, and as even the master of the multiverse found out, he is your Doom.

Experience & Skill

As the Molecule Man, Owen has by far transcended the meekish man of laboratory origin. He may not seem particularly skilled, but when you fight cosmic deities every other week, you grow your intelligence and skill quite well. Even as far as his original fight, Owen was quite clever in dueling opponents while growing with his powers. He could precisely construct technology on the fly, craft magnets with opposite charges to kill Mr. Fantastic, and could think of “countless ways” to disrupt a flame wall the Human Torch made; opting to go for a dramatic trick of using a nearby water tower. Still, he was eventually outsmarted and sealed within an alternate dimension, but this didn’t trap his mind. Even while aging from being in a separate space-time continuum where time moves faster, Uatu accurately deduced that he would unlock the depths of his powers without his Wand, which he had previously used to use his powers. It took him decades of experiments, but his work came to fruition in part thanks to a human-like android he created as a son (placing his own consciousness in the new Wand he gave him). 

While Owen’s complicated history continued, his prowess only grew. With his powers, he has done several tricks in outsmarting his enemies, like transforming the air around Invisible Woman’s shield into steel; locking her into holding up the shield or she would be crushed, but also ensuring she would suffocate because she held it up. Molecule man has turned the air itself into phosphorus for a veritable flashbang, systematically cleared all life for a few miles in moving land, created a vacuum tank from airborne metal molecules to hold Klaw, and even when caught off-guard and struck, he had already secretly formed armor under his suit to block that fatal blast. It’s honestly scary how deadly Owen can be when he wants to, like when he researched Norman Osborn and used his findings to manipulate his mind in order to trap him in a hellish illusion of his past, or systematically annihilating his Dark Avengers team one-by-one without so much as lifting a finger. Even mentally, Owen can pretty accurately guess the intentions of geniuses like Dr. Doom (perhaps his therapy work paid off), but by far his greatest example is his rematch with the Beyonder. After his break-up with Marsha, he turned all attention to the intention of growing his powers. He spent literal months thrusting back his limitations and honing his powers during his period of emotional suffering; growing in abilitiy to the point that he now transacted on levels unimaginable to the Beyonder and actually solidly won their rematch. 

Arsenal

Molecular Wand

While he has forgotten it by now and no longer requires this trinket, Owen's Molecular Wand was still an object of great power that impressed even the Silver Surfer. Fun fact, he used it due to his liking for magicians, and loved the idea of using that magic himself. 

Abilities

Matter* Manipulation 

In case his nerdy name didn’t clue you in, Owen has the ability to manipulate the most base form of matter to achieve whatever he wishes. After a “trillion-to-one” accident that shook the very multiverse, Owen was bestowed this power through the Beyonder(s), which granted him complete control over all the molecules in the universe; enabling him to do anything he wants with no physical strain on his body. That may seem like classic writer hyperbole, but believe me when I say it is not. The Molecule Man wields absolute control over all forms of matter and energy, down to the molecular, atomic, or even subatomic level. Literally everything that there is, is his to play with as he pleases, such as his affecting mystical molecules, vast cosmic materials, or indestructible objects. While he used to be limited to controlling inorganic matter only, upon the conversation above with Dr. Doom (who had absorbed the power of the Beyonder) Owen truly awoke to his potential. 

As Doom put it, ”every molecule, every iota of matter in the cosmos answers to his whim.” All the forces which govern substance bend to his will because matter and energy are one and the same, and the only limits on his power are those he imposes on it sub-consciously, due to self-hate, self-loathing, and fear. After he had his mental blocks removed by Doom, Owen realized he could control organic molecules; he could do anything. Among his wide repertoire, the Molecule Man can transmute most anything in the universe, disintegrate cosmically indestructible objects with ease, utilize matter-energy conversion, and physically sustain himself without needing to eat or clean (though he still gets tired). His energy in general is incredibly potent, and he wields more energy supply than the Silver Surfer and his nigh-infinite stockpile, whose reality-warping powers were still limited where Owen’s were not. Since every iota of matter and energy bent to his command, Owen was thus privy to the simple secrets of the universe, and heightened his powers only more. 

As he grew, Owen could manipulate every molecule in a mountain range to drop it “with the merest of gestures,” torture and shatter the laws of physics, easily bend the laws of nature, and casually isolate a tachyon particle at a single point in space (something noted impossible by the Physicists of 3,000 worlds). This obviously goes beyond just a mere “Molecule Man,” so what exactly is happening here? Well, Owen’s powers do not come from any old accident, but rather Cosmic Cubes, some of the deadliest tools in the entire cosmology Marvel bears. While Owen initially had less than someone similarly powered like the Beyonder, his powers do still come from this energy, and using it has been compared to the surges of a Cosmic Cube. Truly, his powers are over reality itself beyond merely adjusting atoms, and as we found out in Ultimates Volume 2 Issue 6. 

There, Owen had risen in power to an unprecedented scale, and stated his powers were always much deeper than mere molecular manipulation. While he originally worked with atoms, even they seemed clunky to him as he progressed to control protons, quarks, superstring, editing the base information of reality, or even the… Narrative? Yes, you heard me right. The so-called “Molecule Man” extends his omnipotent control past Superstring’s theories and literal information in physics, to even the narrative of his own “story.” This may seem an odd jump, but it does make an equally odd amount of sense, and we will delve into it more later in the blog. Regardless of his method of control, Owen can reshape the world and even the entire cosmos to his will; fitting, from someone whose birth was led up to by the entire history of the multiverse. 

Psionic Field

Now that we know what Owen’s absurd powers extend to, let’s cover how he can do that. Molecule Man in actuality projects a psionic-manipulative energy that alters the arrangement of molecules, enabling him to psionically manipulate all kinds of matter and energy. This acts as a sort of telekinesis from which Owen may mentally will matter to move wherever he wants, like when he originally ripped the Baxter Building out of the ground and held it in place without a hitch. With that pseudo-telekinesis, Owen has launched objects at others (brick, metal, rock), puppeted massive objects to his liking, moved objects or himself akin to flight even in space battles, slammed people and large constructs whichever way he wants, rewound bindings, and more! Heck, once, when a large slice of Denver was taken into Battleworld during the original Secret Wars, Owen just decided he wanted it to go home, and ripped the entire chunk of land up to do just that. This force has still persisted in combat, like when he genetically tore Mac Gargan from and pasted the Venom Symbiote, or when he caught a missile in a blue energy field that subsequently crushed the jet that shot it into nothingness. 

Matter Intuition and Sensing

In relation to his nature as a psionic powerhouse, Molecule Man has rather attuned senses for matter or any other thing really. For example, once in the past, he destroyed Captain America’s shield, Iron Man’s Armor, Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, and the Silver Surfer’s board; disintegrating them into nothingness. Then, he recreated their objects exactly as they were with all those scattered original molecules, perfectly sensing all the matter as it was. This sense is most shown in the above example, where he off-handedly noticed all the molecules on the entire planet were being manipulated by the Beyonder, through both sight and ability. 

Owen has discerned alterations to gravity, winds, the amounts of molecules in objects, felt how tectonic plates on Battleworld were haphazardly stitched together, and saw the shape of how universes collapsed in the prelude to Secret Wars. He has quite literally tasted and experienced every kind of molecule on the planet, but his sensing reaches far beyond that. Even earlier on, Owen could probe the universe in moments to see all the major powers of the multiverse except himself planning against the Beyonder, though to be fair he didn’t know their plans due to how secretive they were. As his powers grew, he could tell when concepts were erased as well as the need for those concepts, search across time and space to find the Beyonder, and sense the higher dimensional Uatu the Watcher watching him while invisible with no issue. 

Creation

Now that we’ve covered the basics of Owen’s awe-inspiring powers, let’s cover just what he can do with them. Starting, Owen can create most anything he wants, in any way he wants. In only his first appearance, he made a spring to bounce himself away from attacks, constructed a glass cage over an entire city from air molecules, and a slide to traverse this city. On other occasions, he (or his powers) have created chains for restraining others from other molecules, large spiked balls, a massive building colossus, or various vehicles to travel around in. He even conquered his flaw of not making organic matter and has since created food with ease, but we’re just getting started. Owen notably specializes in crafting shields or other materials for protecting himself (or trapping others), like when he created a dome over half of New Jersey from solidified air molecules that was hardened to the point of ignoring attacks from Thor and the Silver Surfer. 

On other occasions, he crafted a dome over a massive island-like structure for space travel, and did similar over an entire country another time, or perhaps a fireproof shield. For more meager but still practical examples, he’s made Doom’s famous mask, formed a palace and several statues of his ex while sad, and subconsciously crafted shields for himself in battle. His creation also extends to more complex and battle-applicable materials, such as forming a prison block of solid Adamantium, or perfectly recreating cosmic weapons such as Mjolnir and the Silver Surfer’s Board. Owen should actually be comparable to the Beyonder given the shared origins of their powers/nature of how they are maintained (or even his powers coming from his race due to retcons) and mr. mullet could recreate objects “down to the last photon.” In his greatest examples, Owen has crafted physical clones of extradimensional beings like Zarathos, Mephisto, or the Beyonder, as well as a pocket dimension to torture the Dark Avengers or even an entirely new multiverse/omniverse post-Secret Wars. 

Consumption

Should Owen decide that creating objects out of thin air isn’t enough, he can just as easily take those molecules for himself, like when he borrowed molecules from objects to make star constructs to throw at Captain America. He has, quote, “tasted and experienced every kind of molecule on the planet,” and as the above issue showcased, one of his larger schemes involved taking a page out of Galactus’ book. He declared he would absorb and eat the molecules of the entire planet, effectively devouring Earth like an apple. As he states, he can assimilate all molecules however and whenever he wants; absorbing them on a planetary scale before all of his cosmic power creep kicked in.

Destruction

When creation or even consumption aren’t fitting, Molecule Man can easily just destroy you however he wants. Makes sense, given his omnipotent control over all matter. As far as that is concerned, Owen can casually and remotely disintegrate objects such as weapons or vehicles, such as when he “utterly disintegrated” Klaw’s sound blaster with a thought. He has threatened to turn the Fantastic Four into “cosmic dust” the second he could, mentioned he could rearrange a robot into scrap metal, and exploded people even as powerful as Sentry (which he replicated multiple times). Molecule Man can scatter projectiles into… well, molecules, dissolve shields and armor with a thought, and has stated he could obliterate foes literally a hundred different ways. That goes far beyond physical damage, like how he sliced up Earth-1610 Reed Richards and deposited the pieces of his essence across the entire multiverse. Even grander, at one point he wished to kill a cosmic god in the Beyonder, and the strange thing? He could have. Owen was fully established able to forever end Beyonder’s existence by rending his life-force, which would wreak unthinkable havoc across Marvel’s multiversal cosmography. We will speak a bit more on the nature of this later, but for reference, the Beyonder’s essence literally denies the concept of death, and adult members of his race exist as non-existent; outside the Far Shore where nothing dies. 

Transmutation

As one of the most common usages of manipulating matter, Owen can obviously transmute matter into whatever he wishes, which he has excellently done from day one; even as simple as changing coffee bean flavors. His earlier exploits have had him turn bricks into high-speed fans, and those using his powers have done much more. This includes transmuting foes, like turning people into sentient dolls literally making Tony Stark an Iron Man, making the Thing a glass statue, warping Hydro Man into plastic, or turning Bullseye into sentient water. He can even reverse transmutation on others, like when he saved Marsha from being turned into goop. Molecule Man is rather ingenious in using this in combat, and pragmatic in execution. 

Opponent zipping around too much? He’s turned surfaces into gelatinous substance to restrain them, and converted vehicles into restraining cables. Fighting the Human Torch? He transformed the air around him into water to douse his flames and has turned lampposts into solid asbestos. Foes using pesky weapons? Convert them into helium gas to let victory literally slip from their fingers. Even projectiles thrown against him can be converted into harmless flowers, as can anything else be turned into harmless materials or attacks be turned into countermeasures against someone as mighty as Aron the Watcher. Deadliest perhaps is that his transformations are only reversed if he wills it back, and even his being unconscious is not a valid substitute. 

Energy Manipulation

Since matter and energy are often intertwined as well as mostly the same thing, Owen can control energy at will for several purposes. He’s obviously used classic energy blasts against people like Impossible Man or the Beyonder. For usages on a grander scale, his body literally ripples with energy when angry, and he has done things like reconstructing/reigniting all the stars in the galaxy; aptly stating he can do anything with energy.  Owen can manipulate energy in its more direct form, like when he casually negated energy blasts from others and placed the blaster in a stasis field, or when he funneled energy from the Beyonder into another dimension. 

Molecule Man can draw this energy into him (even from the wider multiverse), and used a particular method on the Silver Surfer to great effect. By stopping all molecular movement on an area and utilizing the science of energy, Owen trapped Norrin and subsequently aimed to drain every iota of energy from that trap to the point of literally killing him within minutes from energy drain (reminder, the Surfer has nearly infinite energy). Finally, or perhaps when he stole the energy of the Beyonders as a conduit for Doom. Impressive, considering even the infant and incomplete Beyonder possessed power millions of times greater than all the powers in the multiverse combined. He literally devoured everything, but was still hungry for more. 

Elemental Manipulation

The baser elements that make up our world and universe are still comprised of matter and energy, which Owen can just as easily control thus. From air molecules, Owen can literally walk on air, craft air shields, or change the weather. From rock, he can warp entire roads, create rock shields from the terrain, or rip up several billion tons of the Earth’s crust at will. Dipping into geothermal traits, Volcana with some of his powers turned herself into sentient stone that boosted her physical strength, while also turning into volcanic ash to escape an attack. Consistent, considering the Molecule Man himself has erupted geysers, burnt/dug his way through the Earth’s crust, and is capable of igniting or erupting volcanoes. With electricity, he can drain every electron from signs for example to blast others and skate on wires like Electro. By controlling metal, he can make pipes snake around others, grab the lead and zinc in newspaper to have it restrain others like a straightjacket, and warp steel beams into a cushiony landing. He can harden liquid substances into traps, control water into spirals or to burst water mains, turn air into phosphorus, launch flaming hands, or perhaps manipulate plants like vines to grow out of people and overwhelm healing factors.

Biology Manipulation

Nearing the end of material powers, Molecule Man can easily control the matter that makes up us fragile mortals. He has control over the aging process of others, like how he used his abilities to reverse natural accelerated aging his android body underwent, or when he reversed Reed Richards being de-aged on an evolutionary standpoint from a mere monkey. He can alter his own genetics to, say, swap different hairstyles or baldness across his phases in history, but these tricks are more impressive when used against others. When torturing Norman Osborn, he noted he could instantly or slow pull apart the genetic codes of Norman’s body whenever he wanted, and it’s far from unfounded given he literally tore the Venom Symbiote off Mac Gargan. In fact, he trapped Norman in a massive mental illusion of his own making by rearranging the molecules in his brain, which he put back later without a care. 

Time Manipulation

Time is totally a molecule y’all-

In all seriousness, as Owen stepped into the true bounds of his powers, he found he could warp the very fabric of time. For example, he can “bop around the timestream” to take you on a memory trip, or turn back time to see past events as showcased above. Offensively, he can freeze your body in time; locking you in place until he wills you free. The Molecule Man’s attacks can even strike throughout time itself, like when he literally reached through space-time to search for the Beyonder, or how his attacks have unintentionally affected objects millennia in the future (which he later reversed).

Space Manipulation

On the other end of the not-molecule coin, Owen can warp space however he pleases. He often uses this for travel, both portal and teleportation. He originally did so through some kind energy, but later learned how to space-warp himself or other objects, enabling travel through hyperspace. This has led him to escape extra-dimensional prisons, travel to “the final universe,” and even Beyonder’s home dimension. Impressive, given this area is outside Earth’s universe and all the infinite adjacent dimensions that make up the multiverse; beyond all known existence (which other sources back up). Not only could Owen frequently go back if he pleased (as well as funnel energy there or anywhere else for a good counterattack), but he could also travel to the Beyonders realm with a snap of his fingers. In terms of battle, Owen can teleport others as well, forcefully shunting them wherever he wants. He can even summon others against their will across intergalactic distances, or grab beings to teleport them into Sub-Space for dodging attacks. Similarly to peering and reaching through time, he can also view the actions of others from afar in a spatial portal, or reach across space to grab others. 

Ability Manipulation and Negation

One of his deadliest powers, Molecule Man can manipulate abilities themselves with incredible potency. For example, at one point he made both Thing and Man-Thing fully human again to rob them of their powers (which he reversed at will later). While this may sound like mere transmutation, Man-Thing’s mucky nature can not be reversed, even by magic as powerful as Dr. Strange’s or the Fountain of Youth; with only power sources like the Staff of the Creator able to manipulate his form at will. He’s used this to grant others Reed Richards’ exact powerset right down to fatal limits, and manipulated his own powerset at will. When he had been fully drained of his powers after the Kosmos affair, with the only remainder being a small sliver he lent to Marsha, his girlfriend unconsciously gave it back to him and he gained his strength back in full. 

Substance Manipulation

If you thought just shutting off your powers was cool, Mr. Reece can simply shut off you. When he went through a traumatic episode post-Marsha, Molecule Man’s darker personality traits took the wheel and he wanted a rematch with Beyonder, who was currently fused into the being Kosmos. So, Owen simply tore his essence out of Kosmos; ripping apart her very essence. This act removed Kosmos’ very soul and was thought fatal, which Kubik stated stole her omnipotent powers and made her verge on non-being. As we brought up earlier with the Beyonder, he could also forever end Beyonder’s existence by rending his life-force (wrecking the entire nature of the multiverse), so the offensive nature of this can not be stressed enough. Even when used for good, Owen could cosmically merge Beyonder back into Kosmos and heal her nature, 

Adaption and Transcendance 

Okay, strap in for this one. You may know our powerful pal as the Molecule Man, but what really makes him dangerous is Owen Reece. See, all of humanity possesses the literal potential for greatness even on a cosmic scale, and Owen possessed some of the greatest potential in history. Once he received his powers, Owen became mightier than any abstract deity ever, such as Death, Chaos, Order, Eternity, and even the Living Tribunal. Something like that doesn’t just happen, and Owen’s later exploits were proof of his adaptive potential. Take his battle with the Beyonder during the first Secret Wars: even though he was almost as strong, the Beyonder still transacted on levels unimaginable to him and wound up winning without much trouble. Then, during his rematch, he spent months thrusting back his limitations to hone his powers; now in turn transacting on levels unimaginable to the Beyonder. As he discovered and embodied, there are infinities beyond the “narrow perception” of someone like the Beyonder, where he is forever bound by “pathetic limitations” even as an omnipotent cosmic powerhouse. 

How exactly is this the case? We know Beyonder still outmatched Owen earlier, but mere training while heartbroken enabled the Molecule Man to heavily outstrip the cosmic might of even one beyond comprehension. Thankfully, Kubik spoke on this, and noted that his challenging Owen would ultimately be futile, because while their might is theoretically equal, his potential is dwarfed by that of the Molecule Man. Unlike deities who were born as power and known as power, Owen had grown up a mortal that knew both the good and the bad side of reality, but also the concept of limitations. Therein lies a depth and tenacity greater than sheer power, and something that no omnipotent can ever hope to defeat. In truth, Molecule Man is a personality that Owen gave dominance to, and one slightly greater than cosmic beings like the Beyonder, but Owen Reece? He is far more than they can ever imagine. 

Regeneration and Repair

When it comes to creation, destruction, and all that mumbo-jumbo, one of Molecule Man’s greatest tricks is the act of repair, on both himself or others. He can easily reverse damage done to other objects, like fixing a damaged couch, repairing and restructuring massive monuments, and other miscellaneous examples. Still, he’s done the same act on the very cosmos itself, like when he fixed the literal sky that the Griever shattered. Even greater, Owen repaired damage done to the entire planet, universe, and even multiverse that Beyonder had caused, all within moments. This repair process of restoring everything has similarly worked on himself or others, to magnificent effect. In repairing others, Molecule Man’s powers have passively healed ranging injuries in a hospital through mere desire, including even repairing/restoring the powers of a metahuman quadriplegic (loss of motor and/or sensory function in all limbs). He’s even got the power to full on bring back the dead, like when he resurrected Rio Morales after Miles gave him some food. Owen has also brought back Sentry after he blew him up, and stated he could bring back others from oblivion after obliterating them for continual death, continual rebirth, and eternal pain. For himself, those powers are still just as potent. 

His powers kick in automatically to help him survive fatal damage, and have helped him survive countless things over the years. He’s gotten stretched by Sentry and repaired the damage, and even when his molecular control was reversed while he was fully physically destroyed, he proceeded to pop up later without a scratch. This is actually fairly consistent, since Marsha using his powers pulled herself back together from literal ash, and Owen crafted an entire new body for himself while just the wand. Greatest still is when the Griever tore him up atom by atom, but he survived by placing his consciousness into one molecule and escaping to Sub-Atomica, with all of his powers still intact. Of note, that wasn’t even his true form, but a meager mortal one. 

Other Dimensional Alteration

As if all of his powers weren’t already cracked enough, Owen has frequently bent and shattered the laws of not only this universe, but lower/higher realities as well. We’ve seen him causally bend the laws of nature and physical science, but this extends further. He’s sensed the extradimensional Watcher spying on him and made other members of his species go blind, but also warped to Beyonder’s realm beyond all known existence. His conflicts with the Beyonder span plans of existence humankind can’t even comprehend, and as a mere accident give 2-Dimensional beings 3-Dimensional height. Finally, he is capable of erasing cosmic beings like the Beyonder that literally hold infinite higher dimensions. 

Multiversal Existence

In a rather strange showing, Owen was revealed to be the bomb to destroy all of existence composed by the Beyonders. How exactly? Well, all beings exist throughout the multiverse in separate states of the same “person,” like how Dr. Doom can be a beggar or a king in any number of dimensions. However, Owen was constructed as a singular being across all time and space, sharing a single consciousness shared throughout infinite selves, and a shared origin that simultaneously happened across every reality. Granted, the more alternate selves he has that die, the more fractured his main self becomes, but this effectively gives him infinite allies of sorts. When he rebuilt the multiverse with Franklin Richards as a human repository of unlimited and omnipotent power, he sliced off a bit of his essence as a separate individual to head to those new dimensions, which healed and strengthened him. This includes Earth-9047’s What The- Molecule Man of the All-Scar Squadron, Earth-9732’s Molecule Man who could dissolve a person molecule by molecule but somehow jobbed to “Dread Red the Killer Commie,” and Earth-12772’s Nucleus of DC Parody (the Legion of Super-Heroes). 

Miscellaneous

With so much power and potential at his fingertips, there is truly no limit to what Owen can pull off. Here is a section of the more one-off examples of his powers, or simply for things he hasn’t done much. 

• Antimatter Manipulation - Dueling the Beyonder at one point turned a planet in a distant galaxy into antimatter, and later Owen reversed this phenomena. 

• Blood Manipulation - This is technically more in line with controlling biology, but Owen has made a Skrull homeworld statue cry tears of blood, and fixed that probelm later. 

• Camouflage - When put in danger by the Beyonder, Molecule Man planned to camouflage himself and Marsha in the Beyond-Realm. 

• Combustion - The Molecule Man can make matter explode however he wants, and has erupted pure explosions from the ground before.

• Condensing - Occasionally, Owen has condensed materials for a few different purposes. He has fused air molecules into an ultra-hard shield, compressed objects at will, and condensed the molecules of a suit into an ultra-hard substance that the Wrecking Crew could barely get it off. Even greater, he once subconsciously held the entire planet together from splitting into a big blast across the cosmos. 

• Cloning - While battling the Beyonder, Molecule Man separated himself into miniature clones with the same purpose, and has created clones of various cosmic deities with their own personalities.

• Life Bestowal - Owen once gave a plant sentience and had lunches go hungry, but reversed both events later.

• Magnetism -  He once altered his own molecules to make them magnets to the specific physiology of the Thing. 

• Omnipresence - Owen implied omnipresence about him knowing exactly where someone was in his house. 

• Phasing - For dodging attacks, Owen phased himself and Marsha through the ground at will.

• Size Alteration - With Owen’s powers, one can enlarge massive skeletons or pull dust out of the air while enlarging it to strangle others.

Resistances

• Transmutation - Owen is obviously a master of transmutation, and has reversed it on other objects, but also reversed it being used on people as well like Volcana. 

• Fire - For countering fire, Owen has crafted shields impervious to fire that cool down naturally and ignores his strongest Novaflame. 

• Aging - Due to his little mishap from that original aging dimension, Owen’s powers have countered this process a few times. He rewound his own body being aged with his powers consistently (which would age to dust otherwise), and reversed an aging trap on Reed Richards that turned him into a monkey. 

• Mind Control (Debatable) - When the Beyonder passively controlled the molecules of everyone on the planet that destroyed free will besides his, Owen remained unaffected and removed Marsha from this power.

• Invisibility - Owen easily saw the higher dimensional Watcher despite his hiding undetected by others.

Forms

Narrative Man

While Owen has had many forms over the years, only one truly matters. You see, Owen’s entire history has been about transcending his limits, until after the 2015 Secret Wars, where he transcended everything; even potentially Marvel Comics itself. Even beforehand, Owen’s entire backstory was rewritten, and he referred to his prior established origin as from “some secondhand account that became an origin in the telling - an accepted narrative magically encapsulating all that I was and what you think I became.” To prove a point, he literally killed a past alternate self of his to destroy his entire memory of the past, so that his origin like Victor’s would become “a fiction that will become accepted as real.” After the event, Owen, being the source of God Emperor Doom’s powers, rewrote the multiverse and set out to create it at will with the Fantastic Four… at least, that’s what he would have you believe. 

As Lifebringer Galactus found out upon journeying to the highest planes of Marvel, Owen had taken up residence behind a door in the Superflow, crafting a a posh little quasi-reality to store his stuff in. As his true self that has risen far beyond any mortal coil, Owen was indescribably superior to Galactus; holding “power beyond power” and being capable of ending Galan with a thought. In an experimental example of Schrodinger's Cat, we saw that there was an entirely new 8th omniverse Owen had created from the wreckage of the old one, which does line up with other statements that he had created the new reality. He was in tune with the cosmic order of it all, and instead sat there to retire from cosmic shenanigans; content with enjoying his life once more. 

So, what does this mean exactly? As we found earlier, Owen’s powers are by nature more than only controlling molecules. He controls protons, quarks, superstring, edits the base information of reality, or even the Narrative. Narrative is defined as “a spoken or written account of connected events; a story.” So, in combination with affecting all that there is to affect in a reality (information), Owen can apparently control the literal nature of the story he is in to warp the very narrative however he wants. He had already been aware of the narrative prior, but now, he is in virtual control over the entire Marvel cosmology. His speaking of the narrative to begin with could imply he is fully aware of the fiction he resides in, but in any case, he is able to control it to some degree. 

His powers have grown to the point that he could transcended both Order and Chaos, and that he could kill Lifebringer Galactus. For reference, Galactus literally transcends Eternity and Death as concepts, who themselves are the embodiments of life and death, and his own regeneration could bring him back from complete cosmic destruction (akin to annihilating his body and soul). Due to absorbing the power of the Beyonders and already outmatching the original, on top of having the same origin in Cosmic Cubes originally, Owen would certainly be easily capable of achieving anything the young one could. For reference, among further busted examples, the infant Beyonder could use a large amount of his power to conceptually erase Death as an idea. Even beyond speculation or hype, Owen Reece is simply beyond all who came before him, and should you truly aim to fight the Molecule Man, you must defeat his true form, the Narrative Man. 

Feats

Overall

• Shook the universe and even multiverse simply by gaining his powers

• Escaped Uatu’s extradimensional prison

• Regained a physical body after being trapped as a consciousness in his Wand

• Saved the entire multiverse from the Beyonder and repaired reality from his rampage

• Earned cosmic respect from various abstract gods 

• Outmatched entire teams like the Dark Avengers

• Aided Dr. Doom in stopping the Beyonders from destroying all of reality

• Stole the Beyonders powers and remade reality twice

• Ascended to the Superflow to finally live life as he wanted. 

• Defeated the Avengers, Dark Avengers, Sentry, Silver Surfer, Beyonder, Beyonders, 

• Just look at what his fighting the Beyonder did to the TVA.

Power

Statement (Finite):

• Owen wields the power to destroy the Earth or devour it like an apple (Planet Level)

• Stated he could rip apart Battleworld if he wanted (Planet Level)

• Mentioned internally that he viewed ripping galaxies apart as “easy” (Galaxy Level)

• The Watcher has stated Owen can threaten planets, solar systems, galaxies, and the entire universe (Planet, Solar System, Galaxy, and Universal)

Statement (Finite, Battles):

• When Owen dueled Aron the Watcher, their battle was stated to have enough force to shatter a planet (Planet Level)

• Dueled Beyonder and employed energies to which “the raging hearts of galaxies are guttering candle flames” (Likely referring to a cluster of stars and Supermassive Black Holes)

• Blasted Beyonder with such energy that he stated it could destroy several billion dimensions (>2 Billion times Universal)

Showing (Finite)

• In Secret Wars, destroyed the heroes headquarters with ease, which was estimated previously as nearly 55 times larger than the Pentagon

• Lifted and dropped the infamous mountain range on the heroes “with the merest of gestures”

• This mountain range reportedly dwarfed the Andes in size, weighed billions of tons, and is famously stated to weigh 150 Billion tons on the Issue cover (Kinetic Energy: 168.47 Gigatons) 

• This act was also noted and shown to shake the entire planet. It rapidly shook Thor and Amora from “half a planet away” and is later stated it did in fact shake the entire world. Later recounts of this scene with more context also keep to that notion.

• Battleworld’s size is undefined. Monica Rambeau flew at light-speed and took an unknown time to search the planet. Several examples have areas hundreds of miles apart from each other, and the planet is comprised of areas from thousands of worlds. The atmosphere’s Karman Line is about 200 miles up (Doom built a tower that didn’t break through it but probed the fringes of space), and one can potentially compare Battleworld to Taa II, the solar system-sized ship of Galactus, based on shots of them in comparison to each other. At the least, Galactus could sense volcanic eruptions 15,000 miles away while on the planet’s surface, making its diameter at least that long assuming it was literally on the other side of the planet from him. (Kinetic Energy: 6.313 Petatons)

• Ripped up a 6 square mile chunk of a Colorado suburb transported to Battleworld and flew it through space at massively hypersonic speeds without a care 

Showing (Infinite): 

• Rebuilt the universe and multiverse from extensive damage Beyonder caused (Multiversal)

• Matched Beyonder in an energy struggle of the two mightiest beings in the multiverse, and every creature in every planet in every dimension felt it as the entire multiverse shook all at once (Multiversal)

• A similar battle much later made reality across the entire multiverse tremble 

• Acted as the energy source of God Emperor Doom’s power 

• Rewrote and recreated the 8th Iteration of Marvel’s Omniverse (Omniversal)

Scaling (Statements): 

• Reed Richards states Owen is far stronger than any of the Fantastic Four

• Molecule Man stated he could easily kill Thing and Man-Thing  if he wished

• Doctor Doom stated Owen could defeat Ultron (something he attributed only to himself and Galactus)

• Was frequently established as the most powerful villain during Secret Wars and more powerful than everyone there combined (Absorbing Man, Dr. Doom, Dr. Octopus, Enchantress, Kang the Conqueror, and the Wrecking Crew)

• Puppet Master stated Molecule Man had the power to take on Aron the Watcher

• Kubik stated Owen’s energy held “unimaginable power”

• Owen was listed first in a compilation of beings that could kill the Phoenix Force (Among Thanos, Galactus, the Living Tribunal, the Beyonders, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Odin)

• Routinely stated one of the powerful supervillains on Earth, one of the strongest in the universe, the most powerful being who ever existed, and even the most powerful being in the Multiverse including Cosmic Abstracts (Mephisto, Death, Chaos, Order, Eternity, and the Living Tribunal)

Scaling (Showings):

• Grew tentacles that restrained Tigra.

• Stated he could break a few of Doc Samson’s bones pretty easily

• Frequently restrained, harmed, or overwhelmed the Thing

• Blasted and knocked out the Impossible Man

• Launched sand at Silver Surfer that would “whip him into nothing”

• Fired a blast that Silver Surfer only countered by expending all his energy and passing out from exhaustion

• Could repair the Earth with the Silver Surfer’s help, which Norrin had previously viewed as impossible

• Blasted Sentry apart multiple times

• Struck Beyonder and earned praise from the damage he did

• Matched Beyonder in an energy struggle, and although he was losing, he cancelled out a good deal of his powers

• In his rematch with Beyonder, solidly outmatched him as it progressed and was noted as such, repeatedly so

• Killed the Beyonders, absorbed their power, and acted as the energy source of God Emperor Doom’s power 

Speed

Showings (Finite):

• Raised a wall of rock to defend against Klaw’s powers

• Dodged laser blasts while possessing another’s body

• Shielded his villain allies from Cyclops Laser Vision with rocks

• Flew that Colorado suburb through space; several million miles in only a few hours (Mach 2,085.3) 

Showings (Infinite):

• Restored damage to the universe and multiverse that the Beyonder caused in mere seconds (Infinite/Immeasurable)

• A clash between Owen and the Beyonder at one point launched forces across time and space from quantum to trans-multiversal (Infinite/Immeasurable)

Scaling: 

• Intercepted Tigra running at him with a giant metal hand

• Shielded himself with rock-waves from the ground from Dr Octopus, then wrapped him up and restrained him

• Dodged the Human Torch by bouncing himself up with a spring

• Threw rocks at and intercepted Hulk

Durability

Physically (Unaltered Physiology/Lower showings):

• Got punched by the Invisible Woman (shown above)

Physically (Altered Physiology/Higher showings):

• In an altered body, took a strike and blast from Iron Man

• Was struck twice by the Impossible Man 

• Repeatedly blasted by Sentry

• Directly tanked blasts from the Beyonder

With Shields: 

• Made an air shield that blocked bullets

• Created an air shield that the Thing hurt his hand punching

• Built a dome over half of New Jersey out of solidified air molecules hardened to an unbelievable degree, which wholly ignored attacks from Thor and the Silver Surfer. It even Ignored a combo from Surfer/Thor/Iron Man all at once, only having a small hole torn that Cap widened with a slash

• His shields have ignored strikes from Thing and Thor’s Hammer

Scaling

Earth-616 Heroes

The Molecule Man is easily more powerful than any hero Earth has to offer. He has routinely been stated stronger than entire teams like the Fantastic Four, nearly overwhelmed Hulk during Secret Wars with “the merest of gestures,” and treated as an entity beyond any of their scope like when he battled the Beyonder; something no other hero could do. His only weak showings against even someone like Sentry were explained as inconsistent, as we will explain a bit later in Owen’s exact place. Suffice to say, Owen should be able to match and far exceed what is present thus.

• The Fantastic Four:

• Reed Richards reacted to MFTL beams from the Ultimate Nullifier’s and tanked a punch from Thing who thought he was Doom

• The Invisible Woman blocked Volcana’s fire, which was compared to the core and heat of stars, and briefly held up her shield against an Incursion

• The Human Torch’s Nova Blast at full power is described similar to a nuclear blast, can instantly kill the population of this hemisphere, destroy a small moon, and reach the heat of a supernova

• The Thing tanked a planet bursting blast from the Power Cosmic

• The Avengers: 

• Thor shook the universe with a Thermo-Blast and can traverse universes in short timeframes

• Hulk destroyed Nightcrawler’s universe and shook the infinite Crossroads dimension

• Sentry (See Q&A):

• Can destroy planets

• Wields the literal power of “a million exploding suns”

• Beat Down Dr. Doom’s armor until its defenses were gone (later humiliating him in defeat)

• Punched through a Celestial, and stopped the descent of one that Rogue struggled to stop for even a short time

• This Rogue had absorbed the powers of every hero on Earth to encompass literally hundreds of minds rattling around in her head. Just from who we see in the Issue (Uncanny Avengers Issue 21) this includes Wonder Man, Havok, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, Thor, Wolverine, Sunfire, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Cannonball, Sunspot, Hyperion, Storm, Beast, Iceman, Shadowcat, Psylocke, Dr. Strange, and more.

• Apparently comparable or superior to a House of M level situation, with said event affecting the entire Omniverse

Cosmic Abstracts

Molecule Man, from his very beginning, was heralded as the strongest being in all of creation. While this notion shifted a bit, it still had him compare to and exceed numerous cosmic deities across the Marvel Multiverse. 

• Mephisto is an extradimensional demon and can cause omniversal armageddon in his battles

• Odin can shake the Infinite Embassy and detected Mjolnir flying beyond the Multiverse (while weakened)

• Eternity encompasses the sum total of all things in the universe

• Celestials are composed of an infinite number of aspects that exist in each universe and their might dwarfs Kubik/Kosmos

• The Phoenix Force has control over the White Hot Room beyond the Far Shore, in which it would dominate forces like the Beyonder, and is reportedly the second strongest Abstract next to the One Above All (Debatable)

• Galactus can eventually consume the 8th iteration of the Omniverse, rivals Odin in power, and while Lifebringer, outclassed both Order and Chaos

• The Living Tribunal freely accesses 16-Dimensional planes for mere conversations with other Abstracts

Beyonder and the Beyonders

Owen Reece has a rather tentative relationship with the Beyonder and his race of omnipotent a-holes, but that usually results in the Molecule Man’s victory. We will discuss this more in detail later, but Owen eventually surpassed all of these foes from Beyond, and anything they can do, he should be able to replicate. 

• Upon first showing up, the Beyonder causally destroyed an entire galaxy and formed Battleworld from its remnants (Galaxy)

• Doom stole Beyonder’s powers and became the mightiest being in this or any universe

• While he possessed them, Doom could destroy a solar system with a flick of his finger, and an “infinitesimal mico-fraction” of Doom’s power could blacken 10,000 suns (>>>10,000 FOE)

• Beyonder is bigger than the multiverse, and more powerful than all the forces of it in every way combined. Similarly, it has been stated he possesses power millions of times greater than all the powers in the multiverse combined. (>>>Multiversal)

• Beyonder could kill Death herself with more effort than usual, and even while weakened from that, he was stronger than all other cosmic abstracts combined

• Beyonder wreacked havok across the universe and even multiverse, while also stating he could/would destroy all of existence (Multiversal)

• Easily dismissed the Phoenix/Rachel Grey

• Intended to erase all existence (conceptual beings, death, and his memory of it all)

• Unleashed a death-stroke that rendered space apart all the way to the ends of infinity (Infinite/Immeasurable)

• The Beyonders reside where Eternity “dwindles into insignificance”

• A few Beyonders could kill multiple Celestials each, slay Eternity, and destroy the Living Tribunal

Weaknesses

bruh

Like any other stupidly power superperson, Owen has had his fair share of weaknesses. Now, many of these are quite circumstantial or forgone, so I’ll be depicting them with their correct terminology and whatnot.

Inability to control Organic Molecules/Reliance on Wand (Ineffective/Nonexistent): Owen’s only true weakness initially was that he could not manipulate organic molecules (like to transmute people). This was pretty frequently stressed, to the point that it caused him physical pain if he tried. Similarly, he believed he could not use his powers without his Wand, and was helpless when that facet was noted/exploited. However, as we’ve covered, both notions were mental limitations he unconsciously imposed upon himself, and he has grown out of both. He no longer requires a Wand, and can mess with all molecules; organic or inorganic. This means technology altering powers that screwed him over in the past don’t matter in any real metric, just as an example.

Human Physiology (Non-Factor): Molecule Man may be a mighty mortal for sure, but he is mostly still mortal. Several times during his earlier days, Owen was caught off-guard physically and beaten by even foes with average physical strength due to his diminuitive stature like Dr. Blake (Thor’s human alter-ego). He was nearly killed by Wolverine catching him off-guard during Secret Wars, and Dr. Doom once aimed to take down his physical form as soon as possible in order to successfully stop him. That said, as Owen learned more about his powers, he frequently got past this and engaged in full physical bouts with many foes as powerful as he is, like the Beyonder or Sentry.. It is also noted that he can get tired, but his higher end showings against the Beyonder (rematch) lack this notion, and it is noted his powers cause no physical drain. Similarly, while extending his powers caused extensive damage when dueling the Beyonder due to other injuries, as well as his nearly losing them, his heights in exceeding the Beyonder never showcased that issue again, so it’s unlikely to be a factor. In Doom’s example, his powers subconsciously saved him from the attack, and this was when he had a human physiology/not prepared for battle. When had been like against Sentry, he actively resisted intense physical attack like getting stretched somehow, so at his best and most logical battle state, Owen’s physiology would simply be around the level of his scaling. 

Mental Limitations/Flaws (Somewhat consistent): One other weakness of Owen’s is his mentalities and brain in general. While he is by no means stupid at his best, he’s been outsmarted multiple times by people like Reed Richards, who comes up with a clever counteroption to his powers that leaves him helplesss. Owen is a sucker for dramatic flair, and has openly gone for these tactics early on that required more time to think, which a foe could exploit. He has also been mind controlled before by Puppet Master, of which we have no answer to whether he could resist it. He was in a bad place mentally and nobody tries it much on him. It was also a legitimate flaw of his when Marsha left him, where his alternate personality disorder would cause all sorts of trouble, including a varying level of power. This allowed him to get killed by weaker opponents by Sentry, or even arrested like a common thug for incarceration at Ryker’s Island. His pure attitude could also be a flaw, like when his arrogance allowed Aron the Watcher to get a literal free shot at him which lost him the battle, or how he becomes almost akin to another person when mad. His shields will go off if he is unconscious, among other examples. He still usually goes for win-conditions quickly at is best though, like when he didn’t much hesitate killing the infant Beyonder before he could do any more damage. 

Greater Molecular Control (Consistent): Although somewhat unlikely to matter (heh), Owen has had a problem with those who can resist or override his control over molecules. The Impossible Man directly countered his powers and nearly killed him due to having such control over his own molecules, as did Sentry. In Bob’s example, Sentry discovered his powers were manipulating matter, and fully overrided his control to the point of threatening him with death, which he promptly delievered. Since Owen was at a low point during this battle and is much more formidable at his peak, its questionable exactly how this would matter in a battle. Alternitavely, objects with no molecules or simply unstable ones have tripped him up before, even though his powers do run deeper than that (See Abilities and Forms).

Overall, Owen’s weaknesses are a bit limited but still notable. His mental state could cause arrogance, desire for flair instead of success, mind control vulnerability, or varying mental states that affect his powers. The latter shouldn’t be a factor after his growth and the business with the Beyonders, as should the first notions due to his success against the Beyonders despite their advantages, but the mind control weakness could be a flaw. His physical form can’t easily be exhausted despite his flaws before and it would have sufficient durabilit, so overtaxing it isn’t the best goal. If you can somehow resist or counter his powers directly, you would have a good shot at beating him (even if doing so in the first place isn’t really reliable). 

Q&A

Molecule Man’s standing in Marvel’s Hierarchy 

With the overwhelming power of the Molecule Man, you might be curious about one thing: where exactly does he fall in Marvel’s hierarchy?

Originally, Owen was noted as the most powerful being in the universe and even multiverse. Uatu explicitly stated this and showed all the other Abstracts to further this, all the way up to Eternity and the Living Tribunal. Molecule Man was similarly stated the only being in all existence who could stand up to the Beyonder, so that seems pretty straightforward, but retcons, amiright? Both of them were retconned to be components of great power, but not on the realm of the Tribunal. Both of their powers came from Cosmic Cubes (Owen a bit less) but neither were at the scope of the Tribunal. We’ll come back to that in a bit, but let’s first establish the matter of Owen’s varying power levels and the Beyonder. 

Initially, Owen said he couldn’t match Beyonder’s power, and although he did for a time, he ultimately did lose and was noted as nowhere close to Beyonder’s true nature. However, despite that clash, he eventually grew his powers far beyond their initial battle, and solidly outmatched Beyonder to the point of nearly killing him if not interrupted. Next, there’s also the Beyonders; the true source of his powers after the retcon nonsense. You’d think they would be stronger, but Owen managed to kill and absorb their powers with all of his other selves, and essentially became them, for lack of a better word. As the source of God Emperor Doom’s power (the Beyonders) he effectively attained their unimaginable omnipotence. After Doom was stopped, Owen appeared to retain his position after taking up residence in the Superflow, and far outmatched even someone like Lifebringer Galactus or Chaos/Order. At that point, he recreated the entirety of Marvel’s creation, so his power should not he trifled with. 

Next, there's the matter of just how strong Beyonders are. They exist far outside the multiverse, where Eternity itself “dwindles into insignificance.” Going beyond Eternity transcends all that there is, and thats a pretty apt description for the Beyonders considering who they can kill. Even individual Beyonders can best Celestials, but only a few of them could slay Eternity and destroy a/the Living Tribunal. The Living Tribunal is the mightiest power that can be comprehended and exists in all multiverses simultaneously, second only in scale to The One Above All. Reminder, Beyonders outright killed him, and Owen managed to steal the might of those beings to kill them. With that power now his and his own omniversal showings, the Molecule Man is just about at the top of Marvel's hierarchy barring The One Above All. Not bad for a guy with barely 100 comic appearances overall. 

Retcons and Owen’s complicated History

Molecule Man's history has changed a lot over the years, so one may question what can be allotted to him at all. As Owen progressed in helping Doom during the business with the Beyonders, he first spoke bluntly about this all while still more sane. He spoke of origin being story, and his own story being a lie; only a narrative from a secondhand account that magically encapsulated all that he was supposed to be. As he ventured to his own origin, he spoke to his younger self in another dimension after suffering the accident, he created a dagger to stab this past self of his and erase their mutual memory; so that his origin like Victor’s will become a fiction accepted as real. While Owen originally gained his powers through freak accident, they then shifted to being related to the Beyonder, and then shifted to his being a monster created by the Beyonders to cause the death of the multiverse. If that’s the case, what exactly is true? Is his battle with Beyonder regarding Kubik and Kosmos fake? What of this fiction is reality?

Clearing up the basics, while Owen’s creation changed, his overall history did not. As he says in this same issue, the accident that created him happened simultaneously across every reality, and his earlier dagger trick was more to prove a point. So, all Molecule Mans underwent the same origin, with a major part of Owen’s character being the shedding of limitations conceived through his life. He would never have fought the Beyonder if they had not interacted like they did during both Secret Wars 1 and 2, and he was the sole reason they survived the second one. He was also a crucial part of the 3rd go-around where Kosmos was created, and much of his later battles and history came directly from that course of events. None of that was really retconned; just the nature of his origin, which he himself is simply showing the holes in. All that was a lie was where his powers came from, which we can simply take to mean that the true source is the Beyonders. That wouldn’t remove entire events or issues from his history beyond that stipulation, so ultimately, anything we’ve seen him do would be applicable unless it is directly stated false, like how he originally got his powers. 

Overall

“I like stuff. I like making it and having it. I like alliteration too. "Molecule Man"! I mean, technically I worked with atoms, but..."Atom Man"? Ugh. No zing. No pizzazz. Even atoms seem big and clunky to me now. I should be...Proton Man. Or Quark Man. Superstring Man. Information Man. Editing and ordering the base information of reality. Owen Reece, the Narrative Man. Heh.”

Results: 

• Omniversal - Outerversal Attack Power (Created the 8th Omniverse and scales past cosmic abstracts such as Lifebringer Galactus/The Living Tribunal)

• Infinite/Immeasurable Speed (Frequently crosses or affects infinite spaces in his battles such as the multiverse, and has kept up with foes like the Beyonder)

• Virtually unlimited versatility with dozens of mighty abilities, such as:

• Layered transmutation

• Creating and destroying matter in a variety of ways

• Can control space and time at will

• Wields incredibly potent Power draining (on just about any foe, like the Silver Surfer or Beyonders; stealing an infinity of infinities amount in energy far surpassing the multiverse combined )

• Can tearing the substance of and permanently kill Abstract gods

• Capable of affecting higher or lower dimensions up to an infinite degree

• Incredibly potent sensing of abilities like matter manipulation

• Can alter Superstring, Information, and the very Narrative itself

• Wields complete physical regeneration if not higher 

Weaknesses and Flaws:

• Mental flaws could still be a problem despite his power

• Lacks tangible resistance to mind control

• Powers, if overridden, could ensure his defeat

• Got beat by Firestorm

• Absolutely abysmal track record in adaptations (60's cartoon, Super-Hero Squad, and Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, who didn't even get the basics right)

• Ok Future Fight is pretty cool

Conclusion

So, that’s about it I think? I had an interesting time researching the Molecule Man, and I hope you enjoyed reading about him. Even as a kid, I found his profile in this old book about the Fantastic Four quite compelling, and I’ve always thought researching the wacky nonsense he gets up to would be a fun research time. While I have had… unfortunate happenings in my life as of late, in VS and IRL, I’m glad I could do this and potentially show y’all why I like this scarred son of a multiverse-leveling gun. His human side and desire for affection from the world that scorned him, his desire for solitude once things went wrong, and his sheer arrogant or humble attitude at times made reading most of his stories a treat. Owen is really unlike any other cosmic being I’ve researched besides Franklin Richards; where a depth of humanity overrides their powers to truly make them entertaining; when they are strong or when they are weak. Even though he’ll probably not make it back into relevance for a while if at all, rest assured, the Molecule Man will always be one of my favorite underrated villain(?)s. Now, I’m assuming you’ll be curious who I prefer for Owen should he have a match, and there’s one interdimensional impetuous imp that I think would be perfect for the job-

AW SHUDDUP!!!

Oh boy…

If I stayed quiet one more second while listening to you ramble about that little nerd, I’d need a colossal barf-bag! Mr. Mxyztplk, at your service!

Ughh… Ok, I’ll keep it brief, Mxy. 

In short, I think this idea has a good amount of merit. Connection and contrast wise, both are massively powerful reality-warping beings known for being and looking rather underwhelming, but possessing incredible might in controlling the fundamental forces of reality plus purple costumes and double M’s. They are intrinsically very important to the multiverse in seperate ways (Owen being crafted by the Beyonders to end it and Mxy being a necessary test to a focal being like Superman) in a warped fashion (Owen is a good man thrust into a villainous role like that which he rebelled against, but Mxy has a good purpose in his actions while being more antagonistic inside it). There are plenty of similarities to be drawn between their cosmic positions and higher dimensional battles, as well as contrasts where Owen was pulled into this life to fight higher dimensional foes like Mxy, whereas Mxy would be a higher dimensional being curious at this unassuming Lex-Luthor-suited twerp. They were so powerful that only intelligence could bypass their silly weaknesses, and have showcased a kinder side at times beyond just a one-dimensional villain. Both could gradually come to see each other past the appearances and progress from sillier antics to battles beyond what we can comprehend. With no true limit to their powers, it could gradually grow until both are pissed and holding nothing back. For an Owen opponent, I’d like someone who could toy with his mental facilities to bring out the rage he’s shown, as well as play off of his own arrogance. Having someone as powerful and as versatile as Mxyztplk fits this mold much better than someone like Dr. Manhattan to me, and the debate just sounds interesting to be honest. 

I could go on about script and interaction potential, but I think that sells the gist of it well enough. Even so, I am not actually pushing this for Owen because Mxy has other more deserving opponents from people that have pushed them much more than I ever have, such as Lord English (Homestuck). I don’t wanna be one of those guys who tries to shill a hastily slapped up Marvel vs DC idea with some merit when better ideas exist, even despite my love for Owen as a character and how much I’d like to see him get talked about on the show. Even so, I’m glad you read, and let me know what you think! 

Here’s some extra things I couldn’t fit anywhere else that I found

• Wants the simple life

• Hit it off with Volcana who was similarly timid even with her power.

• With his connection to Marsha, apparently she has liked guys like him before (those she can shower with affection and be loving towards) 

• Lived with Marsha and likes Hogan’s Heroes

• Galactus’ ship is as big as a solar system

• MFTL Doom ship

• More adorable moments with Marsha

• Described Love to the Beyonder, great development in my opinion

• Made a photo of Marsha who left him months ago, and had varied sad/repressed feelings. Another personality wrested control and said Owen was weak, going forth to live again and get his runback on those who humiliated him.

• He started human and learned to be omnipotent, whereas Kubik and Kosmos those two were omnipotent learning to be human. He could see that Kubik loved her, which is why he stopped fighting and restored her to life

• Wielding great power is easy, but fixing a broken heart was not

• Kidnapped Doc Samson because he was a shrink and still angry about Marsha. He asked why someone omnipotent would need another, and Samson believed Marsha served as a life preserver, keeping him afloat so he doesn’t lose his humanity. 

• Switching personalities, and She-Hulk reminded him of Marsha, where he begged for someone to tell him what to do in his moment of despair. 

• Samson helped him out, and said he had an alternate personality disorder, She-Hulk helped him realized how he would win Marsha back, so he went and remade Mount Rushmore to have her face (lol)

• Marsha was pretty nice to Titania in the past

• Helped Dr. Doom and gained some aura in this one comic panel

• When he almost sacrificed his powers and life to save the Earth from Beyonder’s damage at the end of Secret Wars II, he wound up keeping his abilities due to the Silver Surfer (who helped him repair the Earth) lending him energy, for an incredibly wholesome moment all around as he briefly settled into a peaceful life with Marsha. 

Sources Used:

• Marvel Database

• VS Battles Wiki

• Respect Pre-Retcon Beyonder

• Respect the Human Torch (Marvel 616)

• Respect the Invisible Woman, Master of Force Fields (616)

• Swamp Thing vs Man-Thing (Melee Mythos)

• Bang’s Blogs: Larfleeze vs Annihilus

• Media Mania: Sentry vs Superboy Prime (Marvel vs DC Comics)

That was fun. Maybe I’ll do another one of these, I wonder… (wink). See you when I see you!