First Steps reveals Galactus' intention to make Franklin Richards his heir, while hinting at Doctor Doom's potential plan to save the Multiverse.

In a 1982 arc by John Byrne, Franklin gets frustrated trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube and uses his powers to age himself into an adult body, though he couldn’t actually gain more emotional maturity. He winds up going back to being a kid, placing restrictions on his own abilities to allow him to have something of a normal childhood.