WARNING! Spoilers Ahead for Venom War: Fantastic Four #1Reed Richards' stretchy powers make him an iconic member of theFantastic Four, although they haven’t always stood out as much as his teammates' abilities. Now, he’s revealed two new abilities that shatter all preconceived expectations about what he can do. Reed has cemented himself as one of Marvel lore’s most skilled heroes with the latest upgrade to his elastic superpowers, as he stretches himself to an amazing new level.
InVenom War: Fantastic Four#1 – written by Adam Warren, with art by Joey Vasquez, the titular heroes find themselves stuck in a time-loop as part ofKang the Conquerer’s plan to beat Doctor Doom. The Fantastic Four, due to their ability to rattle Victor von Doom, turn out to be the perfect weapon for him to unleash upon Doom across time.
Eventually, though, Reed Richards picks up on the fact that they’re in a time-loop, ashe decides to figure out what’s going on by impersonating Doom to trick his army of Schemebots.
Reed Richards' New Powers Give His Shapeshifting Abilities An Entirely New Meaning
Venom War: Fantastic Four#1 – Written By Adam Warren; Art By Joey Vasquez; Available Now From Marvel Comics
Reed succeeds in this trickery inVenom War: Fantastic Four#1 by elastically manipulating his vocal cords to mimic Doctor Doom’s, a feat he’s never pulled off until now. This isn’t the only new ability that Mister Fantastic achieves in this story, and these upgrades demonstrate how innovative his elasticity truly is. As amember of Marvel’s First Family, Mr. Fantastic is among one of the publisher’s most classic characters – yetthis story offers a remarkable example of how his powers continue to evolve and be redefined by successive generations of writers.
Reed Richards stretching his vocal cords is an impressive enough feat as is, but it’s not all he can do when backed into a corner. When he confronts Kang about the time-loop he and hisFantastic Four teammateshave been entangled in, he shows off another brand-new ability. Reed elastically shapes his own brain tissue to match Kang’s neurosignature. This allows him to bypass the security of Kang’s hardware and trap him in a loop instead. Stretching his own insides is no small feat, and this astounding upgrade is a testament to how much Reed Richards' powers have evolved.
Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards Has Finally Cracked Magic
Mister Fantastic has outdone himself with his latest invention, which could potentially give the Fantastic Four an advantage Marvel’s magic users.
Since first receiving superpowers in 1961’sFantastic Four#1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby,Reed’s stretching has become inseparable from his character. He can typically be seen elongating his body, even when he’s performing menial tasks in his laboratory. Still, despite the length of time he’s possessed this superpower, it’s often perceived as one-note compared to the versatility of his teammates' abilities. Reed Richards' new feats make the argument that his stretching power is one of the most versatile abilities in Marvel lore, and other power-ups he’s obtained in recent memory build upon the endless possibilities at his disposal.
Reed Richards Adds New Abilities to His Growing Arsenal of Elastic Tricks
Mister Fantastic Continues To Push The Limits Of His Superpowers
Super-stretching isn’t typically considered to be as flashy asother powers in the Marvel Universe. However, when the Fantastic Four’s resident genius applies his mind to his might, he can do remarkable things with his abilities.Reed Richards has taken his elasticity to disturbing places, such as when he sprouts extra limbs and appendages inFantastic Four#2 by Ryan North and Iban Coello. Here, he even reveals that he can stretch his eyeballs to other parts of his body.Mister Fantastic’s powers are as gruesome as they are awesome, and this is far from the full extent of his stretching.
It takes an incredible amount of exertion to push oneself that far, making this a commendable accomplishment for Mister Fantastic.
This Marvel hero can do much more than add enhancements to his body as-is, of course. InFantastic Four#21,Reed stretches its body beyond its natural limitsto shield an entire building from a vampire attack. It takes an incredible amount of exertion to push oneself that far, making this a commendable accomplishment for Mister Fantastic. Reed’s feats don’t end there, either; he’s also learned how to stretch in four dimensions and even perform mitosis. Time and time again,Reed Richards has proven the merits of his stretching, and he is not the first Fantastic Four hero who’s unlocked the hidden potential of his powers.
Mister Fantastic Reaches The Level Of His Fantastic Four Teammates With His Latest Power Upgrade
A Brief History Of The Four’s Power Ups, Explained
Throughout Ryan North’s ongoingFantastic Fourseries, Marvel’s First Family has been elevated to thrilling new heights with each update to their abilities. For example, inFantastic Four#6,Invisible Woman reinvents her powersby partially blocking out the sun with a force field in order to kill off mysterious bacteria from another dimension. Sue sustaining a massive force field for such a long time is unlike anything she’s done in the past. This feat is so outstanding that she’s later described as a"mass-extinction event", and this moniker could very well be applied to the rest of the Fantastic Four.
Marvel’s First Family has been elevated to thrilling new heights after each update to their abilities.
The power-ups continue with the Thing, as Ben Grimm uncovers a surprising ability. When he works together with the Invisible Woman,the Thing’s rocky skin can conjure up illusions. His powers do more than grant him brute strength, accentuating their adaptability. Additionally, the Human Torch boasts extraordinary powers of his own aside from his usual flames, like when hereplicates the sun’s light spectrum to ward off vampiresinFantastic Four#22.The entire Fantastic Four team is stronger than it’s ever been in Marvel lore, and the MCU is sure to have a field day adapting these powers for the big screen.
Fantastic Four’s New Powers Prepare Them For Their MCU Debut
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Should Take Notes
With Reed Richards and his Fantastic Four teammates expanding their power-sets more and more, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has plenty to draw from when it comes to bringing their abilities to life.Fantastic Four: First Stepswill be arriving in theaters on July 25th, 2025, and with it will come this iconic team’s long-awaited debut in the MCU. As such, Mister Fantastic’s latest upgrade would be perfect to include in this movie to present a wider audience with examples of how inventive his powers can be.
Now that Reed has displayed how he can stretch himself in countless ways both inside and out, there’s no limit to what his powers enable him to do.
It remains to be seen just how the Fantastic Four will be adapted in their upcoming film. Hopefully, Reed’s abilities are done justice. Elasticity isn’t always given the recognition it deserves as a powerhouse of a superpower, after all. Now that Reed has displayed how he can stretch himself in countless ways both inside and out, there’s no limit to what his powers enable him to do, and this should be reflected in his MCU counterpart. Fans will soon get to see whatReed Richards' stretching can accomplish as he returns to live action with the rest of the Fantastic Four.
Fantastic Four
TheFantastic Fouris a superhero franchise centered on Marvel Comics' first family of superheroes. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the team made its comic book debut in 1961 and quickly became a cornerstone of Marvel’s success. The franchise follows four astronauts—Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm—who gain superpowers after being exposed to cosmic radiation. Over the years,Fantastic Fourhas been adapted into several live-action films, animated series, and video games. The films have seen multiple reboots, with varying levels of success, and are now set to be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with a new film slated for release in 2025.
