The Fantastic Four: First Steps missed a huge opportunity with one of Marvel’s most visually creative superheroes. Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, is supposed to be a stretchy powerhouse with abilities that defy the laws of physics. In the film, though, those powers are barely touched.
What should’ve been a display of inventive, wild, and over-the-top visuals turned into a muted, limited showcase that felt more like an afterthought than a highlight.
Now, credit where it’s due, the film did a decent job of portraying Reed’s intellect and leadership. He’s thoughtful, composed, and clearly the brain of the group. But that’s only half the picture. In the comics, Reed has a subtle charm and awkward charisma that makes him both relatable and admirable.
That side of his personality was barely explored. He didn’t need to crack jokes or go full Tony Stark, but a bit more emotional depth and nuance would’ve made him feel more alive.
The biggest letdown, though, was how the film’s creative team handled his powers. Mr. Fantastic can stretch, mold, twist, flatten, inflate… you name it. There are comic book moments where he’s used his body as a net, wrapped himself around massive cosmic entities like Galactus, and turned into practically any shape needed to solve a problem.
But in the film, his powers a very underutilized and limiting. At one point in the film we are watching Galactus strech Mr. Fantastic like a rubber band and he’s screaming in pain.
When you see how far is stretching ability goes in the comics, Galactus stretching him like that shouldn’t have been an issue for him because it was nothing compared to what we’ve seen him do in the comics!
We barely see any of those cool visuals from the comics in this film. His action moments are stiff and uninspired. Instead of showing Reed’s resilience, it just made him look weak. The movie ignored everything fans know about how cool and versatile his powers really are.
The creativity behind Reed’s abilities is what makes him stand out in the superhero landscape. His power set should be a director’s playground. You can do so much with the elasticity and adaptability of his body, yet the movie seemed afraid to go there.
We didn’t see him shape-shift in creative ways, use his body as a shield or slingshot, or even do something as simple as multitask with extended limbs in a high-stakes moment. They kept his abilities small, which is the opposite of what Mr. Fantastic should be.
At the end of the day, The Fantastic Four: First Steps didn’t give Mister Fantastic the treatment he deserved. His powers were underused, his moments of brilliance were too few, and his potential was left on the table.
Reed Richards is a genius, yes, but he’s also a one-man Swiss Army knife of superpowers. Hopefully, future film will fully embrace what makes Mister Fantastic truly fantastic.
