The best look at Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards (aka Mister Fantastic) showing off his powers was recently revealed in an official promo picture for the MCU's The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Reed's powers from the upcoming title were briefly showcased in the film's official trailer, but have not been fully revealed for fans to get a good look at.
A piece of promotional art for The Fantastic Four: First Steps displayed Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards, offering the best look at the leader of Marvel's first family while showcasing his extraordinary powers. The released image also allows fans to compare the character design for Pascal's Reed Richards to other versions of the character.
The official promo image (which was released during a collaboration between Marvel and Snapple) features Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards while wearing his Fantastic Four team suit. Reed is clearly displaying his powers, as his left arm is raised up in the air and appears to be stretching. Specifically, his left arm looks longer and his left hand looks bigger, which are both trademark ways for his powers to be shown on-screen.
This particular promo image looks extremely similar to some artwork that Chris Samnee created for Reed Richards in 2014, which also features the character's left arm raised in the air with a bigger hand than normal. Reed's right leg in both pieces is similar, so it is possible the promo image took direct inspiration from Samnee's artwork.
In the trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Reed's powers were briefly showcased. Specifically, he could be seen stretching his body to cover more ground than he would normally be able to and to reach places he normally wouldn't be able to reach. However, that shot of Reed wasn't a close-up, so the promo image is the best look fans have gotten at his powers up close.
Reed's powers have been fairly constant throughout different versions of The Fantastic Four over the years, whether it be in comic books, movies, or video games. There are only so many ways stretching can be visualized on-screen, so Pascal's version of the character doesn't look all that much different from Ioan Gruffudd's Reed Richards from the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four films (find out if Gruffudd will be in Avengers: Doomsday here).
For example, Gruffudd's Reed Richards had to use his stretchy powers to immobilize Ben Grimm in 2005's Fantastic Four. The way his arms stretch and expand looks roughly the same, but the CGI from The Fantastic Four: First Steps does look a bit better.
However, that particular shot from the 2005 film establishes that Reed can make his limbs expand and contort to great lengths, which is something the First Steps marketing has not shown for Pascal's Reed.
10 years after Ioan Gruffudd made his first appearance as Mister Fantastic, Miles Teller picked up the baton and began playing the character, but only for one film.
In that movie, Teller's version of the character could stretch in a very similar fashion to how Reed's powers have been displayed in both Fantastic Four, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the comics.
In one shot from that film, Reed's arms are stretched out as he is lying down. His left arm can clearly be seen expanding, which appears quite similar to the shot of Pascal from the official trailer for First Steps.
Another popular version of the character that many fans are likely familiar with is the playable video game character in Marvel Rivals. Rivals took a traditional approach to Reed, giving him stretchy powers. In the still above, his arm can clearly be seen expanding to give a thumbs-up.
However, Rivals has displayed some of Reed's abilities in a better way than the films have. For example, in the game, he can essentially blow his midsection up and make it look like a giant ball.
That specific contortion is not really notable, but it is important to mention because Reed has the ability to make his body do absolutely whatever he wants.
For example, if he wanted to make himself a single millimeter tall, he could spread himself out across the ground and become thin enough to only be a millimeter tall. He could also flatten himself out if he wanted to and essentially become a shield that could even deflect bullets.
The point is, Rivals showcased Reed's powers in ways other media haven't. It is possible that Pascal's version of the character could showcase some original and mind-blowing displays of power, but fans will have to wait until the film releases.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will hit theaters on July 25, 2025. It will kick off Phase 6 of the MCU and star Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Julia Garner (who will be playing a female version of the Silver Surfer).
Fans already got a close-up look at Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm as part of the Snapple promotion, allowing his powers to be seen on full display.
How Will The Fantastic Four: First Steps Handle Reed's Powers?
Marvel Studios deserves a bit of grace because it would be nearly impossible to do justice to Reed Richards' full potential in a live-action movie or a TV show. As mentioned, he can do whatever he wants with his body, and some things could be essentially impossible to display in live-action.
However, it seems as though Marvel Studios is not going to shy away from giving Reed Richards a lot of screen time at any point in the film. The company hired one of the biggest actors in the entertainment industry to play the leader of arguably its biggest team, so fans can expect to see him in action a lot, not only in First Steps, but also in the Avengers movies.
Reed's powers will likely look fairly similar to the way movies have handled the powers of past versions of Reed Richards.
However, it would be shocking if Marvel Studios didn't do at least a couple of things that really blew fans' minds. Obviously, the studio wanted to put Reed's powers on display briefly in the trailer, but his full abilities are likely being saved for when the film releases (although they were hilariously displayed in a LEGO set from the upcoming film).
Fans have wanted the Fantastic Four in the MCU for a long time now, so Marvel Studios will likely do anything it needs to do in order to make fans love the film and be wowed by what they see when it premieres.
