The Fantastic Four's (FF) superpowers have always been unique, from Ben Grimm's rocky epidermis to Johnny Storm's ability to engulf his body in flames. Sue Storm/Invisible Woman cannot only vanish completely from sight but also obscure anything or anyone she chooses. And that's in addition to Sue's nigh-unbreakable psionic forcefields. But the FF's leader, Reed Richards, gained an especially versatile new skillset on that fateful spaceflight: The power to stretch and contort his anatomy any way he sees fit. On top of being the smartest man on the planet and the inventor behind the Four's advanced technology, Mister Fantastic's super-stretchiness has gotten the team out of more than a few jams over the years.
The MCU's next big-screen adventure, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, will introduce the famed clan of imaginauts and pick up with them some time into their superheroing career. Vanessa Kirby will breathe life into Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn will flame on as Johnny, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will ensure it's Clobberin' Time as Ben. Rounding out the core cast is the beloved Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards. And while the movie's marketing ramp-up has been sure to shine a spotlight on Sue, Ben, and Johnny's incredible superpowers in action, those same previews have been notably cagey when doing the same for Reed. There has only been a single shot from First Steps shown in trailers of Reed doing any kind of super-stretching.
Despite this glaring obfuscation of Reed's abilities, several pieces of tie-in media have taken the ball that Fantastic Four: First Step's actual promotional material has left sitting on the court. The LEGO First Steps model gave its Mister Fantastic Minifig a somewhat comical addition meant to display his stretching. Moreover, various pieces of official promo art from the movie have permitted Reed to stretch. A poster for The Fantastic Four: First Step's release in Dolby Cinemas puts Reed at the forefront of the team, with his elongated arm reaching out even further toward the camera.
As mentioned, Marvel Studios has used a decidedly light touch when showcasing Reed's powers in movie footage. The second trailer for First Steps included a slow-motion sequence of Reed stretched in a number of directions whilst falling from a building. He's also gasping some sort of metal rod. Whether that's an advanced gadget or a piece of debris remains to be seen.
Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps lands in theaters on July 25, 2025, directed by WandaVision helmer Matt Shakman. Other cast members include Ozark's Julia Garner as the Sky-Rider of the Spaceways herself, the Silver Surfer. And not only will Ralph Ineson's distinctive, booming vocal timbre be heard as cosmic planet consumer Galactus, but he will also portray the villain through the use of visual effects and a specially crafted costume.
How Reed Richards Has Stretched Through the Decades
Reed Richards first appeared in The Fantastic Four #1 on November 1, 1961. Crafted by the legendary dream team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the comic was the original stepping stone to Marvel's enduring success as fans still know it today. Since it's easier to depict visually dazzling superpowers in the pages of comic books, Reed has stretched all over the Marvel Universe in print. Not only that, but Ol' Stretcho has taken on various fun and interesting forms as well, like a bouncing ball and a parachute. Reed is also liable to get a bit tangled up when tussling with his many adversaries in the books.
Before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and Marvel Studios regained the film rights to the Fantastic Four, Fox tried adapting the First Family for the big screen, albeit to middling success.
Ioan Gruffudd stepped into Reed's unstable molecule-infused uniform in both 2005's Fantastic Four and its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, in 2007. Perhaps due to budgetary constraints and the limitations of special FX of the era, Reed used his powers sparingly. The biggest presentation of his abilities in the first movie is when he restrains Ben Grimm by wrapping himself around his body.
Rise of the Silver Surfer largely stayed the course with Richards' stretching. However, there is one scene about midway through the film in which Reed winds up imbibing more than he should have at a nightclub and uses his powers to light up the dance floor. It's one of the sequences that fans either love or hate without much of a middle ground.
In 2015, Fox took one more stab at the Fantastic Four, and had Marvel not gotten the rights back, it may have been a killing blow for the IP at the cinema. In Fantastic Four (mockingly dubbed Fan4stic by audiences due to the movie's disorienting title treatment), Miles Teller played Reed in a performance that was not quite fans' tempo. In fact, Reed's representation might have been the least of this movie's issues, with clumsy dialogue and a story that most agree did not do justice to the iconic status of the Fantastic Four.
Before Pedro Pascal took on the role, Marvel Studios indulged in some fan service. The studio cast John Krasinski for a quick cameo in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He played a Multiversal Variant of Reed, native to Earth-838. Unfortunately, a Darkhold-corrupted Wanda Maximoff came knocking and transformed Krasinski's Reed into human spaghetti, quickly ending his life.
Gamers around the globe recently developed a newfound appreciation for the Fantastic Four well ahead of First Steps' theatrical release. The popularity of NetEase's hero shooter video game Marvel Rivals has shed light on some areas of the Marvel Universe that casual onlookers may not have even known existed. All four members of the FF are available as playable characters in Marvel Rivals, including a Reed Richards who is significantly more rugged-looking than his traditionally nerdy appearance. Reed falls under the game's "Duelist" classification, and his earth-shattering Ultimate attack sees the hero make a stretching leap across the playing field, often accompanied by an enthusiastic battlecry of "Fantastic!"
Even though the FF have never been able to capture the zeitgeist as well as their fellow Marvel heroes like Spider-Man and Wolverine, there has been no shortage of adaptations of the Fantastic Four. The team has cropped up in animated series, video games, and even a low-budget film from 1994 that was never meant to see the light of day. But with The Fantastic Four: First Steps storming into cinemas everywhere this July, it may finally be the quartet's time to shine on the biggest screen possible.
