A Character‑Driven Deep Dive: Why Mister Fantastic's Stretching Is More Burden Than Gift
The first time I saw The Social Network, I thought Zuckerberg was a genius. Now, with Fantastic Four: First Steps, the myth of Reed Richards crumbles—and Hollywood's latest portrayal confirms it: he's arguably stuck with the worst superpower in the MCU.
Stretchy Brain Over Brawny Moves
Pedro Pascal's Reed shines as the team's cerebral heart. But let's not kid ourselves—being one of the smartest people in Marvel's universe is terrific, yet his stretching? It's a liability. That limitation is thrown into stark relief not once, but twice in the MCU, marking him as vulnerable in the worst way.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (released on May 6, 2022), the Illluminati Reed—played by John Krasinski—fell victim to Wanda Maximoff's ruthless creativity, torn apart despite brilliance. No stretch could have saved him. Fast‑forward to July 25, 2025, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and a new variant meets a similar fate—slowly elongated until his suit splits and his nerves fray as Galactus examines him like a rubber band. These scenes don't just highlight peril—they define Reed's physical limitations.
Horror Roots Resurface… in Slow Motion
I remember the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot hype—Cronenbergian body horror teased, in one of the few things we liked about it. It flopped spectacularly. Yet here, Matt Shakman rekindles that grisly tone within one deft sequence in First Steps as Reed is stretched in slow motion by Galactus—costume ripping, flesh pulling. Pascal sells it with genuine panic. One moment bubble-gum arsenic; next, visceral. Reynolds joked, but there's depth there—this is gritty physical storytelling at heart.
Here's Reed, brilliant yet brittle. He climbs Galactus like a stick insect gripping a twig—only to become that twig. The danger is immediate, emotional… and utterly rooted in the limits of his own superpower.
The Risk of Having a Science-First Approach
Marvel's current positioning of Reed as a future Avengers leader—brains over brawn—reinforces this gap between intellect and combat application. As The Guardian notes, Marvel is “preparing to elevate Reed Richards… as the next leader of the Avengers,” banking on calm intelligence as chaos escalates in the multiverse.
But if leadership depends on command seat and battlefield presence, Reed's lack of physical combat usefulness becomes a glaring vulnerability. In First Steps, when Galactus arrives, the emotional stakes skyrocket—but Reed's solution-making power doesn't match his combat readiness. He's effective in labs, shaky in cosmic-scale violence.
He may solve equations faster than anyone. But when faced with the physical extremes of the cosmos—stretching to breaking point—he registers more risk than resilience.
Fans & Critics Weigh In
Many early reactions hailed the CGI as “flawless” in scenes involving Fantastic Four's stretch powers—yet fans and critics alike spotlighted Reed's fragility. One Reddit commenter put it bluntly:
“I'll gladly take full‑on power embracing wacky stretching shapes… over realistic toned‑down high quality CGI barely…”
Another detail: the trailers heavily downplayed stretch powers, focusing on Reed's genius chalkboard routines—but not a single arm stretch shot made the cut. Industry reports suggest that Marvel may have withheld some CGI until they felt the stretching could look dynamic and Spider-Man‑like in motion—a balancing act between homage to comics and plausibility onscreen.
So, Is Reed Doomed in the MCU?
Reed Richards can theorise, calculate, strategise—but when it comes to swinging or stretching into danger zones? He's liable to get pulled apart. It's raw. It's personal. It's the worst superpower to lean on at galaxy‑devouring scales.
Yet there's a flip side—his birth of Franklin Richards, who possesses the Power Cosmic and even revives Sue following petricide, hints at redemption. Franklin might offset Reed's weakness, making Reed's stretch power moot—or tragically symbolic.
In future MCU entries like Avengers: Doomsday (expected 2026), Reed's leadership and emotional acuity may outshine his stretching limits. But if he's thrust into further close-quarters cosmic threats without mitigating support? Well, we've seen the slow-motion horror version once already…
Final Thought
Mister Fantastic's greatest flaw might be more than just ethical quandaries or overthinking. It's the shock of realizing that physical elasticity, in the MCU's scale of cataclysm, can amount to nothing more than rope—thin, torn apart by cosmic forces, genius can't stretch far enough.
So next time Reed stands in a lab, chalk in hand—remember: his mind might save the day later. But if Galactus shows up again, he might just stretch himself into oblivion.
