How Fantastic Is Mr. Fantastic?

[fastball_special]

I've never really read any Fantastic Four book but I've always been fascinated with Reed Richard's abilities. After seeing the preview for the new Super Skrull mini and his use of the stretch power to go razor thin and shred a bunch of cronies, I wondered what unique things Reed has ever done with his own abilities. I figured some of you out there might know or even have pictures.

Also, has Reed ever been broken? Has he ever been stretched so far that he snapped like a rubber band?

[Arrjay]

Um. He can stretch any part of his body?

'Nuff said.

[Sabrinaset]

During the Byrne run, he reached into a pit that was created somehow by witchcraft and one of Mephistos's demons ... or maybe Mephisto himself...broke Reed's arms, that's been about it as far as "breaking" Reed.

As far as snapping....this is a "stretch"...but waaaaaaay back in Marvel Two-in-One 1, the Molecule Man changes some nameless guy into a Reed Richards doppleganger, and makes him stretch...and stretch...and stretch...until he snaps and dies, even making the rubber band analogy as he does so. So, if we use that as an example, I suppose it *could* happen to the real Reed Richards.

[Sabrinaset]

Um. He can stretch any part of his body?

'Nuff said.

Yeah, I've always maintained that the happiest woman in comics is Sue Richards :p

[Gaz]

Yeah, I've always maintained that the happiest woman in comics is Sue Richards :p
Why do you think Namor lost?
(I would make a joke about his diving being nice... but I'm too classy. :D )

[david r]

Mr. Fantastic's powers are often overlooked by modern-day writers. They seldom use his stretching ability to much effect anymore.

I recall in one of the very earliest FF issues, the military put Reed in an airtight chamber. Reed still found the tiniest crack and squeezed his way out to freedom. His stretching power is truly amazing. Scott Lobdell had him stretch his eyes out of their sockets and scurry far away to see what the villain was up to.

As for illness, Reed lost his powers during the 1970s. From the FF #170s-190s, Reed lost his ability to stretch and had to rely on fake arms. Doctor Doom gave him back his power in FF #197.

[Lightbend]

Recent issue of FF had Sue lying in bed, moaning about how wonderful Reed's powers are.

So, yeah. They confirmed it.

Sue's the happiest woman on Marvel Earth.

[FlameOn4]

"I'm told she likes the way i stretch my.....imagination"

[streator]

reed's done some pretty impressive stuff semi-recently (at least in mk 4).
i agree that he's often portrayed as "my body elongates and i'll wrap around you" but he's capable of much more.

[XPac]

Given Reeds technology, it's frankly a miracle we EVER see him use his stretching powers. If he wanted, he could easily create an armor suit that equals Iron Man or Dr. Doom.

[dingo]

Some of the more unusual things we have seen him do off the top of my head are...

Increase the size of his muscles (against onslaught)
Stretch his eye outside its socket to look around a corner
Form a key (or something similar) with his hand
Alter the focal length of the lens in his eye (ultimate)
Transfer most of his density to his fist
Distort his facial features as a disguise

and if I remember properly from the fact page in the 30th aniversary

he can stretch the length of five football fields.
he can pass through the eye of a needle
he can absorb any weapon fire (and reflect it back)
his skin can not be cut (it has been done once of twice usually by a writer to show "this is serious", but my No-prize opinion is this was blades covered in chemicals)
he can form any shape

[Bumnut]

Was that whole "four elements" (Reed being water) intended in 1963, or was that just contrived for UFF?

Edit: I should clarify: In one of the early Ultimate FF issues, someone comments that the four of them take on characterisitics of the four elements;

Ben is earth(duh)
Johnny is fire (double duh)
Sue is air (As in vanishes into thin air)
Reed is water (Cause, um... he's stretchy. Like water...)

[dingo]

Was that whole "four elements" (Reed being water) intended in 1963, or was that just contrived for UFF?

Yeah, it was a theme Kirby used a few times if I remember correctly.
It definitely was not first used in UFF, Heroes Reborn used that idea too.

[Bumnut]

K. I've never been a big FF fan, and I'd never heard of the Fnatastic four = the four elements idea until I read UFF.

nd after a quick wikipedia search, I realise that should've been 1961, not 1963; I knew x-men was 63, and thought FF was too, but it was ASM that also started in 63, not FF.

I hope that made sense.

[dingo]

K. I've never been a big FF fan, and I'd never heard of the Fnatastic four = the four elements idea until I read UFF.

nd after a quick wikipedia search, I realise that should've been 1961, not 1963; I knew x-men was 63, and thought FF was too, but it was ASM that also started in 63, not FF.

I hope that made sense.

That's cool, I knew what you meant and the date was irrelevant so there was no need to call you on it.

[darkhawk76]

Sue's a lucky girl - nuff said :p

[Agentum]

Yes given that Reed is a version of the older Plastic Man it's funny how little he uses his power in more advanced ways.

Is his powers more like Plastic Mans? can he change his form to anything or is it just the stretching thing like Elongated Man in DC also have?

Can you melt him down? Plastic Man has fire as a problem, you cant shoot him but you can melt him down.

Freeze him solid and crush him in pieces?

Of course i have read FF but like i said, we don't see him do so much with his powers but the stretching thing.

[dingo]

Yes given that Reed is a version of the older Plastic Man it's funny how little he uses his power in more advanced ways.

Is his powers more like Plastic Mans? can he change his form to anything or is it just the stretching thing like Elongated Man in DC also have?

Can you melt him down? Plastic Man has fire as a problem, you cant shoot him but you can melt him down.

Freeze him solid and crush him in pieces?

Of course i have read FF but like i said, we don't see him do so much with his powers but the stretching thing.

Reed seems to me to be somewhere in between plastic and elongated. He can form any shape as long as it is possible with his muscles. You will often see him as a sphere, but I have seen him as a cube, dinosaur shaped, raft shaped etc.

As for fire and ice, he reacts to both of those as any normal human would. Fire makes his skin blister, not melt.

[Agentum]

ok, thanks for the answers, he really is more of a human with human tissue that stretch extremly than made of rubber like Plastic Man seems to be.

[XPac]

ok, thanks for the answers, he really is more of a human with human tissue that stretch extremly than made of rubber like Plastic Man seems to be.

Plastic Man is on a whole other level. Other people that stretch can roughly form the shape of a lamp... but when Plastic Man does it, he turns into a lamp that can actually turn on and create light. He's more a shape changer than just a guy that stretches.

[Gaz]

Plastic Man is on a whole other level. Other people that stretch can roughly form the shape of a lamp... but when Plastic Man does it, he turns into a lamp that can actually turn on and create light. He's more a shape changer than just a guy that stretches.
Closest Marvel has is Impossible Man. (And Exiles/AoA Morph, but not as much)

[mr sinister]

Yeah, I've always maintained that the happiest woman in comics is Sue Richards :p
not only because of the lengths he could go but the shapes as well.

[Bumnut]

I just read Annihilation:Super-Skrull, and he uses Reed's powers in some interesting ways, including stretching his arm out super thing, then pulling on it to cut some guys in half. Reed also appears in the issue, and is drawn as being constantly stretched and deformed, as if that's how he goes about his life, as opposed to most other books where he only stretches when he needs to.

[Owens 23]

Yeah, I've always maintained that the happiest woman in comics is Sue Richards :p

Yes but when Reed stretches it, it goes limp like Northstar's wrists ;) . So Sue is not as happy as everybody thinks.

[DrMagnetoDoom]

isn't reed also like exponetially smart, meaning he just keeps getting more and more intelligant, or maybe thats only in UFF

[CyberCoyote]

It's pretty much accepted that Reed's physical potentials are sidelined by his intellect and controlled emotional state. In the early parts of V3 the Crucible had leeched off Reed's intellect and he became more 'average' not only in his IQ but his interactions with the world around him. More attentive to his family, less distracted by complex scientific theory..

Oh, and he kicked more ass than he knew what to do with. Rather than thinking his way through situations he just starting beating the snot out of them. He expanded his musculature, did the hammer fist thing, and verified that as far as impacts and cuttings go he's very nigh invulnerable.

He's also, with care, altered his features to impersonate others. Gladiator once stretched him past his limits in the Byrne days to the point where there was MILES of Reed all over NYC draped about building like so much cast away silk.

In FF 200 he stretched through a complicated lock structure to pull off Doom's mask (no where near as easy, apparantly, as popping off Iron Man's whole helmet that he forgets to snap on :) )

In the first year of the book it was mentioned that Reed was a Judo Master, but that was long forgotten. Too bad, a proffesional grappler that has no weakness and can basically grab his opponents anywhere from any angle would be awesome. Plus they let the Wasp fly into the Hulk's ear and shoot his eardrums, but they never let Reed burrow in an ear or up a nose. He could take the Hulk out by coating his body and infiltrating his lungs. Gross as hell, but worth a try :)

[effang]

Recent issue of FF had Sue lying in bed, moaning about how wonderful Reed's powers are.

So, yeah. They confirmed it.

Sue's the happiest woman on Marvel Earth.

you have a scan of that?

i don't ever recall those two in bed lol...reed has better things to do.