Marvel dropped the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer to a roaring crowd of widespread support. The film looks fun, charming, and thoroughly tied to its source material. Unfortunately, fans on Reddit and elsewhere noticed an odd oversight. We get to see the new Thing, Invisible Woman, and Human Torch in action, but Reed Richards never uses the powers that make him Mr. Fantastic. What might Marvel be hiding?
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Doesn’t Stretch
Fantastic Four: First Steps seems like a new realm for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The franchise is in a bit of a slump, but people still want to see what they’ll do with their next team. The family of superheroes has seen several terrible adaptations, so this one has a lot of weight on its shoulders. We see a lot of compelling visuals in the trailer, but the one thing we don’t see is Reed Richards using his power. Sue makes a forcefield, Johnny flies into the stratosphere, and Ben remains a rock man, but Reed never gets to stretch. Reed even has a line in which he bemoans the changes everyone else has gone through. He doesn’t mention his own power in that list. Marvel’s unwillingness to depict Mr. Fantastic in all his flexible glory raised questions among fans.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer opened up a few old wounds for Marvel fans. Some believe that the trailer refused to show Reed’s gifts because the VFX simply aren’t done yet. The studio has a terrible track record with CGI artists, but this would be an odd oversight. I know they haven’t finished it, but are they animating it one character at a time? The fact that Reed is the missing element raises other questions. Marvel already had a character with elasticity powers in Kamala Khan, but they refused to follow her source material. Some believe that Marvel might alter another character with stretchy limbs, prompting them to suspect foul play in the first trailer. Marvel Studios replaced Khan’s powers with hard-light constructs, but Mr. Fantastic is a slightly more iconic character. There could be countless explanations for this oversight, but many fans assume the worst.
Everyone has a take on the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. Marvel may have chosen to hide Reed’s powers because they aren’t done or because they aren’t in the movie, but those are only theories. Fans will read into any aspect of the marketing to glimpse future adaptations of their favorite characters. This level of response speaks to the Fantastic Four’s massive fan base. Reed may not reach his full elasticity yet, but the new Fantastic Four will come to the big screen on July 25, 2025.
