I mean invisibility or telekinesis representing air isn't an uncommon idea (still a cheat, though), but we're seriously saying Reed's powers represent water now?
That's a stretch.
Spoilers Marvel Cinematic Universe spoiler-heavy speculation thread
- Thread starter bbjeg
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I mean invisibility or telekinesis representing air isn't an uncommon idea (still a cheat, though), but we're seriously saying Reed's powers represent water now?
That's a stretch.
The cast for this looks great. I adore Vanessa Kirby; she'll make a wonderful Sue Storm. And Pascal can do no wrong at this point.*
If it's really set in the 1960s, that's, uh, marvelous. The FF are very much at home, there.
*Don't throw WW84 at me. He was fine.
If it's really set in the 1960s, that's, uh, marvelous. The FF are very much at home, there.
*Don't throw WW84 at me. He was fine.
I’d forgotten he was in it (never saw it). So he’s been part of Westeros, Star Wars, The Last of Us, the DCEU and now the MCU. The man is striding the various expanded universes like a colossus.
Actually, he was great in that role - definitely fit the TOm Vu 80's infomercial personality . "Life is goood. but it could be better! {finger point} "
Reed is smart. Sue is pretty. They’re in love. Johnny is young and Sue’s brother. Ben is gruff and Reed’s best friend. . They have superpowers.
Also: Reed sometimes gets too much into his science stuff to be a good husband/dad (Sue suspects he's autistic). Sue's the glue that holds the whole team/family together. Johnny's a hothead, has a running Legolas/Gimli-type banter with Ben, and is... to put it mildly... a bit of a playa. Ben's got a heart of gold, but he's also the only one of the four who can't pass himself off as an ordinary human (he's stuck in orange-rock form) and is kinda salty about that.
Shang Chi, Wakanda Forever, Guardians 3, Multiverse, WandaVision, Falcon/Winter Soldier, Loki, Hawkeye....
That's how it's been presented to me, and I've been reading FF comics since '76-'77.
Reed = Water
Sue = Air
Johnny = Fire
Ben = Earth.
It might have been retroactive on Stan Lee's part, or it may have come from Roy Thomas or Gerry Conway, the writers who replaced Lee on the title.
Yeah, it was retroactive thing that caught on after Lee and Kirby's run. Not unlike Prof. X and Magneto being analogs of MLK and Malcolm X.
Kirby originally designed the Thing as having rough scaley skin like dinosaur. It evolved in to plates and then the "rocks" we know so well. Sinnott's inks really sold the rock look. Johnny was really the only "elemental". (Not counting Crystal of course).
The only post Endgame MCU products that I haven't enjoyed have been Love and Thunder and Secret invasion.
That's one way to look at it. Another one is...
Reed, who already had doctorates by the time he was twenty (yet doesn't call himself a doctor and is always seeking to learn more) has an elastic mind. Sue, at least at first, had self-esteem issues and was shy to the point of being 'invisible' around people. Johnny, as already mentioned, is a hothead. Ben, stubborn and solid as a rock. In other words, their powers were outgrowths of their personalities.
Most of which pales in comparison to how much other characters have changed and evolved across decades. The Fantastic Four are probably stuck under the shadow of the "classic" stuff (in their case, the Lee/Kirby run) more than any other major Marvel property. Even that list of associates you give is entirely composed of characters and concepts they met in their first few years.
Even so, that's a metatextual point, not a textual one. I don't see anything about those characters and elements that's particularly tied to the 1960s as an in-story setting, given how many of them have already appeared in the modern MCU, or at least the 1990s. The only element that really feels tied to that era is the space-race origin story, and you know I consider the origin story the least important thing about the FF.
Seeing a bit of Jack Kirby in that picture of Reed.
And Tony Stark was originally modeled on Howard Hughes. Of course characters looked like they were from the 1960s when they were drawn in the 1960s. But they've been published continuously ever since, and their character designs and personalities have evolved with the times. Reed isn't portrayed as a pipe-smoker in present-day comics, any more than Sue is portrayed as a weak and timid helpmeet in present-day comics.
And it's weird to imply that Reed is defined by whiteness so soon after Pedro Pascal was announced in the role. Before that, he was voiced in the early-2000s animated series by Hiro Kanagawa. I've often thought Phil Morris would've made an excellent Reed.
I looked through my issues of 'Marvels' by Alex Ross to see who he based Reed Richards and Susan Storm on, and sometimes it looks like Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley and others it looks like Reed is modeled after Russell Johnson.
Did you see that fanmade pic of James Stewart as Reed Richards?
https://docjournals.com/wp-content/...nd-The-Invisible-Woman_img_655dd8d01096b.webp
And that was set in the '60s and '70s and meant to look retro. It's not an exemplar for how they're normally depicted in modern comics.