For decades, Reed Richards has been the unwavering leader of Marvel’s First Family, guiding the Fantastic Four through multiversal threats, galactic showdowns, and unknown scientific frontiers.
However, in a powerful twist that fans never saw coming, ‘Fantastic Four #1’ is flipping the narrative, and handing leadership of the team to someone long overdue for her moment in charge: Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman.
Sue Storm Claims The Mantle Of Leadership In ‘Fantastic Four #1’
In a pivotal scene previewed from the issue, Sue Storm makes a firm and fearless declaration: “I lead the team.” And with those four words, a seismic shift in the team’s dynamic takes hold. Earth has fallen under the tyrannical rule of Doctor Doom. The stakes are brutal. Hope is scarce. And in the middle of this nightmare, it’s Sue Storm who steps up to lead.
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She does so not because Reed is gone or incapacitated but because she recognizes the moment demands a new kind of leader. For longtime readers, this is a long-overdue evolution. Sue has often been the emotional heart of the team, the one who binds them together with compassion and strength. Yet for far too long, she was written as a secondary player, even a damsel in distress in early stories.
However, not anymore. ‘Fantastic Four #1’ repositions Sue as the driving force of the group’s survival and strategy, and it’s incredibly refreshing. As the Fantastic Four braces for a planet-wide resistance against Doom’s rule, her leadership marks a defining new era. The comic’s preview teases intense confrontations and tough choices ahead. However, one thing is certain: this is Sue’s team now.
MCU Reinvents Sue Storm’s Powers And Her Identity
The upcoming ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ comic, a fully canon backstory for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four film, is already making waves for reshaping how the team’s powers evolve. However, it’s Sue Storm’s transformation that may be the most radical and empowering departure from comic tradition. In classic Marvel continuity, Sue’s powers were initially limited to turning invisible.
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She was dubbed “Invisible Girl” and often portrayed as the most passive member of the team. Her now-iconic ability to create force fields didn’t appear until years later, however, in ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’, the MCU wastes no time. Right from the start, Sue, played by Vanessa Kirby in the upcoming film, is already wielding her full suite of powers.
It’s clear that the MCU is rewriting Sue’s origin not just to give her equal footing, but to elevate her as a genius, a powerhouse, and a leader from day one. She’s no longer introduced as the “girlfriend” or the “sister”; she’s Doctor Susan Storm. That detail about her doctorate is also a clever nod to ‘Fantastic Four #17.’
In the storyline, her academic background was finally fleshed out. The MCU is clearly drawing inspiration from modern portrayals of Sue, not the 1960s version who fainted in battle or stayed behind to babysit Franklin. What’s more, the preview hints that Sue’s character may never go by “Invisible Girl” in the MCU at all.
