Summary
Mister Fantastic, the heroic leader of theFantastic Four, just reached his limits, asReed Richards’stretchy body finally begins to tear apart. While Reed is known primarily for his incredible genius, his actual superpower is the ability to stretch and morph his body to an extreme degree. For years, it seemed like there was almostno limit to what Reed can do, but it turns out that Mister Fantastic isveryvulnerable under one circumstance.
In a preview ofFantastic Four #22, Reed does his part against the vampire army unleashed by theBlood Huntevent. Last issue, Reed and Alicia Masters were on a trip to the museum when the Sun was blotted out, and Mister Fantastic was able to get a large group of people to safety. Not only did Reed create a safe zone by setting up daylight-replicating lights, buthe covered an entire building in his stretchy form, protecting everyone inside(since the vampires can’t actually bite his ever-shifting body.) However, as the vampires regroup, Reed hits his limit.
As the lights in their stadium stronghold go out, Reed once again stretches to protect every human present. However,performing this feat so soon after stretching to cover an entire building pushes Reed beyond what his body can take, and large wounds begin to open upabove the survivors as the Fantastic Four’s leader begins to tear apart.
The Fantastic Four’s New Origin Is a Groundbreaking Rewrite of Marvel Lore
Marvel is officially rebooting the Fantastic Four’s origin, with a dark beginning that totally transforms their most iconic nemesis.
Reed Richards' Stretchy Body Tears After He Pushes It Too Far
The Fantastic Four’s Leader Is Struggling to Survive the Blood Hunt Vampire Apocalypse
The ongoingBlood Huntevent has unleashed a vampire army, with Darkforce energy used to block out the Sun and allow them free rein over Earth. Like many heroes, Reed Richards was caught by surprise, saving and protecting the people he could. Not only did Reed cover an entire building with his body, he then became a tunnel, allowing the survivors to move to a larger stadium where they could hole up. It was ashowcase of Mister Fantastic’s geniusandhis powers, but it turns out thatafter putting his body through so much stress, Reed is in trouble.
The current volume ofFantastic Fourhas added surprising clarity to Reed’s powers, confirming that much of his biology is similar to a regular human, with the expected bones and organs stretching along with his skin. This is a verydifferent approach to theUltimate Fantastic Fourcontinuity, where Reed’s powers were explained as decidedly non-human, withmost of his body being a plastic-like substance with a tiny ‘sack’ of internal organs that he could move around at will.
It’s likely that - as his skin tears and he has to shift his wounds away from the surface to stop the vampires infecting him - the mainstream Reed wishes he was more like hisUltimateself. Fans have seen Reed stretched so far that he struggles to reconstitute himself, but the idea that his body becomes vulnerable to tearing directly after extreme stretching is relatively rare, and a fascinating weakness for theFantastic Four’s leader to have - albeit also a terrible one, asReed Richardsfights an army of vampires who can recruit him if they get access to even the smallest wound.
