Marvel Fans Now Fear the MCU’s New Reed Richards is Significantly Nerfed Following the Fantastic Four Movie’s Final Battle

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During the climactic fight scene in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Galactus extends Reed Richards to such an extent that his discomfort is clearly visible, causing some viewers to question whether the film’s Mr. Fantastic possesses the full extent of his superhuman strength.

In the Marvel universe comics, Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, has the ability to extend his body up to roughly 1,500 feet without encountering problems (as mentioned in Fantastic Four #358). However, if he were to stretch beyond this point, he would face a loss of control and find it difficult to utilize his powers effectively.

In “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Reed exhibits distressing symptoms much earlier than the 1,500-foot marker suggests. Although the comic doesn’t provide an exact measurement of how far Galactus extended Reed during their battle, readers can make an educated guess based on contextual hints.

By examining Galactus’ environment, we can infer that he appeared on Earth standing approximately 450 feet tall. Upon observation, it’s clear that Galactus is significantly narrower than he is tall, suggesting his horizontal dimension is less than 450 feet.

In the film, Reed shows signs of unease when he gets drawn towards Galactus’ width, and possibly even before that. For Reed’s comic book persona to reach its peak potential before facing challenges, he should have been elongated much more than twice Galactus’ actual height.

Numerous viewers are concerned that the film portrays a weakening of Reed’s abilities, as evidenced by tweets such as “@VividInsaan’s” question, “Why can’t he just elongate?” and “@starfrootjuice’s” puzzlement due to this being a fundamental aspect of Reed’s character, which should have made him immune to the pain experienced.

First Steps”. Reed Richards is one of the four main characters, known as The Fantastic Four, which also includes Sue Storm (played by Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm (both played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn respectively).

Is MCU Reed Richards Less Powerful Than He Is In The Comics?

In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it might appear that Reed Richards doesn’t possess the same level of power as portrayed in the comics. However, there are reasons given within the story for why he endures such intense pain, despite not stretching to even half of his comic book maximum capacity.

@lvl99ron posted on X (previously Twitter) a theory suggesting that Reed might have been in pain due to being forcefully elongated, making him incapable of moving freely as required for his powers to function without causing him distress. Additionally, the user proposed an idea that Galactus potentially used his Power Cosmic, thereby affecting Reed’s abilities.

An alternative perspective could be that the immense weight or density of Galactus’ hands exerting pressure on Reed might have made the encounter more excruciating than usual. Additionally, it’s possible that Reed was fatigued from continuous combat against such a powerful cosmic entity, leaving him slightly less robust than his regular strength.

T Doomsday. With more exposure to the character in different scenarios, fans may get a clearer picture soon.

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2025-08-08 14:18