Your Raunchiest Fantastic Four Fan Theory Is 100% True, Just Ask Marvel

As Marvel’s First Family head for the MCU in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, fans should know that their steamiest theory about the Fantastic Four is 100% official canon. A lot of superheroes have had raunchy storylines, but it’s particularly surprising coming from the FF, who are defined by their family bonds and all-ages atmosphere.

Marvel’s comics have specified that there are many more powers for the team to unlock in the future, especially by combining abilities…

After being exposed to cosmic rays, Reed Richards gained the power to elongate and stretch his body into impossible shapes, extreme enough to drape himself over an entire New York skyscraper. In response, he took on the codename Mister Fantastic and dedicated his life to discovering the impossible.

Custom image by Nicolas Ayala

As fans are wont to do, Fantastic Four readers have long speculated how Reed’s abilities may translate to the bedroom. And, as is often the case with superhero comics, it’s a question that Marvel’s writers already answered…

Human Torch shouting Flame On in Marvel Comics

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The devious Cult of the Negative Zone, led by the ruthless tyrant Annihilus, take advantage of The Human Torch’s one true weakness… women.

Yes, Reed Richards Uses His Powers for a Better Sex Life

If You Didn’t Think Marvel Would Confirm It, You Underestimated How Steamy Superhero Comics Can Get

In Fantastic Four #532 (from J. Michael Straczynski, Mike McKone, Andy Lanning and Paul Mounts), Reed Richards is contacted by a cosmic being known as the Entity. The Entity takes them both back to the Big Bang, watching the formation of Earth as the Entity asks Reed to decipher the meaning and purpose of life. Reed experiences relative years in space as he witnesses humanity’s evolution and progress to the modern day, ultimately concluding that small human moments are what make life worth living.

Surprisingly for a movie that isn’t exactly beloved, 2005’s Fantastic Four nailed this aspect of the team…

Returning home shortly after he left, Reed arrives having not seen his family in years, even though they last saw him a few hours ago. Despite various problems bedeviling the Fantastic Four, Reed makes time to visit his sleeping children, check out the Thing’s new suit, and head to the bedroom with his wife Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman. Cutting to a little later, Reed leaves Sue in bed as she comments in a quavering voice:

Have I ever mentioned what a… wonderful set of abilities you acquired from those cosmic rays? A perfect choice, I must say…

The clear implication is that Reed has used his stretching powers to enhance his performance in the bedroom – a surprisingly steamy way for Marvel to suggest its most straight-laced hero uses his powers. However, as surprising as this moment may seem, it’s actually consistent with the ethos of the Fantastic Four…

Namor in Black Panther Wakanda Forever and Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four First Steps trailer

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Namor’s attraction to Invisible Woman is no secret, but it’s difficult to determine whether or not Sue has actually cheated on Reed Richards with him.

The Fantastic Four Have Always Used Their Powers in Everyday Ways

It’s Part of What Makes Them So Unique

As a franchise, the Fantastic Four is all about family. While the X-Men are hunted for their powers and heroes like Spider-Man keep them an inviolable secret, the Fantastic Four are international celebrities who don’t hide their abilities. Given that their family includes more than one world-class genius, they’re also prone to experimenting with their powers, both unlocking new applications and exploiting them in mundane ways.

Surprisingly for a movie that isn’t exactly beloved, 2005’s Fantastic Four nailed this aspect of the team. Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben are shown using their powers in everyday ways – Reed impresses some club-goers with impossible dance moves, the Human Torch dries himself instantly after a shower, and the Invisible Woman clears up her skin by making a zit invisible. In the comics, the team push their abilities even further, with Sue Storm being able to change the color of her hair thanks to her control over the visual spectrum.

invisible woman uses powers to change hair

This creativity is just as applicable to superhero life – Reed has shown the ability to enhance his sensory organs and muscles by stretching them, while the Invisible Woman can focus Human Torch’s light into powerful lasers. The comics have also specified that there are many more powers for the team to unlock in the future, especially by combining abilities. Of course, using superpowers to enhance your sex life is a little more unusual than these applications, but it’s not exactly out of character for superheroes.

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Superheroes Have Always Been Raunchier Than Non-Fans Assume

Spider-Man, the X-Men and Batman Aren’t Actually for Kids

As surprising as it seems for the FF’s sex life to be depicted in comics, superhero stories have pretty much always had a psycho-sexual component, partly because of how characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men use superpowers as a metaphor for adolescence. In mainstream comic lore, it’s not unusual for the sex lives of superheroes to come up frequently, from Spider-Man and Silk’s spider-pheromones causing an irresistible attraction whenever they’re close to each other, to Superman bringing home an alien gladiatorial costume for Lois Lane’s enjoyment, to the X-Men using their holographic Danger Room for amorous liaisons.

X-Men: Marvel’s Mutants Use The Danger Room For Sex

The X-Men are no strangers to knocking boots, but which members of Marvel’s merry mutants brought the high-tech Danger Room into the bedroom?

However, out of all the sexy superhero moments in Marvel Comics, two stand out as the most inappropriate and cringe-worthy of all time. The first is from Avengers Volume 3 #71, where Ant-Man and the Wasp rekindle their romance with some size-changing bedroom antics in Las Vegas. The page can be found online but has been removed from all collected editions of the story, which is probably for the best given how embarassing the majority of fans found the depiction. The other competitor is from the notorious Spider-Man: Reign – an alt-future story where Peter learns that his beloved wife Mary Jane died due to years of exposure to radiation in his bodily fluids.

The Fantastic Four are as family-friendly as superheroes come, but even the staid academic Reed Richards isn’t exactly uninterested in superpowered hanky panky. At the same time, this isn’t a steamy one-off – it’s part of how the Fantastic Four have always been depicted as truly at-ease with their abilities – a theme which is likely to carry over to the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps.