Warning! Spoilers for Fantastic Four: Life Story #4 ahead!
Mister Fantastic’s powers have been taken down a dark road in Fantastic Four: Life Story, which shows how Reed Richards is able to physically deceive the Fantastic Four and those closest to him. As someone whose superpower includes re-shaping his entire body, his day-to-day appearance can be one of the biggest lies of all. Reed is able to remove the telltale signs of wear and tear due to sleeplessness, age, or overwork, such as bags under the eyes, wrinkles, droopy skin, or gray hair.
As someone who is unhealthily obsessed with preparing for Galactus, an incredible power existing somewhere in the universe, this is a dangerous power for the Reed Richards of Fantastic Four: Life Story to have. This unwavering focus has already led to his emotional unavailability, driving away his wife Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, who divorces him and finds that she is better matched with Namor the Sub-Mariner. With even less emotional attachments to keep an eye on Reed’s mental health, his propensity for overwork is largely unchecked.
This is compounded by his ability to push himself to the brink and then simply erase any physical signs of distress, as demonstrated in Fantastic Four: Life Story #4 by Mark Russell, Selena Izaakse, and Francesco Manna. Reed Richards wakes up a physically worn-down old man before using his elasticity to re-shape his appearance from a haggard old man to his signature look. Given the nature of his powers, Reed is always able to present as the youngest, healthiest version of himself, even if his actions are breaking him down physically. Although the Mister Fantastic in the main continuity is not nearly as vain or prone to unhealthy obsession as this alt-universe version, his biggest flaw is blindly pursuing scientific discovery, as well as his lack of empathy. These priorities raise the prospect that he is also using his powers in this way, allowing him to work himself to the point of exhaustion with no resistance from his loved ones.
The Mister Fantastic of both universes is a workaholic, so this is a troubling development beyond vanity or preservation of his ego. This enables him to keep his loved ones at a super-stretched arm’s length, never knowing how his intense schedule of work and adventure affects him. It is quite literally the physical manifestation of the universal lie where a person says that he or she is doing fine when asked, even though they are not. This dark and deceitful use of his powers fits well into the Fantastic Four’s trend of darker stories and elements, with a future version of the Thing suggesting Reed will do something reprehensible. Even if he doesn’t directly harm anyone else, this ability has given Reed a license to work himself to death right under the noses of his family and friends, who are none the wiser. Keeping a workaholic in check is difficult, but this task becomes impossible when Mister Fantastic uses his powers to conceal the truth.
The masking of the physical changes that might serve as warning signs he is pushing themselves too hard is deadly serious. This is a disturbing truth about Mister Fantastic’s powers and certain to have repercussions for Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four.