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The penultimate issue of Immortal Hulk revealed that the superpower of one of Marvel’s smartest and most venerable heroes has a creepy side effect.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Immortal Hulk #49, available now from Marvel.
The saga of the Immortal Hulk has been one of the most devastating in the entire history of the Marvel Universe. While the Emerald Avenger has been torn apart in mind, spirit, and body, he has managed to stave off any definitive end with a little luck and a lot of help from those closest to him.
The Jade Giant has recently gained the help of the Fantastic Four, and in the process has also revealed the unsettling side effect of Reed Richards’ incredible stretching powers.
The Sound of Mister Fantastic
The Hulk is joined by She-Hulk and Jackie McGee on his journey to the Baxter Building, in search of the Fantastic Four’s help. In Immortal Hulk #49 (by Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Paul Mounts, and VC’s Cory Petit), Jackie’s monologue explains that Reed’s movements are accompanied by the sounds of his body stretching and distorting as he moves, and it sounds like something more alien than human.
Jackie’s description makes things sound far more grotesque than the cartoonish sound reminiscent of a slide whistle from the 1967 Fantastic Four animated series, or even the rubbery sound used for 2005’s live action Fantastic Four adaptation. No matter how ridiculous the sound of Reed’s powers is, it can never be accurately described as human. Of course, this isn’t the only unnerving side effect of Reed’s abilities, and over the years he has learned to take advantage of those as best he can.
The Strange Ways Mister Fantastic Has Used His Powers
There are plenty of examples of Reed Richards using his fantastic powers in unique and imaginative ways, but among the often campy physical applications there are more uncomfortably creative ones that stand out among the rest. Mister Fantastic has changed his shape into that of other people in order to imitate them near perfectly, and has even managed to replicate certain other powers by manipulating his own density. The innate plasticity that allows Reed to accomplish these feats is the same reason he can withstand almost any conventional attack that comes his way, although he has always preferred working out a problem with his brains than his brawn.
Reed is so fond of his incredible intelligence that he has even figured out how to use his superpowers to expand upon his brainpower. When an alternate Reed Richards needed to be able to access Cerebro during 1999’s Earth X #7 (by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and John Paul Leon), he literally stretched his brain to increase its capacity to the point where he was able to utilize the same technology as the telepathic Charles Xavier. Not only did this allow Reed to seek out the Inhumans remaining on Earth at the time, it established just how far he could push his powers to overcome virtually any obstacle.
Thwip, Snikt, and Bamf: The Iconic Sounds of the Marvel Universe
No matter what Mister Fantastic is able to do with his abilities, the fact that they haven’t gained an iconic sound of their own over the course of his long history is nearly as shocking as his powers themselves. Spider-Man’s “thwip,” Nightcrawler’s “bamf,” and the “snikt” of Wolverine’s claws have all become recognizable parts of pop-culture that follow their respective characters no matter what version of them is under the spotlight.
Even other heroes in the Marvel Universe have made it clear that these sounds are well-known and iconic in their world, most recently with Conan expressing a fascination with Wolverine’s claws in Savage Avengers. Then again, Reed has never needed much more than his wits to stand out, and it’s safe to say that won’t be changing any time soon.
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