The Fantastic Four’s Weirdest Secret is Reed’s Elastic Brain

The Fantastic Four’s leader and resident “Big Brain,” Reed Richards often looks like he has the weakest powers of the quartet. In a team that includes powerhouses like the Thing, the Human Torch, and the Invisible Woman, Reed’s ability to stretch his body doesn’t seem that useful (unless you need to grab something off a really high shelf). However, it turns out that Mr. Fantastic’s surface level powers hide a much more powerful secret.

Reed’s ability to stretch his form extends to every part of him – including his brain. This allows him to manipulate and stimulate key areas of his mind, enabling him to comprehend virtually anything and solve impossibly complex problems. Using this hyper intelligence, Reed has been able to keep the Fantastic Four on the cutting edge of science, solving both exotic and mundane problems with ease.

To understand the significance of this, let’s take a closer look at the secrets behind Reed’s elastic brain and discover why it’s so powerful.

How Smart is Reed Richards, Actually?

At first, super intelligence seems like a redundant power to give someone like Mr. Fantastic. After all, wasn’t Reed Richards already a super genius before the cosmic ray accident that gave the Fantastic Four their powers? In Ultimate Fantastic Four, Reed already had an IQ of 269 by the time he was 16. In the mainstream universe, an adult Reed had the brainpower to construct a rocket ship capable of traveling faster than light, something no scientist in the real world has been able to do.

However, when one compares Mr. Fantastic’s achievements after he gets his powers, the difference in intelligence is quite obvious. Reed’s first faster-than-light rocket (the Marvel-1) is an antique compared to the starships, dimensional portals, time machines, and shrinking machines he’s invented since then. Even things fans take for granted, like the Fantastic Four’s unstable molecules costumes, represent breakthroughs in technology that are beyond the ability of entire teams of scientists to discover – let alone one man who seems to make such buniverse-breaking inventions every day.

Reed Richards’ genius even extends to solving mundane problems. While most stories show him trying to breach dimensional barriers or experimenting with a new artificial intelligence, in Fantastic Four #512, Reed reveals he regularly invents things for the general public – like a hypersonic cure for acne that he sells to Revlon to raise money to fund the Fantastic Four’s activities (and you wondered where the cash to build their flying cars came from!) The casual speed with which Reed invents groundbreaking technology shows his mind is indeed flexible and fast enough to tackle incredibly complex problems, and definitely puts his intelligence on a superhuman level.

Mr. Fantastic’s Superhuman Neuroplasticity

So, how does Reed’s elastic brain work? While fans can only speculate, it’s suggested that Reed’s ability to stretch gives his brain a superhuman level of neuroplasticity. A normal human brain regularly changes and reorders itself throughout life, creating stronger or weaker connections depending on what thoughts or actions a person chooses to reinforce. This “neuroplasticity” allows the brain to adapt to changes, helping to retain cognitive functioning or even regain key functions after suffering strokes.

While “neuroplasticity” doesn’t mean the brain is like plastic, in Reed’s case, his brain literally is as malleable as plastic. This could mean Reed’s brain changes its shape to accommodate whatever puzzle he’s working on – stimulating certain areas while creating (or eliminating) certain brain synapses to optimize his problem-solving skills. Rather than simply relying on his natural genius, Reed can make himself even smarter in the specific areas he needs to be (i.e. language, logic, imagination) while muting other parts of his brain that might get in the way of solving a problem.

This is confirmed in Ultimate Fantastic Four #26, when Sue Storm’s mother asks Reed to decode some Atlantean carvings, revealing she knows Reed’s brain is as flexible as his body. While language isn’t Reed’s normal area of expertise, his brain adapts and he creates a mathematical formula to decodes the carvings. Although this isn’t the mainstream Reed Richards, it’s quite possible that Reed could use his brain in a similar way.

Reed exhibits even weirder powers in Earth X #7 when an elderly Mr. Fantastic of an alternate future stretches his brain’s cerebrum to replicate the X-Men leader’s Charles Xavier. He can then use Xavier’s Cerebro unit to track missing Inhumans much like the telepathic mutant could. This suggests Reed Richards can give himself new powers (or at least simulate them) by rearranging his brain to resemble other people’s. Keep in mind also that this Reed had not stretched in years, indicating that the younger, healthier mainstream Mr. Fantastic could accomplish even greater feats.

It’s also worth noting that the two superheroes confirmed to be smarter than Mr. Fantastic – Moon Girl and Reed’s daughter Valeria Richards – are both young children whose brains are still developing. As neuroplasticity studies indicate children’s brains are more adaptable and flexible than adults, this could be a reason why these two are currently smarter than Reed. As they age, it’s possible their minds will become less flexible (while Reed’s brain remains hyper malleable) changing the dynamic.

Are Other Stretchy Heroes Also Super Smart?

Considering how Reed’s stretching powers enhance his intelligence, one has to ask – are other stretchy heroes also super smart? Well, over in DC Comics, super sleuth Ralph Dibney (aka the Elongated Man) often promotes himself as “The World’s Greatest Detective.” Ralph isn’t just being cocky either – Batman regularly consults with the Elongated Man when he wants a second opinion.

Ralph’s intelligence is tied to his ability to use lateral thinking – or his skill at seeing connections and/or possibilities others disregard. As he’s a detective and not a scientist like Reed, his brain functions in a different way – but it’s likely they both owe their cleverness to their enhanced neuroplasticity.

So, while stretching powers might look like a silly ability at first, it’s worth noting that the Fantastic Four wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anywhere near as much as they have without Reed Richards – or his fantastic elastic brain.

About The Author

Michael Jung
(700 Articles Published)

Michael Jung is a mild-mannered freelance writer-for-hire, actor, and professional storyteller with a keen interest in pop culture, education, nonprofit organizations, and unusual side hustles. His work has been featured in Screen Rant, ASU Now, Sell Books Fast, Study.com, and Free Arts among others. A graduate of Arizona State University with a PhD in 20^th Century American Literature, Michael has written novels, short stories, stage plays, screenplays, and how-to manuals.

Michael’s background in storytelling draws him to find the most fascinating aspects of any topic and transform them into a narrative that informs and entertains the reader. Thanks to a life spent immersed in comic books and movies, Michael is always ready to infuse his articles with offbeat bits of trivia for an extra layer of fun. In his spare time, you can find him entertaining kids as Spider-Man or Darth Vader at birthday parties or scaring the heck out of them at haunted houses.

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