Super-Counselling Needed for Super-Couple
(Sorry, Marvel Unlimited was not cooperating, so only a couple screencaps). After the awesome presence of Wonder Woman, Susan Storm/Invisible Girl is a disappointment. Instead of a mighty warrior, or a brilliant thinker, Sue is reduced to the team mom of the Fantastic Four. From her first appearance onward, her main role has been to lightly scold the other team members for bickering.
It’s disappointing given that Ben Grimm/the Thing and Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic are both shown to be at the top of their fields, piloting and engineering respectively. Sue is just Reed’s girlfriend, tagging along with them when Reed decides to take his experiment to its next step. Sue only gains powers because she couldn’t bear the thought of being away from Reed while he went into space. Johnny Storm’s reason for joining in is just as weak, but I feel that Sue’s is more problematic. Of course Johnny is not going to be a scientist. He’s a teenager. But Stan Lee and Jack Kirby could have easily allowed Sue to be Reed’s peer as well as fiancée.
Even after getting her powers, Sue continues to act as team mom. That is when she’s not playing the simpering love interest for Reed.
At first, her relationship with Reed did not bother me. They didn’t stand out as a couple, but they didn’t offend either. Then came their marriage. Firstly, I’d like to point out how lame it was that Sue didn’t get to participate in fighting off the villains attacking her marriage. Instead it’s a veritable boys club, with Jean Gray as the only female figure shown fighting off the villains.
While, that itself was pretty stupid, I felt that Reed and Sue’s relationship took a steep downward turn once they tied the knot. Noticeably in the Inhumans story arc, Reed continually puts Sue down and makes backhanded comments to her. He treats her like an infant at times. If this were extended to Johnny and Ben as well, then I would chalk it up as being the result of his massive intellect. However, Reed only makes patronizing comments to Sue.
Reed’s active role in reducing Sue’s character makes him appear domineering at best, abusive at worst. He puts her down for expressing concern or caution. In issue 47, when Sue warns Reed to be careful of the men with guns he derides her, saying, “Stop sounding like a wife, Sue! I still make the decisions for this team!” Well, Reed, she is your wife. And she just wanted you to exercise caution, not to stop trying to save the man entirely. Is that such a bad thing? Apparently yes, because Reed constantly puts her down for such comments.
Of course, Sue is not without fault, as she often shows down right carelessness in the face of danger. In the same issue, she changes her hairstyle and pouts until the boys take notice. This occurs while they are trying to infiltrate the secret city of Inhumans. Reed’s exasperated reaction is warranted in this case, but often, it comes across as overbearing and dismissive. For the first superhero couple to get an official marriage, they are definitely dysfunctional.
In keeping with Marvel’s theme of flawed, the Sue/Reed relationship is certainly that. Neither of them makes any shows of love for each other, only snide comments about their relationship. Not to say that couples can’t tease or snark with one another; used correctly it works very well and is very cute. But with Sue and Reed it does not come off as such. Rather, they’re kind of an unpleasant pairing simply because they don’t seem to get along very well.
