The most powerful member of the Fantastic Four is also the member with the strangest powers – and the powers of Sue Storm make absolutely zero sense. Marvel’s first major female hero can destroy entire armies by herself – either via turning invisible and destroying the leadership, or by using her energy shields to go on the attack. But Sue Storm’s mastery of bending light technically means this Marvel mainstay should technically be as blind as Daredevil when she fights.
Sue Storm used to be one of the weakest and most situational superheroes in Marvel; akin to DC’s seen-as-a-joke Aquaman, her powers only came in handy in very specific scenarios (and she wasn’t much use at all during a fight). The cover of Fantastic Four #1 infamously depicts Sue in the clutches of a monster, exclaiming “I can’t turn invisible fast enough!” Eventually Sue would obtain another, far more devastating power: her energy shields, impervious to nearly any form of attack and able to be summoned mentally at will. Sue can shape these shields to her needs, and can even expand them from inside the heads of her enemies (if she deems such a drastic tactic necessary).
Aside from the Invisible Woman’s force fields, Sue’s powers of invisibility work through manipulation of all wavelengths of light; this allows Sue to turn herself invisible as well as other objects (even ones from a distance). Unfortunately, Sue Storm turns her entire body invisible – including her eyes. Since light passes straight through instead of being reflected, this means Sue should, according to all known science regarding the human eye, become blind as soon as she activates her powers. Sue is a brilliant scientist in her own right, and even she remains baffled as to how she can view the world while no one else can view her.
Sue Storm’s Eyes Make No Sense
The book Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades offers a possible explanation as to how the Invisible Woman can see: Sue’s retinas do not function like normal human eyes. Rather, they register cosmic rays and cosmic energy (the same substance that fuels the powers of the Eternals), allowing her to perceive both objects and people without light. This explanation does not always hold water; there are many moments in comics depicting Sue unable to see in darkness, just like the rest of the Fantastic Four.
This mystery is just one of many surrounding the Fantastic Four’s powers (such as how Mr. Fantastic’s bones can stretch yet retain their strength, or how the Human Torch can breathe while on fire despite his own flames displacing oxygen). Sue is a researcher and is perhaps just as fascinated with the science-breaking powers as the reader. Sue Storm may be the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four, but if someone were able to figure out how she could see in battle, they would undoubtedly unlock far more mysteries.
