Warning: contains spoilers for X-Men #26Every member of The Fantastic Four is impressive in their own right, but X-Men #27 definitively settles the question of which hero in Marvel’s First Family is the most powerful. Sue Storm, the beloved Invisible Woman, is undoubtedly the most impressively powerful member of the iconic superhero family, especially after single-handedly neutralizing the mutant chimera warrior Rasputin IV.
Sue Storm was Marvel’s first-ever female superhero after her 1961 debut in Fantastic Four #1, but the powerful Invisible Woman unfortunately spent much of her first few decades existing as a sexist “damsel in distress” trope.
Thankfully, Marvel has realized Invisible Woman’s immense potential, and her nuanced characterization, so have recentered her as an incredibly important hero in her own right, over the past 20 years. After easily beating both the Thing and Human Torch in X-Men #27, from writer Gerry Duggan and artist Phil Noto, the powerful Rasputin IV is swiftly neutralized by Sue Storm, with Reed acknowledging that she is the truly dangerous one of their team.
Sue Storm Was Easily Able To Defeat The Powerful Rasputin IV
Rasputin IV, who first debuted in Powers of X before being transported to Earth-616 following Sins of Sinister, is a mutant chimera from the future created by Mister Sinister out of the combined genetics of Kate Pryde, Quentin Quire, Unus the Untouchable, Colossus, and Laura Kinney. After Rasputin IV, Ms. Marvel, Synch, and Talon travel to Ben Grimm’s family farm to solicit help from Mister Fantastic, the chimeric warrior takes down The Thing with one blow, and uses Quire’s telepathy to easily put Human Torch to sleep, taking him out of the fight for good.
Rasputin IV begins to threaten Reed Richards, but the Invisible Woman suddenly gets the drop on her, surprising Rasputin IV by manifesting a force field around the mutant. Of course, Rasputin IV, because of Pryde’s phase-shifting powers, is able to simply walk out of the force field, but the distraction gives the other heroes enough time to de-escalate the situation. Reed then makes it very clear that the mutants will have his wife to deal with if they attempt to harm him before Invisible Woman bluntly states she would create a force field in Rasputin IV’s brain, giving her a stroke and killing her, if she needed to.
Underestimating The Invisible Woman Is A Huge Mistake
Time and time again Sue Storm has shown that not only is she the second most intelligent member of The Fantastic Four, but she has the most powerful ability and is willing to kill anyone who threatens to harm her family. Not only has the Invisible Woman literally murdered a Celestial, but the A.X.E.: Judgment Day Fantastic Four issue showed how her incredible intelligence, strategic mind, and vast abilities allowed her to escape an “inescapable” Kree Pocket Battlefield. Sue Storm could outmaneuver The Thing, Human Torch, and Mister Fantastic in a battle, and has shown repeatedly that she is the real threat on The Fantastic Four team.
Thankfully for Rasputin IV, the X-Men and The Fantastic Four were able to put their differences and petty squabbles aside and collaborate, meaning the Invisible Woman did not ever need to show how powerful she truly is. While the other members of the iconic Fantastic Four are all unbelievably skilled in their own unique ways, the brilliant and brave Invisible Woman will always be the most powerful member of their incredible superfamily.
X-Men #26 from Marvel Comics is available now in stores.
