Warning! Spoilers for Giant-Size Fantastic Four (2024) #1 ahead!It’s yet to be seen in the MCU so far, but Marvel Comics have proven that one of the deadliest superpowers one can have is hydrokinesis. Though the ability to control water isn’t common in the pages of Marvel Comics, it’s been displayed by a handful of characters including Storm, Hydro-Man, and Crystal of the Inhumans. When the power of water manipulation is harnessed unabashedly, the results can be devastating.
While the power of hydrokinesis has been largely underrepresented in Marvel Comics, steps have been taken to bring it to the forefront. Marvel introduced two new characters with hydrokinesis in 2019 and 2020, and the Fantastic Four’s latest villain is a hydrokinetic who’s just made a splash in 2024.
Giant-Size Fantastic Four (2024) #1 unleashes a new hydrokinetic character: the lost Empire King, Natlus. Half Atlantean and Lemurian, Natlus has magic abilities that allow him to manipulate water, which he used to conquer and rule an underwater civilization for almost a century. He was eventually imprisoned during a rebellion, but when the Fantastic Four take Natlus on, he fights with ease. The story ends with the team reaching an understanding with Natlus, but sets him up as a villain who will strike again.
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Hyrokinesis Can Take Down Marvel’s Heaviest Hitters
Hydrokinesis is often underutilized because it can make whoever wields it seem overpowered. Control over the element that makes up large percentages of both the Earth and the human body can be used to great effect, from ruling entire civilizations to taking down large threats like Hulks or the Thing. X-Men (2021) #15, by Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara, and Guru-eFX displays how even the heaviest hitters of the comics can be taken down by hydrokinesis. When the villainous character Sangre fights the Thing, he creates a water bubble around Ben’s head that quickly causes the clobberin’ hero to suffocate. Other X-Men characters like Storm and Iceman are not primarily known as hydrokinetics, but have been shown to harness immense control over water as Omega-level mutants.
Marvel’s Mutants Have a Strong Connection to Water Manipulation
One notable aquatic character who’s been introduced in Marvel’s movies is Namor, King of Atlantis, but the Atlantean anti-hero is not a hydrokinetic. The King of Atlantis has only used the power in special circumstances, like Invaders (2019) #2 by Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, and Butch Guice, where he siphons Spider-Man villain Hydro-Man’s powers. However, Namor may not even be the rightful king that he claims to be. Giant-Size Fantastic Four establishes that not only does Natlus possess the water-controlling ability that Namor covets, but that he was the King of Atlantis for decades before Namor.
Hydrokinesis has yet to be realized in the MCU, but the Fantastic Four and the X-Men are being introduced in that universe. There’s a high possibility that both Marvel movies and comics will delve deep into those waters in these properties. The introduction of the FF’s newest villain Natlus portends some major aquatic terror coming to the comics, and a potential war brewing underwater. Additionally, a reset of the X-Men after the Krakoan era could see characters like Iceman and Storm level up their water manipulation. What is clear is this: Marvel Comics have established hydrokinesis as the ultimate powerhouse ability that should be introduced soon to the MCU.
