The Fantastic Four: First Steps star Vanessa Kirby discusses her hopes for Sue Storm’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, expressing a desire to explore the character’s dark alter ego Malice on screen. During an appearance on the podcast Happy Sad Confused, Kirby was asked how she’d like to see Sue evolve over subsequent appearances in the MCU. Her eyes lit up when she talked about Malice and explained why she “loves” that that is a part of the character’s rich history in the comic books. Kirby finds it fascinating that Sue was always capable of embracing her darker side but doesn’t always choose to as she pursues altruistic causes.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“Definitely Malice. I just love that that’s a part of her,” Kirby said. “It makes me so happy because I try to understand … [the Fantastic Four] all come back from this accident and they all decided to do different things with their powers as a family. And Reed goes heavily into math and scientific and technological advancement. I think he feels guilty for what happened and he’s trying to improve the world in that way. And Sue creates this future foundation … literally, she goes around to every country leader … and she gets them to disarm and to get rid of all their armies … I thought she must have such a high level of emotional intelligence to be able to do that. And, she’s made a choice. There was one line at one point, she says to Mole Man, ‘If you’re not careful, I can give you an aneurysm in a second.’ That was a real touchstone because it’s true. She can put a force field — and there’s a lot of imagery in the comics of her doing it to Doom and her doing it to all these enemies — where she threatens to do it but chooses not to. And it’s someone who chooses not to, but still could. And so I’ve always love Malice because it’s a sort of part of her that needs to come out.”
In the build-up to The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ premiere, Kirby has made a point to discuss her admiration for Malice. She said that she looked to incorporate “tones” of Sue’s dark persona in her First Steps performance, illustrating how the character isn’t just “the stereotype of a goody, sweet mother.” Malice first appeared in 1985’s Fantastic Four #280, where Sue fell victim to the emotional manipulations of Psycho Man.
Kirby, along with her main The Fantastic Four: First Steps co-stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, are set to reprise their roles in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. It’s also been reported that Marvel is developing a Fantastic Four sequel, suggesting they intend to keep the Fantastic Four around for an extended period of time.
While Psycho Man may not be in the cards for the MCU, Sue Storm and the rest of the Fantastic Four are going to go through an emotional wringer in their first handful of big screen appearances. In First Steps, they deal with the emergence of Galactus, who threatens to destroy their home because Sue and Reed won’t sacrifice their baby Franklin to him. After that, they’ll be trying to help save the multiverse from Doctor Doom. The characters are going to go through a lot, and if there are already traces of Malice in Sue as she negotiates with world leaders in First Steps, that side of her could be bubbling over after experiencing all these trials and tribulations throughout the remainder of the Multiverse Saga. Perhaps Sue will choose to give into Malice, feeling that will give her an edge over enemies.
Malice could actually be a solid foundation for a story development in a Fantastic Four sequel, after audiences have had a chance to develop a relationship with this version of Sue over a few films. Having that level of familiarity with her would make her dark turn hit with more emotional impact, raising the stakes as her family attempts to help her overcome Malice. Marvel effectively explored themes of mental health and trauma in Thunderbolts*, and Malice could provide the studio with another avenue to examine those topics through a different lens. Once Kirby’s Sue Storm is better established in the MCU, fans will have a better idea of whether or not Malice is truly in the cards.
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Prime Video. -
Image courtesy of Ufotable
