"Susan's Garden": The Invisible Woman Threads Merged

"Susan's Garden": The Discussion Thread For The Invisible Woman
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Welcome to the first official thread dedicated solely to Susan Storm Richards--the Invisible Woman of The Fantastic Four. Here, I would like to invite my awesome fellow Forum Members to discuss all things Invisible, in relation to Susan Storm (hint, hint): Her roles in film, TV, and in print. Let's talk about the live action actresses that have embodied this character over the years, the potential impact Susan Storm could have on women of the world when 2005 rolls around and her relationships with Reed, Ben, and Johnny. Also feel free to post your favorite pictures of this fantastic First Lady Of Marvel.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
Codename:The Invisible Girl
Real Name:Susan Storm-Richards
Sex:Female
Race:Human
Occupation:Adventurer
Identity: Publicly known
Legal Status:Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Other Aliases:None
Place of Birth:Glenville, Long Island, New York
Marital Status:Married
Known Relatives:Franklin Storm - father; Mary Storm - mother; Jonathan Storm (Human Torch II) - brother; Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) - husband; Franklin Richards - son; Nathaniel Richards - father-in-law
Current Group Membership:The Fantastic Four
Former Group Membership:None
Base of Operations:The Baxter Building

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Height:5' 6"
Weight:120 lbs
Eyes:Blue
Hair:Blond
Other Distinguishing Features:None
Strength Level:The Invisible Girl possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in regular exercise.

Known Superhuman Powers:The Invisible Girl possesses the psionic ability to manipulate ambient cosmic energy for the following effects. Can mentally bend light around herself without distortion to render herself invisible. Somehow, she enables light to penetrate her eyes so she can see while invisible.
Her body cells produce an unknown form of energy that she can mentally project around other persons or objects to render them invisible. Can use this energy to render visible persons and objects rendered invisible by other means, and energy that is normally invisible.
Her brain cells produce psionic force that she can project in relatively simple forms (rectangular planes, globes, cylinders, cones, domes, etc). Can mentally project protective force fields that are highly resistant to concussive force. Can travel through the air by projecting columns of psionic force beneath her.
Other Abilities:The Invisible Girl is a fair hand-to-hand combatant


*Note: Thanks to my buddy A1ant for the inspiration.

 

To kick things off I'd like to make this point: Some people (including myself at one time) feel that Jessica Alba, although drop-dead gorgeous, is "too sexy" or exotic to play the role of Susan Storm. However, I think the casting choice is dead on, as shown in this picture comparisons I developed. Jessica possesses many of the same features--the full lips, the doe-eyes and the general facial structure--that artists have depicted for Susan in recent years.


The same can be said for the characteristics Jessica shares with actor Chris Evans ("Johnny Storm").


Also, Susan's look has evolved many, many times over the years. At first, she was very modest, and simple--in the 60's. But as time has gone on, she's transcended that "damsel-in-distress" personna into one of Marvel's most striking beauties. The following is a gallery showcasing the various transformations Susan Storm Richards has undergone.

 

Gallery II






The last one is one of my favorites...

 

The Invisible Woman Of Yesterday: Rebecca Staab (1994 "The Fantastic Four")


The Invisible woman Of Today: Jessica Alba (2005 "Fantastic Four)




So for all those who are whining "But they got it right with the other chick from 1994", as you can see, nothing has been lost with the new millenium's version of The Invisible Woman. Just better.

 

On topic: Do you guys think it's pivotal that Jessica portrays a "maternal" side in this origin film? Part of me wants to see that, but part of me also feels that that is a quality she could develop more in the sequel, especially if Franklin is coming.

Don't get me wrong--I don't want to see The Jessica "Kick-Ass Girl" for the whole film, but some are caught up in this "She doesn't look 'motherly' enough." And I'm like, "Motherly' for WHO? She's more of a guardian of the group in the beginning than a mother figure. The "motherly" deal comes into play after she becomes Susan Richards--inspired by the roles of being a wife and motherhood.

I don't think it's a critical quality for this film.

 

Susan's Story

Susan Storm Richards
(known aliases include: Invisible Girl, Malice, Susan Benjamin)
Susan Storm is the eldest of the two children of Dr. Franklin and Mary Storm. She was born in Glenville, New York and was raised like most children, with the exception of one thing: her father was jailed for performing illegal medical procedures. When she was 12, she met Reed Richards (then 23) at her aunt's bording house. She was quite infatuated and tried to keep tabs on Reed for years to come.

As Susan grew older, she became interested in acting and got a few small television roles. Upon learning that Reed was moving to California, she left to pursue both of her dreams: Reed Richards and a career in Hollywood. She quickly captured Reed's heart and to pledge her faith in him, she offered her and her younger brother, Johnny, as human guinea pigs for his experimental rocket ship.

Sue was the first to find her super powers after the rocket crashed just outside of Central City, California. Initially, Sue could only become invisible at will; but over the years she gained the strength to render other objects invisible as well as create invisible force fields. Reed and his father, Nathaniel, have theorized the her powers stem from Hyperspace, giving her virtually a limitless supply of energy.
Shortly after the creation of the Fantastic Four, Susan designed their first uniforms. And not long afterwards she married Reed Richards and bore him a son, Franklin. Her first pregnancy was filled with complications, and she would have died if the remaining members of the FF borrow Annihilus' Cosmic Control Rod to save her life. Although her second pregnancy was not as life-threatening, their second child was believed to be still-born. This child, in reality, was transported into the future where she was born under unusual complications.

After Reed's apparent death, Sue took up leadership of the Fantastic Four. She quickly became more than a power to be reckoned with. After Reed's return however, she had been somewhat reluctant to give up her status of authority. Since her son was captured by Onslaught, and his powers severely depleted by creating and maintaining the Franklinverse, Susan seems to be returning to a more motherly role, hoping to raise her children in a more stable environment.

 

"Malice"--WHAT IS IT???
by Jeanne Burch
What is this thing? The entity known as Malice has possessed the bodies of Alison Blaire (the Dazzler), Wolverine, Rogue, Ororo (Storm), Lorna Dane (Polaris), Beatrice Conners, Alex Summers (Havok), and Sue Richards (the Invisible Woman). The Sue Richards' version of Malice appears to be a psychological manifestation of Sue's own dark side left over from the Infinity Wars; in any case, it is not the mutant of the same name that dogs the X-Folks.
First appearance: Well, something named Malice showed up in Jungle Action 8.
Died in: The mutant Malice was caught with nowhere to go in X-Factor 105. The alternate personality Malice...well, those alternate personalities never really die, do they?

Team affiliation: When in league with Mister Sinister, Malice was partial to Polaris of X-Factor (Uncanny X-Men 221-222) although left on her own she tried to destroy Polaris rather than be permanently tied to her (X-Factor 102-105). Malice was the field leader for Sinister's Marauders during the Mutant Massacre. The Invisible Woman attempted to integrate Malice into her own personality (Fantastic Four 368), which made her very cranky for a considerable period of time.
Powers: Malice is a strongly empathic entity with no known corporeal form. She specializes in disrupting the emotional center of the brain, emphasizing the emotions at the expense of rational thought. (This, incidentally, works for both versions of Malice...)

 

Yep. And she applied a thin layer of make-up to her chest, arms and legs too. And Michael Jackson is her stylist.

 

The girl just tans well that's all. She does have a strong European background, so I'm sure those genes impact her complexion. However, the other ethnicity running in her blood obviously allows her to tan well too. So she's got the best of both worlds, no big deal. The point is, she has been able to tone her body up and be groomed in a way to portray this role effectively. And that's an "actress" for ya.

 

You know what? Hollywood isn't the only that uses those things---they've become more mainstream. My boss uses them. She's white as a sheet of Xerox paper without it. But when she comes out--she's practically as dark as I am--albeit looks rather otherworldly on her. But...whatever. I never understood why white people want to tan their skin darker, especially with all the risks out there from skin cancer and sun damage. I mean, some tan naturally well, but some try sooooo hard, to the point of wrinkling their skin. Then 20-something year olds start looking like 50.

But my father is white, and he jokingly claims he does it to keep up with my mom. LOL