Vanessa Kirby confirms F4 explores gender politics

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Actress Vanessa Kirby confirmed that Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps explores gender politics with her Sue Storm character.

Kirby spoke with Entertainment Weekly saying, “If you played an exact '60s Sue today, everyone would think she was a bit of a doormat. So figuring out how to capture the essence of what she represented to each generation, where the gender politics were different, and embody that today, was one of the greatest joys of this."

The idea that Sue Storm was a doormat in the early Fantastic Four comics is ridiculous. In the second issue of Fantastic Four, she turns invisible and breaks herself free from a federal detainment facility.

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On top of Kirby’s comments, Entertainment Weekly’s Christian Holub shared that Kirby’s Storm is the head of the Future Foundation and she “has helped achieve global demilitarization and peace.”

Shakman elaborated, “If [Reed] is the most scientifically intelligent person, then she is the most emotionally intelligent person on the planet. Between the two of them, they're building an idealistic society."

Furthermore, Kirby shared that she ensured her depiction of Sue Storm was not “the stereotype of a goody, sweet mother.”

She explained, “One of the things I love most from Sue's history is when she becomes Malice, and all her dark stuff comes out. I was obsessed with that chapter of her life. So I wanted to make sure that there were tones of Malice in there with her, that she wasn't just the stereotype of a goody, sweet mother."

“I've always been really interested in the mess of femininity, and how can you be both? How can you be all the things? Not just the tough, invincible, powerful woman, but also a mother who gives birth, which is itself a superhero act,” she continued.

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