In the world of the Fantastic Four (and, hopefully, outside of it too) it’s cool to be nerdy. Marvel’s First Family has many talents among them, but they’re smart – astronaut-level, since they get their powers in a cosmic blast. And so when going for the role of Sue Storm – aka the Invisible Woman – in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which finally brings the crew into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Vanessa Kirby put her own smarts on front street. She didn’t need to be introduced to the character by Marvel’s powers that be; she was already well up to speed on Sue Storm’s status, her history, and her powers.
“I’m such a Sue nerd,” Kirby tells Empire, in the world-exclusive The Fantastic Four: First Steps issue, looking back on her first meeting at Marvel. “I think I out-nerded everyone in that room.” That carried on into her preparation for the role once she was handed the blue spandex. Storm’s powers – to bend and manipulate light, so she can render herself invisible, create shielding forcefields, and propel energy blasts from her hands – had Kirby exploring hardcore levels of science. “I got so into quantum physics,” she laughs. “It’s sad how much I got into it. I could waffle on about cellular vibration frequency.” This version of the character, director Matt Shakman says, is “the inspiring, idealistic, leader of what the Fantastic Four represents, as she is in some of the later comic runs. She’s essentially the Secretary-General of the UN.”
She is also, as revealed in the trailers, pregnant. The relationship between Storm and Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic (here played by Pedro Pascal), has always been core to the comics – and the impending arrival of their child puts the apocalyptic coming of Galactus into even sharper relief. Perhaps, though, the little one might be a help more than a hindrance. “It’s not just adults that have superpowers,” teases Kirby. You don’t mess with family.