Hot Off Her ‘Marvel Rivals’ Arrival, ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Star Vanessa Kirby Says MCU Sue Storm Will Have “Tones Of Malice”
In January, Marvel Rivals took the internet by storm with the reveal that Invisible Woman would be joining the hero-shooter’s roster with her ‘Malice’ outfit in tow – and now, whether out of sheer coincidence or as the result of a pointed-marketing play, Fantastic Four: First Steps star Vanessa Kirby has confirmed that her take on the team’s resident matriarch will be taking some inspiration from the heroine’s aforementioned ‘hate-filled’ form.
Originally introduced in 1985’s John Byrne-written and illustrated Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #280, Sue’s ‘Malice’ heel turn comes about due to the machinations of the third Hate-Monger, who fresh off his by Psycho-Man is ordered by his creator to use his ‘hate induction’ powers to turn New York City’s citizens against one another, in the hopes that Marvel’s First Family would perish while attempting to put an end to the resulting violence.
As declared by the villain, “Man against woman, child against parent, black against white, Jew against gentile, blonde against brunette, blue eyes against brown, there is not a single human prejudice, however small, that has not grown into a juggernaut!”
But to take down a team as resourceful and tight-knit as the Fantastic Four, one needs to present them with a bigger threat than a city running riot. Understanding this fact, Psycho-Man decides to strike directly at the Four’s heart by using Hate-Monger’s powers to brainwash the Invisible Woman into joining their side.
Hit with a massive dose of Hate-Monger’s power, Sue suddenly finds herself not only overwhelmed by a blinding hatred for her friends and family, but completely unaware of their shared history. Donning a leather dominatrix-inspired outfit and adopting the moniker of ‘Malice’, the brainwashed-superheroine proceeds to try and sate her uncontrollable emotions in the only way she can think of: Killing the Fantastic Four.
And though she is successful in wiping the floor with the team in their first encounters, thanks to some counter-mental trickery on the behalf of Reed Richards, Sue is ultimately able to shake off her Malice persona before she can finish them off, thus bringing a swift end to her temporary-betrayal.
But of course, this is comic books, and while Sue walks away from the event believing Malice to have been fully defeated, her darker side is soon revealed to have actually been buried deep within the recesses of her mind, where she spends her time continually trying to reassert control of their shared body.
Able to do so twice more, first when attempting to take possession of the Soul Gem and again when the stress of the Infinity War began to weigh on Sue, and shunted back into the void each time, Malice is destroyed for good (at least thus far) when the Dark Raider, the sadistic alternate universe Reed Richards whose mind she had been trapped inside by her former host, is atomized by the unique cosmic environment of the Negative Zone.
With her apparent end having come in 1995’s Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #399, Malice had long been relegated to the annals of ‘comic book history trivia’ until she was brought back into public consciousness courtesy of Marvel Rivals.
And yet, despite Malice’s relative obscurity, Kirby says that the dark persona was a genuine influence on her upcoming Sue Storm performance in Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Speaking to her upcoming portrayal of the heroine during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kirby explained, “[Director] Matt [Shakman] and I were really aware that there hasn’t really been a mother with a baby in these superhero archetypes women have been getting. 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?” she continued. “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. I love that these characters are real humans in a messy family who argue and try to work it out and get things wrong.”
While Kirby did not provide any specific details as to exactly how much and in what way she’ll apply these ‘tones of Malice’ to Sue’s characters, fans will be able to find out for themselves when Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th.
Meanwhile, Sue’s Malice skin is still available for purchase in Marvel Rivals‘ premium cash shop.
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