Over the weekend, I got the chance to sit down with my daughter — a huge Marvel nerd like her old man, and yes, that includes comics — and watch Fantastic Four: First Steps, which started streaming on Disney+ last week. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, even though I had my doubts, given the woke trajectory of most of the latest entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
However, the film turned out to be delightful. One of its strengths is how it tosses out the tired trope that superhero teams have to fight each other until the last moment before uniting to defeat the villain. We’ve watched that play out again and again in Avengers films, Captain America: Civil War, and the previous MCU release, Thunderbolts.
It’s tiresome. Are superheroes really so driven by their own egos that they can’t set them aside to protect the innocent? Are they truly heroes then? Fantastic Four: First Steps gives us something different — a team that trusts each other, lives together as a family, and works in unison. Sure, they have differences, but they work through them.
And that brings me to the theme that hit me hardest while watching the film: motherhood as the greatest of all superpowers.
Be warned: some spoilers ahead.
Our modern culture, heavily shaped by radical left-wing feminism, often treats motherhood as a curse instead of a blessing. A quick Google search shows that more than a million abortions took place in 2024 — even after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Liberal feminists degrade motherhood through propaganda that paints being a full-time mom as a waste of potential, claiming that real meaning lies in climbing the corporate ladder.
Sue Storm, the matriarch of the Fantastic Four, would strongly disagree.
While Sue is a brilliant, politically savvy member of the team — with the ability to create force fields and turn invisible — her greatest strength is her role as a mother. During the first act, Sue learns she’s pregnant with her and Mr. Fantastic’s first child, yet her motherly instincts shine long before baby Franklin arrives.
Sue naturally steps into a motherly role for her brother and teammate, Johnny Storm. The two lost their parents as kids, and as the older sibling, Sue helped raise Johnny. She’s always there for him — encouraging, pushing, and, like any good mom, wanting to see him fall in love and be happy.
Even more importantly, Sue becomes a mother to the world. Later in the film, when Galactus — the planet-eater — demands Sue and Reed hand over their child in exchange for Earth’s survival, the couple refuses. They won’t trade their baby’s life for the world’s approval. When the Fantastic Four hold a press conference and declare their decision, the same public that once adored them turns against them.
But Sue delivers a moving speech reaffirming the team’s resolve not to sacrifice Franklin. She calls every person on Earth a member of their extended family. The crowd rallies behind her and helps the team execute their plan to save the planet from Galactus.
Near the end, Sue’s love as a mother ignites her final surge of power, revealing strength she didn’t know she had. Throughout the movie, it’s clear that while Sue wears many hats, she treasures motherhood above them all.
The Invisible Woman shines a spotlight on the sacred power of motherhood, reminding us that children are among life’s greatest blessings. Human life — inside and outside the womb — is so precious that it’s worth dying for. Children aren’t curses or obstacles that keep a woman from reaching her full potential. Quite the opposite. As Sue’s story shows, motherhood pushes her to break limits and discover new depths of strength.
Mothers hold tremendous power, and, as another famous Marvel hero once said, great power comes with great responsibility. For the first seven years of a child’s life, a mother serves as God’s most vital instrument in shaping that soul. Just look at history’s most notorious killers — most suffered abuse, neglect, or cruelty from their mothers. The damage ran so deep that even a good father couldn’t undo it.
Of course, a mother’s influence doesn’t end when a child turns seven. Her love teaches compassion and kindness. The care, sacrifice, and comfort she provides help her children understand empathy. True masculinity flourishes only when balanced between strength — that fierce, protective thumos — and tenderness. This is why kids from two-parent homes tend to thrive: they experience both.
Without a mother’s presence, a young person often grows up lacking gentleness or mercy when it’s needed. That absence breeds trouble later in life.
So, to every mom who feels trapped in an endless loop of feedings, diaper changes, and sleepless nights, wondering if this is all there is — take heart. Your greatest superpower is being a mom: a woman of immense honor and glory, shaping the future by raising souls who will one day change the world, just like you.
