What Sue Storm and The Hood reveal about the future of power in the MCU

The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has always thrived on contrasts — light and shadow, science and magic, hero and villain. But with the almost back-to-back arrivals of Sue Storm in Fantastic Four: First Steps and Parker Robbins a.k.a. The Hood in Ironheart, it’s clear that Marvel’s next phase isn’t just introducing new characters. It’s redefining what power means — not only in terms of abilities, but who wields them, how they’re earned, and what price they demand.

Sue Storm, played by Vanessa Kirby, enters the scene with a blend of grace and cosmic gravitas. Her invisibility isn’t just a power — it’s a metaphor for control, precision, and quiet strength. Her abilities are biological, awakened by cosmic exposure, and they reflect an inner harmony with forces much bigger than herself. In contrast, The Hood, played by Anthony Ramos, is all edge and urgency — a street-smart hustler who finds power not in the stars, but in the shadows, via a demonic artifact that quite literally hides him from the world.

These two characters couldn’t be more different, yet they are joined by one power and a larger theme: the MCU’s growing interest in how power manifests — and how it corrupts or uplifts depending on its source. Invisibility is just the surface trick. What’s underneath, as these characters show, is a much deeper story about intent, identity, and what happens when control slips away.

Magic and mutation: The MCU’s dual roads to power

Until recently, the MCU provided its heroes and villains with power sources divided into separate boxes. You had your tech-based heroes like Iron Man, your gamma and serum-infused bruisers, and your magically inclined mischief-makers. But now with Fantastic Four: First Steps and Ironheart, Marvel seems to be doing this on purpose.

The character Parker Robbins has red hood, which grants him invisibility along with bullet-bending reflexes, but at a steep cost — black scars that hint toward shrouded secrets spreading throughout his body. His power seems much more diabolic than scientific because he’s not earned anything, but rather stolen everything.

Compare that to Sue Storm, whose transformation is rooted in cosmic science fiction. Her invisibility is instinctive, even elegant. The contrast isn’t just style — it’s philosophical. One character channels chaos to break rules, the other channels energy to create structure. And for the MCU, that contrast is the point: Phase 5 and beyond seems primed to explore where power comes from — and more importantly, whether wielding it changes the wielder.

The hero-villain spectrum is getting complicated in the MCU

The clear-cut definitions of protagonists and antagonists have transformed drastically. Marvel's new characters, Sue and The Hood, embrace some complexity. Robbins isn’t evil for the sake of being painted that way; he’s tragic, desperate, or ambitious.

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He hides under a pilfered cloak, doing wrong things for what he perceives to be right motives. That makes him relatable, yes, but also dangerous. On the other hand, a seasoned superhero who is pregnant with her second child is entering the MCU, bringing along her legacy-infused duty to rise alongside her title, personal sacrifice too intertwined to untangle easily.

Together, they hint at a future where power isn’t judged by its spectacle, but its stewardship. Robbins wants to bend the world to his will. Sue wants to protect it. And in a universe where timelines collide and multiversal morality is murkier than ever, the MCU seems ready to ask: What does power mean when everyone has it, but not everyone should?

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