Hot Toys Mister Fantastic Review

I like that Hot Toys went all in on Reed’s stretching powers with this Deluxe set. You get the regular figure, an elongated upper body and a long set of legs, so you can actually have Mister Fantastic doing something more interesting than standing beside the team with one arm raised. H.E.R.B.I.E. comes with him too, and I love that little guy.

There are a few things I wish Hot Toys had done differently, especially with the finish on the stretch parts. The regular suit is fabric, but the elongated pieces are sculpted plastic, and mixing them together makes that difference obvious. I’d go with either the full regular body or the full stretched-out look for my display case.

I Can See Pedro, but I’m Not Sold on the Expression

The Pedro Pascal likeness is there, especially around the nose, the beard and the gray hair at the temples. The paint app gives him some redness under the eyes, and the fine hair and skin detail look really good. I don’t think this is a bad head sculpt, but I do think the expression holds it back.

The eyes look a little too wide to me, and that smirk doesn’t work from every angle. Reed looks more convincing when I turn his head slightly and have the eyes looking off to the side. I like having moving eyes for that reason; a small change can give the face more character without changing the whole pose.

I prefer the head sculpt that comes with the newer Mandalorian for Pedro’s likeness, but it doesn’t have Reed’s gray temples or the same hairstyle. Those details are part of what makes this one Reed Richards, so I’d keep the supplied head sculpt on this body. I don’t want to lose the character just to get a different expression.

The Blue-and-White Suit Looks Fantastic

The regular body has rounded shoulders and some shape through the chest instead of looking like a flat suit stretched over a skinny frame. I like the way it narrows toward the waist, too. The proportions look much more natural than they do on Sue, even though I still have a few complaints with the outfit.

The raised ribbing is one of my favorite details. It gives the fabric some depth, while the printed logo, panel lines and little silver parts finish off that blue-and-white look. The two sides aren’t identical, and I like having the communicator on one wrist instead of exactly the same glove detail on both.

The collar needs some attention when you’re setting him up because the fabric can ride up. I’d get the head where I want it, then straighten the collar and check that it isn’t bunched under his chin. I’d also be careful with the fine printing around that area instead of constantly rubbing or pulling at it.

I’m glad the regular boots are soft enough to give him some ankle movement. You can pivot the feet to suit a stance without the boot getting in the way as much as a hard plastic one would. Even the little Fantastic Four logo on the soles is a cool detail.

The Full Stretching Body Is How I’d Display This Deluxe

The elongated torso and legs connect to give you a very tall, stretched-out Reed. I love that as a display option because it immediately shows what makes Mister Fantastic different from the rest of the team. I’d put him behind the others, with that long arm reaching over the team.

My complaint is that the long arm is fixed in its sculpted shape. You can change the hand, but you can’t bend the whole arm into whatever curve you want. A bendable arm would have given me a lot more freedom to have him reaching around the other figures or grabbing something in front of the team.

There’s plenty of sculpted fabric detail on those parts, including wrinkles and the shape of the collar. The finish is too shiny, though. When I put a plastic upper body with the regular fabric legs, one looks like a suit and the other looks like a plastic part pretending to be a suit.

The blue isn’t a perfect match between them either. That’s why I’d keep the materials together: all fabric for normal Reed or both elongated pieces for the full stretch. The whole plastic body looks more consistent than a combination where the difference cuts straight across the middle of the figure.

H.E.R.B.I.E. Is a Really Cool Little Figure

H.E.R.B.I.E. gets his own stand, two cassette faces and individually articulated fingers. His arms extend from the body and fold back toward the sides, and there’s plenty of head movement to have him looking toward Reed or the rest of the team. That’s a lot more than I expect from a little robot included in a figure set.

I love the paint app on him. The white and blue look great together, and the darker paint around the vents and mechanical parts brings out the screws and little details. The purple around the thrusters is a nice touch, too.

The cassette faces have slightly different tape detail, and their little spools can rotate. I wish the cassettes had the labels from the film, but I’m still really happy with how H.E.R.B.I.E. turned out. He’d get a spot right at the front of my Fantastic Four display where I can see all of that detail.

I’d Rather Have Another Head Sculpt Than the Metal Card

There’s a good selection of hands, including fists and open hands for the regular and stretched configurations. I’m glad Hot Toys included extra options instead of expecting you to keep swapping the same fist between the two bodies. The gloves could use a more matte finish, though; that shine hides some of the texture.

This Special Edition includes a metal card, but it isn’t specific to Reed. Getting the same artwork with different Fantastic Four characters doesn’t make it feel like much of a special bonus to me, especially without a stand to put it beside the figure.

What I would have loved is a second Reed head sculpt. The set gives you a normal body and enough elongated parts for another display, but only one head to use between them. Two proper Reed head sculpts would have made choosing between those looks much easier.

The tall flight stand makes sense for the stretching body, but I’d also have liked a simple support for having normal Reed standing on the base. The blue-and-white base itself fits the team nicely. If you’re working out the rest of your lineup, there are more figures covered in Hot Toys Reviews.

Normal Reed Still Has Some Posing Limits

The elbows and knees bend past 90 degrees, and the boots give you some useful ankle pivot. You can turn the torso and move the arms across the body a little, but the padding through the chest and the shape of the shoulders keep this from being a completely unrestricted figure.

I’d use that regular body for a museum pose with one open hand, as though Reed is trying to explain something to the team. I’d turn the head slightly and adjust the eyes rather than leaving him staring straight ahead. Those little changes suit this expression better than a big action pose.

If I’m using the full elongated body, I’d give it enough space above and around the other figures. The long arm has a set shape, so the display needs to work around that instead of assuming I can bend it wherever I want. I’d also watch the hard sculpted collar against the painted neck while fitting the head.

The Deluxe Gives Me the Reed Display I Want

I like the suit, the improved body shape and the option to show Reed fully stretched out. H.E.R.B.I.E. is awesome, and I’m glad Hot Toys included him as a proper articulated little figure instead of a solid plastic extra.

The expression, shiny stretch parts and fixed long arm keep me from loving the whole set as much as I wanted to. I’d choose the full elongated display rather than mix the fabric and plastic pieces, and I give this Mister Fantastic Deluxe Special Edition a 7.5 out of 10.