Invisible Woman - Publication History

Publication History

Stan Lee's original 2-page plot summary for the first issue of The Fantastic Four, reprinted in the Marvel Masterworks edition of the first ten issues, handled Susan's powers similarly to the Universal Pictures's "Invisible" series, which required her to take off her clothes, but noting concern that that might be "too sexy" for a comic book. Sue was initially presented as the sole reason for Ben Grimm, a bad guy, remaining on the group, which was significantly toned down in the published series.

Invisible Woman has primarily appeared in issues of Fantastic Four. Susan's initial power of invisibility proved to be of minor consequence in the team's early missions, especially compared to the abilities of the others in the group. Eventually, the creators expanded Sue's abilities, giving her the power to render other objects and people invisible and create strong force fields and psionic blasts. Despite her enhanced abilities, Susan served primarily as an assistant and second-in-command to Reed in the early years of the series. This changed when John Byrne began his run on the title. Under his authorship, Sue became more confident and assertive in her abilities which became more versatile and impressive. For instance, she found she could use her force field abilities to manipulate matter through the air, immobilize enemies, or administer long-range attacks. Susan changed her nom de guerre to Invisible Woman, and is now recognized as one of the more powerful characters in the Marvel Universe.