Should Sue Storm be a doctor?

[Crimz]

I have been posing this idea in a couple other threads and forums with mixed opinions and I wondered what the consensus here was. In the 'why has Sue never gotten a solo/mini' and 'most iconic woman character' threads, a poster mentioned that Sue is defined by the men in her life and the sad thing is that it's mostly true. She has grown in confidence and power since her Invisible Girl days, but that is the only development she has received. We know nothing of her aspirations and goals outside of her family or what her personality is like when she doesn't have to be the "glue" of the FF.

While her becoming stronger is great, she has to grow more character-wise too and Sue should be more than who she is in relation to her family and the men in her life. I believe her becoming a doctor is one step in the direction of her having a life outside of her family and becoming a more well-rounded character. It fits with her personality and adds to her history, I will post how i'd implement it another post below.







Sorry for the two Sue threads made close together, but I needed to get these questions off my mind.

[Crimz]

I posted this in the Revamp a hero thread.

Here's one way I'd make Sue a doctor:

Invisible Woman

Origin

It stays pretty much the same. The only difference is that she didn't finish medical school because she had problems doing it as well as raising Johnny, this plus the situation with her father may effect her confidence. This would explain why she had a lack of confidence in her Invisible Girl days.
She wanted to be a surgeon like her father because that's how she remembered him best before he went to prison, as a brilliant surgeon and father. She joins Reed on the rocket because she has a love for adventure at heart and she's a bit of a adrenaline junkie (but she'd never admit it). Being an adrenaline junkie should be a Storm family trait.
I wouldn't really change anything else from her early days of the FF as part of what makes her great is her growth from then.

Present Sue Storm-Richards

She's always wanted to complete her medical training, but commitments to the FF and her kids prevented that. Now that the kids are old enough to not need her 24/7 she decides to finally go back to school and finish it. There are several ways this can be done, but for convenience I'll say that she does her training with the Future Foundation while they are off rebuilding the multiverse. The foundation should have the things required for training and it is a legal educational institution, likely the best on Earth. The time it takes can also be subverted as space/time can easily run differently so that it feels like 20 years have passed, but no aging has occurred. When the Fantastic Four come back she could be a fully fledged doctor/surgeon.

Some worry that making her a doctor would infringe on Reeds scientific territory, but it won't. Reed's main field is physics and his job doesn't require being with many people often as he often shuts himself away from the world, that's the opposite of what Sue's field would be. Being a doctor/surgeon requires interacting with many people and being personable like Sue really helps. She won't be a cold, fact-only scientist she'd be an approachable doctor.

Skills

Trained doctor/surgeon
Martial arts (trained by Iron Fist)
Some acting

Powers

Her powers are great as is and they continually grow naturally as time goes on. I'll just keep up that gradual growth and make her use her invisibility powers more often and creatively. Her powers also make her able to perform meticulous surgical operations.

The Goal of all this

The goal is for her to not only have a useful role on the Fantastic Four, but also for her to be involved outside of the team. She is the member who rarely appears in other books away from the others and that needs to change. Her being a doctor/surgeon paired with her powers make her an invaluable asset to the greater Marvel Universe. She'd be able to operate on super-powered beings with durable skin as she can make it invisible and use her force-fields internally. This means she'd be the go-to doctor for a lot of superheroes and super-powered civilians.

I'd make a book about her opening her own surgery for Super-powered individuals along with Night Nurse and Cecelia Reyes. They'd treat hero, villain, human, mutant, alien, inhuman and anyone who needs help. Sometimes they'd have to go onto the field of battle to help out which come with it's own unique complications. I think that it would be a great book that can tackle some interesting concepts, like the ethics of treating villains or how to handle groups that hate each other (Inhumans and Mutants).


Hope this all makes sense and hope that people like this idea. I've been thinking about it for a long time.

[Michael Watkins]

I say, sure. I think she needs a promotion. whether that's becoming a doctor or just some sort of specialist (wasn't biology her specialty in the Ultimate Universe?), I'm good with it. more important is how they do it.

[MajorHoy]

Doesn't seem necessary to me . . . just bring her back and tell good stories with her.
I don't think making her a doctor is going to make her more interesting; she would need good writers period.

[Sensational C]

I voted yes because as mentioned above its a skill only a handful of characters have this skill and with all the hits superheroes endure I'm sure another trusted physician would be most welcome as well as all the story opportunities this would open up for Sue.

[Crimz]

Doesn't seem necessary to me . . . just bring her back and tell good stories with her.
I don't think making her a doctor is going to make her more interesting; she would need good writers period.

It's not only about making her more interesting, it's about giving her more agency away from the team. She is the one who is most bound by the family dynamic, she has no aspirations or goals outside of the family. While her being a doctor is what I personally want for her, I believe that any career or goal that isn't related to the FF is definitely needed.
Not only does she need good writing, but also a presence outside of the Fantastic Four.

[MajorHoy]

While her being a doctor is what I personally want for her, I believe that any career or goal that isn't related to the FF is definitely needed.
Not only does she need good writing, but also a presence outside of the Fantastic Four.

Give her a separate feature first, then you can see about adding a separate career for her.
(She supposedly has a spy background now with S.H.I.E.L.D., doesn't she?)

Besides, how long would it take for her to earn a medical degree, or are you just saying they should re-write almost sixty years worth of stories?

[Michael Watkins]

when you think about it, the Fantastic Four are way too reliant on Reed as a medic. it would help for Sue to also have the skills.

[MichaelC]

when you think about it, the Fantastic Four are way too reliant on Reed as a medic. it would help for Sue to also have the skills.

Yeah. Reed should be a physicist, not an everythingist. Let Sue be the biologist/medic.

[Mutant God]

It's not only about making her more interesting, it's about giving her more agency away from the team. She is the one who is most bound by the family dynamic, she has no aspirations or goals outside of the family. While her being a doctor is what I personally want for her, I believe that any career or goal that isn't related to the FF is definitely needed.
Not only does she need good writing, but also a presence outside of the Fantastic Four.

Exactly, shes the one who keeps them together because that is her goal, to make sure everyone is alright and the family sticks together.

[JudicatorPrime]

Probably not the most original idea, but I could see Sue as a triple threat with PhD's in Archaeology, Anthropology and Linguistics/Cognitive Sciences. A medical degree just seems too limiting. Reed would have a hard time keeping up with her, because she'd always be in the field, on different continents, or exploring nearby realms like Asgard, K'un-Lun, Atlantis, the Negative Zone, etc. She would have a host of adventures outside of the FF, but at the same time could be the driving force behind some of their greatest adventures. Sue leading the charge would be an awesome change.

[Zero Hunter]

I would rather see Sue as more the CEO of Fantastic Four Inc. With Reed being so focused on his experiments it would make sense for Sue to be in charge of the business side of things.

[Jokerz79]

I would rather see Sue as more the CEO of Fantastic Four Inc. With Reed being so focused on his experiments it would make sense for Sue to be in charge of the business side of things.

They did that in Fantastic Four Heroes Reborn when She ran the Storm Foundation which was developing the Excelsior Ship Reed was creating.

[Wolverine12]

She already was one in the Ultimate Universe, she was just about as smart as Reed. She was even his superior when it came to biology.

[Crimz]

Exactly, shes the one who keeps them together because that is her goal, to make sure everyone is alright and the family sticks together.

It's pretty crappy that the only woman on the team is the one who is bound by the family aspect. The others have lives and aspirations outside of the FF and so should she.
Most have an idea of what Reed, Ben and Johnny's personalities are outside the family dynamic but you can't say the same for Sue. Her whole life being about her husband and kids feels like a remnant of the old 60s view of a woman's role and that needs to change. She's a hero in her own right and keeping everything about her tied to her family makes her feel more like supporting cast.