Mister Fantastic, otherwise known as Reed Richards, is one of the most versatile characters in Marvel Rivals. Apart from being the leader of the Fantastic Four, Mister Fantastic utilizes his plethora of offensive, supportive, and crowd-control abilities to become a potent character for his enemies.
That being said, Reed Richards—like all characters in the game, has flaws. Upon exploitation, players can effectively render him useless on the battlefield. To ensure you can do this, here’s how to counter Mister Fantastic in Marvel Rivals.
Countering Mister Fantastic
Mister Fantastic is a Duelist in Marvel Rivals. Being a damage-dealer fundamentally, the character utilizes his flexibility and adaptive abilities to shine on the battlefield. To counter the hero in Marvel Rivals, players need to understand how he fundamentally works in the game.
The first ability to know about is the Stretch Punch. This is Mister Fantastic’s primary attack, and it essentially allows the character to elongate his punches towards his enemies, allowing him to engage in ranged combat.
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+ 4Another attribute to know about is the Brainiac Bounce. As the name suggests, Reed jumps into the air, to come crashing down with a slam. This ability allows him to, firstly, deal damage to his enemies. Secondly, it’s a great way to disrupt enemy formations. Additionally, players can leap in the air again if they manage to land a hit.
On the defensive side of things, Mister Fantastic relies on Reflexive Rubber. Here, the character essentially elongates and stretches his body to absorb incoming damage from the enemies. Additionally, he stores this damage—utilizing it as an offense for targeted opponents later on.
Another multifunctional ability is Flexible Elongation. Here, Reed Richards can essentially select an opponent and propel towards them. In doing so, though, he gains a shield as well, protecting him from enemy counters while giving him room to register his combos. Additionally, he can grant this shield to his allies as well.
Distended Grip is a crowd-controlling ability. Here, the character can elongate his arms and wrap them around the enemy, allowing Mister Fantastic to reel his opponents towards him.
Finally, the character’s Passive: Elastic Strength. When players fill up their Elasticity Metre by punching in more combos and abilities, Elastic Strength allows Mister Fantastic to enhance his attributes—gaining shields and increasing his attack power against enemies.
How to Counter Mister Fantastic
Due to his elongated reach and crowd control abilities, fighting Mister Fantastic requires strategic positioning and precise timing. Direct melee engagements can be risky, as he can easily out-range close-combat fighters and retaliate with powerful strikes.
In that case, heroes who can maintain a distance, apply constant pressure to the character, or disrupt his movement can perform significantly against Mister Fantastic.
Another clever approach to tackle Reed Richards is selecting players who can outmaneuver him. Although the character can elongate his arms for ranged combats, this attribute is also detrimental to him. Especially to mobile characters who can dodge his attacks and punish him while he recovers.
Below, we’ll see a few characters who can perform the above-mentioned functions.
Characters That Can Counter Mister Fantastic
1. Iron Man (Duelist)
click to enlarge + 4Iron Man is a Duelist in Marvel Rivals and one of the game's best counters against Mister Fantastic. He ensures this through his long-ranged attributes and mobility. With Repulsor Beams, the character can launch missiles which allow him to apply consistent pressure from a distance, making it difficult for Reed to close in.
Additionally, Stark can also revert to his Unibeam. Here, he can deal a consistent ray of damage that can break through Mister Fantastic’s natural durability.
Another excellent aspect of this character is his airborne attributes, coupled with mobility and long-ranged abilities. Due to this, Iron Man can keep the fight at a range, while being extremely mobile in the process, effectively neutralizing Reed’s flexibility and forcing him into defensive or submissive locations.
2. Winter Soldier (Duelist)
click to enlarge + 4Another Duelist in our lineup is the Winter Soldier. Due to his versatile style of play, Bucky Barnes is an effective counter against Mister Fantastic. His high-powered rifles give him an edge in mid-to-long-range combat, preventing Mister Fantastic from getting too close.
To achieve the damaging effect against his enemies, he first reverts to Roterstern—Winter Solider’s primary attack. With this trait, the character can deal consistent damage to Reed Richards. To disrupt his formation, players can use Bucky’s Trooper’s Fist, where the hero can propel forward and essentially launch his enemies upwards as he continues his dash.
Since Mister Fantastic doesn’t have an impressive health bar, he’ll typically have escape routes in place. In that case, Bucky can use the Bionic Arm to reel him in.
3. Luna Snow (Strategist)
click to enlarge + 4Luna Snow is a Strategist in Marvel Rivals. Being a healer and supportive hero in the game, she serves as a potent counter to Mister Fantastic in the game. Her ice-based abilities can slow down Reed’s movements, limiting his ability to stretch and reposition himself freely. By being able to immobilize him, Luna can then utilize this window to further create obstacles for the character, disabling Reed Richards from engaging effectively.
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