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In the realm of stretchy superheroes, there aren’t many names more recognizable than Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic. He’s been stretching his way into comics, films, and video games for years, but his appearance in Marvel Rivals has proven he can still learn a few new tricks, including a new form that seems to have been inspired by an (arguably) even bigger name in comics, One Piece’s Luffy.

The form in question is shown in a gameplay trailer posted on Marvel Rivals' social media. In the footage, he does the usual stretching and punching we’re used to but then he seems to inflate himself to a massive size to give his opponents a serious pounding. It's good to see Reed Richards getting his hands dirty (and not just letting The Thing do the heavy lifting) but fans were quick to point out that the new form seems very familiar. At least, it is if you’ve been an anime fan for the past decade.

That bloated body and massive hands. The almost absurd proportions on Reed Richards. It certainly looks like the Gear 4 form of Luffy from One Piece. Even the way he throws his fists around feels similar to Luffy’s headstrong approach to fighting. While we don’t know if Marvel Rivals’ version of Reed Richards is directly inspired by Luffy, it feels similar enough to bring a smile to our faces until he punches his way through us.

While there are more One Piece fans out there every day, this doesn’t mean that someone on the development team of Marvel Rivals snuck a reference to Luffy into the game. A more likely scenario might be that someone was a fan of another Marvel hero – Ms. Marvel – and borrowed some of her enlarging powers to make Mr. Fantastic a bit more tanky in the game.

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL...ly important to Popverse! That's why we've put together the key articles to keep your fandom of the manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action-show alive:

• How to watch One Piece One Piece in chronological and release order (All 1,100+ episodes plus the movies!)
• When the next episode of One Piece is coming
• The One Piece English cast shared the life lessons they've learned playing the Straw Hats for nearly 20 years
• Why One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy is the perfect hero for the dark times ahead
• Every difference between the live-action One Piece and the original manga
• One Piece Gear 5 Form: Everything we know about Luffy's latest transformation
• Wondering what ethnicity and nationality the One Piece pirates are? Here is what Oda himself has to say
• Ranking the One Piece anime's arcs, from best to worst
• Why is One Piece more popular now that the anime is 25 years old? We asked around and found out
• The English cast of One Piece explain what they love about Eiichiro Oda's storytelling - "He's a genius!"