This is what we need from Marvel Studios version of the Fantastic Four in the MCU.
The Fantastic Four have had a less-than-stellar reputation at the movies. If we’re being honest, fans would probably call them all tragic.
While this writer enjoyed the cast of the first Fantastic Four movie (except for Dr. Doom). Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Ioan Gruffudd, and Michael Chiklis did a great job portraying each member of the Fantastic Four, it was a bit sillier than we may have wanted. That said, it was still good. Then there was the 2015 version of Marvel’s First Family. The less said about that the better.
Now, Marvel Studios has the rights to the Fantastic Four. All is right in the Marvel Comics live-action world. Now the Marvel Cinematic Universe just needs to learn from the previous movies’ mistakes.
It may not be on the release schedule yet, but it will come and every fan of the Fantastic Four has concerns about the movie. Can the MCU give us everything that we’ve wanted? We’ve seen a lot of things from the previous movies that shouldn’t have happened. Ben Grimm wouldn’t be naked without gentleman parts (still disturbed by that), Sue Storm wouldn’t have a pointless origin story, and everything about Dr. Doom wouldn’t stink. So what do we need from the Fantastic Four? Well, I have all the answers. Let’s begin.
Make them established heroes
Certain comic book characters need an entire movie to explain their origin story. Thankfully, Marvel Studios proved you don’t need an entire film dedicated to a hero’s beginning. The MCU’s Spider-Man is a perfect example of this. We didn’t need to see Uncle Ben get shot for the thousandth time in Spider-Man: Homecoming. We knew the story so the MCU simply moved past it.
If people need to see how the Fantastic Four gain their powers, it can happen at the beginning of the movie in 10 minutes. After that, we can move on. We’ll still get to see their origin without the drawn out part of them learning how to use their powers.
As for why they haven’t been mentioned yet, that would be easy to explain away in a non-far-fetched way. After all, just because the Fantastic Four weren’t seen doesn’t mean they weren’t around. In Avengers: Endgame, we saw the Ancient One fighting during the battle in The Avengers. Who’s to say that the Fantastic Four weren’t doing the same thing. Or maybe they were off-world during that time. They do tend to venture to different places throughout their universe and beyond. There’s also the idea that they could have been dusted away. After being reformed, fighting wouldn’t be on their minds. They’d just want to be a family again. Which brings us to the next section.
The FF: Family First
Unlike the Avengers, the Fantastic Four are more than a group of heroes that happened to come together due to happenstance. They’re called Marvel’s First family because of that. They’re going to argue, fight, and sometimes disband, but they always bring it back together.
This is one of the few things that the first two movies got right. They legitimately loved each other. It didn’t seem like the forced relationship that we got in the 2015 film. You didn’t question whether or not they had each other’s backs. Even when things seemed to get intense. It may have helped that the first two movies’ actors had better chemistry and the movie had much a happier tone.
When Reed puts a plan together, they follow him without question. Even when it seems impossible (and that’s happened a lot). This kind of blind loyalty comes from the kind of trust you won’t see in every team. Look at how dysfunctional the Avengers are. They literally had a movie where they were fighting each other. This isn’t something you’ll see the Fantastic Four doing. It’s part of the reason why people detested the way Ultimate Fantastic Four ended. There’s no way Reed would start attacking his family. He’d die first.
Yes, the MCU needs to give us a Fantastic Four that showcases their familial bond.
Ben and Johnny’s loving rivalry
One of the most frustrating parts of the 2015 Fantastic Four movie was the interaction between Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm. Let’s take the end of the movie for instance when Johnny Storm insults Ben. It was the first time the two had any direct interaction. It wasn’t playful. He was just making fun of him with an angry look on his face. It was completely out of place and ended the film on an even sadder note. The Marvel Comics version shows their rivalry like two brothers having playful bouts with one another. It isn’t as angry and cold as the movie was.
The first two Fantastic Four films got this right. Their pranks and jabs were all done in jest. It felt just like the comic book. This is a must. What the 2015 movie missed was Johnny and Ben’s love for each other. Then again, that movie missed the target throughout.
When we see Ben and Johnny in the MCU, they should be playful and entertaining. Having the Fantastic Four as established heroes would help this as that bond would be well-established. Even if they aren’t, Ben and Johnny’s personalities are both similar and clash all at once. While Ben tends to take things more seriously than Johnny, they’re both overprotective of the people they love. The latter is what brought them together.
Reed Richards: The oblivious genius
Reed is one of (if not the) smartest people on Earth. He’s created inventions that even his rivals marvel at. In Fantastic Four No. 25 (written by Dan Slott), Dr. Doom finds out that Reed discovered an energy that predates existence. As amazed as Doom was, he was just as annoyed. He felt like there was no reason Reed should have found it before him.
Reed will continue to uncover the fantastic things in the universe because, despite saving the universe on multiple occasions, he is a genius scientist first. With all of this being said, no matter how intelligent Reed Richards is, he somehow still manages to make silly mistakes.
Reed Richards is a genius who lacks the ability to see that people aren’t experiments. In X-Men/Fantastic Four No. 1, we found out that Reed created a device to mask his son’s mutant gene. Somehow he didn’t see the problem with doing that without his son knowing – especially since he was supposed to be helping him from losing his powers. Reed does things like this with good intentions. However, we know where those roads lead to. This may seem like a minor character trait, but it’s important. It’s one of Reed’s only flaws. Without it, he wouldn’t seem like the character we know.
The Dangerous Invisible Woman
There was a Wolverine arc called Enemy of the State. In this series, Logan was charged with getting into the Baxter Building and stealing one of Reed’s inventions (he was brainwashed by Hydra at the time). While going over his plan, he saw the Invisible Woman. He commented on how she was “the only one here who actually makes me nervous.”
Wolverine is one of the most dangerous people in the world – an invincible warrior who has defeated the Hulk – and he was worried about her. That says all you need to know about Sue Storm and it’s exactly what we need from her in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She has to be the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four.
The Invisible Woman has continued to use her powers in creative ways. She’s used them to choke out the Hulk, blind Wolverine, and hold back forces that seemed unstoppable. A personal favorite was when she showed the Wizard his heart beating inside his chest to put fear in him. She scared him so badly he fainted. When we see her in an MCU project, she has to be powerful and intimidating. Moreover, we can skip the Invisible Girl name and her more timid days. We’ve moved on from those kinds of stories. That’s not to say she shouldn’t evolve or immediately master her powers. What this writer is saying is that she needs to achieve all the greatness she’s capable of in the first movie she appears in.
What do you think? What else do we need from the Fantastic Four in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below.