Marvel's First Family finally had their first adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the wait was certainly worth it. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an amazing standalone movie that requires no background superhero knowledge to be enjoyed, yet it flawlessly sets up many big storylines to come. After all, we're just one film away from witnessing how Earth's Mightiest Heroes assemble once again for what's shaping up to be Marvel's most ambitious project to date. To say the Fantastic Four needed to do some heavy lifting would be an understatement, yet the super team delivered.
Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, Franklin Richards, Shalla-Bal's Silver Surfer, Galactus, and many more key players had a role to play in the MCU's latest movie. So it's time to break down how all these different characters came together to deliver a memorable experience that won't leave our minds anytime soon, and how the film's ending sets up the events of Avengers: Doomsday. So, if you don't want any surprises ruined, then it's best to back away now.
*** Be warned: There will be MAJOR spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps ahead ***
How the Fantastic Four defeated the unstoppable object: Galactus
"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world."
- Archimedes
The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in an alternate, retro-futuristic reality (called Earth-828) where no superheroes exist aside from Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny. In the beginning, audiences are treated to a rather fantastic montage showcasing the many times Marvel's First Family has saved the day up to this point. Everyone loves them, so much so that the super team even makes appearances in talk shows, and their image is used for boxes of cereal. They are, by all means, the real deal. Unfortunately, everything they ever knew was about to change due to two reasons: The birth and life of Franklin Richards, and Earth's impending doom.
You see, just as Marvel's First Family was gearing up to welcome their newest member, Shalla-Bal's Silver Surfer appeared from the sky and into Times Square to make a terrifying announcement: Earth-828 was officially marked for death. She, who heralds the end of entire worlds, was a mere servant to a much bigger threat in the form of Galactus.
After learning everything they ever knew could cease to exist, the Fantastic Four decided to take action. They wouldn't sit with their arms crossed as a cosmic entity threatened their very own existence, so they followed Shalla-Bal's trail in their ever-reliable ship, the Excelsior, and arrived on a distant planet just in time to witness its destruction. This was just one of the many places Galactus had completely destroyed.
When Galactus learned that it had visitors, it let Marvel's First Family board its ship to negotiate. The cosmic entity was willing to spare Earth in exchange for Reed and Sue's baby, Franklin Richards. The supervillain believed the kid had an immense amount of power that could finally cease its hunger. But as was to be expected, Marvel's First Family declined this offer, quickly returned to their ship, and tried to escape back to Earth. Unfortunately, timing couldn't have been worse as Sue went into labor, and Shalla-Bal chased the super team to get her hands on the baby. But thanks to Reed's intellect, Ben's navigation abilities, and Johnny's aim, they were able to lose the Silver Surfer in a black hole.
Back on Earth, the Fantastic Four knew time was running out. To top things off, everyone hated them after they refused to give away Franklin in exchange for salvation. Still, the super team was hard at work figuring out a way to survive the upcoming attack. That's when Reed came up with a plan: to join forces with every nation on Earth to build multiple teleportation devices that, in conjunction, could move the entire planet across the cosmos to a safe location away from Galactus.
Just as the plan was about to be executed, Shalla-Bal arrived on Earth and started destroying every single teleportation device, leaving only one standing: the one on New York. With Plan A gone sideways, Reed and Sue quickly came up with a backup plan: use Franklin to lure Galactus into New York's teleportation device and use it to take the villain to the edge of the universe, far away from its ship. Meanwhile, Johnny learned Shalla-Bal's language and used it to make her come back to her senses. At long last, the Fantastic Four had another ally.
The team's backup plan was almost executed to perfection, but just before Galactus was teleported far away from Earth, it discovered that this was all a ruse and that Franklin was safe in the Baxter Building instead. Every member of the Fantastic Four tried to stop the cosmic entity from reaching its objective, but one by one they all fell.
However, as soon as Galactus took the baby, Sue started using all her power to create a giant forcefield to push the villain back into Times Square. Johnny activated the teleportation device, Reed rescued Franklin, and Shalla Bal pushed Galactus into the wormhole, while sacrificing herself in the process. At long last, the devourer of worlds was taken to a remote location where it couldn't destroy another planet without its ship.
Unfortunately, Sue's extreme use of her powers took a toll on her, and she fell to the ground before passing away. Reed, Ben, and Johnny couldn't do anything but crumble and cry after losing someone that meant so much to every one of them. But just when everything seemed lost, Franklin used his powers to bring her mom back to life. If he's capable of doing such things as a baby, just imagine what he'll accomplish when he's grown. That's why it wasn't surprising to learn someone else has an eye on him.
Doctor Doom finally makes his grand entrance
The first post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally gave us what we've all been asking for: a slight glimpse at the MCU's next big bad. Four years after defeating Galactus, Sue was reading a book to Franklin when all of a sudden, someone else appeared in the room. That's right, the ruler of Latveria made his grand entrance, and it seems he has an interest in Franklin's powers.
Unfortunately, the villain had his back turned to the camera, so we couldn't see his face. On the bright side, he was holding his mask in his hand, and we were able to get a good look at it. Fortunately, it appears to be taken straight from comic book pages. This scene alone set up two important plot points for the future of the MCU: Victor Von Doom comes from Earth-828, which is the same place the Fantastic Four are from. Furthermore, it revealed that Franklin and his unlimited power will be exploited by Doom (maybe even using it to create Battleworld during Avengers: Doomsday).
The second post-credits scene is way less exciting, as we only see a cartoon of The Fantastic Four playing on the TV, with little glimpses of the supervillains the team defeated before fighting Galactus. This is our only look at Red Ghost, a cut antagonist that was intended to be played by John Malkovich.
Now that we know about Franklin's unlimited power and Doom's arrival, all pieces are set for Earth's Mightiest Heroes to take the spotlight next year. Fortunately, the wait is getting shorter and shorter.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on December 18, 2026.