Marvel's First Family Across Five Films

With the release of  The Fantastic Four: First Steps (now streaming on Disney+) we decided to not only examine that film, but to look back over the previous four films (more on that in a bit) that spotlighted Marvel's first family. So here we go, checking in on the world renown Fantastic Four. 

*****

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Director: Matt Shakman

Stars: Pedro Pasca, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson

The Fantastic Four—Mavel Comics’ “First Family”—and whose appearance marked the official beginning of the Marvel Universe. Since then, there have been thousands of comicbooks starring the team, hundreds of cartoons, and four (now five) live action FF films, with this last version perhaps the highest concept, and the most thematically faithful to Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s vision to the characters. And yes, we say that even though there were a number of significant changes made to this current film.

Those changes include, but are not limited to an older (and somewhat more detached) Reed Richards, a retro-throwback to a (very different) 1960s, as well as a female Silver Surfer Shalla-Bal (wife of Norrin Radd, the original Surfer), making this, quite honestly, the very coolest of all the FF films (and yes, there reportedly is a sequel in the works).

Here’s where we are going to take a slightly divergent path, to talk about the first live action film, The Fantastic Four (1994). That film was from legendary “B” film Richard Corman (producer), and director Oley Sassone was fully made but pulled from release at the last minute because it was believed that releasing the small-budget film would ultimately hurt Marvel’s reputation and interfere with production of higher profile films. According to legend, the master reel and any prints were to be burned but eventually bootlegs of the film found their way into comic cons. (Truth to tell, we actually purchased one back in the ‘90s, making it the only bootleg we ever intentionally purchased.) For a time the film could be found on various internet platforms, but a recent search failed to turn up any service carrying it, we did, however pull up a documentary about the film; Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four.

Speaking as someone who loves comics, movies, and movies about comics (The Halle Berry Catwoman film sucked) The ‘94 FF film not only wasn’t horrible but was actually quite entertaining, and—in retrospect—it certainly wasn’t any worse than the Batman TV show of the ‘60s. At any rate as a way to pay respect to the actors who played the FF in that film—Alex Hyde-White (Reed), Jay Underwood (Johnny), Rebecca Staab (Sue), and Michael Bailey Smith (Ben)—were granted a fleeting cameo in First Steps.

The Next two Fantastic Four Films  Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) were produced by Twentieth Century Fox and took place on Earth-15866, while the 2015 film (also by Twentieth Century Fox) took place on Earth-15866. According to some fan theories, the ‘94 film is often placed on Earth-828 (the universe of the current Fantastic Four film) due to its classic comic feel, or on Earth-11584, but these are fan creations, not canon. Thus, while the ‘94 film was made by Constantin Film (which has been part of the production of all the previous films) and Marvel, but wasn’t part of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe or any established comic book continuity.

Both Fantastic Four and Rise of the Silver Surfer have their detractors for what some fans have called lackluster, underperforming and weak writing, as well as poor handling of major villains, and inconsistent special effects. On the other side of the slate, some of the film’s positives include the visual effects and design for the Silver Surfer (played by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne) are consistently praised as the highlight of the sequel. Another positive was the chemistry between the main cast members was found to be enjoyable. The films are often seen as nostalgic by those who grew up with the comic, seen as harmless, fun popcorn movies which don’t take themselves too seriously. Once scene that is highly regarded by all, is the one where Human Torch is chasing the Silver Surfer, and passes through the building.

On the down side, a major disappointment with fans in Rise of the Silver Surfer was the production company choosing to represent Galactus as a giant, swirling purple cosmic cloud. Another was that Dr. Doom’s portrayal was widely criticized as being oversimplified, as an uninventive businessman rather than the complex, powerful monarch from the comics. There were more, but we prefer to remember it as a fun, if somewhat light funnybook film. We’re going to quickly dismiss the 2015 film as a badly miscalculated wrong-headed step. Twentieth Century Fox for reasons that pass understanding, chose to adapt Marvel’s Ultimate Universe for this film. Now while The Ultimate Universe (both incarnations) offer up well-crafted, highly readable, and entertaining stories, putting it out there as a film adaptation just wasn’t going to do it with the fans. Something they should have known in advance.

Returning to the current film, for what it’s worth, First Steps is truly a visually stunning reboot of legacy Marvel characters, who hit the screen with strong performances, particularly from Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm) and Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards). The film itself delivers a stunning retro-futuristic aesthetic, along with impressive visual effects, harkening back to Jack Kirby’s artistic sensibilities, and Stan Lee’s very appealing family dynamics. (Something that the comic itself has long delivered to readers.) The intra-family aspects of the FF have defined the core sensibilities of the greater Marvel Universe since 1961, and this cinematic incarnation only serves to continue that tradition.

In this film, the team once again goes up against one of their most powerful super-powered foes, Galactus (for the second time—this time as an actual “person” rather than the silly amorphous purple cloud used in Rise of the Silver Surfer). Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from the ravenous space god Galactus and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer who, in this film, has been cast as a woman. In one of the more controversial moves of the film, Julia Garner was cast as Shalla-Bal Galactus’ Herald. Which, as it turns out, wasn’t that controversial as this is Earth 828 (more on that later) not 616 of the primary MCU.

Here, the FF have been operating for three years (reducing their origin to a quickie couple of minutes of screentime and sparing those of us that know another full film recounting an already known hero’s origin). The team is a well-known and beloved group of heroes (apparently the only ones on this Earth), but all of that abruptly changes with the appearance of the Surfer and her message from the world eater. After their initial confrontation with the Surfer, The Team determines to head out into space to meet Galactus, which doesn’t go quite as planned.

Sue is pregnant and (one of the wackiest sequences of the film) gives birth to Franklin in space while fleeing from the Surfer (yeah, we know how that sounds). Well, Galactus does make it to Earth for a very dramatic showdown in the center of the city with the FF (which turns out pretty much how you expect it). What makes this film stand head and shoulders above all the other FF films is the attention to details, Ben’s Judaism, Reed and Sue’s relationship, Johnny and Ben’s interpersonal hijinks. Herby the robot, (how cool)! Plus, as previously noted, the way-cool retro-futuristic look of Earth 828 all combines to give this film a most amazing look and feel.

There’s one scene I want to call out. It is when the team returns from their encounter with Galactus and they reveal to the citizens of Earth that Whale Galactus wants to consume the energy from Earh itself, he would be willing to instead take Franklin Richards (Reed and Sue’s son) for the planet. A trade that both parents immediately decline. Needless to say, this enrages the population as it means everyone dies. It is at this point that Sue makes an impassioned speech that she is unwilling to sacrifice her son for the world. Which, to anyone raised Christian—is quite literally—contrary to their belief structure.

And then there are the cameos, Hyde-White, Underwood, Staab, and Smith pop up in a quick, blink-and-you’ll miss it moment. In another quickie, we get to see Stan and Jack stand-ins (working at a comicbook publishing company) Maisie Shakman, The Director’s Daughter, Fantastic Four cartoons (in the style of the iconic 1960s Hanna-Barbera series), Red Ghost and His Super Apes, Giganto, Mole Man, and more. Not to mention that there is an end trailer that pre-stages Avengers: Doomsday. Oh yes, the reason The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set on Earth-828 is a direct, meta tribute to Fantastic Four co-creator Jack Kirby, whose birthday is August 28 (8/28 in American date format). The Director, Matt Shakman, confirmed this, stating that it helps explain why the characters weren’t involved in major MCU events like Thanos’s snap, by placing them in a separate, 1960s-inspired timeline, honoring the characters’ origins.

All-in-all, this was an amazing cool film that totally deserves to be watched, and is a fantastic part of the greater MCU which clearly is leading into even cooler films in the MCU.