FANTASTIC FOUR

'The Fantastic Four' is a fictional American team of comic-book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. First appearing in the historically groundbreaking ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (Nov. 1961), which helped to usher a new naturalism in the medium, they were the first superhero team created by artist Jack Kirby and writer-editor Stan Lee.
There are four core friends and family members traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers and turned into mutates after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific space mission. The team consists of Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific genius and leader of the group who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes. The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm), Reed's wife and the team's second-in-command; she can render herself invisible and project powerful force fields. The Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can surround himself with flames, generate them as well, and fly. The final member is the Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, who possesses superhuman strength and endurance. His skin is monstrous, craggy, orange, and looks as if made of scales or plates (often mistakenly referred to as "rocks"). He is known for his great courage and fighting skill in addition to his strength.
Since the original four's 1961 introduction, the Fantastic Four have been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional yet loving family. Breaking convention with other comic-book archetypes of the time, they would squabble and hold grudges both deep and petty, and eschew anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. In the first two issues, the groundbreaking team do not even adhere to the "superhero" convention of costumes. After this the team wear uniforms specially fabricated by Reed that accommodate their individual powers.
The Fantastic Four was the foundation of Marvel Comics' ascent from a small division of a privately held magazine company to a major entertainment conglomerate. The team holds a pivotal place in the history of American comic books. The FF (as they are commonly known) has remained more or less popular, and has been adapted into other media, including four animated television series, an aborted 1990s low-budget film, the major motion picture ''Fantastic Four'' (2005), and its sequel, '' (2007).
The series, which famously added the hyperbolic tagline "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" above the title since issue #4 (with issue #3 declaring itself "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!"), dropped the "The" from the cover logo with issue #16, becoming simply ''Fantastic Four''.

Contents

Publication history

Lee & Kirby

John Byrne

Into the '90s

"Heroes Reborn" and renumbered

Fictional character biography

The early years

Civil War

World War Hulk

Spinoffs

The Human Torch solo

The Thing solo

Comic book within a comic book

Fictional character biographies

Supporting characters

Temporary replacement members

"Alternate Fantastic Four" members

Allies/Supporting characters

Antagonists

Other versions

Challengers of the Fantastic

''The End''

Exiles

MC2

Ultimate Fantastic Four

In other media

Animated Series

Video games

Movies

Parodies and allusions

See also

Footnotes

References

External links

Publication history

Lee & Kirby

Apocryphal legend has it that in 1961, longtime magazine and comic-book publisher Martin Goodman was playing golf with either Jack Liebowitz or Irwin Donenfeld of rival company DC Comics, then known as National Periodical Publications, and that top executive bragged about DC's success with the new superhero team the Justice League of America.^[1] While film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan has debunked the particulars of that story,^[2] Goodman, a publishing trend-follower aware of the JLA's strong sales, confirmably directed his comics editor, Stan Lee, to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. According to Lee in 1974:
Lee, who had served as editor-in-chief and art director of Marvel Comics and its predecessor companies, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics for two decades, found that the medium was becoming rather restrictive. Determined "to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books,^[3] Lee concluded that:
The result was ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (Nov. 1961) by Lee, penciler and co-plotter Jack Kirby — the only credit signatures — with George Klein the generally recognized, uncredited inker^[4] The new publication did not look like a conventional superhero comic; the heroes wore no costumes, and on the cover were fighting a giant monster similar to those drive-in movie creatures of Marvel's pre-superhero comics at the time. Moreover, these heroes lacked secret identities, and squabbled much like real-life people. These first issues of the risky, groundbreaking book set the template for the "Marvel revolution" that revitalized the comics industry with a rough-hewn naturalism in which superheroes could bicker, worry about finances, and act like imperfect people, unlike the stoic, square-jawed archetypes of the tradition. Lee's intended swan song was a huge and unexpected success; Lee and Kirby decided to remain together at the publication and began launching additional, interrelated titles of the "Marvel Universe."

During its creators' lengthy run, the series produced many acclaimed storylines and characters that have become central to Marvel, including Doctor Doom, the Silver Surfer, Galactus, the Watcher, The Inhumans, the Black Panther, the rival alien races of Kree and Skrull, and Him, who would become Adam Warlock. The duo of Lee and Kirby, who eventually shared credit as collaborators, introduced such concepts as the Negative Zone and unstable molecules, two core elements of the Marvel mythos. In the book's most groundbreaking yet truly natural development, ''Fantastic Four'' presented superhero comics' first pregnancy, culminating in the birth of a Marvel superhero family's first child, Franklin Benjamin Richards. The pregnancy was announced in Fantastic Four Annual #5, and the baby was born one year later in ''Fantastic Four Annual'' #6 (1968). (DC Comics' Aquaman had previously fathered a child in his own series, issue #23, Oct. 1965.)
After Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, ''Fantastic Four'' continued with Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Marv Wolfman as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists such as John Romita, Sr., John Buscema, Rich Buckler and George Perez, with longtime inker Joe Sinnott adding some visual continuity. Jim Steranko contributed a few covers as well.

John Byrne

John Byrne joined the title with issue #209 (Aug. 1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish. Byrne then wrote two tales as well (#220-221, July-Aug. 1980) before writer Doug Moench and penciler Bill Sienkiewicz took over for 10 issues. With issue #232 (July 1981), the aptly titled "Back to the Basics", Byrne began his celebrated run as writer, penciller and (initially under the pseudonym Bjorn Heyn) inker. His key contribution to the series was the development of Invisible Girl into Invisible Woman — a self-confident and dynamic character whose newfound control of her abilities made her the most powerful member of the team.

Byrne also staked bold directions in the characters' personal lives, having the married Sue Storm and Reed Richards suffer a miscarriage, and having the Thing's longtime girlfriend, Alicia Masters, and Johnny Storm fall in love and marry. The rift brought on by the latter would linger for several years, with the Thing quitting the Fantastic Four and the She-Hulk being recruited as his long-term replacement.

Into the '90s

Byrne was followed by a quick succession of writers (Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, Roy Thomas), with an extended run of stories by Steve Englehart, who had Reed and Sue retire to give their son a normal childhood. The returned Thing's new girlfriend, Sharon Ventura, and Johnny Storm's former lover, Crystal, joined the team for a handful of issues. Editorial disagreements led to Englehart finishing his run under the pen name, "John Harkness". Writer-artist Walt Simonson took over as writer with #334 (Dec. 1989), and three issues later began penciling and inking as well. With brief inking exceptions, and one fill-in issue, he remained in all three positions through #354 (July 1991).
After another fill-in, the regular team of writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, penciler Paul Ryan and inker Dan Bulanadi took over, with Ryan self-inking beginning with #360 (Jan. 1992). That team, with the very occasional different inker, continued through for years through #414 (July 1996). DeFalco nullified the Storm-Masters marriage by retconning that the alien Skrull Empire had kidnapped the real Masters and replaced her with a spy named Lyja. Once discovered, Lyja, who herself had fallen for Storm, helped the Fantastic Four rescue Masters. Ventura departed after being further mutated by Doctor Doom. Ryan's lengthy run is behind only those of Jack Kirby and John Byrne in number of issues drawn.

Other key developments included Franklin Richards being sent into the future and returning as a teenager, the return of Reed's time-traveling father, Nathaniel, and Reed's apparent death at the hands of a seemingly mortally wounded Doctor Doom. It would be two years before DeFalco resurrected the two characters, revealing that their "deaths" were orchestrated by the supervillain Hyperstorm.

"Heroes Reborn" and renumbered

The ongoing series was canceled with issue #416 (Aug. 1996) and relaunched with vol. 2, #1 (Nov. 1996) as part of the multi-series "Heroes Reborn" crossover story arc. The year-long volume retold the team's first adventures in a more contemporary setting in a parallel universe. Following the end of that year-long experiment, ''Fantastic Four'' was relaunched with vol. 3, #1 (Jan,. 1998). Initially by the team of writer Scott Lobdell and penciler Alan Davis, it went after three issues to writer Chris Claremont (co-writing with Lobell for #4-5) and penciler Salvador Larroca; this team enjoyed a long run through issue #32 (Aug. 2000). [Carlos Pacheco]] then took over as penciler and co-writer, first with Rafael Marin, then with Marin and Jeph Loeb.
This series began using dual numbering, as if the original ''Fantastic Four'' series had continued unbroken, with issue #42 / #471 (June 2001). (At the time, the Marvel Comics series begun in the 1960s, such as ''Thor'' and ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', were given such dual numbering on the front cover, with the present-day volume's numbering alongside the numbering from the original series.) The title reverted to its original numbering with issue #509 (March 2004).
Karl Kesel succeeded Loeb as co-writer with issue #51 / 480 (March 2002), and after a few issues with temporary teams, Mark Waid took over as writer with #60 / 489 (Oct. 2002), working with pencilers Mike Wieringo, Mark Buckingham, Casey Jones, and Howard Porter variously through #524 (May 2005), with a handful of issues by other teams during that time. Writer J. Michael Straczynski and penciler Mike McKone did issues #527-541 (July 2005 - Nov. 2006), with Dwayne McDuffie taking over as writer the following issue, and Paul Pelletier succeeding McKone beginning with #544 (May 2007).

Fictional character biography

The early years

Following their creation and team-up, the Fantastic Four become celebrities. Early in their adventuring career, they encounter Victor von Doom, a.k.a. the sorcerer-scientist Doctor Doom, a would-be world conquerer who would develop a personal vendetta against Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards and become the team's archnemesis.
The team encounters alien races, including the Skrulls and the Kree, and team-member Johnny Storm finds an amnesiac Sub-Mariner and helps revive the undersea lord's memory. The team fights such supervillains as the Mole Man, the Puppet Master, the Red Ghost and his super-apes, the Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android, Diablo and his robot Dragon Man, and others, and increasingly explore the universe. They meet the alien observer The Watcher; encounter the Inhumans, a race of bioengineered descendants of aliens; and the Black Panther , the superhero king of the African nation of Wakanda.

Civil War

Main articles: Civil War (comics)

In 2006, as part of Marvel's company-wide ''Civil War'' fictional crossover, the Fantastic Four disbanded, torn apart by differing views on the Superhuman Registration Act. Mr. Fantastic, allied with Tony Stark, SHIELD, and the U.S. government, favors the Act, while the Human Torch and the Invisible Woman leave to join Captain America's resistance movement. The Thing remains neutral and visits France, but returns during the last battle of the war to help save civilians. Following Captain America's surrender and his order to anti-Registration forces to stand down, the Fantastic Four reunite. In the aftermath, Reed and Sue take a leave of absence in order to repair their strained relationship. The Black Panther and Storm, the newlywed king and queen of Wakanda, join the team as their temporary replacements.^[5]

World War Hulk

During the Hulk's return to Earth, Mr. Fantastic is targeted by the Hulk for his role in the Hulk's exile. The Fantastic Four attempt to defeat the Hulk, but, after Johnny and the Thing tried to defeat the Hulk up front, and Storm and Black panther tried to fight Hulk's allies, Reed fails to try to calm him down, and gets beaten as Sue is knocked out.

Spinoffs

Ancillary titles and features spun off from the flagship series include the 1970s quarterly ''Giant-Size Fantastic Four'' and the 1990s ''Fantastic Four Unlimited'' and ''Fantastic Four Unplugged''; ''Fantastic Force'', an 18-issue spinoff (Nov. 1994 - April 1996) featuring an adult Franklin Richards, from a different timeline, as Psilord; and ''Marvel Knights 4'' spinoff in April 2004. As well, there have been numerous limited series all similarly set in the main universe, designated in Marvel continuity as Earth-616.
In February 2004, Marvel launched ''Ultimate Fantastic Four'', a version of the group in the "Ultimate Marvel" alternate universe.

The Human Torch solo

Johnny Storm starred in an early Silver Age solo series beginning in ''Strange Tales'' #101 (Oct. 1962), in 12- to 14-page stories plotted by Lee and initially scripted by his brother, Larry Lieber, and drawn by penciler Kirby and inker Dick Ayers.

Here, Johnny was seen living with his elder sister, Susan, in fictional Glenview, Long Island, New York, where he continued high school and, with youthful naivete, attempted to maintain a "secret identity". (In ''Strange Tales'' #106 (Mar. 1963), Johnny discovered that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity all along, from Fantastic Four news reports, but were humoring him.) Supporting characters included Johnny's girlfriend, Doris Evans, usually in consternation as Johnny cheerfully flew off to battle bad guys. (She was seen again in a 1970s issue of ''Fantastic Four'', having become a heavyset but cheerful wife and mother). Ayers took over the penciling after ten issues, later followed by original Golden Age Human Torch creator Carl Burgos and others. The FF made occasional cameo appearances, and the Thing became a co-star with issue #123 (Aug. 1964).
The Human Torch shared the "split book" ''Strange Tales'' with fellow feature "Doctor Strange" for the majority of its run, before finally flaming off with issue #134 (July 1965), replaced the following month by "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.". The Silver Age stories were republished in 1974, along with some Golden Age Human Torch stories, in a short-lived ongoing ''Human Torch'' series.
A later ongoing solo series in Marvel's manga-influenced "Tsunami" line, ''Human Torch'', ran 12 issues (June 2003 - June 2004), followed by the five-issue limited series ''Spider-Man/Human Torch'' (March-July 2005), an "untold tales" team-up arc spanning the course of their friendship.

The Thing solo

The "ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing", as Ben Grimm sometimes refers to himself, appeared in two team-up issues of ''Marvel Feature'' (issues 11-12, Sept. - Nov. 1973). Following their success, he was given his own regular team-up title ''Marvel Two-in-One'', co-starring with Marvel heroes not only in the present day but occasionally in other time periods (fighting alongside the Liberty Legion in #20 and Doc Savage in #21, for example) and in alternate realities. The series ran 100 issues (Jan. 1974 - June 1983), with seven summer annuals (1976–1982), and was immediately followed by the solo title ''The Thing'' #1-36 (July 1983 - June 1986). Another ongoing solo series, also titled ''The Thing'', ran eight issues (Jan.-Aug. 2006).
For a list including one-shots, limited series, graphic novels, and trade paperback collections, see Thing bibliography.

Comic book within a comic book

''See also: List of comics creators appearing in comics''
Issue #10 (Jan. 1963) established the concept the FF (and by extension the rest of the Marvel universe) existed in the same world as Marvel Comics; the team-members, it was explained, had licensed their names and likenesses to the company, and the rights to adapt their "real-life" adventures. In this issue, Doctor Doom himself came to Marvel's Madison Avenue offices. Observant fans would later note this "real-world" Marvel was even more fictional than it seemed: not only was penciler Jack Kirby working at a drawing table there, rather than at home per his routine, but the office door was labeled "Lee and Kirby" — suggesting the kind of comradely partnership fans wanted and expected.
"A Visit with the Fantastic Four" in the following issue (#11, Feb. 1963), reinforced the concept of "real-world superheroes" by having the FF, in civilian clothes, stroll to a newsstand hoping to pick up their latest comic book. The second story introduced the impish Impossible Man, who starred in writer Roy Thomas' self-referential update in ''Fantastic Four'' #176 (Nov. 1976), "Improbable as it May Seem — The Impossible Man is Back in Town!" Here he invaded the Marvel offices demanding to have his own comic. Lee, Kirby, writer Thomas, issue artists George Perez and Joe Sinnott, and Marvel staffers Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Marie Severin, Marv Wolfman, and John Verpoorten all made cameo appearances.
The concept was reused in issue #262 (Jan. 1984), which depicted writer-artist John Byrne being asked by editor Michael Higgins for the latest issue, since it was almost late. Byrne explained he had been unable to contact the Fantastic Four for the latest story, since they were away. He was about to make up a story when the Watcher whisked him away to take part in the FF's latest adventure. At the end of the issue, Byrne submitted his story.
''Marvels Comics: Fantastic Four'' (2000) was a mock-up of what the comic book published in the Marvel Universe might have looked like, and was (within the fictional context of the story) produced with the official approval of "Fantastic Four, Inc."

Fictional character biographies

The Fantastic Four acquired superhuman abilities after an experimental rocket ship designed by scientist Reed Richards passed through a storm of cosmic rays on an outer space test flight. Upon crash landing back on Earth, the four impromptu astronauts found themselves transformed with bizarre new abilities.
Richards, who took the name Mr. Fantastic, was now able to stretch, twist and re-shape his body to inhuman proportions (similar to Quality Comics' celebrated Plastic Man, Timely Comics' Thin Man, and DC Comics' Elongated Man, who had been introduced the previous year). His fiancée Susan Storm gained the ability to bend and manipulate light to render herself invisible, thus naming herself the Invisible Girl (later the Invisible Woman). She later developed the ability to generate fields of energy consisting of bent light, which she used as defensive shields, offensive blasts or telekinetic feats. Her younger brother, Johnny Storm, possessed the incendiary powers of a Human Torch, after Marvel's Golden Age character, enabling him to control fire, project burning bolts of flame from his body, and fly. Finally, pilot Ben Grimm was transformed into a monstrous, craggy humanoid with orange, rocklike skin and incredibly resilient strength. Filled with anger, self-loathing and self-pity over his new existence, he dubbed himself the Thing, the term Susan used in her initial, startled reaction to his transformation.
The four characters were modeled after the four classical Greek elements: earth (The Thing), fire (The Human Torch), air (The Invisible Girl) and water (the pliable and ductile Mr. Fantastic). The powers of Mr. Fantastic were modelled on those of Plastic Man; the Invisible Girl's powers were originally the same as those of the comic strip character "The Invisible Scarlett O'Neill"; the Human Torch had the powers of the Golden Age character of the same name; and the Thing was similar to many of the monster characters that Lee and Kirby had created in the past. Kirby had co-created a similarly unmasked though non-superpowered DC Comics quartet, the Challengers of the Unknown, in ''Showcase'' #6 (Feb. 1957)

The team of adventurers has used its members' fantastic abilities to protect humanity, the Earth and the universe from various threats. Propelled mainly by Richards' innate scientific curiosity, the team has explored space, the Negative Zone, the Microverse, other dimensions, and nearly every hidden valley, nation, and lost civilization on the planet.
They have had several different headquarters, most notably the Baxter Building in New York City. The Baxter Building was replaced by Four Freedoms Plaza, built at the same location, after the Baxter Building's destruction at the hands of Kristoff Vernard, adopted son (and rumored half-brother of Mr. Fantastic) of the Fantastic Four's seminal villain Doctor Doom. Pier 4, a warehouse on the New York waterfront, served as a temporary headquarters for the group after Four Freedoms Plaza was condemned, due to the actions of another superhero team, the Thunderbolts.
The series often emphasizes the idea that the Fantastic Four, unlike most superhero teams, is truly a family. Three of the four members are directly related, with Ben Grimm (The Thing) being a longtime friend and Reed Richards' college roommate; Grimm is also the godfather of Reed and Sue's son, Franklin Benjamin Richards, whose middle name honors Grimm. Although not related, Grimm is the family's beloved Dutch uncle, and his relationship with Mr. Fantastic and the Human Torch is sibling-like. Reed and Sue's children Franklin and Valeria Richards and the Thing's girlfriend, Alicia Masters, are regulars in the series.
Unlike most superheroes, the Fantastic Four's identities are not secret as they maintain a high public profile, enjoying celebrity status for scientific and heroic contributions to society. Recent issues have controversially revealed that this is a deliberate move by Reed Richards, who works to keep the team highly visible and esteemed out of guilt over causing their mutations. Fantastic Four has had many supporting characters throughout the existence of the comic book franchise.

★ List of Fantastic Four members

Supporting characters

Temporary replacement members

★ 'Medusa' - An Inhuman who filled-in when the Invisible Girl and Mr. Fantastic had a temporary separation due to marital problems.

★ 'Crystal' - An Inhuman and Johnny Storm's girlfriend.

★ 'Luke Cage' (Power Man) - Replacement during the Thing's brief absence.

★ 'She-Hulk' - Jennifer Walters, first cousin of Bruce Banner (the Hulk). She joined the team as a replacement for the Thing in the aftermath of the first Secret War.

★ 'Ms. Marvel' (She-Thing) - Sharon Ventura, who gained powers and an appearance similar to the Thing's. She served on the team for a brief period of time.

★ 'Ant Man II' - Scott Lang, reformed thief utilizing Henry Pym's shrinking particles. He briefly joined when Reed Richards was missing and presumed dead.

★ 'Namorita' - with She-Hulk and Ant-Man (Scott Lang), joined the Human Torch's makeshift team when the 3 other original members were missing in the Negative Zone

★ 'Storm' - Along with her husband, Black Panther, she filled in for Sue Storm in 2007.

★ 'Black Panther' - Along with his wife, Storm, he filled in for Reed Richards in 2007.

"Alternate Fantastic Four" members

★ The Hulk (aka Mr. Fixit), Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider (Daniel Ketch) - served as a complete team replacement in ''Fantastic Four'' #347-349 (Dec. 1990 - Feb. 1991), in a storyline written by Walter Simonson and pencilled by Art Adams, in which they were called "The New Fantastic Four". This line-up reappeared issue #374-375 (March-April 1993), this time with the Merged Hulk/The Professor. The video game ''Marvel Ultimate Alliance'' offered this version of the team as an option, with Luke Cage in place of the Hulk. However, with the recent Hero Pack one can download off of Xbox Live for the Xbox 360 or from the Gold Edition, one can use The Hulk to form The New Fantastic Four team.

Allies/Supporting characters

★ Agatha Harkness (governess) ★ Alicia Masters ★ Alyssa Moy ★ Caledonia - Alysande Stuart of Earth-9809 ★ Daredevil ★ Fantastic Force ★ Franklin Richards (son) ★ H.E.R.B.I.E. ★ The Inhumans ★ ★ Black Bolt ★ ★ Crystal (former FF member) ★ ★ Medusa (former FF member) ★ ★ Gorgon ★ ★ Karnak ★ ★ Triton ★ ★ Lockjaw ★ Kristoff Vernard - Doctor Doom's protege ★ Lyja the Lazerfist - Covert Skrull agent ★ Namor the Sub-Mariner ★ Nathaniel Richards

★ New Avengers ★ ★ Doctor Strange ★ ★ Echo ★ ★ Iron Fist ★ ★ Luke Cage ★ ★ Ronin ★ ★ Spider-Man(mostly Johnny Storm's ally and best friend) ★ ★ Spider-Woman ★ ★ Wolverine ★ Nova - Frankie Raye ★ Power Pack ★ Puppy ★ Silver Surfer ★ Thundra ★ Valeria Richards (daughter) ★ Willie Lumpkin the postal worker ★ Warlock, formerly Him ★ Wundarr ★ Wyatt Wingfoot ★ Uatu The Watcher

Antagonists

★ Abraxas ★ Air-Walker ★ Android Man ★ Annihilus ★ Aron (comics) - The Rogue Watcher ★ Basilisk ★ The Beyonder ★ Blastaar ★ Burstaar ★ Bogeyman ★ Constrictor ★ Crucible ★ Dark Raider ★ Darkoth ★ Devos the Devastator ★ Diablo ★ Doctor Doom ★ Doctor Sun ★ Dragon Man ★ Ego the Living Planet ★ Eliminator ★ The Enforcers ★ Fasaud ★ Fearsome Foursome

★ Frightful Four ★ Galactus ★ Giganto ★ Gideon Gregory ★ Haazareth ★ Hate-Monger ★ Hydro-Man ★ Hyperstorm ★ Impossible Man ★ Kang the Conqueror/Rama-Tut/Immortus ★ Klaw ★ Krang ★ Kurrgo, Master of Planet X ★ Live Wire ★ Living Monolith ★ Mad Thinker ★ Maximus the Mad ★ Mephisto ★ Modulus ★ Mole Man ★ Molecule Man ★ Namor the Sub-Mariner ★ Overmind ★ Power Skrull

★ Psycho-Man ★ Puppet Master ★ Ramades ★ Ronan the Accuser ★ Red Ghost ★ Silver Surfer ★ Salem's Seven ★ The Sandman ★ Seeker ★ Shellshock ★ Skrulls ★ Super-Skrull ★ Terminus ★ Terrax ★ Thanos ★ Thundra ★ Trapster ★ Wizard

Other versions

Challengers of the Fantastic

Main articles: Challengers of the Fantastic

This superhero team, featured in the Marvel-DC intercompany crossover imprint Amalgam Comics, was an amalgamation of DC's Challengers of the Unknown and Marvel's Fantastic Four.

''The End''

Main articles: Fantastic Four: The End

'' is a six-issue limited series depicting a possible future in which the members of the Fantastic Four have become estranged after an epic battle with Dr. Doom, resulting in the deaths of Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards, the children of group leader Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) and his wife Susan Storm (the Invisible Woman).

Exiles

At the end of ''Exiles'' #95 a Fantastic Four that consists of Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, Victor von Doom, and the Hulk is revealed. They will appear in ''Exiles'' through issue #99, as it is a 5-part story arc.

MC2

In the MC2 continuity the group has become the Fantastic Five. The team cosisted of the Human Torch, Ms. Fantastic (Lyja), Psi-Lord (Franklin Richards), Big Brain (a robot with the mind of Reed Richards), and the Thing when the line and their own short-live title launched. Through later guest appeareances in Spider-Girl, we have seen a team consisting of the twin offspring of the Thing, the son of Ms. Fantastic and Lyja, Kristoff von Doom, Spider-Girl and Psi-lord taking the place of Fantastic Five briefly; and that Susan Storm and Mr. Fantastic returning to their original bodies to join the team again.

Ultimate Fantastic Four

Main articles: Ultimate Fantastic Four

Set in the Ultimate Marvel universe, this version involves a more youthful version of the team.

In other media

There have been four ''The Fantastic Four'' animated TV series and three feature films (though one of the movies went unreleased, and is only available in a widely circulated bootleg). The Fantastic Four also guest-starred in the "Secret Wars" story arc of the 1990s as well as in the "Fantastic Fortitude" episode of the 1996 Hulk series. There was also a very short-lived radio show in 1975 that adapted early Kirby/Lee stories, and is notable for casting a pre-''Saturday Night Live'' Bill Murray as the Human Torch. In 1979, the Thing was featured as half of the Saturday morning cartoon Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. The character of the Thing was given a radical make-over for the series. The title character for this program was Benji Grimm, a teenage boy who possessed a pair of magic rings which could transform him into the Thing. The other members of the Fantastic Four do not appear in the series, nor do the animated ''The Flintstones'' stars Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, despite the title of the program.

Animated Series

★ ''Fantastic Four'' (1967) - Produced by Hanna Barbera

★ ''Fantastic Four'' (1978) - Produced by DePatie-Freleng (featuring a H.E.R.B.I.E. Unit in place of the Human Torch)

★ ''Fantastic Four'' (1994) - broadcast under the ''Marvel Action Hour'' umbrella, with introductions by Stan Lee

★ '' (2006) - Cartoon Network

Video games

Main articles: Fantastic Four (video game)

In 1998, a side-scrolling video game was released for the Sony PlayStation home video game system / platform, based on the Fantastic Four characters. In the game you and a friend could pick among the Fantastic Four characters (along with the She-Hulk), and battle your way through various levels until you faced Doctor Doom. The game was widely panned by critics for having weak storyline and handling of the characters' powers.
The Fantastic Four appeared in the Super NES and Sega Genesis video games based on the 1990s and in their own multi-platform games based on the 2005 movie.
The Thing and the Human Torch appeared in the 2005 game ''.
The Fantastic Four appear in the game ''.
The Human Torch has an appearance in a mini-game where you race against him in all versions of the ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' game except for Game Boy Advance.
The Fantastic Four are also featured prominently in the game called '' that came out on 6/15/07

Movies

A movie adaptation of ''The Fantastic Four'' was completed in 1994 by famed B-movie director/producer Roger Corman. While this movie was never released to theaters or video, it has been made available from various bootleg video distributors. The film was made on a shoestring budget and is largely mocked by fans of the comic book foursome for what they see as poor acting and disappointing special effects (at one point, The Human Torch — played by a human actor — turns into an obvious cartoon upon "flaming-on").

The film was made because the studio who owned the movie rights to the Fantastic Four would have lost them if it had not begun production by a certain deadline date (a tactic known as creating an ashcan copy). According to producer Bernd Eichinger, Avi Arad had Marvel purchase the film for a few million dollars.^[7]
Another feature film adaptation of ''Fantastic Four'' was released July 8 2005 by Fox, and directed by Tim Story. ''Fantastic Four'' opened in approximately 3,600 theaters and despite predominantly poor reviews^[8] grossed US$156M in North America and US$329M worldwide, weighed against a production budget of $100M and an officially undisclosed marketing budget. It stars Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom/Dr. Doom, with Stan Lee making a cameo appearance as Willie Lumpkin, the mailman.
On October 22, 2005, Fox announced plans for a sequel, '', to be directed by Story and written by Don Payne, with production scheduled to begin August 2006. The film was released June 15, 2007.

Parodies and allusions

★ The cover of ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 has been parodied, alluded to, and paid homage to many times.

★ The villains in the Wildstorm comic book series ''Planetary'' are counterparts to the Fantastic Four called The Four.

★ In DC Comics' ''Adventures of Superman'' #466, a space shuttle crew gains the powers of the Fantastic Four but are unable to control them. The Thing and Human Torch analogues die as a result. The Mr. Fantastic analogue manages to prevent his wife from fading from existence before seemingly dying himself. He later appears as the Cyborg Superman. In 1990, in ''Superman'' #50, at the end of the "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite" saga, Mr. Mxyzptlk posed as Marvel Comics' Impossible Man, fighting in Metropolis against four heroes that resembled The Fantastic Four. Former Fantastic Four and Superman artist and writer John Byrne pencilled the sequence, written by Jerry Ordway.

★ In the Batman Beyond episode "''Heroes''" a team called The Terrific Triois almost an exact copy of the Fantastic Four including their origins and characters, though combining the Human Torch and Thing into one character.

★ Episodes of the animated series ''The Venture Bros.'' titled "Ice Station – Impossible!" and "Twenty Years to Midnight" involve a parody of the Fantastic Four (especially their costumes) but with significantly less useful versions of their powers.

★ The animated series ''The Simpsons'' references the Fantastic Four several times:

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★ In "Treehouse of Horror X", Bart and Lisa are transformed into Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl.

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★ In "Treehouse of Horror XIV", the Simpsons briefly turn into the Fantastic Four.

★ The 2004 Disney/Pixar animated feature ''The Incredibles'' is about a family of superheroes whose powers include stretching, super strength, invisibility/force field, and super speed. Marvel Studios chairperson Avi Arad told ''Entertainment Weekly'' that, "In the words of Stan Lee, when someone asked him about ''The Incredibles'', he said, 'You know, it feels like I wrote it.'"^[9]

★ The opening of a Garfield Sunday strip parodied the opening of a Fantastic Four comic book. Garfield was the Thing, Odie was Mr. Fantastic, Nermal was the Human Torch (who was trying to blow out his flaming tail), and Arlene was the Invisible Woman. The name of the comics company that turns out Garfield was placed instead of Marvel Comics, as Paws Comics Group. There was also a poster parody of the Fantastic Four movie, called Fantastic Fur, in a Garfield movie-related book.

★ In the PBS animated series ''Arthur'', a daydream sequence features Buster Baxter, one of Arthur's friend, emerging from a space shuttle and exhibiting the powers of the Fantastic Four (one limb stretches, one bursts into flame, one turns invisible, and one turns into orange rock)

★ In the movie ''The Ice Storm'', the Tobey Maguire character refers to the Fantastic Four in his narrative.

★ In May 2006, the shoe company Nike released a Fantastic Four line of styles, each based upon one of the four characters.

★ In Inferior Five #10 (a DC Comics comic book) there is a parody of the group: The Kookie Quartet with Human Torch = Matchstick Kid, Mister Fantastic = Mr. Manplastic. The Thing and the Invisible Girl do not have an alternate name.

★ A scene in the Quentin Tarantino film ''Reservoir Dogs'' includes a Silver Surfer poster, and Joe (Lawrence Tierney), the bald, craggy gangster, is described as looking like the Fantastic Four's Thing.

★ In September 2006, comedian Norm MacDonald released a sketch comedy album titled 'Ridiculous' that featured a track called "The Fantastic Four". In this track, he mocks the absurdity of having all of the members of the group named after their super power, except for Reed Richards who decides to name himself "Mr. Fantastic".

★ In the season three episode, "First Strike", Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard compares his team, consisting of Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, and Rodney McKay, to the Fantastic Four (Sheppard as Mr. Fantastic, Ronon as Thing, Teyla as the Invisible Woman, and Rodney as the Human Torch).

★ The Spanish sports press has nicknamed the FC Barcelona's attacking line as "Los Cuatro Fantásticos"(The Fantastic Four). The world class strikers are Thierry Henry, Messi, Ronaldhino and Eto'o.

★ In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Baxter Stockman blows up the Rextab Building in the original comic book. (Rextab is a rearrangement of Baxter). The Baxter Building is the home of the Fantastic Four, and in the TMNT comic, it is said that a 'strange accident' caused the original owners to disappear.

See also

★ Ultimate Fantastic Four

★ Ultimate Marvel

★ Four (comics)

★ Maximum Fantastic Four

Footnotes

1. That DC all-star superhero team had debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (Feb. 1960) before going on to its own hit title (premiere cover date Nov. 1960).
2. Uslan, in a letter published in ''Alter Ego'' #43 (Dec. 2004), pp. 43-44, writes:
3. Lee, ''Origins'', p. 16:
4. POV Online (column): The Jack FAQ — "Who Inked ''Fantastic Four'' #1?", by Mark Evanier
5. ''Fantastic Four'' #543 (April 2007)
6. For example, at ''The Comics Reporter'' ("Everybody picks this one, and with good reason. Possibly Stan Lee's best script, combined with Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott at the height of their prowess. Photo-collages, giant Kirby machines, human drama...."), ''Comic Book Galaxy'' ("The greatest Ben Grimm story will always be "This Man, This Monster" from ''Fantastic Four'' #51"), id=0&obj id=26618&this cat=Comics ''Cinescape'' ("'This Man, This Monster' is still probably one of the best single issues of comics ''ever''"), and ''Buzzscope'' ("[O]ne of the greatest FF, and therefore superhero comic stories, ever"). The story was presented in its 20-page entirety in the book ''Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics'' by Les Daniels (ISBN 0810938219).
7. "The Fantastic Four-Gotten", by Terrence J. Brady
8. Rotten Tomatoes: ''Fantastic Four''
9. ''Entertainment Weekly'' July 1 2005: "'Fantastic' Voyage?: ''Fantastic Four'' has incredible trouble—The would-be blockbuster had a tough time getting released", by Scott Brown

References

★ Marvel.com: Fantastic Four

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★ FFPlaza.com

★ Fantastic Four Headquarters.com

★ Official ''Fantastic Four'' site

★ Marvel Pictures UK

★ Fantastic Four at the Internet Movie Database

★ DRG4's ''Fantastic Four: The Animated Series Page''

★ Marvel Animation Age: ''Fantastic Four: The Animated Series'' (1994-5)

★ Dial B for Blog: Secret Origins of the Fantastic Four

★ The Fantastic Four-Gotten

External links

★ ''Fantasic Four'': Review at UGPulse

★ Fantastic Four group page at ComicBookDB.com

★ FFPlaza.com (fansite)