Marvel’s First Family Comes Home – Anthony Jalen Herring

The Fantastic Four have had a rough go of it when it comes to feature films. Their first outing in 1994 was low-budget and went unreleased. Their next outings in 2005 and 2007 (subtitled Rise of the Silver Surfer) were decent, but nothing special. Their outing in 2015 was….an unmitigated disaster. (Seriously, I cannot believe what transpired with that adaptation of the team, but it was unspeakable).

However, with Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, the idea of a new rendition of the Fantastic Four within the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a promising one. The first true hint of a new film was revealed at the Marvel panel of the Disney’s 2020 Investor Day presentation, where Kevin Feige briefly touched on it.

Development of the MCU Fantastic Four film would progress over the next few years, with the central pieces in place by the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con. The core cast became comprised of Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing. The director was Matt Shakman–whose previous work in the MCU was the critically acclaimed miniseries WandaVision–and the film was officially titled The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

What would ultimately separate First Steps from its predecessor is the choice to set it on a 1960s-set, retro-futuristic alternate Earth, entirely separate from the mainline MCU. I was open to this artistic choice, especially as someone who welcomes unique and creative ideas like this. (That optimism only continued to blossom upon seeing the film’s trailers and subsequent marketing, which had the 60s setting on full display.)

Well, my optimism was not for naught as The Fantastic Four: First Steps is quite good!

One thing that I adore about First Steps is the bond between the characters. The central aspect of the Fantastic Four that separates them from other superhero teams like the Avengers and the X-Men is that they are a family. Reed and Sue are married with a child, Sue and Johnny are siblings, and Reed and Ben are lifelong best friends. Within all of these relationships, there is the strong presence of love and support, and that extends throughout everything the Fantastic Four does. They love each other, they love being protectors, they love their world, etc. It does a wonderful job in making you care about this iteration of the team, whilst also making their respective world–dubbed “Earth-828”–a bastion of hope and optimism.

You see this notion of love within the performances from the main cast as well, particularly from Pascal and Kirby. Reed and Sue are the heart of the film, with their relationship being beautifully realized. You see not just the deep and caring partnership between them, but also their darkest fears and insecurities. One scene in particular sees Sue angry at how Reed’s genius can make him distant, and Kirby’s performance illustrated this raw vulnerability that really grounded their relationship amidst all the weird happenings going on. (Regarding Pascal, a fantastic scene for him is when he tells his son, Franklin, about how he’s afraid of him turning out like him, and you could tell that Reed is genuinely worried for Franklin’s future.)

Regarding Quinn’s Johnny and Moss-Bachrach’s Ben, I think they both do a good job. Quinn has a lot of funny moments as the younger Storm sibling and actually gets to showcase his intelligence a great deal (more on that later). Moss-Bachrach’s Ben is incredibly warm and lovable, having a charming romantic subplot with a teacher (Natasha Lyonne). However, unlike Reed, Sue, and Johnny, Ben really doesn’t have a standout moment. He’s there and he’s reliable, sure, but there’s never a moment where you go, “Yes, that’s the Thing! That’s why he’s a part of the family.” I mean, yeah, there’s an incredible chase sequence involving him, but he’s a part of an ensemble in that moment, and not necessarily the standout. A shame, but hopefully he’ll get that moment in the sequel.

The main antagonist of First Steps is the planet-devouring Galactus (Ralph Ineson), who is accompanied by his herald, Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).

Their inclusion in this film basically turns it into a remake of Rise of the Silver Surfer, as that film also dealt with the Fantastic Four seeking to stop Galactus from destroying the Earth. However, in that film, the Silver Surfer was Norrin Radd (played physically by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne), and Galactus was portrayed as a space cloud instead of a gigantic humanoid alien. The change was met with negative reception from comic book fans, so seeing the villain portrayed as he should be is quite satisfying.

The film does a great job in portraying the sheer scale of Galactus, making him appear to be this massive, hulking behemoth that towers over our heroes. You get the sense that he truly is this unstoppable being that will stop at nothing to attain his goal. (Despite that, however, he’s not exactly the most compelling villain as said goal is pretty simple: he just wants to eat the planet, nothing more…until you find out he wants something else, but I won’t say because of spoilers.)

On that other hand, I love Silver Surfer’s portrayal. Much like with Norrin Radd, First Steps uses the character in a sympathetic manner, where you come to understand why exactly she became Galactus’ herald in the first place. You also get to see just how powerful she is, particularly in that chase sequence I referred to earlier. I was blown away by how her powers were demonstrated there, being miles apart from what little we got of Norrin Radd’s potential in his film. I also think Julia Garner is pretty great as the character, making Shalla-Bal both an enigmatic and tragic figure (especially regarding her relationship with Johnny, whose linguistic skills cause them to have this weird connection that draws them together).

The retro-futuristic world that First Steps creates is nothing short of excellent. The 1960s-inspired set- and costume design is so, so good, really transporting you to this new universe that the Fantastic Four and their enemies inhabit. I think the thing that bums me out the most is that this might be the last we see of it, considering the group’s future inclusion in Avengers: Doomsday (you can thank the post-credits scene in Thunderbolts* for being our first taste of it, unless you count that Doomsday cast reveal in March).

I understand that the Four’s role in the upcoming film was always going to happen, but part of me wishes that they would just say on Earth-828, going on their own adventures. Knowing that the film’s mid-credits scene (which I won’t spoil) is less a tease for a sequel in their world and more a forced setup for Doomsday just rubs me the wrong way. (Doesn’t help knowing that Doomsday itself is a massive course correction from the original Kang Dynasty that it was supposed to be and has a storyline that was built up over the past few years is now thrown out for something that feels rushed.)

But I digress.

Please, Marvel, give us more of Earth-828. Even if it comes after Doomsday and Secret Wars, just give us more. This is a world ripe for potential for future stories for the Fantastic Four (or even prequels set during that four-year gap between when they got their powers and the events of First Steps), and it would be great to see them come to life.

If you’d like to read my shorter review on Letterboxd, you can click on the link down below. Thank you for reading!

My letteboxd review of the fantastic four: first steps