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Fantastic Four

March 19, 2023

This article is about the superhero team. For other uses, see Fantastic Four (disambiguation).

The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first superhero team created by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and editor/co-plotter Stan Lee, who developed a collaborative approach to creating comics with this title.

Fantastic Four
Promotional art for Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure #1 (February 2008)
Depicting (left-to-right): The Thing, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, and the Human Torch.
Art by Jack Kirby
(repurposed from his 1970s Marvelmania poster).
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961)
Created byStan Lee (writer/editor)
Jack Kirby (artist/co-plotter)
In-story information
Base(s)
Member(s)
Roster
See: List of Fantastic Four members

The four characters traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space, are: Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific genius and the leader of the group, who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes; the Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards), Reed's girlfriend and later wife, who can render herself invisible and project powerful invisible force fields and blasts; the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can generate flames, surround himself with them and fly; and the monstrous Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, a former college football star, Reed's college roommate and a skilled pilot, who possesses tremendous superhuman strength, durability and endurance due to his stone-like flesh.

Since their 1961 introduction, the Fantastic Four has been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional, yet loving, family. Breaking convention with other comic archetypes, the members squabbled, held grudges both deep and petty, and eschewed anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. They are also well known for their recurring encounters with characters such as the villainous monarch Doctor Doom; the planet-devouring Galactus; the Kree Empire's ruthless and tyrannical enforcer Ronan the Accuser; the Negative Zone's ruler Annihilus; the sea-dwelling prince Namor; the spacefaring Silver Surfer; and the Skrull warrior Kl'rt.

The Fantastic Four have been adapted into other media, including several video games, animated series, and live-action films.

Publication history

Further information: Fantastic Four (comic book)

Origins

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 the top executive bragged about DC's success with the new superhero team the Justice League of America.[note 1] While film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan has debunked the particulars of that story,[note 2] Goodman, a publishing trend-follower, aware of the JLA's strong sales, did direct his comics editor, Stan Lee, to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. According to Lee, writing in 1974, "Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The [sic] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes. ... 'If the Justice League is selling', spoke he, 'why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?'"[1]: 16 

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 had become creatively restrictive. Determined "to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books",[note 3] Lee concluded that, "For just this once, I would do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading.... And the characters would be the kind of characters I could personally relate to: they'd be flesh and blood, they'd have their faults and foibles, they'd be fallible and feisty, and — most important of all — inside their colorful, costumed booties they'd still have feet of clay."[1]: 17 

Lee provided one of his earliest recorded comments on the creation of the Fantastic Four for a fanzine in 1968, during which time Jack Kirby was also working at Marvel (Kirby himself is interviewed separately in the same publication). When asked who conceived the team, him or Kirby, Lee responded "Both – 'twas mainly my idea, but Jack created characters visually".[2] In the 1974 book Origins of Marvel Comics Lee described the creative process in more detail, stating that he developed the basic characters as well as a story synopsis for the first issue penciller Jack Kirby to follow.[3] Lee noted the involvement of both Kirby and Publisher Martin Goodman prior to preparing his synopsis: "After kicking it around with Martin and Jack for a while I decided to call our quaint quartet the Fantastic Four. I wrote a detailed first synopsis for Jack to follow and the rest is history."[1]: 18  Kirby turned in his penciled art pages to Lee, who added dialogue and captions. This approach to creating comics, which became known as the "Marvel Method", worked so well that Lee and Kirby used it from then on, and the Marvel Method became standard for the company within a year.[4]: 87 

Kirby recalled events somewhat differently. In a 1970 Fanzine interview he confirmed Lee's involvement in the creation of the Fantastic Four but took credit for the main characters and ideas, stating "It was my idea. It was my idea to do it the way it was; my idea to develop it the way it was. I'm not saying Stan had nothing to do with it. Of course he did. We talked things out."[5] Years later, when specifically challenged with Lee's version of events in a 1990 interview, Kirby responded: "I would say that's an outright lie",[6]: 39  although the interviewer, Gary Groth, notes that this statement needs to be viewed with caution.[note 4] Kirby claims he came up with the idea for the Fantastic Four in Marvel's offices, and that Lee merely added the dialogue after the story was pencilled.[6]: 38  Kirby also sought to establish, more credibly and on numerous occasions, that the visual elements of the strip were his conceptions. He regularly pointed to a team he created for rival publisher DC Comics in the 1950s, the Challengers of the Unknown. "[I]f you notice the uniforms, they're the same... I always give them a skintight uniform with a belt... the Challengers and the FF have a minimum of decoration. And of course, the Thing's skin is a kind of decoration, breaking up the monotony of the blue uniform."[7]: 4  It is important to note, however, that the Fantastic Four wore civilian garb instead of uniforms, which were only introduced (along with the Baxter Building Headquarters) in the third issue of the series following readership feedback.[8] The original submitted design was also modified to include the iconic chest insignia of a "4" within a circle that was designed by Lee.[9]

Given the conflicting statements, outside commentators have found it hard to ascertain who created the Fantastic Four. A typed synopsis by Lee for the introductory segment of the first Fantastic Four issue exists and outlines the characters and their origins, with various minor differences to the published version. However Earl Wells, writing in The Comics Journal, points out that its existence does not assert its place in the creation: "[W]e have no way of knowing of whether Lee wrote the synopsis after a discussion with Kirby in which Kirby supplied most of the ideas".[10]: 78 

It is also notable that the Fantastic Four's first adventure in 1961 depicts a team of four adventurers (three men and a woman) led by a Professor travelling to the Earth’s centre and encountering giant monsters while contending with a human protagonist who is also from the surface world.[11] Although neither Lee nor Kirby ever mentioned the 1959 film Journey to the Center of the Earth as a direct inspiration, publisher Martin Goodman was well known for following popular entertainment trends to attract sales in his comics line.[12]

Comics historian R. C. Harvey believes the Fantastic Four was a continuation of the work Kirby previously did, and so "more likely Kirby's creations than Lee's".[13]: 69  But Harvey notes that the Marvel Method of collaboration allowed each man to claim credit,[13]: 68  and that Lee's dialogue added to the direction the team took.[13]: 69  Wells argues that Lee's contributions set the framework within which Kirby worked, and this made Lee "more responsible".[10]: 85  Comics historian Mark Evanier, a studio assistant to Jack Kirby in the 1970s, says that the considered opinion of Lee and Kirby's contemporaries was "that Fantastic Four was created by Stan and Jack. No further division of credit seemed appropriate."[14]: 122 

1961–1970s

The release of The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961) was an unexpected success. Lee had felt ready to leave the comics field at the time, but the positive response to Fantastic Four persuaded him to stay on.[15] The title began to receive fan mail[16] and Lee started printing the letters in a letter column with issue #3. Also with the third issue, Lee created the hyperbolic slogan "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!!" With the following issue, the slogan was changed to "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" and became a fixture on the issue covers into the 1990s,[4]: 87  and on numerous covers in the 2000s.

Issue #4 (May 1962) reintroduced Namor the Sub-Mariner,[17] an aquatic antihero who was a star character of Marvel's earliest iteration, Timely Comics, during the late 1930s and 1940s period that historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comics. Issue #5 (July 1962) introduced the team's most frequent nemesis, Doctor Doom.[18] These earliest issues were published bimonthly. With issue #16 (July 1963), the cover title dropped its The and became simply Fantastic Four.

While the early stories were complete narratives, the frequent appearances of these two antagonists, Doom and Namor, in subsequent issues indicated the creation of a long narrative by Lee and Kirby that extended over months. According to comics historian Les Daniels, "only narratives that ran to several issues would be able to contain their increasingly complex ideas".[4]: 88  During its creators' lengthy run, the series produced many acclaimed storylines and characters that have become central to Marvel, including the hidden race of alien-human genetic experiments, the Inhumans;[19][20] the Black Panther,[21] an African king who would be mainstream comics' first black superhero;[22] the rival alien races the Kree and the shapeshifting Skrulls;[23] Him, who would become Adam Warlock;[24] the Negative Zone and unstable molecules. The story frequently cited as Lee and Kirby's finest achievement[25][26] is the three-part "Galactus Trilogy" that began in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), chronicling the arrival of Galactus, a cosmic giant who wanted to devour the planet, and his herald, the Silver Surfer.[27][28] Fantastic Four #48 was chosen as #24 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that, "As the fourth year of the Fantastic Four came to a close, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to be only warming up. In retrospect, it was perhaps the most fertile period of any monthly title during the Marvel Age."[29] Daniels noted that "[t]he mystical and metaphysical elements that took over the saga were perfectly suited to the tastes of young readers in the 1960s", and Lee soon discovered that the story was a favorite on college campuses.[4]: 128  The Fantastic Four Annual was used to spotlight several key events. The Sub-Mariner was crowned king of Atlantis in the first annual (1963).[30] The following year's annual revealed the origin story of Doctor Doom.[31] Fantastic Four Annual #3 (1965) presented the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm.[32] Lee and Kirby reintroduced the original Human Torch in Fantastic Four Annual #4 (1966) and had him battle Johnny Storm.[33] Sue Richards' pregnancy was announced in Fantastic Four Annual #5 (1967), and the Richards' son, Franklin Richards was born in Fantastic Four Annual #6 (1968)[34] in a story which introduced Annihilus as well.[35]

Marvel filed for a trademark for "Fantastic Four" in 1967 and the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the registration in 1970.[36]

Kirby left Marvel in mid-1970,[37] having drawn the first 102 issues plus an unfinished issue, partially published in Fantastic Four #108, with alterations, and later completed and published as Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure (April 2008), Fantastic Four continued with Lee, Roy Thomas,[38] Gerry Conway and Marv Wolfman as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists such as John Romita Sr., John Buscema, Rich Buckler and George Pérez, with longtime inker Joe Sinnott adding some visual continuity. Jim Steranko also contributed some covers during this time. A short-lived series starring the team, Giant-Size Super-Stars, began in May 1974 and changed its title to Giant-Size Fantastic Four with issue #2.[39] The fourth issue introduced Jamie Madrox, a character who later became part of the X-Men.[40] Giant-Size Fantastic Four was canceled with issue #6 (Oct. 1975).[41] Roy Thomas and George Pérez crafted a metafictional story for Fantastic Four #176 (Nov. 1976) in which the Impossible Man visited the offices of Marvel Comics and met numerous comics creators.[42] Marv Wolfman and Keith Pollard crafted a multi-issue storyline involving the son of Doctor Doom which culminated in issue #200 (Nov. 1978).[43] John Byrne joined the title with issue #209 (Aug. 1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish. He and Wolfman introduced a new herald for Galactus named Terrax the Tamer in #211 (Oct. 1979).[44]

1980s and 1990s

Bill Mantlo briefly followed Wolfman as writer of the series and wrote a crossover with Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42 (May 1980).[45][46][47] Byrne wrote and drew a giant-sized Fantastic Four promotional comic for Coca-Cola, which was rejected by Coca-Cola as being too violent and published as Fantastic Four #220–221 (July–Aug. 1980) instead.[48] Writer Doug Moench and penciller Bill Sienkiewicz then took over for 10 issues. With issue #232 (July 1981), the aptly titled "Back to the Basics",[49] Byrne began his run as writer, penciller and inker, the last under the pseudonym Bjorn Heyn for this issue only.[50]

Byrne revitalized the slumping title with his run.[51]: 265  Byrne was slated to write with Sienkiewicz providing the art however, Sienkiewicz left to do Moon Knight, and Byrne subsequently became writer, artist, and inker. Various editors were assigned to the comic; eventually Bob Budiansky became the regular editor. Byrne told Jim Shooter that he could not work with Budiansky, although they ultimately continued to work together. In 2006, Byrne said "that's my paranoia. I look back and I think that was Shooter trying to force me off the book". Byrne left following issue #293 (Aug. 1986) in the middle of a story arc, explaining he could not recapture the fun he had previously had on the series.[52] One of Byrne's changes was making the Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman:[53] assertive and confident. During this period, fans came to recognize that she was quite powerful, whereas previously, she had been primarily seen as a superpowered mother and wife in the tradition of television moms like those played by Donna Reed and Florence Henderson.[54]

Byrne staked new directions in the characters' personal lives, having the married Sue Storm and Reed Richards suffer a miscarriage and the Thing quitting the Fantastic Four, with She-Hulk being recruited as his long-term replacement. He also re-emphasized the family dynamic which he felt the series had drifted away from after the Lee/Kirby run, commenting that, "Family—and not dysfunctional family—is the central, key element to the FF. It is an absolutely vital dynamic between the characters." [emphases in original][48]

Byrne was followed by a quick succession of writers: Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, and Roy Thomas. Steve Englehart took over as writer for issues 304–332 (except #320). The title had been struggling, so Englehart decided to make radical changes. He felt the title had become stale with the normal makeup of Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, so in issue #308 Reed and Sue retired and were replaced with the Thing's new girlfriend, Sharon Ventura, and Johnny Storm's former love, Crystal. The changes increased readership through issue #321. At this point, Marvel made decisions about another Englehart comic, West Coast Avengers, that he disagreed with, and in protest he changed his byline to S.F.X. Englehart (S.F.X. is the abbreviation for Simple Sound Effects). In issue #326, Englehart was told to bring Reed and Sue back and undo the other changes he had made. This caused Englehart to take his name entirely off the book. He used the pseudonym John Harkness, which he had created years before for work he didn't want to be associated with. According to Englehart, the run from #326 through his last issue, #332, was "one of the most painful stretches of [his] career."[55] Writer-artist Walt Simonson took over as writer with #334 (December 1989), and three issues later began pencilling and inking as well. With brief inking exceptions, two fill-in issues, and a three-issue stint drawn by Arthur Adams,[56][57] Simonson remained in all three positions through #354 (July 1991).

Simonson, who had been writing the team comic The Avengers, had gotten approval for Reed and Sue to join that team after Engelhart had written them out of Fantastic Four. Yet by The Avengers #300, where they were scheduled to join the team, Simonson was told the characters were returning to Fantastic Four. This led to Simonson quitting The Avengers after that issue. Shortly afterward, he was offered the job of writing Fantastic Four. Having already prepared a number of stories involving the Avengers with Reed and Sue in the lineup, he then rewrote these for Fantastic Four. Simonson later recalled that working on Fantastic Four allowed him the latitude to use original Avengers members Thor and Iron Man, which he had been precluded from using in The Avengers.[58]

After another fill-in, the regular team of writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, penciller 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 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. Although some fans were not pleased with DeFalco's run on Fantastic Four, calling him "The Great Satan", the title's sales rose steadily over the period.[59][60]

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, who is revealed to be the father of time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror and Reed's apparent death at the hands of a seemingly mortally wounded Doctor Doom.[61] It would be two years before DeFalco resurrected the two characters, revealing that their "deaths" were orchestrated by the supervillain Hyperstorm.

The ongoing series was canceled with issue #416 (Sept. 1996) and relaunched with vol. 2 #1 (Nov. 1996) as part of the multi-series "Heroes Reborn" crossover story arc. The yearlong volume retold the team's first adventures in a more contemporary style,[62] and set in a parallel universe. Following the end of that experiment, Fantastic Four was relaunched with vol. 3 #1 (Jan. 1998). Initially by the team of writer Scott Lobdell and penciller Alan Davis,[63] it went after three issues to writer Chris Claremont (co-writing with Lobdell for #4–5) and penciller Salvador Larroca; this team enjoyed a long run through issue #32 (Aug. 2000).

2000s

Following the run of Claremont, Lobdell and Larroca, Carlos Pacheco took over as penciller and co-writer, first with Rafael Marín, then with Marín 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. After issue #70 / #499 (Aug. 2003), the title reverted to its original vol. 1 numbering with issue #500 (Sept. 2003).

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 (October 2002) with artist Mike Wieringo with Marvel releasing a promotional variant edition of their otherwise $2.25 debut issue at the price of nine cents US.[64][65] Pencillers Mark Buckingham, Casey Jones, and Howard Porter variously contributed through issue #524 (May 2005), with a handful of issues by other teams also during this time. Writer J. Michael Straczynski and penciller 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).

As a result of the events of the "Civil War" company-crossover storyline, the Black Panther and Storm temporarily replaced Reed and Susan Richards on the team. During that period, the Fantastic Four also appeared in Black Panther,[66][67] written by Reginald Hudlin and pencilled primarily by Francis Portela. Beginning with issue #554 (April 2008), writer Mark Millar and penciller Bryan Hitch began what Marvel announced as a sixteen-issue run.[68][69] Following the summer 2008 crossover storyline, "Secret Invasion", and the 2009 aftermath "Dark Reign", chronicling the U.S. government's assigning of the Nation's security functions to the seemingly reformed supervillain Norman Osborn, the Fantastic Four starred in a five-issue miniseries, Dark Reign: Fantastic Four (May–Sept. 2009), written by Jonathan Hickman, with art by Sean Chen.[70][71][72] Hickman took over as the series regular writer as of issue #570 with Dale Eaglesham[73] and later Steve Epting on art.

2010s

In the storyline "Three", which concluded in Fantastic Four #587 (cover date March 2011, published January 26, 2011), the Human Torch appears to die stopping a horde of monsters from the other-dimensional Negative Zone. The series ended with the following issue, #588, and relaunched in March 2011 as simply FF.[74][75][76] The relaunch saw the team assume a new name, the Future Foundation, adopt new black-and-white costumes, and accept longtime ally Spider-Man as a member.[77][78][79] In October 2011, with the publication of FF #11 (cover-dated Dec. 2011), the Fantastic Four series reached its 599th issue.

In November 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four and of Marvel Comics, the company published the 100-page Fantastic Four #600 (cover-dated Jan. 2012),[80] which returned the title to its original numbering and featured the return of the Human Torch. It revealed the fate of the character of Johnny Storm after issue #587, showing that while he did in fact die, he was resurrected to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of Annihilus. Storm later formed a resistance force called Light Brigade and defeated Annihilus.[81]

Although it was launched as a continuation of the Fantastic Four title, FF continues publication as a separate series. Starting with issue #12, the title focuses upon the youthful members of the Future Foundation, including Franklin and Valeria Richards.

In the graphic novel Fantastic Four: Season One, the Fantastic Four is given an updated origin story set in the present day instead of the 1960s.[82] The hardcover compilation debuted at number four on The New York Times Best Seller list for graphic novels.[82]

As part of Marvel NOW! Fantastic Four ended with #611, ending Jonathan Hickman's long run on FF titles, and the title was relaunched in November 2012 with the creative team of writer Matt Fraction and artist Mark Bagley.[83][84] In the new title with its numbering starting at #1, the entire Fantastic Four family explore space together, with the hidden intent for Reed Richards to discover why his powers are fading.

Writer James Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk launched a new Fantastic Four series in February 2014 (cover dated April 2014).[85]

Robinson later confirmed that Fantastic Four would be cancelled in 2015 with issue #645, saying that "The book is reverting to its original numbers, and the book is going away for a while. I'm moving towards the end of Fantastic Four. I just want to reassure people that you will not leave this book with a bad taste in your mouth."[86] In the aftermath of the "Secret Wars" storyline, the Thing is working with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Human Torch is acting as an ambassador with the Inhumans.[87] With Franklin's powers restored and Reed having absorbed the power of the Beyonders from Doom, the Richards family is working on travelling through and reconstructing the multiverse,[88] but Peter Parker has purchased the Baxter Building to keep it "safe" until the team is ready to come back together.[89]

A new volume for the Fantastic Four was released in August 2018, written by Dan Slott, as part of Marvel's Fresh Start event.[90][91] The first issue of the new series was met with strong sales,[92] and a positive critical reaction.[92][93][94][95] When the Future Foundation is threatened by the Griever at the End of All Things, Mister Fantastic plays on her ego to convince her to provide him with equipment that will allow him to summon his teammates. When Human Torch and Thing are reunited with Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, the other superheroes that were part of the Fantastic Four at some point in their lives also arrived, including, unexpectedly, X-Men's Iceman.[96] With the gathered heroes assisted the Fantastic Four into causing so much damage to the Griever's equipment, she is forced to retreat in her final telepod or be trapped in that universe. This left the heroes to salvage components from the broken ship to create their own teleport system to return to their universe.[97] The Fantastic Four and their extended family returned to Earth where they find that Liberteens members Ms. America, 2-D, Hope, and Iceberg have come together as the Fantastix with Ms. America taking the codename of Ms. Fantastix. Following the staged bank robbery that the Wrecking Crew committed and their involvement of being hired to humiliate the Fantastix in public, the Fantastic Four gave the Fantastix their blessing to continue using the Baxter Building while the FF operate in a house on Yancy Street with a dimensionally-transcendental interior.[98]

In the storyline Point of Origin, the Fantastic Four entrust Alicia, H.E.R.B.I.E., Franklin and Valeria to protect Earth while they begin their mission to learn a further origin of the cosmic radiation that granted them their powers in the first place, piloting a new space ship called Marvel-2.[99] While in the middle of a space adventure to find the origin, the Fantastic Four are attacked by a group who believed themselves to be the superheroes of Planet Spyre, the Unparalleled. Reed and Sue are separated from the Thing, Human Torch is revealed to be the soulmate of the Unparalleled member named Sky, and they learn that the Unparalleled's leader and the Overseer of Planet Spyre, Revos, was responsible for the cosmic rays that struck the team on their original trip, as he wanted to stop them coming to his planet. Revos subsequently mutated his people to "prepare for their return" before trying to eradicate the mutates who are unable to retain their original forms in the same manner as the Thing, accusing the mutates of being "villains and imperfects"; as a result, through his own paranoia and xenophobia, the Overseer himself is responsible for the fateful creation of the Fantastic Four and mutated his entire race to face a non-existent threat.[100] Revos challenges Mr. Fantastic to a fight over their differences, until it is settled and they finally made peace. As the Fantastic Four are about to depart Spyre after helping its citizens clean up the Planet (as well as Reed providing the mutates with a variation of the temporary 'cure' he has created for Ben), Skye join them to learn about Earth and every unseen galaxy.[101] When the incoming Kree-Skrull Empyre occur at the same time as teen heroes are being outlawed, the original Fantastic Four went to space with Avengers to stop this Empyre, leaving Franklin and Valeria being backed by Spider-Man and Wolverine to defend Earth.[102]

2020s

In August 2022, Marvel announced that writer Ryan North and artist Iban Coello would launch a new volume of Fantastic Four in November of that year after Slott had concluded his run on the title with issue #46.[103]

Spin-offs

Ancillary titles and features spin 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 (November 1994 – April 1996) featuring an adult Franklin Richards, from a different timeline, as Psi-Lord. A 12-issue series Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine ran in 2001, paying homage to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's legendary run. A spinoff title Marvel Knights 4 (April 2004 – August 2006) was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and initially illustrated by Steve McNiven[104] in his first Marvel work. There have also been numerous limited series featuring the group.

In 1996, Marvel launched the series Fantastic Four 2099, part of the company's Marvel 2099 imprint which explored an alternate future of the Marvel Universe. The four protagonists inexplicably find themselves in 2099, with the world believing them to be clones of the original members of the Fantastic Four. The series ran for 8 issues (Jan. – Aug. 1996), serving as a companion to Doom 2099—an original Marvel 2099 title featuring an individual claiming to be the original Victor von Doom.

In 2004, Marvel launched Ultimate Fantastic Four. As part of the company's Ultimate Marvel imprint, the series re-imagined the team as teenagers.[105] It ran for 60 issues (Feb. 2004 – Feb. 2009). In 2008, they also launched Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, an out-of-continuity series aimed at younger readers.

Although it was launched by Marvel as a continuation of the Fantastic Four title in 2011, FF continued publication as a separate series after the regular series resumed in 2012. From issues #12, the title focused on the youthful members of the Future Foundation, including Franklin and Valeria Richards. A second volume was launched as part of Marvel NOW! by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred depicting a substitute Fantastic Four team starring Scott Lang, Medusa, She-Hulk and Ms. Thing.

Solo series

The Human Torch solo

The Human Torch was given a solo strip in Strange Tales in 1962 to bolster the title's sales.[4]: 98  The series began in Strange Tales #101 (October 1962), in 12- to 14-page stories plotted by Lee and initially scripted by his brother Larry Lieber, and drawn by penciller Kirby and inker Dick Ayers.

Here, Johnny was seen living with his older sister, Susan, in fictional Glenview, Long Island, New York, where he continued high school and, with youthful naiveté, attempted to maintain a "secret identity". In Strange Tales #106 (March 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 1973 issue of Fantastic Four, having become a heavyset but cheerful wife and mother.[106] Ayers took over the penciling after ten issues, later followed by original Golden Age Human Torch creator Carl Burgos and others. The Fantastic Four 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 being replaced in issue #135 (August 1965) 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 imprint, Human Torch, ran 12 issues (June 2003 – June 2004), by writer Karl Kesel and penciler Skottie Young.[107] The series was 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 Thing appeared in two team-up issues of Marvel Feature (#11–12, September–November 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 World War II-era Liberty Legion in #20 and the 1930s hero Doc Savage in #21, for example) and in alternate realities. The series ran 100 issues (January 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 (January–August 2006).

A six issue miniseries written by Walter Mosely, entitled The Thing, was released in November 2021.[108]

Invisible Woman solo

In April 2019, Marvel Comics announced that it would publish Invisible Woman, a five-issue miniseries written by Mark Waid and drawn by artist Mattia De Lulis.[109] This was Sue Storm's first solo title. Adam Hughes drew the cover for all five issues.[110]

Characters

The Fantastic Four is formed after four civilian astronauts are exposed to cosmic rays during an unauthorized outer space test flight in an experimental rocket ship designed by Dr. Reed Richards. Pilot Ben Grimm and crew-members Susan Storm and her brother Johnny Storm survive an emergency crash-landing in a field on Earth. Upon exiting the rocket, the four discover they have developed incredible superpowers and decide to use these powers to help others.

In the first issue the crew talks about Reed Richards' rocketship flying to the stars. Stan Lee's original synopsis described the crew's plan to fly to Mars, but Lee later shortly afterward wrote that due to "the rate the Communists are progressing in space, maybe we better make this a flight to the STARS, instead of just to Mars, because by the time this mag goes on sale, the Russians may have already MADE a flight to Mars!"[111]

In a significant departure from preceding superhero conventions, the Fantastic Four make no effort to maintain secret identities or, until issue #3, to wear superhero costumes, instead maintaining a public profile and enjoying celebrity status for scientific and heroic contributions to society. At the same time, they are often prone to arguing and even fighting with one another. Despite their bickering, the Fantastic Four consistently prove themselves to be "a cohesive and formidable team in times of crisis."[51]: 204–205 

While there have been a number of lineup changes to the group, the four characters who debuted in Fantastic Four #1 remain the core and most frequent lineup. They consist of:

  • Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) - A scientific genius, can stretch, twist and re-shape his body to inhuman proportions. Mr. Fantastic serves as the father figure of the group, and is "appropriately pragmatic, authoritative, and dull".[51]: 19  Richards blames himself for the failed space mission, particularly because of how the event transformed pilot Ben Grimm.[51]: 205  Stan Lee said the stretch powers were inspired by DC's Plastic Man, which had no equivalent in Marvel.[112]
  • Invisible Girl/Invisible Woman (Susan Storm) - Reed Richards' girlfriend (and eventual wife) has the ability to bend and manipulate light to render herself and others invisible. Stan Lee did not want Sue to have superstrength, "to be Wonder Woman and punch people", so eventually he came to invisibility, inspired by works such as The Invisible Man.[112] She later develops the ability to generate invisible force fields, which she uses for a variety of defensive and offensive effects.
  • Human Torch (Johnny Storm) - Sue Storm's younger brother, possesses the ability to control fire, allowing him to project fire from his body, as well as the power to fly. This character was loosely based on a Human Torch character published by Marvel's predecessor Timely Comics in the 1940s, an android that could ignite itself. Lee said that when he conceptualized the character, "I thought it was a shame that we didn't have The Human Torch anymore, and this was a good chance to bring him back".[4]: 85  Unlike the teen sidekicks that preceded him, the Human Torch in the early stories was "a typical adolescent — brash, rebellious, and affectionately obnoxious."[51]: 204  Johnny Storm was killed in the 2011 storyline "Three",[75] before being brought back and rejoining the reformed Fantastic Four.[81]
  • Thing (Ben Grimm) - Reed Richards' college roommate and best friend, has been transformed into a monstrous, orange, rock-like humanoid possessing high levels of superhuman strength and durability. The Thing is often filled with anger, self-loathing and self-pity over his new existence. He serves as "an uncle figure, a long-term friend of the family with a gruff Brooklyn manner, short temper, and caustic sense of humor".[51]: 204  In the original synopsis Lee gave to Kirby, The Thing was intended as "the heavy", but over the years, the character has become "the most lovable group member: honest, direct and free of pretension".[4]: 86  Lee said his original pitch to Kirby stated that The Thing was "someone who turned into a monster" and is bitter because unlike the other three he cannot change back to a normal appearance.[112]

The Fantastic Four has had several headquarters, most notably the Baxter Building, located at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue[113] in New York City. The Baxter Building was replaced by Four Freedoms Plaza at the same location after its destruction at the hands of Kristoff Vernard, adopted son of the team's seminal foe Doctor Doom (prior to the completion of Four Freedoms Plaza, the team took up temporary residence at Avengers Mansion).[114] Pier 4, a waterfront warehouse, served as a temporary headquarters after Four Freedoms Plaza was destroyed by the ostensible superhero team the Thunderbolts[115] shortly after the revelation that they were actually the supervillain team the Masters of Evil in disguise. Pier 4 was eventually destroyed during a battle with the longtime Fantastic Four supervillain Diablo,[116][117] after which the team received a new Baxter Building, courtesy of one of team leader Reed Richards' former professors, Noah Baxter. This second Baxter Building was constructed in Earth's orbit and teleported into the vacant lot formerly occupied by the original.[118] After their brief hiatus creating universes after the Secret Wars event, they took residence on 4 Yancy Street before moving back into the newly rebuilt Baxter Building.[98]

Supporting characters

Allies and supporting characters

Main article: List of Fantastic Four members

A number of characters are closely affiliated with the team, share complex personal histories with one or more of its members but have never actually held an official membership. Some of these characters include, but are not limited to: Namor the Sub-Mariner (previously an antagonist), Alicia Masters,[119] Lyja the Lazerfist, H.E.R.B.I.E., Kristoff Vernard (Doctor Doom's former protégé), Wyatt Wingfoot,[120] Sue and Johnny's father Franklin Storm, the receptionist android Roberta, governess Agatha Harkness,[121] and Reed and Sue's children Franklin Richards[34] and Valeria Richards.

Several allies of the Fantastic Four have served as temporary members of the team, including Crystal, Medusa,[122] Power Man (Luke Cage), Nova (Frankie Raye),[123] She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura), Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Namorita, Storm, and the Black Panther. A temporary lineup from Fantastic Four #347–349 (December 1990 – February 1991) consisted of the Hulk (in his "Joe Fixit" persona), Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider.[56]

Other notable characters who have been involved with the Fantastic Four include Alyssa Moy, Caledonia (Alysande Stuart of Earth-9809), Fantastic Force, the Inhumans[20] (particularly the royal family members Black Bolt, Crystal, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton, and Lockjaw), Reed's father Nathaniel Richards, the Silver Surfer (previously an antagonist), Thundra, postal worker Willie Lumpkin, Baxter Building landlord Walter Collins, the Thing's rivals the Yancy Street Gang and Uatu the Watcher.

Author Christopher Knowles states that Kirby's work on creations such as the Inhumans and the Black Panther served as "a showcase of some of the most radical concepts in the history of the medium".[124]

Antagonists

Main article: List of Fantastic Four enemies

Writers and artists over many years have created a variety of characters to challenge the Fantastic Four. Knowles states that Kirby helped to create "an army of villains whose rage and destructive power had never been seen before," and "whose primary impulse is to smash the world."[124] Some of the team's oldest and most frequent enemies have involved such foes as the Mole Man, the Skrulls,[23] Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom, the Puppet Master, Kang the Conqueror/Rama-Tut/Immortus, Blastaar, the Frightful Four,[125] Annihilus,[35] Galactus, and Klaw. Other prominent antagonists of the Fantastic Four have included the Wizard, the Impossible Man,[126] the Red Ghost and the Super-Apes,[127] the Mad Thinker, the Super-Skrull, the Molecule Man,[128] Diablo, Dragon Man,[129] Psycho-Man, Ronan the Accuser, Salem's Seven, Terrax the Tamer, Terminus, Hyperstorm, and Lucia von Bardas.

Fantastic Four Incorporated

Fantastic Four Incorporated, also known as Fantastic Enterprises,[130] is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It was founded by Reed Richards to license use of Richard's patents and funded the Fantastic Four's operation and their source of income. Staff are:

  • Susan Richards (Invisible Woman)[131] - CEO of Fantastic Four Inc.
  • Johnny Storm (Human Torch)[131] - made COO by Susan to give him some work ethic.
  • Christi Stoger[132] - with Ethan Crane, tried to frame Johnny Storm for a screw-up to get themselves promoted
  • Ethan Crane[132] - with Christi Stoger, tried to frame Johnny Storm for a screw-up to get themselves promoted
  • Jian Feeta[131] - Johnny's Personal Assistant
  • Bethany Palmer[130] - assisted out of abusive relationship with ex-husband, Jeff, by the Invisible Woman
  • Jed Schultz[133] - informed Reed about the embezzlement of their funds
  • Margaret Kofpulski[134]

Cultural impact and legacy

Accolades

  • In 2012, Complex ranked the Fantastic Four 3rd in their "10 Best Superhero Teams In Comics" list.[135]
  • In 2016, Screen Rant ranked the Fantastic Four 15th in their "15 Best Superhero Teams Of All Time" list.[136]
  • In 2018, Vanity Fair included the Fantastic Four in their "Stan Lee’s Most Iconic Characters" list.[137]
  • In 2021, CBR.com ranked the Fantastic Four 3rd in their "Every Marvel Superhero Team" list[138] and 5th in their "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Superhero Teams" list.[139]
  • In 2022, MovieWeb ranked the Fantastic Four 2nd in their "Most Famous Superhero Families" list.[140]
  • In 2022, Newsarama ranked the Fantastic Four 4th in their "Best superhero teams of all time" list.[141]
  • In 2023, CBR.com ranked the Fantastic Four 1st in their "10 Most Fashionable Teams In Marvel Comics" list.[142]

Impact

The Fantastic Four's characterization was initially different from all other superheroes at the time. One major difference is that they do not conceal their identities, leading the public to be both suspicious and in awe of them. Also, they frequently argued and disagreed with each other, hindering their work as a team.[51] Described as "heroes with hangups" by Stan Lee,[143] the Thing has a temper, and the Human Torch resents being a child among adults. Mr. Fantastic blames himself for the Thing's transformation. Social scientist Bradford W. Wright describes the team as a "volatile mix of human emotions and personalities." In spite of their disagreements, they ultimately function well as a team.[144]

The first issue of The Fantastic Four proved a success, igniting a new direction for superhero comics and soon influencing many other superhero comics.[145] Readers grew fond of Ben's grumpiness, Johnny's tendency to annoy others and Reed and Sue's spats. Stan Lee was surprised at the reaction to the first issue, leading him to stay in the comics field despite previous plans to leave. Comics historian Stephen Krensky said that "Lee's natural dialogue and flawed characters appealed to 1960s kids looking to 'get real.'"[15]

Sales

As of 2005, more than 150 million Fantastic Four comic books have been sold.[143][146] In 2022, the first issue of The Fantastic Four was sold for 1.5 million dollars at an auction.[147][148]

In other media

There have been four The Fantastic Four animated TV series and three released feature films. The Fantastic Four also guest-starred in the "Secret Wars" story arc of the 1990s Spider-Man animated series, and the Thing guest-starred (with a small cameo from the other Fantastic Four members) in the "Fantastic Fortitude" episode of the 1996 The Incredible Hulk series. The Fantastic Four also appeared in the 2010 series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

There was a short-lived radio show in 1975 that adapted early Lee/Kirby stories[149] and is notable for casting a pre-Saturday Night Live Bill Murray as the Human Torch. Also in the cast were Bob Maxwell as Reed Richards, Cynthia Adler as Sue Storm, Jim Pappas as Ben Grimm and Jerry Terheyden as Doctor Doom. Other Marvel characters featured in the series included Ant-Man, Prince Namor, Nick Fury and the Hulk. Stan Lee narrated the series and the scripts were taken almost verbatim from the comic books. The radio show was packaged into five-minute segments, with five segments comprising a complete adventure.[150] The team appeared on the Power Records album Fantastic Four: "The Way It Began" book and record set, an audio dramatization of Fantastic Four #126.[151]

Television

The Fantastic Four has been the subject of four animated television series. The first, Fantastic Four, produced by Hanna-Barbera,[152] ran 20 episodes on ABC from September 9, 1967 to September 21, 1968. The second Fantastic Four series, produced by DePatie-Freleng, ran 13 episodes from September 9, 1978, to December 16, 1978; this series features a H.E.R.B.I.E. Unit in place of the Human Torch.[150]

In 1979, the Thing was featured as half of the Saturday morning cartoon Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. The character of the Thing received a radical make-over for the series. The title character for this program was Benjy Grimm, a teenage boy who possessed a pair of magic Thing-rings which could transform him into the Thing when he put them together and said "Thing-rings, do your 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.[150] The third Fantastic Four was broadcast as part of The Marvel Action Hour umbrella, with introductions by Stan Lee. This series ran 26 episodes from September 24, 1994 to February 24, 1996. The fourth series, Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, debuted on September 2, 2006, on Cartoon Network and ran for 26 episodes.

Different Fantastic Four members appear briefly and with little or no dialogue and are mentioned various times throughout the first season of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The most expansive appearances are in the episode "The Private War of Doctor Doom", in which the Avengers team up with the Fantastic Four to battle the titular supervillain, and in the final episode of season two, in which the groups team up to battle Galactus. The Thing becomes a member of the New Avengers in episode 23 of season 2.

The Fantastic Four appear in the children’s show The Super Hero Squad Show, such as the episode "If this Be My Thanos" and "Last Exit Before Doomsday!" [153][154]

The Fantastic Four appear in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "Monster No More."[155] The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. assist the Fantastic Four in thwarting the Tribbitite Invasion.

Film

Main article: Fantastic Four in film

A film adaptation of the characters, The Fantastic Four, was completed in 1994 by producer Roger Corman and starred Alex Hyde-White as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Rebecca Staab as Sue Storm-Richards/Invisible Woman, Jay Underwood as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Michael Bailey Smith as Ben Grimm and Carl Ciarfalio as The Thing and Joseph Culp as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom. The film was not released to theaters or on home video, but it has since been made available through bootleg video distributors. It was made because Constantin Film owned the film rights and would have lost them if it failed to begin production by a certain deadline, a tactic known as creating an ashcan copy.[156] According to producer Bernd Eichinger, Avi Arad had Marvel purchase the film for a few million dollars.[157]

In 2005, the second film adaptation, Fantastic Four directed by Tim Story, was released by 20th Century Fox. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it earned US$155 million in North America and $330 million worldwide.[158][159] The sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, directed by Story and written by Don Payne, was released in 2007. Despite mixed-to-negative reviews, the sequel earned $132 million in North America and a total of $330.6 million worldwide.[160] Both films feature 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. Stan Lee makes cameo appearances as the mailman Willie Lumpkin in the first film and as himself in the second film.

A reboot directed by Josh Trank (also titled Fantastic Four, but stylized as Fant4stic) was released on August 7, 2015.[161] The film stars Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Kate Mara as Sue Storm, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm and Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom.[162][163][164] It is based on Ultimate Fantastic Four.[165] It earned poor reviews and box office results.[166] On March 20, 2019, due to the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the film rights of Fantastic Four reverted to Marvel Studios.[167]

In July 2019 at the San Diego Comic-Con, producer and head of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige, announced that a Fantastic Four film set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in development.[168] In December 2020, it was announced Jon Watts will direct the film,[169] but left the project in April 2022, citing personal reasons for stepping away.[170] On September 10, 2022 at the D23 Expo, Kevin Feige revealed director Matt Shakman would be taking over the film, with a release date of November 8, 2024.[171] On September 21, 2022 Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were announced to be writers for the film.[172]

Video games

In 1985, the Fantastic Four starred in Questprobe #3 The Fantastic Four, an adventure game from Adventure International for the Atari 8-bit series.[173] In 1997, the group starred in the Fantastic Four video game.[174] The team appeared in the Spider-Man: The Animated Series video game, based on the 1990s Spider-Man animated series, for the Super NES and Sega Genesis.[citation needed] The Thing and the Human Torch appeared in the 2005 game Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects.[175]

All of the Fantastic Four appear as playable characters in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance with Doctor Doom being the main enemy.[176] The members of the Fantastic Four are also featured in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, although the team is separated over the course of the game, with Mister Fantastic being 'locked' into the Pro-Registration side of the game's storyline and the Thing briefly becoming unavailable to the player - just as he left America in protest of the war - until he returns to assist in preventing civilian casualties during the conflict.[177] The Fantastic Four also appear in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order this time as playable DLC (downloadable content) alongside additional members of Marvel Knights and the X-Men.[178]

The Human Torch has an appearance in a mini-game where the player races against him in all versions of Ultimate Spider-Man, except on the Game Boy Advance platform.[179] The Fantastic Four star in tie-in videogames based on the 2005 film Fantastic Four,[180] and its sequel.[181] The Fantastic Four are also playable characters in Marvel Heroes,[182] and Lego Marvel Super Heroes.[183]

The Fantastic Four starred in their own virtual pinball game Fantastic Four for Pinball FX 2 released by Zen Studios.[184]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ That DC all-star superhero team had debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (cover-dated Feb. 1960) before going on to its own hit title (issue #1 cover-dated Nov. 1960).
  2. ^ Uslan, in a letter published in Alter Ego #43 (December 2004), pp. 43–44, writes: "Irwin Donenfeld said he never played golf with Goodman, so the story is untrue. I heard this story more than a couple of times while sitting in the lunchroom at DC's 909 Third Avenue and 75 Rockefeller Plaza office as Sol Harrison and [production chief] Jack Adler were schmoozing with some of us... who worked for DC during our college summers.... [T]he way I heard the story from Sol was that Goodman was playing with one of the heads of Independent News, not DC Comics (though DC owned Independent News). ... As the distributor of DC Comics, this man certainly knew all the sales figures and was in the best position to tell this tidbit to Goodman. ... Of course, Goodman would want to be playing golf with this fellow and be in his good graces. ... Sol worked closely with Independent News' top management over the decades and would have gotten this story straight from the horse's mouth."
  3. ^ Lee, Stan (September 1974). Origins of Marvel Comics. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster/Fireside Books. ISBN 978-0-671-21863-8. [My wife] Joan was commenting about the fact that after 20 years of producing comics I was still writing television material, advertising copy and newspaper features in my spare time. She wondered why I didn't put as much effort and creativity into the comics as I seemed to be putting into my other freelance endeavors. ...[H]er little dissertation made me suddenly realize that it was time to start concentrating on what I was doing — to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books.
  4. ^ Groth explains in his 2002 introduction to the interview that Kirby's state of mind needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating certain statements within the interview. Kirby was involved in an acrimonious dispute with Marvel Comics regarding the return of his artwork, and his relationship with Lee had deteriorated, in part due to this dispute but also due to Lee's public statements through the years, which Kirby saw as diminishing his role. Groth states: "Lee's contribution is a matter for endless speculation, but most observers and historians consider Kirby's claims here to be excessive."

References

  1. ^ a b c Lee, Stan (September 1974). Origins of Marvel Comics. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster/Fireside Books. ISBN 978-0-671-21863-8.
  2. ^ Morrow, John (June 2019). Kirby & Lee: Stuf' Said! (Expanded Second Edition) (Second ed.). TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-60549-094-6.
  3. ^ Lee, Stan (1974). Origins of Marvel Comics. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-21864-5.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Daniels, Les (1993). Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics. New York, New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-8146-7.
  5. ^ Love, GB (1970). Rockets Blast Comic Collector 81. GB Love.
  6. ^ a b Groth, Gary (February 1990). "Interview III: 'I've never done anything halfheartedly'". The Comics Journal. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics Books (134). Reprinted in George, Milo, ed. (May 2002). The Comics Journal Library Volume 1: Jack Kirby. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics Books. ISBN 1-56097-434-6.
  7. ^ Kirby, Jack (May 14, 1971). "Interview II: 'I created an army of characters, and now my connection to them is lost'". The Great Electric Bird (Interview). Interviewed by Tim Skelly. Evanston, Illinois: WNUR-FM. Transcribed and published in The Nostalgia Journal #27. Reprinted in George, The Comics Journal Library.
  8. ^ Wells, John (January 2015). American Comic Book Chronicles 1960-64. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 74–75. ISBN 978-1-60549-045-8.
  9. ^ Thomas, Roy (August 2011). "Clothes Make the Man – and the Super-hero Team!". Alter Ego. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (104): 14. Stan himself at some point played around by drawing a number of possible chest insignias, as seen at left, before settling on the simple number '4' in a circle ...
  10. ^ a b Wells, Earl (October 1995). "Once and For All, Who Was the Author of Marvel". The Comics Journal. Seattle, Washington (181). Reprinted in George, The Comics Journal Library.
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  12. ^ Van Lente, Fred; Dunlavey, Ryan (2012). The Comic Book History of Comics. IDW. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-1613771976.
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  15. ^ a b Krensky, Stephen (2007). Comic Book Century: The History of American Comic Books. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Twenty-First Century Books. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-8225-6654-0.
  16. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1960s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 84. ISBN 978-0756641238. It did not take long for editor Stan Lee to realize that The Fantastic Four was a hit...the flurry of fan letters all pointed to the FF's explosive popularity. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 86: "Stan Lee and Jack Kirbuy reintroduced one of Marvel's most popular Golden Age heroes – Namor, the Sub-Mariner."
  18. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 86: "The introduction of Dr. Doom signaled a slight shift in direction for Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. At last they were moving away from their monster-book formulas to embrace the super hero genre. Dr. Doom was their first real attempt to create an enduring super villain."
  19. ^ Cronin, Brian (September 18, 2010). "A Year of Cool Comics – Day 261". Comic Book Resources. from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  20. ^ a b DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 111: "The Inhumans, a lost race that diverged from humankind 25,000 years ago and became genetically enhanced."
  21. ^ Cronin, Brian (September 19, 2010). "A Year of Cool Comics – Day 262". Comic Book Resources. from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  22. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 117: Stan Lee wanted to do his part by creating the first black super hero. Lee discussed his ideas with Jack Kirby and the result was seen in Fantastic Four #52.
  23. ^ a b DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 84: "The second issue of the increasingly popular The Fantastic Four introduced the shapeshifting Skrulls, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...Like the 1956 sci-fi mmovie The Invasion of the Body-Snatchers, Lee and Kirby tapped into a fear that gripped the U.S. at this time: the fear that Russian spies were infiltrating society."
  24. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 124: "Adam Warlock was an artificial being created by scientists to be the first of an invincible army. Simply referred to as "Him' in his early appearances, Warlock later rebelled against his creators in Fantastic Four #66."
  25. ^ Thomas, Roy (2006). "Moment 29: The Galactus Trilogy". Stan Lee's Amazing Marvel Universe. New York, New York: Sterling Publishing. pp. 112–115. ISBN 978-1-4027-4225-5.
  26. ^ Hatfield, Charles (February 2004). "The Galactus Trilogy: An Appreciation". The Collected Jack Kirby Collector. 1: 211.
  27. ^ Cronin, Brian (February 19, 2010). "A Year of Cool Comics – Day 50". Comic Book Resources. from the original on May 4, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  28. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 115: "Stan Lee may have started the creative discussion that culminated in Galactus, but the inclusion of the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four #48 was pure Jack Kirby. Kirby realized that a being like Galactus required an equally impressive herald."
  29. ^ Greenberger, Robert, ed. (December 2001). 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time. Marvel Comics. p. 26.
  30. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 95
  31. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 103: "Fantastic Four Annual #2 revealed that Dr. Doom had been a college classmate of Reed Richards."
  32. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 110: "Having seen them together as a couple since Fantastic Four #1, the fans couldn't wait for the wedding of Sue Storm and Reed Richards."
  33. ^ DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 119
  34. ^ a b DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 133: "November [1968] saw the birth of Franklin Richards, the son of Reed and Sue."
  35. ^ a b DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 133: "Annihilus first encountered humanity when Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, and the Thing entered the Negative Zone in search of anti-matter particles."
  36. ^ . Markify. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  37. ^ Sanderson, Peter "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 144: "In 1970, [the Silver Age of comic books] began its end with the departure of artist Jack Kirby...marking the end of the most creative period in Marvel history."
  38. ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 157: "September [1972] witnessed a new generation taking command at Marvel Comics. Roy Thomas not only became writer of 'The World's Greatest Comic Magazine' with Fantastic Four #126, but also simultaneously became Marvel's Editor-in-Chief."
  39. ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 165
  40. ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 168: "New Marvel writer Chris Claremont and artist John Buscema introduced Madrox the Multiple Man, a mutant who could duplicate his own body over and over."
  41. ^ Giant-Size Fantastic Four at the Grand Comics Database
  42. ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 176: "In a venture into metafictional comedy, the mischievous Impossible Man visited the Marvel offices, where he met his creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, as well as the collaborators on his current story, writer Roy Thomas and artist George Pérez."
  43. ^ Martini, Frank (December 2013). "Marv Wolfman's Bicentennial Battles". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (69): 44–47.
  44. ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 190: "Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist John Byrne, Terrax would not only become a threat to the Fantastic Four but also Galactus himself."
  45. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1980s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 113. ISBN 978-0756692360. In the conclusion to a tale that had begun in the pages of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42 (May), writer [Bill] Mantlo and artist John Byrne had the latest incarnation of the Frightful Four face off against their Fantastic counterparts {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
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  47. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Byrne, John (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "When A Spider-Man Comes Calling!" Fantastic Four 218 (May 1980)
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  50. ^ "GCD :: Issue :: Fantastic Four #232 [Direct Edition]". Comics.org.
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Further reading

External links

  • at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
  • Fantastic Four at Curlie
  • Archive of from the original page

March 19, 2023
fantastic, four, this, article, about, superhero, team, other, uses, disambiguation, superhero, team, appearing, american, comic, books, published, marvel, comics, team, debuted, cover, dated, november, 1961, helping, usher, level, realism, medium, first, supe. This article is about the superhero team For other uses see Fantastic Four disambiguation The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics The team debuted in The Fantastic Four 1 cover dated November 1961 helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium It was the first superhero team created by artist co plotter Jack Kirby and editor co plotter Stan Lee who developed a collaborative approach to creating comics with this title Fantastic FourPromotional art for Fantastic Four The Lost Adventure 1 February 2008 Depicting left to right The Thing Mister Fantastic Invisible Woman and the Human Torch Art by Jack Kirby repurposed from his 1970s Marvelmania poster Publication informationPublisherMarvel ComicsFirst appearanceThe Fantastic Four 1 November 1961 Created byStan Lee writer editor Jack Kirby artist co plotter In story informationBase s Baxter Building Avengers Mansion formerly Four Freedoms Plaza Pier 4 4 Yancy St Member s Mister Fantastic Invisible Woman Human Torch The ThingRosterSee List of Fantastic Four membersThe four characters traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space are Mister Fantastic Reed Richards a scientific genius and the leader of the group who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes the Invisible Woman Susan Sue Storm Richards Reed s girlfriend and later wife who can render herself invisible and project powerful invisible force fields and blasts the Human Torch Johnny Storm Sue s younger brother who can generate flames surround himself with them and fly and the monstrous Thing Ben Grimm their grumpy but benevolent friend a former college football star Reed s college roommate and a skilled pilot who possesses tremendous superhuman strength durability and endurance due to his stone like flesh Since their 1961 introduction the Fantastic Four has been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional yet loving family Breaking convention with other comic archetypes the members squabbled held grudges both deep and petty and eschewed anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status They are also well known for their recurring encounters with characters such as the villainous monarch Doctor Doom the planet devouring Galactus the Kree Empire s ruthless and tyrannical enforcer Ronan the Accuser the Negative Zone s ruler Annihilus the sea dwelling prince Namor the spacefaring Silver Surfer and the Skrull warrior Kl rt The Fantastic Four have been adapted into other media including several video games animated series and live action films Contents 1 Publication history 1 1 Origins 1 2 1961 1970s 1 3 1980s and 1990s 1 4 2000s 1 5 2010s 1 6 2020s 2 Spin offs 2 1 Solo series 2 1 1 The Human Torch solo 2 1 2 The Thing solo 2 1 3 Invisible Woman solo 3 Characters 4 Supporting characters 4 1 Allies and supporting characters 5 Antagonists 6 Fantastic Four Incorporated 7 Cultural impact and legacy 7 1 Accolades 7 2 Impact 7 2 1 Sales 8 In other media 8 1 Television 8 2 Film 8 3 Video games 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External linksPublication history EditFurther information Fantastic Four comic book Origins Edit 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 the top executive bragged about DC s success with the new superhero team the Justice League of America note 1 While film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan has debunked the particulars of that story note 2 Goodman a publishing trend follower aware of the JLA s strong sales did direct his comics editor Stan Lee to create a comic book series about a team of superheroes According to Lee writing in 1974 Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most It was a book called The sic Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes If the Justice League is selling spoke he why don t we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes 1 16 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 had become creatively restrictive Determined to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books note 3 Lee concluded that For just this once I would do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading And the characters would be the kind of characters I could personally relate to they d be flesh and blood they d have their faults and foibles they d be fallible and feisty and most important of all inside their colorful costumed booties they d still have feet of clay 1 17 Lee provided one of his earliest recorded comments on the creation of the Fantastic Four for a fanzine in 1968 during which time Jack Kirby was also working at Marvel Kirby himself is interviewed separately in the same publication When asked who conceived the team him or Kirby Lee responded Both twas mainly my idea but Jack created characters visually 2 In the 1974 book Origins of Marvel Comics Lee described the creative process in more detail stating that he developed the basic characters as well as a story synopsis for the first issue penciller Jack Kirby to follow 3 Lee noted the involvement of both Kirby and Publisher Martin Goodman prior to preparing his synopsis After kicking it around with Martin and Jack for a while I decided to call our quaint quartet the Fantastic Four I wrote a detailed first synopsis for Jack to follow and the rest is history 1 18 Kirby turned in his penciled art pages to Lee who added dialogue and captions This approach to creating comics which became known as the Marvel Method worked so well that Lee and Kirby used it from then on and the Marvel Method became standard for the company within a year 4 87 Kirby recalled events somewhat differently In a 1970 Fanzine interview he confirmed Lee s involvement in the creation of the Fantastic Four but took credit for the main characters and ideas stating It was my idea It was my idea to do it the way it was my idea to develop it the way it was I m not saying Stan had nothing to do with it Of course he did We talked things out 5 Years later when specifically challenged with Lee s version of events in a 1990 interview Kirby responded I would say that s an outright lie 6 39 although the interviewer Gary Groth notes that this statement needs to be viewed with caution note 4 Kirby claims he came up with the idea for the Fantastic Four in Marvel s offices and that Lee merely added the dialogue after the story was pencilled 6 38 Kirby also sought to establish more credibly and on numerous occasions that the visual elements of the strip were his conceptions He regularly pointed to a team he created for rival publisher DC Comics in the 1950s the Challengers of the Unknown I f you notice the uniforms they re the same I always give them a skintight uniform with a belt the Challengers and the FF have a minimum of decoration And of course the Thing s skin is a kind of decoration breaking up the monotony of the blue uniform 7 4 It is important to note however that the Fantastic Four wore civilian garb instead of uniforms which were only introduced along with the Baxter Building Headquarters in the third issue of the series following readership feedback 8 The original submitted design was also modified to include the iconic chest insignia of a 4 within a circle that was designed by Lee 9 Given the conflicting statements outside commentators have found it hard to ascertain who created the Fantastic Four A typed synopsis by Lee for the introductory segment of the first Fantastic Four issue exists and outlines the characters and their origins with various minor differences to the published version However Earl Wells writing in The Comics Journal points out that its existence does not assert its place in the creation W e have no way of knowing of whether Lee wrote the synopsis after a discussion with Kirby in which Kirby supplied most of the ideas 10 78 It is also notable that the Fantastic Four s first adventure in 1961 depicts a team of four adventurers three men and a woman led by a Professor travelling to the Earth s centre and encountering giant monsters while contending with a human protagonist who is also from the surface world 11 Although neither Lee nor Kirby ever mentioned the 1959 film Journey to the Center of the Earth as a direct inspiration publisher Martin Goodman was well known for following popular entertainment trends to attract sales in his comics line 12 Comics historian R C Harvey believes the Fantastic Four was a continuation of the work Kirby previously did and so more likely Kirby s creations than Lee s 13 69 But Harvey notes that the Marvel Method of collaboration allowed each man to claim credit 13 68 and that Lee s dialogue added to the direction the team took 13 69 Wells argues that Lee s contributions set the framework within which Kirby worked and this made Lee more responsible 10 85 Comics historian Mark Evanier a studio assistant to Jack Kirby in the 1970s says that the considered opinion of Lee and Kirby s contemporaries was that Fantastic Four was created by Stan and Jack No further division of credit seemed appropriate 14 122 1961 1970s Edit The release of The Fantastic Four 1 Nov 1961 was an unexpected success Lee had felt ready to leave the comics field at the time but the positive response to Fantastic Four persuaded him to stay on 15 The title began to receive fan mail 16 and Lee started printing the letters in a letter column with issue 3 Also with the third issue Lee created the hyperbolic slogan The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World With the following issue the slogan was changed to The World s Greatest Comic Magazine and became a fixture on the issue covers into the 1990s 4 87 and on numerous covers in the 2000s Issue 4 May 1962 reintroduced Namor the Sub Mariner 17 an aquatic antihero who was a star character of Marvel s earliest iteration Timely Comics during the late 1930s and 1940s period that historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comics Issue 5 July 1962 introduced the team s most frequent nemesis Doctor Doom 18 These earliest issues were published bimonthly With issue 16 July 1963 the cover title dropped its The and became simply Fantastic Four While the early stories were complete narratives the frequent appearances of these two antagonists Doom and Namor in subsequent issues indicated the creation of a long narrative by Lee and Kirby that extended over months According to comics historian Les Daniels only narratives that ran to several issues would be able to contain their increasingly complex ideas 4 88 During its creators lengthy run the series produced many acclaimed storylines and characters that have become central to Marvel including the hidden race of alien human genetic experiments the Inhumans 19 20 the Black Panther 21 an African king who would be mainstream comics first black superhero 22 the rival alien races the Kree and the shapeshifting Skrulls 23 Him who would become Adam Warlock 24 the Negative Zone and unstable molecules The story frequently cited as Lee and Kirby s finest achievement 25 26 is the three part Galactus Trilogy that began in Fantastic Four 48 March 1966 chronicling the arrival of Galactus a cosmic giant who wanted to devour the planet and his herald the Silver Surfer 27 28 Fantastic Four 48 was chosen as 24 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel s readers in 2001 Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that As the fourth year of the Fantastic Four came to a close Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to be only warming up In retrospect it was perhaps the most fertile period of any monthly title during the Marvel Age 29 Daniels noted that t he mystical and metaphysical elements that took over the saga were perfectly suited to the tastes of young readers in the 1960s and Lee soon discovered that the story was a favorite on college campuses 4 128 The Fantastic Four Annual was used to spotlight several key events The Sub Mariner was crowned king of Atlantis in the first annual 1963 30 The following year s annual revealed the origin story of Doctor Doom 31 Fantastic Four Annual 3 1965 presented the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm 32 Lee and Kirby reintroduced the original Human Torch in Fantastic Four Annual 4 1966 and had him battle Johnny Storm 33 Sue Richards pregnancy was announced in Fantastic Four Annual 5 1967 and the Richards son Franklin Richards was born in Fantastic Four Annual 6 1968 34 in a story which introduced Annihilus as well 35 Marvel filed for a trademark for Fantastic Four in 1967 and the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the registration in 1970 36 Kirby left Marvel in mid 1970 37 having drawn the first 102 issues plus an unfinished issue partially published in Fantastic Four 108 with alterations and later completed and published as Fantastic Four The Lost Adventure April 2008 Fantastic Four continued with Lee Roy Thomas 38 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 also contributed some covers during this time A short lived series starring the team Giant Size Super Stars began in May 1974 and changed its title to Giant Size Fantastic Four with issue 2 39 The fourth issue introduced Jamie Madrox a character who later became part of the X Men 40 Giant Size Fantastic Four was canceled with issue 6 Oct 1975 41 Roy Thomas and George Perez crafted a metafictional story for Fantastic Four 176 Nov 1976 in which the Impossible Man visited the offices of Marvel Comics and met numerous comics creators 42 Marv Wolfman and Keith Pollard crafted a multi issue storyline involving the son of Doctor Doom which culminated in issue 200 Nov 1978 43 John Byrne joined the title with issue 209 Aug 1979 doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish He and Wolfman introduced a new herald for Galactus named Terrax the Tamer in 211 Oct 1979 44 1980s and 1990s Edit Bill Mantlo briefly followed Wolfman as writer of the series and wrote a crossover with Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider Man 42 May 1980 45 46 47 Byrne wrote and drew a giant sized Fantastic Four promotional comic for Coca Cola which was rejected by Coca Cola as being too violent and published as Fantastic Four 220 221 July Aug 1980 instead 48 Writer Doug Moench and penciller Bill Sienkiewicz then took over for 10 issues With issue 232 July 1981 the aptly titled Back to the Basics 49 Byrne began his run as writer penciller and inker the last under the pseudonym Bjorn Heyn for this issue only 50 Byrne revitalized the slumping title with his run 51 265 Byrne was slated to write with Sienkiewicz providing the art however Sienkiewicz left to do Moon Knight and Byrne subsequently became writer artist and inker Various editors were assigned to the comic eventually Bob Budiansky became the regular editor Byrne told Jim Shooter that he could not work with Budiansky although they ultimately continued to work together In 2006 Byrne said that s my paranoia I look back and I think that was Shooter trying to force me off the book Byrne left following issue 293 Aug 1986 in the middle of a story arc explaining he could not recapture the fun he had previously had on the series 52 One of Byrne s changes was making the Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman 53 assertive and confident During this period fans came to recognize that she was quite powerful whereas previously she had been primarily seen as a superpowered mother and wife in the tradition of television moms like those played by Donna Reed and Florence Henderson 54 Byrne staked new directions in the characters personal lives having the married Sue Storm and Reed Richards suffer a miscarriage and the Thing quitting the Fantastic Four with She Hulk being recruited as his long term replacement He also re emphasized the family dynamic which he felt the series had drifted away from after the Lee Kirby run commenting that Family and not dysfunctional family is the central key element to the FF It is an absolutely vital dynamic between the characters emphases in original 48 Byrne was followed by a quick succession of writers Roger Stern Tom DeFalco and Roy Thomas Steve Englehart took over as writer for issues 304 332 except 320 The title had been struggling so Englehart decided to make radical changes He felt the title had become stale with the normal makeup of Reed Sue Ben and Johnny so in issue 308 Reed and Sue retired and were replaced with the Thing s new girlfriend Sharon Ventura and Johnny Storm s former love Crystal The changes increased readership through issue 321 At this point Marvel made decisions about another Englehart comic West Coast Avengers that he disagreed with and in protest he changed his byline to S F X Englehart S F X is the abbreviation for Simple Sound Effects In issue 326 Englehart was told to bring Reed and Sue back and undo the other changes he had made This caused Englehart to take his name entirely off the book He used the pseudonym John Harkness which he had created years before for work he didn t want to be associated with According to Englehart the run from 326 through his last issue 332 was one of the most painful stretches of his career 55 Writer artist Walt Simonson took over as writer with 334 December 1989 and three issues later began pencilling and inking as well With brief inking exceptions two fill in issues and a three issue stint drawn by Arthur Adams 56 57 Simonson remained in all three positions through 354 July 1991 Simonson who had been writing the team comic The Avengers had gotten approval for Reed and Sue to join that team after Engelhart had written them out of Fantastic Four Yet by The Avengers 300 where they were scheduled to join the team Simonson was told the characters were returning to Fantastic Four This led to Simonson quitting The Avengers after that issue Shortly afterward he was offered the job of writing Fantastic Four Having already prepared a number of stories involving the Avengers with Reed and Sue in the lineup he then rewrote these for Fantastic Four Simonson later recalled that working on Fantastic Four allowed him the latitude to use original Avengers members Thor and Iron Man which he had been precluded from using in The Avengers 58 After another fill in the regular team of writer and Marvel editor in chief Tom DeFalco penciller 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 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 Although some fans were not pleased with DeFalco s run on Fantastic Four calling him The Great Satan the title s sales rose steadily over the period 59 60 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 who is revealed to be the father of time travelling villain Kang the Conqueror and Reed s apparent death at the hands of a seemingly mortally wounded Doctor Doom 61 It would be two years before DeFalco resurrected the two characters revealing that their deaths were orchestrated by the supervillain Hyperstorm The ongoing series was canceled with issue 416 Sept 1996 and relaunched with vol 2 1 Nov 1996 as part of the multi series Heroes Reborn crossover story arc The yearlong volume retold the team s first adventures in a more contemporary style 62 and set in a parallel universe Following the end of that experiment Fantastic Four was relaunched with vol 3 1 Jan 1998 Initially by the team of writer Scott Lobdell and penciller Alan Davis 63 it went after three issues to writer Chris Claremont co writing with Lobdell for 4 5 and penciller Salvador Larroca this team enjoyed a long run through issue 32 Aug 2000 2000s Edit Following the run of Claremont Lobdell and Larroca Carlos Pacheco took over as penciller 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 After issue 70 499 Aug 2003 the title reverted to its original vol 1 numbering with issue 500 Sept 2003 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 October 2002 with artist Mike Wieringo with Marvel releasing a promotional variant edition of their otherwise 2 25 debut issue at the price of nine cents US 64 65 Pencillers Mark Buckingham Casey Jones and Howard Porter variously contributed through issue 524 May 2005 with a handful of issues by other teams also during this time Writer J Michael Straczynski and penciller 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 As a result of the events of the Civil War company crossover storyline the Black Panther and Storm temporarily replaced Reed and Susan Richards on the team During that period the Fantastic Four also appeared in Black Panther 66 67 written by Reginald Hudlin and pencilled primarily by Francis Portela Beginning with issue 554 April 2008 writer Mark Millar and penciller Bryan Hitch began what Marvel announced as a sixteen issue run 68 69 Following the summer 2008 crossover storyline Secret Invasion and the 2009 aftermath Dark Reign chronicling the U S government s assigning of the Nation s security functions to the seemingly reformed supervillain Norman Osborn the Fantastic Four starred in a five issue miniseries Dark Reign Fantastic Four May Sept 2009 written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Sean Chen 70 71 72 Hickman took over as the series regular writer as of issue 570 with Dale Eaglesham 73 and later Steve Epting on art 2010s Edit In the storyline Three which concluded in Fantastic Four 587 cover date March 2011 published January 26 2011 the Human Torch appears to die stopping a horde of monsters from the other dimensional Negative Zone The series ended with the following issue 588 and relaunched in March 2011 as simply FF 74 75 76 The relaunch saw the team assume a new name the Future Foundation adopt new black and white costumes and accept longtime ally Spider Man as a member 77 78 79 In October 2011 with the publication of FF 11 cover dated Dec 2011 the Fantastic Four series reached its 599th issue In November 2011 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four and of Marvel Comics the company published the 100 page Fantastic Four 600 cover dated Jan 2012 80 which returned the title to its original numbering and featured the return of the Human Torch It revealed the fate of the character of Johnny Storm after issue 587 showing that while he did in fact die he was resurrected to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of Annihilus Storm later formed a resistance force called Light Brigade and defeated Annihilus 81 Although it was launched as a continuation of the Fantastic Four title FF continues publication as a separate series Starting with issue 12 the title focuses upon the youthful members of the Future Foundation including Franklin and Valeria Richards In the graphic novel Fantastic Four Season One the Fantastic Four is given an updated origin story set in the present day instead of the 1960s 82 The hardcover compilation debuted at number four on The New York Times Best Seller list for graphic novels 82 As part of Marvel NOW Fantastic Four ended with 611 ending Jonathan Hickman s long run on FF titles and the title was relaunched in November 2012 with the creative team of writer Matt Fraction and artist Mark Bagley 83 84 In the new title with its numbering starting at 1 the entire Fantastic Four family explore space together with the hidden intent for Reed Richards to discover why his powers are fading Writer James Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk launched a new Fantastic Four series in February 2014 cover dated April 2014 85 Robinson later confirmed that Fantastic Four would be cancelled in 2015 with issue 645 saying that The book is reverting to its original numbers and the book is going away for a while I m moving towards the end of Fantastic Four I just want to reassure people that you will not leave this book with a bad taste in your mouth 86 In the aftermath of the Secret Wars storyline the Thing is working with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Human Torch is acting as an ambassador with the Inhumans 87 With Franklin s powers restored and Reed having absorbed the power of the Beyonders from Doom the Richards family is working on travelling through and reconstructing the multiverse 88 but Peter Parker has purchased the Baxter Building to keep it safe until the team is ready to come back together 89 A new volume for the Fantastic Four was released in August 2018 written by Dan Slott as part of Marvel s Fresh Start event 90 91 The first issue of the new series was met with strong sales 92 and a positive critical reaction 92 93 94 95 When the Future Foundation is threatened by the Griever at the End of All Things Mister Fantastic plays on her ego to convince her to provide him with equipment that will allow him to summon his teammates When Human Torch and Thing are reunited with Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman the other superheroes that were part of the Fantastic Four at some point in their lives also arrived including unexpectedly X Men s Iceman 96 With the gathered heroes assisted the Fantastic Four into causing so much damage to the Griever s equipment she is forced to retreat in her final telepod or be trapped in that universe This left the heroes to salvage components from the broken ship to create their own teleport system to return to their universe 97 The Fantastic Four and their extended family returned to Earth where they find that Liberteens members Ms America 2 D Hope and Iceberg have come together as the Fantastix with Ms America taking the codename of Ms Fantastix Following the staged bank robbery that the Wrecking Crew committed and their involvement of being hired to humiliate the Fantastix in public the Fantastic Four gave the Fantastix their blessing to continue using the Baxter Building while the FF operate in a house on Yancy Street with a dimensionally transcendental interior 98 In the storyline Point of Origin the Fantastic Four entrust Alicia H E R B I E Franklin and Valeria to protect Earth while they begin their mission to learn a further origin of the cosmic radiation that granted them their powers in the first place piloting a new space ship called Marvel 2 99 While in the middle of a space adventure to find the origin the Fantastic Four are attacked by a group who believed themselves to be the superheroes of Planet Spyre the Unparalleled Reed and Sue are separated from the Thing Human Torch is revealed to be the soulmate of the Unparalleled member named Sky and they learn that the Unparalleled s leader and the Overseer of Planet Spyre Revos was responsible for the cosmic rays that struck the team on their original trip as he wanted to stop them coming to his planet Revos subsequently mutated his people to prepare for their return before trying to eradicate the mutates who are unable to retain their original forms in the same manner as the Thing accusing the mutates of being villains and imperfects as a result through his own paranoia and xenophobia the Overseer himself is responsible for the fateful creation of the Fantastic Four and mutated his entire race to face a non existent threat 100 Revos challenges Mr Fantastic to a fight over their differences until it is settled and they finally made peace As the Fantastic Four are about to depart Spyre after helping its citizens clean up the Planet as well as Reed providing the mutates with a variation of the temporary cure he has created for Ben Skye join them to learn about Earth and every unseen galaxy 101 When the incoming Kree Skrull Empyre occur at the same time as teen heroes are being outlawed the original Fantastic Four went to space with Avengers to stop this Empyre leaving Franklin and Valeria being backed by Spider Man and Wolverine to defend Earth 102 2020s Edit In August 2022 Marvel announced that writer Ryan North and artist Iban Coello would launch a new volume of Fantastic Four in November of that year after Slott had concluded his run on the title with issue 46 103 Spin offs EditAncillary titles and features spin 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 November 1994 April 1996 featuring an adult Franklin Richards from a different timeline as Psi Lord A 12 issue series Fantastic Four The World s Greatest Comics Magazine ran in 2001 paying homage to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby s legendary run A spinoff title Marvel Knights 4 April 2004 August 2006 was written by Roberto Aguirre Sacasa and initially illustrated by Steve McNiven 104 in his first Marvel work There have also been numerous limited series featuring the group In 1996 Marvel launched the series Fantastic Four 2099 part of the company s Marvel 2099 imprint which explored an alternate future of the Marvel Universe The four protagonists inexplicably find themselves in 2099 with the world believing them to be clones of the original members of the Fantastic Four The series ran for 8 issues Jan Aug 1996 serving as a companion to Doom 2099 an original Marvel 2099 title featuring an individual claiming to be the original Victor von Doom In 2004 Marvel launched Ultimate Fantastic Four As part of the company s Ultimate Marvel imprint the series re imagined the team as teenagers 105 It ran for 60 issues Feb 2004 Feb 2009 In 2008 they also launched Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four an out of continuity series aimed at younger readers Although it was launched by Marvel as a continuation of the Fantastic Four title in 2011 FF continued publication as a separate series after the regular series resumed in 2012 From issues 12 the title focused on the youthful members of the Future Foundation including Franklin and Valeria Richards A second volume was launched as part of Marvel NOW by Matt Fraction and Mike Allred depicting a substitute Fantastic Four team starring Scott Lang Medusa She Hulk and Ms Thing Solo series Edit The Human Torch solo Edit The Human Torch was given a solo strip in Strange Tales in 1962 to bolster the title s sales 4 98 The series began in Strange Tales 101 October 1962 in 12 to 14 page stories plotted by Lee and initially scripted by his brother Larry Lieber and drawn by penciller Kirby and inker Dick Ayers Here Johnny was seen living with his older 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 March 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 1973 issue of Fantastic Four having become a heavyset but cheerful wife and mother 106 Ayers took over the penciling after ten issues later followed by original Golden Age Human Torch creator Carl Burgos and others The Fantastic Four 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 being replaced in issue 135 August 1965 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 imprint Human Torch ran 12 issues June 2003 June 2004 by writer Karl Kesel and penciler Skottie Young 107 The series was 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 Edit The Thing appeared in two team up issues of Marvel Feature 11 12 September November 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 World War II era Liberty Legion in 20 and the 1930s hero Doc Savage in 21 for example and in alternate realities The series ran 100 issues January 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 January August 2006 A six issue miniseries written by Walter Mosely entitled The Thing was released in November 2021 108 Invisible Woman solo Edit In April 2019 Marvel Comics announced that it would publish Invisible Woman a five issue miniseries written by Mark Waid and drawn by artist Mattia De Lulis 109 This was Sue Storm s first solo title Adam Hughes drew the cover for all five issues 110 Characters EditThe Fantastic Four is formed after four civilian astronauts are exposed to cosmic rays during an unauthorized outer space test flight in an experimental rocket ship designed by Dr Reed Richards Pilot Ben Grimm and crew members Susan Storm and her brother Johnny Storm survive an emergency crash landing in a field on Earth Upon exiting the rocket the four discover they have developed incredible superpowers and decide to use these powers to help others In the first issue the crew talks about Reed Richards rocketship flying to the stars Stan Lee s original synopsis described the crew s plan to fly to Mars but Lee later shortly afterward wrote that due to the rate the Communists are progressing in space maybe we better make this a flight to the STARS instead of just to Mars because by the time this mag goes on sale the Russians may have already MADE a flight to Mars 111 In a significant departure from preceding superhero conventions the Fantastic Four make no effort to maintain secret identities or until issue 3 to wear superhero costumes instead maintaining a public profile and enjoying celebrity status for scientific and heroic contributions to society At the same time they are often prone to arguing and even fighting with one another Despite their bickering the Fantastic Four consistently prove themselves to be a cohesive and formidable team in times of crisis 51 204 205 While there have been a number of lineup changes to the group the four characters who debuted in Fantastic Four 1 remain the core and most frequent lineup They consist of Mister Fantastic Reed Richards A scientific genius can stretch twist and re shape his body to inhuman proportions Mr Fantastic serves as the father figure of the group and is appropriately pragmatic authoritative and dull 51 19 Richards blames himself for the failed space mission particularly because of how the event transformed pilot Ben Grimm 51 205 Stan Lee said the stretch powers were inspired by DC s Plastic Man which had no equivalent in Marvel 112 Invisible Girl Invisible Woman Susan Storm Reed Richards girlfriend and eventual wife has the ability to bend and manipulate light to render herself and others invisible Stan Lee did not want Sue to have superstrength to be Wonder Woman and punch people so eventually he came to invisibility inspired by works such as The Invisible Man 112 She later develops the ability to generate invisible force fields which she uses for a variety of defensive and offensive effects Human Torch Johnny Storm Sue Storm s younger brother possesses the ability to control fire allowing him to project fire from his body as well as the power to fly This character was loosely based on a Human Torch character published by Marvel s predecessor Timely Comics in the 1940s an android that could ignite itself Lee said that when he conceptualized the character I thought it was a shame that we didn t have The Human Torch anymore and this was a good chance to bring him back 4 85 Unlike the teen sidekicks that preceded him the Human Torch in the early stories was a typical adolescent brash rebellious and affectionately obnoxious 51 204 Johnny Storm was killed in the 2011 storyline Three 75 before being brought back and rejoining the reformed Fantastic Four 81 Thing Ben Grimm Reed Richards college roommate and best friend has been transformed into a monstrous orange rock like humanoid possessing high levels of superhuman strength and durability The Thing is often filled with anger self loathing and self pity over his new existence He serves as an uncle figure a long term friend of the family with a gruff Brooklyn manner short temper and caustic sense of humor 51 204 In the original synopsis Lee gave to Kirby The Thing was intended as the heavy but over the years the character has become the most lovable group member honest direct and free of pretension 4 86 Lee said his original pitch to Kirby stated that The Thing was someone who turned into a monster and is bitter because unlike the other three he cannot change back to a normal appearance 112 The Fantastic Four has had several headquarters most notably the Baxter Building located at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue 113 in New York City The Baxter Building was replaced by Four Freedoms Plaza at the same location after its destruction at the hands of Kristoff Vernard adopted son of the team s seminal foe Doctor Doom prior to the completion of Four Freedoms Plaza the team took up temporary residence at Avengers Mansion 114 Pier 4 a waterfront warehouse served as a temporary headquarters after Four Freedoms Plaza was destroyed by the ostensible superhero team the Thunderbolts 115 shortly after the revelation that they were actually the supervillain team the Masters of Evil in disguise Pier 4 was eventually destroyed during a battle with the longtime Fantastic Four supervillain Diablo 116 117 after which the team received a new Baxter Building courtesy of one of team leader Reed Richards former professors Noah Baxter This second Baxter Building was constructed in Earth s orbit and teleported into the vacant lot formerly occupied by the original 118 After their brief hiatus creating universes after the Secret Wars event they took residence on 4 Yancy Street before moving back into the newly rebuilt Baxter Building 98 Supporting characters EditAllies and supporting characters Edit Main article List of Fantastic Four members A number of characters are closely affiliated with the team share complex personal histories with one or more of its members but have never actually held an official membership Some of these characters include but are not limited to Namor the Sub Mariner previously an antagonist Alicia Masters 119 Lyja the Lazerfist H E R B I E Kristoff Vernard Doctor Doom s former protege Wyatt Wingfoot 120 Sue and Johnny s father Franklin Storm the receptionist android Roberta governess Agatha Harkness 121 and Reed and Sue s children Franklin Richards 34 and Valeria Richards Several allies of the Fantastic Four have served as temporary members of the team including Crystal Medusa 122 Power Man Luke Cage Nova Frankie Raye 123 She Hulk Ms Marvel Sharon Ventura Ant Man Scott Lang Namorita Storm and the Black Panther A temporary lineup from Fantastic Four 347 349 December 1990 February 1991 consisted of the Hulk in his Joe Fixit persona Spider Man Wolverine and Ghost Rider 56 Other notable characters who have been involved with the Fantastic Four include Alyssa Moy Caledonia Alysande Stuart of Earth 9809 Fantastic Force the Inhumans 20 particularly the royal family members Black Bolt Crystal Medusa Gorgon Karnak Triton and Lockjaw Reed s father Nathaniel Richards the Silver Surfer previously an antagonist Thundra postal worker Willie Lumpkin Baxter Building landlord Walter Collins the Thing s rivals the Yancy Street Gang and Uatu the Watcher Author Christopher Knowles states that Kirby s work on creations such as the Inhumans and the Black Panther served as a showcase of some of the most radical concepts in the history of the medium 124 Antagonists EditMain article List of Fantastic Four enemies Writers and artists over many years have created a variety of characters to challenge the Fantastic Four Knowles states that Kirby helped to create an army of villains whose rage and destructive power had never been seen before and whose primary impulse is to smash the world 124 Some of the team s oldest and most frequent enemies have involved such foes as the Mole Man the Skrulls 23 Namor the Sub Mariner Doctor Doom the Puppet Master Kang the Conqueror Rama Tut Immortus Blastaar the Frightful Four 125 Annihilus 35 Galactus and Klaw Other prominent antagonists of the Fantastic Four have included the Wizard the Impossible Man 126 the Red Ghost and the Super Apes 127 the Mad Thinker the Super Skrull the Molecule Man 128 Diablo Dragon Man 129 Psycho Man Ronan the Accuser Salem s Seven Terrax the Tamer Terminus Hyperstorm and Lucia von Bardas Fantastic Four Incorporated EditFantastic Four Incorporated also known as Fantastic Enterprises 130 is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics It was founded by Reed Richards to license use of Richard s patents and funded the Fantastic Four s operation and their source of income Staff are Susan Richards Invisible Woman 131 CEO of Fantastic Four Inc Johnny Storm Human Torch 131 made COO by Susan to give him some work ethic Christi Stoger 132 with Ethan Crane tried to frame Johnny Storm for a screw up to get themselves promoted Ethan Crane 132 with Christi Stoger tried to frame Johnny Storm for a screw up to get themselves promoted Jian Feeta 131 Johnny s Personal Assistant Bethany Palmer 130 assisted out of abusive relationship with ex husband Jeff by the Invisible Woman Jed Schultz 133 informed Reed about the embezzlement of their funds Margaret Kofpulski 134 Cultural impact and legacy EditAccolades Edit In 2012 Complex ranked the Fantastic Four 3rd in their 10 Best Superhero Teams In Comics list 135 In 2016 Screen Rant ranked the Fantastic Four 15th in their 15 Best Superhero Teams Of All Time list 136 In 2018 Vanity Fair included the Fantastic Four in their Stan Lee s Most Iconic Characters list 137 In 2021 CBR com ranked the Fantastic Four 3rd in their Every Marvel Superhero Team list 138 and 5th in their Marvel The 10 Strongest Superhero Teams list 139 In 2022 MovieWeb ranked the Fantastic Four 2nd in their Most Famous Superhero Families list 140 In 2022 Newsarama ranked the Fantastic Four 4th in their Best superhero teams of all time list 141 In 2023 CBR com ranked the Fantastic Four 1st in their 10 Most Fashionable Teams In Marvel Comics list 142 Impact Edit The Fantastic Four s characterization was initially different from all other superheroes at the time One major difference is that they do not conceal their identities leading the public to be both suspicious and in awe of them Also they frequently argued and disagreed with each other hindering their work as a team 51 Described as heroes with hangups by Stan Lee 143 the Thing has a temper and the Human Torch resents being a child among adults Mr Fantastic blames himself for the Thing s transformation Social scientist Bradford W Wright describes the team as a volatile mix of human emotions and personalities In spite of their disagreements they ultimately function well as a team 144 The first issue of The Fantastic Four proved a success igniting a new direction for superhero comics and soon influencing many other superhero comics 145 Readers grew fond of Ben s grumpiness Johnny s tendency to annoy others and Reed and Sue s spats Stan Lee was surprised at the reaction to the first issue leading him to stay in the comics field despite previous plans to leave Comics historian Stephen Krensky said that Lee s natural dialogue and flawed characters appealed to 1960s kids looking to get real 15 Sales Edit As of 2005 more than 150 million Fantastic Four comic books have been sold 143 146 In 2022 the first issue of The Fantastic Four was sold for 1 5 million dollars at an auction 147 148 In other media EditThere have been four The Fantastic Four animated TV series and three released feature films The Fantastic Four also guest starred in the Secret Wars story arc of the 1990s Spider Man animated series and the Thing guest starred with a small cameo from the other Fantastic Four members in the Fantastic Fortitude episode of the 1996 The Incredible Hulk series The Fantastic Four also appeared in the 2010 series The Avengers Earth s Mightiest Heroes There was a short lived radio show in 1975 that adapted early Lee Kirby stories 149 and is notable for casting a pre Saturday Night Live Bill Murray as the Human Torch Also in the cast were Bob Maxwell as Reed Richards Cynthia Adler as Sue Storm Jim Pappas as Ben Grimm and Jerry Terheyden as Doctor Doom Other Marvel characters featured in the series included Ant Man Prince Namor Nick Fury and the Hulk Stan Lee narrated the series and the scripts were taken almost verbatim from the comic books The radio show was packaged into five minute segments with five segments comprising a complete adventure 150 The team appeared on the Power Records album Fantastic Four The Way It Began book and record set an audio dramatization of Fantastic Four 126 151 Television Edit The Fantastic Four has been the subject of four animated television series The first Fantastic Four produced by Hanna Barbera 152 ran 20 episodes on ABC from September 9 1967 to September 21 1968 The second Fantastic Four series produced by DePatie Freleng ran 13 episodes from September 9 1978 to December 16 1978 this series features a H E R B I E Unit in place of the Human Torch 150 In 1979 the Thing was featured as half of the Saturday morning cartoon Fred and Barney Meet the Thing The character of the Thing received a radical make over for the series The title character for this program was Benjy Grimm a teenage boy who possessed a pair of magic Thing rings which could transform him into the Thing when he put them together and said Thing rings do your 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 150 The third Fantastic Four was broadcast as part of The Marvel Action Hour umbrella with introductions by Stan Lee This series ran 26 episodes from September 24 1994 to February 24 1996 The fourth series Fantastic Four World s Greatest Heroes debuted on September 2 2006 on Cartoon Network and ran for 26 episodes Different Fantastic Four members appear briefly and with little or no dialogue and are mentioned various times throughout the first season of The Avengers Earth s Mightiest Heroes The most expansive appearances are in the episode The Private War of Doctor Doom in which the Avengers team up with the Fantastic Four to battle the titular supervillain and in the final episode of season two in which the groups team up to battle Galactus The Thing becomes a member of the New Avengers in episode 23 of season 2 The Fantastic Four appear in the children s show The Super Hero Squad Show such as the episode If this Be My Thanos and Last Exit Before Doomsday 153 154 The Fantastic Four appear in the Hulk and the Agents of S M A S H episode Monster No More 155 The Agents of S M A S H assist the Fantastic Four in thwarting the Tribbitite Invasion Film Edit Main article Fantastic Four in film A film adaptation of the characters The Fantastic Four was completed in 1994 by producer Roger Corman and starred Alex Hyde White as Reed Richards Mr Fantastic Rebecca Staab as Sue Storm Richards Invisible Woman Jay Underwood as Johnny Storm Human Torch Michael Bailey Smith as Ben Grimm and Carl Ciarfalio as The Thing and Joseph Culp as Victor von Doom Doctor Doom The film was not released to theaters or on home video but it has since been made available through bootleg video distributors It was made because Constantin Film owned the film rights and would have lost them if it failed to begin production by a certain deadline a tactic known as creating an ashcan copy 156 According to producer Bernd Eichinger Avi Arad had Marvel purchase the film for a few million dollars 157 In 2005 the second film adaptation Fantastic Four directed by Tim Story was released by 20th Century Fox Despite mixed reviews from critics it earned US 155 million in North America and 330 million worldwide 158 159 The sequel Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer directed by Story and written by Don Payne was released in 2007 Despite mixed to negative reviews the sequel earned 132 million in North America and a total of 330 6 million worldwide 160 Both films feature 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 Stan Lee makes cameo appearances as the mailman Willie Lumpkin in the first film and as himself in the second film A reboot directed by Josh Trank also titled Fantastic Four but stylized as Fant4stic was released on August 7 2015 161 The film stars Miles Teller as Reed Richards Kate Mara as Sue Storm Michael B Jordan as Johnny Storm Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm and Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom 162 163 164 It is based on Ultimate Fantastic Four 165 It earned poor reviews and box office results 166 On March 20 2019 due to the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney the film rights of Fantastic Four reverted to Marvel Studios 167 In July 2019 at the San Diego Comic Con producer and head of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige announced that a Fantastic Four film set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in development 168 In December 2020 it was announced Jon Watts will direct the film 169 but left the project in April 2022 citing personal reasons for stepping away 170 On September 10 2022 at the D23 Expo Kevin Feige revealed director Matt Shakman would be taking over the film with a release date of November 8 2024 171 On September 21 2022 Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were announced to be writers for the film 172 Video games Edit In 1985 the Fantastic Four starred in Questprobe 3 The Fantastic Four an adventure game from Adventure International for the Atari 8 bit series 173 In 1997 the group starred in the Fantastic Four video game 174 The team appeared in the Spider Man The Animated Series video game based on the 1990s Spider Man animated series for the Super NES and Sega Genesis citation needed The Thing and the Human Torch appeared in the 2005 game Marvel Nemesis Rise of the Imperfects 175 All of the Fantastic Four appear as playable characters in the game Marvel Ultimate Alliance with Doctor Doom being the main enemy 176 The members of the Fantastic Four are also featured in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 although the team is separated over the course of the game with Mister Fantastic being locked into the Pro Registration side of the game s storyline and the Thing briefly becoming unavailable to the player just as he left America in protest of the war until he returns to assist in preventing civilian casualties during the conflict 177 The Fantastic Four also appear in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 The Black Order this time as playable DLC downloadable content alongside additional members of Marvel Knights and the X Men 178 The Human Torch has an appearance in a mini game where the player races against him in all versions of Ultimate Spider Man except on the Game Boy Advance platform 179 The Fantastic Four star in tie in videogames based on the 2005 film Fantastic Four 180 and its sequel 181 The Fantastic Four are also playable characters in Marvel Heroes 182 and Lego Marvel Super Heroes 183 The Fantastic Four starred in their own virtual pinball game Fantastic Four for Pinball FX 2 released by Zen Studios 184 See also EditMaximum Fantastic FourNotes Edit That DC all star superhero team had debuted in The Brave and the Bold 28 cover dated Feb 1960 before going on to its own hit title issue 1 cover dated Nov 1960 Uslan in a letter published in Alter Ego 43 December 2004 pp 43 44 writes Irwin Donenfeld said he never played golf with Goodman so the story is untrue I heard this story more than a couple of times while sitting in the lunchroom at DC s 909 Third Avenue and 75 Rockefeller Plaza office as Sol Harrison and production chief Jack Adler were schmoozing with some of us who worked for DC during our college summers T he way I heard the story from Sol was that Goodman was playing with one of the heads of Independent News not DC Comics though DC owned Independent News As the distributor of DC Comics this man certainly knew all the sales figures and was in the best position to tell this tidbit to Goodman Of course Goodman would want to be playing golf with this fellow and be in his good graces Sol worked closely with Independent News top management over the decades and would have gotten this story straight from the horse s mouth Lee Stan September 1974 Origins of Marvel Comics New York New York Simon amp Schuster Fireside Books ISBN 978 0 671 21863 8 My wife Joan was commenting about the fact that after 20 years of producing comics I was still writing television material advertising copy and newspaper features in my spare time She wondered why I didn t put as much effort and creativity into the comics as I seemed to be putting into my other freelance endeavors H er little dissertation made me suddenly realize that it was time to start concentrating on what I was doing to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books Groth explains in his 2002 introduction to the interview that Kirby s state of mind needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating certain statements within the interview Kirby was involved in an acrimonious dispute with Marvel Comics regarding the return of his artwork and his relationship with Lee had deteriorated in part due to this dispute but also due to Lee s public statements through the years which Kirby saw as diminishing his role Groth states Lee s contribution is a matter for endless speculation but most observers and historians consider Kirby s claims here to be excessive References Edit a b c Lee Stan September 1974 Origins of Marvel Comics New York New York Simon amp Schuster Fireside Books ISBN 978 0 671 21863 8 Morrow John June 2019 Kirby amp Lee Stuf Said Expanded Second Edition Second ed TwoMorrows Publishing p 88 ISBN 978 1 60549 094 6 Lee Stan 1974 Origins of Marvel Comics Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 0 671 21864 5 a b c d e f g Daniels Les 1993 Marvel Five Fabulous Decades of the World s Greatest Comics New York New York Harry N Abrams ISBN 0 8109 8146 7 Love GB 1970 Rockets Blast Comic Collector 81 GB Love a b Groth Gary February 1990 Interview III I ve never done anything halfheartedly The Comics Journal Seattle Washington Fantagraphics Books 134 Reprinted in George Milo ed May 2002 The Comics Journal Library Volume 1 Jack Kirby Seattle Washington Fantagraphics Books ISBN 1 56097 434 6 Kirby Jack May 14 1971 Interview II I created an army of characters and now my connection to them is lost The Great Electric Bird Interview Interviewed by Tim Skelly Evanston Illinois WNUR FM Transcribed and published in The Nostalgia Journal 27 Reprinted in George The Comics Journal Library Wells John January 2015 American Comic Book Chronicles 1960 64 TwoMorrows Publishing pp 74 75 ISBN 978 1 60549 045 8 Thomas Roy August 2011 Clothes Make the Man and the Super hero Team Alter Ego Raleigh North Carolina TwoMorrows Publishing 104 14 Stan himself at some point played around by drawing a number of possible chest insignias as seen at left before settling on the simple number 4 in a circle a b Wells Earl October 1995 Once and For All Who Was the Author of Marvel The Comics Journal Seattle Washington 181 Reprinted in George The Comics Journal Library Lee Stan Kirby Jack November 1962 Fantastic Four Volume 1 Number 1 Canam Publishers Sale Corp pp 26 32 Van Lente Fred Dunlavey Ryan 2012 The Comic Book History of Comics IDW pp 102 103 ISBN 978 1613771976 a b c Harvey R C April 1994 What Jack Kirby Did The Comics Journal Seattle Washington 167 Reprinted in George The Comics Journal Library Evanier Mark 2008 Kirby King of Comics New York New York Abrams Books ISBN 978 0 8109 9447 8 a b Krensky Stephen 2007 Comic Book Century The History of American Comic Books Minneapolis Minnesota Twenty First Century Books p 59 ISBN 978 0 8225 6654 0 DeFalco Tom Gilbert Laura ed 2008 1960s Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History London United Kingdom Dorling Kindersley p 84 ISBN 978 0756641238 It did not take long for editor Stan Lee to realize that The Fantastic Four was a hit the flurry of fan letters all pointed to the FF s explosive popularity a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a first2 has generic name help DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 86 Stan Lee and Jack Kirbuy reintroduced one of Marvel s most popular Golden Age heroes Namor the Sub Mariner DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 86 The introduction of Dr Doom signaled a slight shift in direction for Stan Lee and Jack Kirby At last they were moving away from their monster book formulas to embrace the super hero genre Dr Doom was their first real attempt to create an enduring super villain Cronin Brian September 18 2010 A Year of Cool Comics Day 261 Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on November 23 2010 Retrieved September 29 2010 a b DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 111 The Inhumans a lost race that diverged from humankind 25 000 years ago and became genetically enhanced Cronin Brian September 19 2010 A Year of Cool Comics Day 262 Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on July 8 2011 Retrieved September 29 2010 DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 117 Stan Lee wanted to do his part by creating the first black super hero Lee discussed his ideas with Jack Kirby and the result was seen in Fantastic Four 52 a b DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 84 The second issue of the increasingly popular The Fantastic Four introduced the shapeshifting Skrulls created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Like the 1956 sci fi mmovie The Invasion of the Body Snatchers Lee and Kirby tapped into a fear that gripped the U S at this time the fear that Russian spies were infiltrating society DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 124 Adam Warlock was an artificial being created by scientists to be the first of an invincible army Simply referred to as Him in his early appearances Warlock later rebelled against his creators in Fantastic Four 66 Thomas Roy 2006 Moment 29 The Galactus Trilogy Stan Lee s Amazing Marvel Universe New York New York Sterling Publishing pp 112 115 ISBN 978 1 4027 4225 5 Hatfield Charles February 2004 The Galactus Trilogy An Appreciation The Collected Jack Kirby Collector 1 211 Cronin Brian February 19 2010 A Year of Cool Comics Day 50 Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on May 4 2010 Retrieved September 29 2010 DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 115 Stan Lee may have started the creative discussion that culminated in Galactus but the inclusion of the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four 48 was pure Jack Kirby Kirby realized that a being like Galactus required an equally impressive herald Greenberger Robert ed December 2001 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time Marvel Comics p 26 DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 95 DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 103 Fantastic Four Annual 2 revealed that Dr Doom had been a college classmate of Reed Richards DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 110 Having seen them together as a couple since Fantastic Four 1 the fans couldn t wait for the wedding of Sue Storm and Reed Richards DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 119 a b DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 133 November 1968 saw the birth of Franklin Richards the son of Reed and Sue a b DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 133 Annihilus first encountered humanity when Mr Fantastic the Human Torch and the Thing entered the Negative Zone in search of anti matter particles Fantastic Four Markify Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Retrieved May 28 2013 Sanderson Peter 1970s in Gilbert 2008 p 144 In 1970 the Silver Age of comic books began its end with the departure of artist Jack Kirby marking the end of the most creative period in Marvel history Sanderson 1970s in Gilbert 2008 p 157 September 1972 witnessed a new generation taking command at Marvel Comics Roy Thomas not only became writer of The World s Greatest Comic Magazine with Fantastic Four 126 but also simultaneously became Marvel s Editor in Chief Sanderson 1970s in Gilbert 2008 p 165 Sanderson 1970s in Gilbert 2008 p 168 New Marvel writer Chris Claremont and artist John Buscema introduced Madrox the Multiple Man a mutant who could duplicate his own body over and over Giant Size Fantastic Four at the Grand Comics Database Sanderson 1970s in Gilbert 2008 p 176 In a venture into metafictional comedy the mischievous Impossible Man visited the Marvel offices where he met his creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as well as the collaborators on his current story writer Roy Thomas and artist George Perez Martini Frank December 2013 Marv Wolfman s Bicentennial Battles Back Issue Raleigh North Carolina TwoMorrows Publishing 69 44 47 Sanderson 1970s in Gilbert 2008 p 190 Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist John Byrne Terrax would not only become a threat to the Fantastic Four but also Galactus himself Manning Matthew K Gilbert Laura ed 2012 1980s Spider Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web Slinging London United Kingdom Dorling Kindersley p 113 ISBN 978 0756692360 In the conclusion to a tale that had begun in the pages of Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider Man 42 May writer Bill Mantlo and artist John Byrne had the latest incarnation of the Frightful Four face off against their Fantastic counterparts a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a first2 has generic name help Mantlo Bill w Zeck Mike p Mooney Jim i Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider Man 42 May 1980 Mantlo Bill w Byrne John p Sinnott Joe i When A Spider Man Comes Calling Fantastic Four 218 May 1980 a b Powers Tom February 2010 John Byrne s Fantastic Four The World s Greatest Family Magazine Back Issue Raleigh North Carolina TwoMorrows Publishing 38 3 22 DeFalco 1980s in Gilbert 2008 p 200 John Byrne went back to basics with the Fantastic Four and evoked the title s early days of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby GCD Issue Fantastic Four 232 Direct Edition Comics org a b c d e f g Wright Bradford W 2001 Comic Book Nation The Transformation of Youth Culture in America Baltimore Maryland Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 0 8018 7450 5 Cooke Jon B Eric Nolen Weathington 2006 Modern Masters Volume Seven John Byrne Raleigh North Carolina TwoMorrows Publishing pp 42 44 ISBN 978 1 893905 56 6 DeFalco 1980s in Gilbert 2008 p 221 After freeing herself from the Psycho Man s control Susan changed her name from the Invisible Girl to the Invisible Woman Jessica Alba Fantastic Four Girls UGO Archived from the original on April 6 2008 Retrieved March 6 2009 Englehart Steve Fantastic Four 304 332 SteveEnglehart com pp 1 3 Archived from the original on March 19 2012 Retrieved March 9 2009 a b Manning Matthew K 1990s in Gilbert 2008 p 252 Spider Man the Hulk Wolverine and Ghost Rider were tricked into forming a new Fantastic Four Written by Walter Simonson with art by Arthur Adams this new FF found themselves locked in battle with the Mole Man Cowsill Alan 1990s in Gilbert 2012 p 186 Take Spidey Ghost Rider Wolverine and the Hulk add a script by Walt Simonson and illustrations by Art Adams and the result is one of the best Marvel comics of the decade Nolen Weathington Eric 2006 Modern Masters Volume Eight Walter Simonson Raleigh North Carolina TwoMorrows Publishing p 66 ISBN 978 1 893905 64 1 Manning Shaun January 15 2008 Brand New May Day DeFalco talks Amazing Spider Girl Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on October 19 2013 Retrieved March 10 2009 Blog Posts Fantasticfourheadquarters co uk Archived from the original on 2019 02 23 Retrieved 2019 02 22 Manning 1990s in Gilbert 2008 p 265 In this issue penned by Tom DeFalco and penciled by Paul Ryan Dr Doom managed to lure Reed Richards to him and seemingly ended both of their lives Manning 1990s in Gilbert 2008 p 280 Jim Lee both wrote and drew this Heroes Reborn relaunch title with the help of fellow scripter Brandon Choi Manning 1990s in Gilbert 2008 p 288 Writer Scott Lobdell rearranged his X schedule to try his hand at writing a different team of Marvel heroes in this new Heroes Reborn series It was drawn by Alan Davis Fantastic Four III 1998 2003 The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators Waid Mark w Wieringo Mike p Kesel Karl i Inside Out Fantastic Four v3 60 October 2002 Hudlin Reginald Portela Francis 2007 Black Panther Four the Hard Way Marvel Comics p 120 ISBN 978 0785126553 Hudlin Reginald Portela Francis 2008 Black Panther Little Green Men Marvel Comics p 96 ISBN 978 0785126577 Boyle Sean February 12 2008 Mark Millar Tripping the Light Fantastic Comics Bulletin Archived from the original on May 15 2008 Richards Dave August 11 2007 WWC Mark Millar is the New Fantastic Four Man Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on May 21 2014 Retrieved May 26 2013 Dark Reign Fantastic Four The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators Smith Zack January 12 2009 Jonathan Hickman Secret Warriors the FF and More Newsarama Archived from the original on November 10 2013 Richards Dave February 13 2009 The Osborn Supremacy Fantastic Four Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on June 24 2013 Hickman Jonathan w Eaglesham Dale p Eaglesham Dale i Solve Everything Part One Fantastic Four 570 October 2009 Ching Albert January 25 2011 Associated Press Spoils Fantastic Four 587 Hours Before Comic Goes on Sale Newsarama Archived from the original on June 16 2013 a b Ching Albert January 25 2011 Hickman Details Fantastic Four 587 s Big Character Death Newsarama Archived from the original on September 21 2013 Moore Matt January 25 2011 After Half Century It s 1 Fantastic s Farewell Associated Press via The Washington Post Archived from the original on June 10 2015 Khouri Andy February 9 2011 Fantastic Four Get a New Name New Costumes and an Old Spider Man ComicsAlliance com Archived from the original on August 24 2012 Hanks Henry February 11 2011 Spider Man replacing Human Torch on new FF team CNN Archived from the original on February 11 2011 Cowsill 2010s in Gilbert 2012 p 336 In a hologram left for Reed Johnny Storm urged his teammates to continue their work and to replace him on the team with Spider Man GCD Issue Fantastic Four 600 Comics org a b Hickman Jonathan w Di Giandomenico Carmine p Di Giandomenico Carmine i Whatever Happened to Johnny Storm Fantastic Four 600 January 2012 a b Best Sellers The New York Times Hardcover Graphic Books The New York Times March 11 2012 Archived from the original on May 21 2013 Retrieved May 12 2012 Beard Jim August 13 2012 Marvel NOW Q amp A Fantastic Four Marvel Comics Archived from the original on May 11 2013 Retrieved May 26 2013 Richards Dave November 27 2012 Fraction Celebrates Marvel s First Families in Fantastic Four amp FF Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on May 12 2013 Retrieved May 26 2013 Richards Dave November 20 2013 James Robinson Ushers in a New Era for the Fantastic Four Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on April 29 2014 These questions and more will be explored in an all new volume of Fantastic Four by writer James Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk which kicks off in February Ching Albert October 12 2014 NYCC Marvel s Axel In Charge Panel Reveals Fantastic Four Fate New Ant Man and More Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on September 28 2015 Johnston Rich October 14 2015 More Secrets From All New All Different Marvel Human Torch And Rogue Really Bleeding Cool Archived from the original on October 15 2015 The Thing has joined the Guardians Of The Galaxy amidst cosmic wordplay between Rocket Raccoon and the Kitty Pryde Starlord While the Human Torch has joined the Uncanny Avengers and we already know is getting down with Inhuman Queen Medusa Hickman Jonathan w Ribic Esad p Ribic Esad i Beyond Secret Wars 9 March 2016 Slott Dan w Camuncoli Giuseppe p Smith Cam i Friendly Fire The Amazing Spider Man v4 3 January 2016 THE FANTASTIC FOUR RETURN Marvel com Marvel s FANTASTIC FOUR Are Back Newsarama a b Allen Todd 13 August 2018 Comixology Sales Charts Fantastic Four 2 Lands Big Catwoman 2 Goes Splat Week of 8 8 18 Comicsbeat com Advance Review Fantastic Four 1 Managed Expectations Spoilers Bleedingcool com 6 August 2018 Retrieved 10 January 2019 Shiach Kieran 8 August 2018 The Fantastic Four have returned but where have they been Polygon com Fantastic Four 1 Reviews ComicBookRoundup com Fantastic Four Vol 6 2 Marvel Comics Fantastic Four Vol 6 3 Marvel Comics a b Fantastic Four Vol 6 4 Marvel Comics Fantastic Four Vol 6 14 Marvel Comics Fantastic Four Vol 6 15 17 Marvel Comics Fantastic Four Vol 6 18 20 Marvel Comics Fantastic Four Vol 6 21 Marvel Comics A New Era of Fantastic Four Begins with Ryan North amp Iban Coello Manning 2000s in Gilbert 2008 p 321 Playwright Roberto Aguirre Sacasa and artist Steve McNiven focused on the family dynamic that holds the Fantastic Four together in this new ongoing series Manning 2000s in Gilbert 2008 p 320 Brian Michael Bendis Mark Millar and Adam Kubert reexamined Marvel s first family creating this alternate version of the Fantastic Four Conway Gerry w Buscema John p Sinnott Joe i A Dragon Stalks the Skies Fantastic Four 134 May 1973 Human Torch Marvel 2003 series at the Grand Comics Database The Thing 2021 1 Comic Issues Marvel Syndicated Comics 9 April 2019 Marvel Announces Invisible Woman Series Marvel Note reprinted in Lee Stan 2011 Snopses sic The Fantsiuc sic Four July 61 Schedule Marvel Firsts The 1960s Marvel Comics pp 484 485 ISBN 978 0785158646 a b c McLaughlin Jeff ed 2007 Stan Lee Looks Back The Comics Legend Recalls Life with Jack Kirby Steve Ditko and Heroes Stan Lee Conversations Jackson Mississippi University Press of Mississippi p 179 ISBN 978 1578069859 Irving Christopher March 1 2009 A Land of Geeks and Goblins New York Archived from the original on August 10 2013 Retrieved July 14 2010 Byrne John w Byrne John p Ordway Jerry i Towards Infinity Fantastic Four 282 September 1985 Busiek Kurt w Bagley Mark p Russell Vince i Heroes Reward Thunderbolts 10 January 1998 Pacheco Carlos Marin Rafael w Pacheco Carlos p Merino Jesus i Shadows in the Mirror Fantastic Four v3 35 November 2000 Pacheco Carlos Marin Rafael w Pacheco Carlos p Merino Jesus i Day of the Dark Sun Fantastic Four v3 36 December 2000 Pacheco Carlos Marin Rafael w Pacheco Carlos p Merino Jesus i Things Change Fantastic Four v3 39 March 2001 DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 89 The Puppet Master used his blind stepdaughter Alicia in a plot to destroy the Fantastic Four but the young sculptress soon fell in love with the Thing DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 116 Roughly based on the Native American athlete Jim Thorpe Wyatt Wingfoot casually sauntered into Johnny Storm s life in Fantastic Four 51 Sanderson 1970s in Gilbert 2008 p 144 Issue 94 of the Fantastic Four introduced Agatha Harkness the kindly witch who dwelt in a Gothic mansion atop Whisper Hill Sanderson 1970s in Gilbert 2008 p 159 In Fantastic Four 132 Medusa of the Inhumans replaced Susan Richards briefly on the FF Byrne John w Byrne John p Byrne John i The Lady Is for Burning Fantastic Four 238 January 1982 a b Knowles Christopher 2007 Our Gods Wear Spandex Newburyport Massachusetts Weiser p 173 174 ISBN 978 1 57863 406 4 DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 107 The Wizard gathered together his former partner the Trapster along with the Sandman and Medusa to form the Frightful Four DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 90 An alien with the power to morph into any shape or substance he desired the Impossible Man was hated by readers at first because he was not a serious menace DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 92 With the Cold War s space race dominating the news Stan Lee and Jack Kirby mixed real world events with comic book fantasy in The Fantastic Four 13 Familiar with the Fantastic Four s origin Ivan Kragoff the Red Ghost trained a crew of apes to pilot a space ship he deliberately exposed himself and them to cosmic rays so that they could develop super powers DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 95 Owen Reece became Molecule Man when he inadvertently gained the power to control and reshape matter on the molecular level DeFalco 1960s in Gilbert 2008 p 107 The fire breathing monster known as Dragon Man first took wing Fantastic Four 35 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby modeled him after both Frankenstein and King Kong a b Marvel Knights 4 28 a b c Fantastic Four vol 3 61 a b Fantastic Four vol 3 62 Marvel Knights 4 1 Marvel Knights 4 19 The 10 Best Superhero Teams In Comics Complex Retrieved 2023 01 03 Isaac Chris 2016 08 08 15 Best Superhero Teams Of All Time ScreenRant Retrieved 2023 01 03 Stan Lee s Most Iconic Characters Vanity Fair 2018 11 12 Retrieved 2023 02 12 Leroy Kath 2021 02 08 Every Marvel Superhero Team Ranked CBR Retrieved 2023 01 03 Allan Scoot 2021 06 23 Marvel The 10 Strongest Superhero Teams CBR Retrieved 2023 01 03 Wright Brooke 2022 12 27 The Most Famous Superhero Families Ranked MovieWeb Retrieved 2023 01 03 updated Michael Doran last 2022 02 01 Best superhero teams of all time gamesradar Retrieved 2023 01 03 Alford Alicea 2023 01 30 10 Most Fashionable Teams In Marvel Comics CBR Retrieved 2023 02 03 a b Bing Jonathon July 2005 The Doom Defying Two Fisted Marketing of Fantastic Four Wired Archived from the original on August 10 2009 Retrieved 2009 02 25 Wright 2001 Comic Book Nation JHU Press p 205 ISBN 9780801865145 fantastic four Fein Eric 2006 The Creation of the Fantastic Four The Rosen Publishing Group p 6 ISBN 978 1 4042 0765 3 Rahan Kaleon The Fantastic Four turns 60 Here s why they are still Marvel s First Family The Star Retrieved 2023 01 03 Porterfield Carlie First Fantastic Four Comic Sells For 1 5 Million Forbes Retrieved 2023 01 03 First Captain America Comic fetches 2 3 million at auction ITV News 2022 04 08 Retrieved 2023 01 03 Carty Adrian February 22 2014 Marvel lous The Fantastic Four PulpInterest com Archived from the original on February 23 2014 a b c Mangels Andy May 1991 Reel Marvel Fantastic Four in the cartoons history Marvel Age Marvel Comics 1 100 Retrieved June 25 2012 Fantastic Four The Way It Began book and record set at the Grand Comics Database Thomas Roy Sanderson Peter 2007 The Marvel Vault A Museum in a Book with Rare Collectibles from the World of Marvel Philadelphia Pennsylvania Running Press p 101 ISBN 978 0762428441 In 1967 Spider Man and Fantastic Four took over Saturday morning slots on ABC TV the latter produced by Hanna Barbera Productions If This Be My Thanos Super Hero Squad Show October 24 2009 Last Exit Before Doomsday Super Hero Squad Show February 13 2010 Hulk and the Agents of S M A S H Monster No More IMDb com 29 June 2014 Retrieved 3 January 2019 The Fantastic Four appear in the Hulk and the Agents of S M A S H episode Monster No More Vishnevetsky Ignatiy December 1 2014 Our option on Atlas Shrugged expires in two days 6 plus copyright extensions disguised as movies The A V Club Archived from the original on December 8 2014 Retrieved December 2 2014 Brady Terrence J The Fantastic Four Gotten Teako170 com Archived from the original on July 31 2014 Fantastic Four Rotten Tomatoes Archived from the original on September 4 2014 Retrieved April 27 2010 Fantastic Four at Box Office Mojo Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer Box Office Mojo Archived from the original on October 6 2015 McClintock Pamela September 18 2014 X Men Spin Off Deadpool Gets Winter 2016 Release Date The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on September 19 2014 Retrieved September 18 2014 Vejvoda Jim March 8 2014 Miles Teller on What Appealed to Him About The Fantastic Four Reboot Ign com Archived from the original on May 5 2014 Retrieved March 8 2014 Toby Kebbell to Play Fantastic Four Villain Doctor Doom Exclusive Variety April 1 2014 Archived from the original on August 28 2014 Retrieved April 1 2014 Kebbell Toby April 2 2014 Thank you for all the support Twitter Archived from the original on April 17 2014 Kroll Justin February 19 2014 Fantastic Four Cast Revealed Variety Archived from the original on September 4 2014 Retrieved February 20 2014 Hoad Phil August 11 2015 Fantastic Four flop the biggest superhero disaster since Catwoman The Guardian Archived from the original on December 30 2015 Fox s handling of Fantastic Four Marvel s original multi superhero squad the rights for whom were leased out to Constantin Film back in 1986 is a total disaster A competent marketing campaign casting Josh Trank s 120m reboot in a Christopher Nolan esque penumbra has fooled no one Otto Parker Disney Fox merger complete X Men Deadpool and The Fantastic Four officially in the Mouse s hands Northern Star Online Retrieved 2019 03 21 Jackson Don Kaye and Matthew July 20 2019 Marvel Studios drops huge Phase 4 details plus Fantastic Four Blade and mutants Syfy com Tweet twitter com Retrieved 2020 12 11 Parker Ryan April 29 2022 Jon Watts Exits Marvel s Fantastic Four Hollywood Reporter Retrieved May 3 2022 Matt Shakman is Officially Directing Fantastic Four Collider 10 September 2022 Kroll Justin 2022 09 21 Fantastic Four Jeff Kaplan amp Ian Springer To Write New Film For Marvel Studios Deadline Retrieved 2022 09 21 Atari 400 800 XL XE Questprobe 3 Fantastic Four scans dump download screenshots ads videos catalog instructions roms www atarimania com Retrieved 2022 07 15 Fantastic Four Action Adventure Sci Fi Probe Entertainment Limited 1997 09 30 retrieved 2022 07 15 Marvel Nemesis Rise of the Imperfects Action Adventure Fantasy Nihilistic Software Electronic Arts EA Sensory Sweep Studios 2005 09 20 retrieved 2022 07 15 Amonitti Glenn 2006 10 24 Marvel Ultimate Alliance Action Adventure Fantasy Marvel Enterprises Beenox Raven Software retrieved 2022 07 15 Donovan Ali Tanguay Dan 2009 09 15 Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Action Adventure Fantasy Marvel Entertainment Savage Entertainment Vicarious Visions retrieved 2022 07 15 Usuda Hiroya Kimoto Ariko Shimbori Yohei 2019 07 19 Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 The Black Order Action Adventure Fantasy Marvel Entertainment Team Ninja Tecmo Koei retrieved 2022 07 15 Busse Chris 2005 09 26 Ultimate Spider Man Action Adventure Crime Marvel Enterprises Vicarious Visions Beenox retrieved 2022 07 15 Fantastic Four Action Adventure Fantasy 7 Studios Marvel Enterprises Twentieth Century Fox 2005 06 27 retrieved 2022 07 15 Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer Action Adventure Fantasy 2K Games 7 Studios Marvel Enterprises 2007 06 15 retrieved 2022 07 15 Hu Peter Book Josh 2013 06 04 Marvel Heroes Action Adventure Fantasy Gazillion Entertainment Marvel Entertainment Secret Identity Studios retrieved 2022 07 15 Burton Jon 2013 10 22 Lego Marvel Super Heroes Action Adventure Fantasy Marvel Enterprises Plastic Wax Studios TT Games retrieved 2022 07 15 Download the Marvel Pinball Fantastic Four Table Marvel Comics April 27 2011 Archived from the original on January 22 2016 Retrieved February 18 2014 Marvel Pinball is celebrating 50 years of the Fantastic Four with the addition of its newest table which highlights the teamwork of Mister Fantastic the Invisible Woman the Thing and the Human Torch Further reading EditGresh Lois H Robert Weinberg 2002 The Science of Superheroes John Wiley amp Sons p 21 29 ISBN 0 471 02460 0 External links EditFantastic Four at the Comic Book DB archived from the original Fantastic Four at Curlie Archive of FFPlaza com Database from the original page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fantastic Four amp oldid 1144278575, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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