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Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes
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Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes is an animated television series based on the Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four comic book series. This is the team's fourth foray into animation. The series is co-produced by American company Marvel Entertainment and French company MoonScoop Group, with the participation of M6 and Cartoon Network Europe, and distributed by Taffy Entertainment.
| Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action Adventure Science fiction Superhero |
| Based on | |
| Developed by | Craig Kyle Christopher Yost |
| Directed by | Franck Michel |
| Voices of | Hiro Kanagawa Lara Gilchrist Christopher Jacot Brian Dobson Sam Vincent |
| Composer | Noam Kaniel |
| Country of origin | United States Canada France |
| Original languages | English French |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Editors | Bertrand Martineu Benoit Tricot Valerie Chappellet Sandrine Mercier |
| Running time | 21-22 minutes |
| Production companies | Marvel Entertainment MoonScoop Group |
| Distributor | Taffy Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network |
|
| Original release | September 2, 2006 – February 25, 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Fantastic Four (1994 TV series) |
Airing
In the United States, the show had an erratic airing schedule on Cartoon Network, having premiered as part of Toonami on September 2, 2006. It ran for only eight of the season's 26 episodes before being pulled. It subsequently returned to the network starting June 9, 2007, shortly before the release of the film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The second launch of the show aired only nine episodes, leaving nine installments not televised in the USA. The show aired on Boomerang for a brief time before moving to Nicktoons in 2009 for the final episodes.[1] The series was produced in 16:9 widescreen, although it was letterboxed or cropped when broadcast.
Plot
World's Greatest Heroes is not directly connected to any of the previous iterations of the Fantastic Four, telling its own version of the team's origin and their encounters with their rogues gallery. Unlike its 1994 predecessor, which consisted almost entirely of straight or modified reinterpretations of classic Fantastic Four comic book stories, World's Greatest Heroes features mostly original stories, though elements from various comic iterations of the Fantastic Four were used in the series.
Cast
- Hiro Kanagawa - Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic
- Lara Gilchrist - Susan "Sue" Storm/Invisible Woman
- Christopher Jacot - Jonathan "Johnny" Spencer Storm/Human Torch
- Brian Dobson - Benjamin "Ben" Grimm/The Thing, Flatman
- Sam Vincent - H.E.R.B.I.E., Trapster, Peter Parker
- Paul Dobson - Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom, Mole Man, Captain Ultra, Doombots
- Sunita Prasad - Alicia Masters
Guest stars
- Mark Acheson - Attuma
- Michael Adamthwaite - Namor
- Don Brown - Henry Peter Gyrich
- Trevor Devall - Diablo
- Michael Dobson - Ronan the Accuser, Mr. Bonner-Davis
- Brian Drummond - Agent Pratt
- Laura Drummond - Courtney Bonner-Davis
- Mark Gibbon - Hulk
- Jonathan Holmes - Wizard
- Andrew Kavadas - Dr. Bruce Banner
- David Kaye - Tony Stark/Iron Man
- Terry Klassen - Impossible Man
- Scott McNeil - Annihilus
- Colin Murdock - Willie Lumpkin
- Peter New - Rupert the Geek
- John Novak - Supreme Intelligence
- Mark Oliver - Cmd. Kl'rt/Super-Skrull
- John Payne - Hank Pym/Ant-Man
- Alvin Sanders - Phillip Master/Puppet Master
- Rebecca Shoichet - Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, Squirrel Girl
- Venus Terzo - Lucia von Bardas
- Lee Tockar - Terminus
Episodes
| No. | Title | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Doomsday" | Christopher Yost | Olivier Poirette and Franck Michel | September 16, 2006 (U.S.) | 101 |
| Reed is accused of purposely exposing the Fantastic Four to cosmic rays. He soon finds out that the paper has been altered by Dr. Doom who plans to open another dimension. | |||||
| 2 | "Molehattan" | Avi Arad (story) Chris Hicks and Francis Lombard | Olivier Poirette | September 4, 2009 (U.S.) | 102 |
| After kidnapping Ben, Mole Man attempts to get the Thing to join forces with him and his Moloids to create an underground paradise where appearances don't matter. | |||||
| 3 | "Trial by Fire" | Bob Forward | Yacine Elghorri and Laurent Delion | September 2, 2006 | 103 |
| After destroying a robot, Johnny inexplicably disappears. He finds himself in a stadium filled with aliens, where he has been put on trial for crimes against the Kree Empire, with Ronan the Accuser acting as judge. Meanwhile, Ben attempts to entertain the guests at a charity event. Reed is summoned to act as Johnny's lawyer while Ben and Sue are summoned as witnesses. Unfortunately, Ben and Sue's testimonies fail to help Johnny's case. Johnny is sentenced to immediate execution by robotic creatures. Ben, Sue, and Reed fight the robot executioners, one of which is accidentally thrown into the crowd. Johnny protects a Kree child in the audience from the errant robot, which inspires the crowd to demand that Johnny be exonerated and released. Feeling humiliated at having to appease the crowd, Ronan releases Johnny. The Kree return to their home world whereupon Ronan is banished from the Kree Empire, while the Supreme Intelligence notes that the Fantastic Four may be useful against the Skrull. Note: In this episode, the opening theme music has been pitch-shifted to a noticeably lower key. | |||||
| 4 | "Doomed" | Rob Loos and George Taweel | Christophe Pittet | September 9, 2006 | 104 |
| The four return from extinguishing a fire that Johnny started, with Ben and Sue upset with him. Johnny apologizes, saying that he'll do anything to make it up to them. Doctor Doom switches bodies with Reed by injecting into him anesthesia. With Reed stuck in Doom's body, he slowly escapes the confines of Doom's lair. The next day, Johnny wakes up and finds a camera crew in his room. Sue explains that, as payback for yesterday, Johnny must be followed around by 'A Day in the Life' so viewers can find out what a day in the life of the Fantastic Four is like. When Doom, as Reed, tells Sue to cancel his lectures, the three figure out something's up. Reed, as Doom, shows up at the Baxter Building and is greeted by the four. Believing him to be Doom, they trap him. Reed eventually convinces Sue to trust him and together they stop Doom from turning the Baxter Building into a weapon while also switching their bodies back. | |||||
| 5 | "Puppet Master" | Joseph Kelly (story) Rob Loos and George Taweel | Luc Blanchard | June 16, 2007 | 105 |
| Alicia's stepfather acquires a supply of clay irradiated from a fallen piece of Reed's ill-fated space station that allows him to control others as the Puppet Master. | |||||
| 6 | "Zoned Out" | Bob Forward Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Luis Ruiz | October 28, 2006 | 106 |
| Things take a turn for the worse when Johnny gives his friend Frankie an unauthorized tour of Reed's lab. When Frankie is sucked into another dimension, Johnny goes in after her to prevent anyone from finding out. But as he does so, a small bug comes through the dimensional portal. Susan, Ben, and Reed now have to deal with the bug as it multiplies and slowly destroys the Baxter Building while Frankie and Johnny are trapped in the other dimension and look like they will be killed by worse versions of the bugs. In the end, Johnny and Frankie get back to Earth and the bugs are all put back to where they belong – except for one who remains in an old lady's fridge. | |||||
| 7 | "Hard Knocks" | Joshua Fine | Roland Boschi | September 23, 2006 | 107 |
| Bruce Banner visits Reed at the Baxter Building. Banner changes into the Hulk and now the Fantastic Four must stop his rampage in NYC and keep him from being captured by Agent Pratt who wants to use the Hulk for his bosses' own agenda. In the end, Pratt fails to stop Hulk and the Hulk is loose in the badlands. The Fantastic Four have saved the day again as Pratt and his men are arrested by the U.S. army led by General "Thunderbolt" Ross. | |||||
| 8 | "My Neighbor Was a Skrull" | Joseph Kelly Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Christophe Pittet | September 30, 2006 (U.S.) | 108 |
| Skrulls impersonate the Fantastic Four's neighbors in order to collect tissue samples from the Fantastic Four. In the end, Skrull commander Kl'rt tells Ronan the Accuser all samples have been collected for him to begin making the greatest warrior the universe has ever known. | |||||
| 9 | "World's Tiniest Heroes" | Joshua Fine Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Olivier Poirette | October 21, 2006 (U.S.) | 109 |
| One of Reed's Microverse experiments causes the Fantastic Four to shrink putting them at risk when H.E.R.B.I.E. mistakes them for vermin and tries to exterminate them. The Fantastic Four are assisted by Ant-Man when it comes to getting to the lab and once there their lives are saved with Ant-Man’s help. | |||||
| 10 | "De-Mole-Ition" | Bob Forward Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Laurent Delion | November 4, 2006 (U.S.) | 110 |
| The Mole Man uses Giganto attacks the Baxter Building in hopes of luring the Fantastic Four to his underground lair. | |||||
| 11 | "Impossible" | Rob Loos and George Taweel Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Jeremie Bonachera | June 23, 2007 (U.S.) | 111 |
| The Impossible Man is brought to Earth by one of Reed's space probes and immediately starts causing trouble for everyone. In the end, the Fantastic Four convince Impossible Man that Earth isn't as fun as he is. | |||||
| 12 | "Bait & Switch" | Bob Forward Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Luis Ruiz | June 30, 2007 (U.S.) | 112 |
| Doctor Doom hijacks one of Reed's experiments aimed at restoring Ben Grimm to human form and causes the Fantastic Four to swap powers with one another. | |||||
| 13 | "Annihilation" | Christopher Yost Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Roland Boschi | July 14, 2007 (U.S.) | 113 |
| The Fantastic Four are brought to the Negative Zone where they come face to face with Annihilus. As if that wasn't bad enough, Doctor Doom arrives stealing Annihilus' power source and threatening Earth. | |||||
| 14 | "Revenge of the Skrulls" | Bob Forward Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Luc Blanchard | August 11, 2007 | 114 |
| The Fantastic Four hold a contest where the winner gets to spend the day with the Fantastic Four. The winner ended up being a fan named Rupert the Geek. Having acquired their tissue samples back in "My Neighbor Was A Skrull", the Skrulls now have the technology to duplicate the abilities of the Fantastic Four. Unknown to the Skrulls, Commander Kl'rt, the genius behind the breakthrough, is actually getting help from Ronan the Accuser in his next plot against the Fantastic Four. | |||||
| 15 | "Strings" | Joshua Fine Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Christophe Pittet | August 25, 2007 (U.S.) | 115 |
| The Puppet Master gets the city to turn on the Fantastic Four by controlling its public officials like the Mayor of New York City and the Chief of Police. Evicted from their home much to the excitement of Courtney Bonner-Davis as well as their accounts frozen and their property seized, the Fantastic Four must clear their good names and stop the Puppet Master from taking over the minds of everyone on Earth. | |||||
| 16 | "Imperius Rex" | Len Uhley Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Olivier Poirette | June 9, 2007 (U.S.) | 116 |
| Namor arrives with a decree banning humankind from the oceans. Susan and Johnny go underwater to negotiate, but are taken prisoner in Atlantis. Ben and Reed must fight their way through sea monsters, Atlantean soldiers, and Namor to save their teammates. | |||||
| 17 | "Doomsday Plus One" | Bob Forward | Laurent Delion | April 27, 2007 September 1, 2007 (U.S.) | 117 |
| Doombots invade the Baxter Building in the middle of the night, but their attack is just a distraction for Doctor Doom to launch the Baxter Building into space. | |||||
| 18 | "The Cure" | Christopher Yost, and Dan Slott (story) | Jeremie Bonachera | June 9, 2007 January 18, 2010 (U.S.) | 118 |
| Reed finally cures the Thing, but the cure also takes away all of his memories since the formation of the Fantastic Four. In order to find a replacement for Thing, the other members of the Fantastic Four hold auditions where She-Hulk wins over the other candidates Squirrel Girl, Captain Ultra, Texas Twister, Frog-Man, and Flatman. When the Mole Man attacks with an army of Lava Men, She-Hulk must fill in for the Thing while the powerless Ben Grimm must find a way to save the day. | |||||
| 19 | "Frightful" | Len Uhley | Luis Ruiz | August 18, 2007 January 27, 2010 (U.S.) | 119 |
| The Frightful Four (consisting of The Wizard, Klaw, Trapster, and Dragon Man) is the new team in town saving New York always one step ahead of the Fantastic Four. Johnny even tries to prove that the Fantastic Four are still active in heroics by enlisting a photographer named Peter Parker. Reed begins to suspects that the Frightful Four are not the heroes they appear to be. | |||||
| 20 | "Out of Time" | Joshua Fine | Luc Blanchard | September 15, 2007 January 28, 2010 (U.S.) | 120 |
| After returning from the past to find out what killed the Dinosaurs, the Fantastic Four return to New York to find that the whole city has been conquered by Doctor Doom. | |||||
| 21 | "Atlantis Attacks!" | Bob Forward Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Olivier Poirette | September 1, 2007 (U.S.) | 121 |
| Namor returns. This time, he needs help to defeat Attuma who has taken over Atlantis. While Reed, Susan, and Ben head off to help free Atlantis, Johnny stays behind and faces an attack on the city from a giant mutant whale. | |||||
| 22 | "Shell Games" | Rob Hoegee | Roland Boschi | October 6, 2007 February 8, 2010 (U.S.) | 122 |
| After several attacks from Iron Man armors, the Fantastic Four track down Tony Stark. It turns out Doctor Doom was behind the attacks, and now the Four have to face both Iron Doom and Iron Man under Doctor Doom's control. | |||||
| 23 | "Johnny Storm and the Potion of Fire" | Len Uhley Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost (story) | Luc Blanchard | October 13, 2007 February 22, 2010 (U.S.) | 123 |
| During a confrontation with Diablo, Johnny is accidentally exposed to one of Diablo's potions he planned to use to gain control of all the elements. | |||||
| 24 | "Contest of Champions" | Joshua Fine | Jeremie Bonachera | October 20, 2007 February 23, 2010 (U.S.) | 124 |
| On request from Ronan the Accuser, Grandmaster forces the Fantastic Four to battle Ronan the Accuser, Impossible Man, Annihilus, and Super-Skrull. The fate of all humanity hangs in the balance as the species of the losers are wiped out. | |||||
| 25 | "Doom's Word Is Law" | Paul Giacoppo, and Craig Kyle (story) | Luis Ruiz | February 24, 2010 (U.S.) | 125 |
| Doctor Doom creates a Super-Doombot to face the Fantastic Four. The Four try and retrain this Doombot to be one of the good guys. In the end, Ben becomes the Super-Doombot's friend and names him "Bruiser", but then Doctor Doom's control is too strong and the Super-Doombot captures Susan and Reed. Johnny and Ben must save Susan and Reed, and fight Doom. But when Johnny is captured, Ben is left to fight Bruiser. | |||||
| 26 | "Scavenger Hunt" | Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle | Olivier Poirette | February 25, 2010 (U.S.) | 126 |
| Terminus, an alien scavenger, comes to steal all of Earth's resources. While the Fantastic Four try to stop him, they realize he may be unbeatable. | |||||
Home releases
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Episodes | DVD Name | Region 4 | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume One | March 27, 2007 |
| Volume One | October 10, 2007 |
|
| Volume Two | September 11, 2007 |
| Volume Two | October 10, 2007 |
|
| Volume Three | March 11, 2008 |
| Volume Three | February 6, 2008 |
|
| The Complete First Season | June 10, 2008 |
| Volume Four | June 4, 2008 |
|
| Volume Five | September 3, 2008 |
|
References
- ^ . Archived from the original on July 16, 2009. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
External links
- Official website at Marvel.com, with full episodes viewable online
- Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes at IMDb
- Marvel names Cartoon Network Exclusive U.S. Broadcast home for all-new Fantastic Four Animated Series
- Cast announcement
- Plots of the first episodes 2007-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
- with Executive Producer Craig Kyle and Head Fantastic Four writer/Story Editor Chris Yost.