In order to bring Marvel’s founding family back to the big screen, the MCU is getting ready for the Fantastic Four’s relaunch.
However, the Fantastic Four are more than just well-known superheroes. Their 1961 debut marked the beginning of the Marvel Age of Superheroes and the Marvel Way of storytelling, making them a truly iconic property.
Here’s a brief tutorial to catch you up on how the Fantastic Four got so great in the first place before the casting is revealed and the movie begins.
How Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four Got Their Powers?
Reed Richards is an engineer and scientist working on the Marvel-1, an experimental rocket, as shown in Fantastic Four #1. Reed conducts an unapproved test launch of the rocket because his funding is in jeopardy. Ben Grimm, his best buddy, is the ship’s pilot. Sue Storm, Reed’s lover, and Johnny, her younger brother, accompany him.
It ends badly. The cosmic radiation in the atmosphere was worse than Reed could have imagined, even though the Marvel-1 was built to withstand radiation. A cosmic radiation storm blasts all four, sending them plummeting to Earth.
The four discover they have been altered by the radiation when they land. Sue can become invisible, while Reed can extend his body like an elastic band. Ben transforms into a rock monster, while Johnny learns he can set himself on fire.
The four promise to use their abilities for the benefit of humanity, making them the Fantastic Four, even though it isn’t strictly accurate to refer to them as superheroes.
How the Ultimate Fantastic Four Got Their Powers?
Although the Ultimate version of the characters is more related to body horror than adventure, the Earth-1610 version made their debut in Ultimate Fantastic Four #1, where they acquired their powers in a cosmic accident.
Young Reed Richards unintentionally enters an exotic universe in Ultimate Fantastic Four. This introduces him to the N-Zone, a military expedition that is scouring the globe under the direction of General Thaddeus Ross and famous scientist Franklin Storm.
Reed created a mechanism to get inside the N-Zone with the help of classmates Ben Grimm, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Victor Van Damme. Van Damme, however, thinks that only he can do the math correctly, so he modifies the device’s settings without notifying anyone.
The five return to Earth permanently changed by their exposure to the N-Zone, as the machine malfunctions. Ben’s body is covered in a rock creature, Sue acquires the ability to become invisible, Johnny’s body can spew flames, and Reed’s body is composed entirely of elastic material when he first arrives.
Over time, this version of the characters would grow increasingly eerie and disturbing. While Johnny’s skin would occasionally molt and Ben would be discovered to be in a cocoon of sorts, Reed would find he had no organs and that his stomach had been replaced with an unidentified black hole.
But Van Damme, who eventually returned with a robotic appearance that included goat-like feet and the ability to spew acid, was not impressed by any of these.
Though they grudgingly transform into heroes and explorers like the Fantastic Four, the Four are never as well-liked or revered as their 616 counterparts. When Reed turns into the malevolent Maker, things take a turn for the worst and the quartet is permanently broken. In the end, when the Secret Wars universe collapses, everything would be gone but The Maker.
How the Fantastic Four in the Movies Got Their Powers?
The comics are a major source of inspiration for the original Fox movie, Fantastic Four, released in 2005. However, in this case, Victor Von Doom is also on the rocket and transforms with them. The four obtain their powers from cosmic radiation. The movie’s Four, who are based on the four elements, fight Doctor Doom, who gains electrical abilities and a metal skin.
However, the 2015 reboot of Fantastic Four takes more cues from the Ultimate Comics adaptation. This is where Von Doom and the four heroes enter Planet Zero, a new variation on the Negative Zone, through a Quantum Gate.
Superpowers are given to Reed, Ben, Sue, and Johnny after an explosion at the gate changes them. Von Doom is abandoned in the interim and reappears with enhanced abilities.
This leads us to the present day, when a new Fantastic Four will soon be released by the MCU. The version of the FF origin that the MCU will adopt, assuming one is given at all, is yet unknown. They can choose to follow Spider-Man’s example and just withhold the origin.
In 2025, when the movie eventually opens in theaters, we’ll undoubtedly find out.
Are you interested in the legendary beginnings of the Fantastic Four and their development through comic books, Ultimate adaptations, and motion pictures? Explore the fascinating past of Marvel’s First Family and the potential outcomes of the MCU’s rebirth. For additional information and to keep up with the Fantastic Four’s big-screen comeback, visit our website.