The Fantastic Four Finally Get Their Due

It\’s been a long time coming, but the Fantastic Four finally have a good movie to their name. The Fantastic Four: First Steps may not be perfect, but it gets the fundamentals right: the Four themselves are well cast, the leads have great chemistry, Galactus actually looks and acts like his comics self, and the thematic throughline about the strength the FF derive from their familial connection captures the spirit of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby\’s original source material.

But most of all, First Steps gives us something we haven\’t seen from the MCU in a long time: a throwback to the Phase 1 way of doing things. First Steps isn\’t interested in belaboring its runtime with shared universe subplots, nostalgic references, or multiversal cameos that distract from the story at hand, nor does it require doing any homework with other films or Disney+ series to wrap your head around the plot.

Back to Basics

The most commendable aspect of Fantastic Four: First Steps is how little concern it has for the MCU as a franchise. It doesn\’t go out of its way to contradict or circumvent the MCU in any way, but its goals are squarely in the realm of telling the most effective story it can. Like with this year\’s Superman reboot, First Steps avoids depicting a full origin story for the Fantastic Four, instead jumping in four years after the team\’s founding on Earth-828 and centering around a threat to their status quo as superheroes.

This story really only needs seven characters to function: the FF, Reed and Sue\’s newborn son Franklin, Galactus, and the Surfer. Everyone else is essentially window dressing, and there\’s no previously required knowledge of either the comics or past MCU installments to make the story\’s engine work. Director Matt Shakman and co. believe in the Fantastic Four and their slice of the Marvel Universe to be compelling enough on its face to hold up the entire film, instead of throwing in characters from other franchises or too many teases of major films yet to come.

The Phase 1 Glory Days

It can sometimes be hard to remember after so many MCU movies, but the first wave of origin films like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger all felt distinct and relatively self-contained. Sure, there were hints of a wider world outside the margins, and SHIELD was always around to reinforce that these movies existed in the same reality, but those films were primarily concerned with being good movies first and pieces of a bigger pie second.

That\’s why the MCU and their ensemble became so popular in the first place, but it\’s something the series lost sight of after the Infinity Saga, with the post-Endgame slate suffering from many poorly conceived and absurdly priced misfires. That\’s not to say there weren\’t some highlights from this era, like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Loki, or X-Men \’97.

What Marvel Should Learn

The most exciting moment in Fantastic Four: First Steps is when Shakman reveals that he knows Susan Storm is the most powerful member of the FF. During the final battle with Galactus, it seems the Devourer is going to get away with Franklin and subsequently consume the Earth… only for him to be held in place by Susan\’s willpower through her force fields.

That is the sort of storytelling acumen that every MCU movie should have. Otherwise, why are you making them? Movies should not exist just to add extra toys to a sandbox or remind shareholders how much potentially lucrative IP you possess. These stories and characters have captured imaginations for decades because there\’s something in them that connects with audiences on an emotional level, and the better MCU movies understand that.

On Earth-828, the Fantastic Four are a symbol of hope that the future will be safer and brighter. In our world, the Fantastic Four: First Steps is much the same, but that big franchise filmmaking, and Marvel Studios in particular, can get back to doing things right, instead of doing them easy.