THE FANTASTIC FOUR AND MARVEL FIND THE HUMAN TOUCH

_{Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), and Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) (Image Credit: Marvel Studios)}

Although the Fantastic Four Marvel comic series was always very popular, making a successful movie featuring this superhero team has proven challenging. A low-budget version made in 1994 was such a disaster that the movie was never released. The next attempt was made in 2005 by Tim Story, director of the comedy Barbershop (2002), and while the movie’s very light comic tone seemed to appeal to some audiences, as it grossed $330.6 million at the box office, it received negative reviews and a B CinemaScore rating. The sequel — Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer — got the same rating and made only $301.9 million. Another Fantastic Four movie, released in 2015, was not only a box office failure but was widely considered to be one of the worst superhero movies ever made.

Then in 2019 Marvel studios acquired the rights to The Fantastic Four series. While Marvel studios have had a successful run, lately things haven’t been so good due to choosing quantity over quality. They made a large number of movies featuring various comic book characters which led to audiences becoming fatigued with them. Another huge problem was that Marvel would bring characters from different Marvel movies and TV shows into whatever movie they were currently making as this was presumably supposed to increase their appeal. However, for those unfamiliar with these characters the plot would be very hard to follow. A case in point is Deadpool vs. Wolverine (2024) which was successful because it was more of a Deadpool than a Marvel film.

Finally, the fate of both Marvel and Fantastic Four films turned with Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) which does not include any of the characters from previous Marvel projects. This movie received positive reviews and an A- CinemaScore rating. Why is that?

The answer can be found in the first scene as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) announces to her husband Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) that she is pregnant. The couple already have superpower abilities but both wonder what kind of child they will be bringing into the world given their DNA. Such anticipation will be familiar to any couple who has pondered on the traits their child will have. Then they have a Sunday dinner with their colleagues Ben Grimm/Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) during which they relay the news about Sue’s pregnancy. Even though all these characters have superpowers, this everyday scene makes them relatable to adult cinemagoers. Even Ben/Thing, who may look as huge as the Hulk, doesn’t seem to enjoy performing Hulk-like actions. His biggest concern is finding out if a school teacher (Natasha Lyonne) he is attracted to likes him too.

Then Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives from space and announces to the world that Earth will be destroyed. The Fantastic Four, already considered the world’s heroes, go into space to follow the Silver Surfer where they meet Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a gigantic cosmic being that devours planets. The Fantastic Four negotiate with Galactus on what they can do to prevent Earth from being devoured. Galactus says he will spare Earth if Reed and Sue give him their child once it is born. Although no trace of supernatural power has been detected in the fetus, Galactus is aware of its cosmic power and sees the child as his successor. They refuse to give their offspring to Galactus and flee away from him and the Silver Surfer.

Upon arrival back to Earth they inform the world on what has happened. People ask if they have a solution to save the planet without giving up their child, and Reed admits that he is not sure. Public opinion immediately turns against the Fantastic Four, leading to demands that they give up their child. Yet, the Fantastic Four do not attempt to fix the situation using their superpowers. Instead, being a scientific and mathematical genius, Reed thinks of a scientific way to stop Galactus. Likewise, it takes Sue’s maternal instincts to calm the public down as she tells the world she will protect them like she would protect their child.

Likewise, Johnny tries to figure out the Silver Surfer by learning her language. While studying recordings of her native tongue, he finds out that Silver Surfer got hooked up with Galactus because she was trying to protect herself, her child, and her world. Rather than fight her, Johnny realizes a conversation would be more effective.

When the climactic battle with Galactus arrives, the Fantastic Four do rely on their superpowers to stop him. Yet, while their superpowers provide a good defense, it is Sue who is the most effective warrior because she wants to protect her baby.

Another curious thing is we never fully learn what the baby Franklin is capable of. We are only given a glimpse of his talents at the end of the movie. The fate of Franklin sets up the potential for more stories of the Fantastic Four, but it also possesses a human element. Audiences can certainly relate to the worries of parents whose newborn is different from other children.

While this is the first good Fantastic Four film, the bigger question is how it is doing at the box office?

The short answer is nearly as good as Superman. On the preview day Fantastic Four: First Steps took $24.4 million, surpassing Superman. It also had the second highest opening day of 2025 with $57 million. By the end of the first week, it collected $118 million domestically and $218 million globally. For comparison, Superman has grossed $125 million domestically and $220 million internationally in its first week.

However, I am predicting that Fantastic Four: First Steps may do better than Superman in the long run for two reasons. First, there have already been some good entries in the Superman film series and there have been none for Fantastic Four. Second, as I have mentioned, the Fantastic Four has a very appealing human element that even non-comic book fans can relate to.

With the success of these two films, it is clear that comic book fatigue has not arrived. Hopefully, Hollywood will learn the right lesson from these two films. You can have a high budget and a ton of marketing but none of it matters unless you contain the most important ingredient: quality.