Seriously, did anyone actually know this was a thing? I sure didn’t, and I’ve been a Marvel fan since before I could speak. I’d show you my baby pictures in a Spider-Man onesie, but right now, we’ve got a Bill Murray-sized fish to fry.
Believe it or not, long before Bill Murray made his MCU debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, he was lending his golden pipes to a 1975 radio adaptation of The Fantastic Four in a 10-episode series. Oh, and he plays Johnny Storm, otherwise known as — the Human Torch. My brain is exploding. How has society let this go? This feels like news. Should I call someone?
The weirdest part about this whole thing is that Murray has never really spoken about his time at Marvel pre-MCU, only making a vague references on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! What the hell, Bill? I thought we were closer than that…
What’s more, with the show airing in 1975, Bill Murray’s time as the Torch even predates his stint on Saturday Night Live — meaning he was shouting “Flame on!” into a microphone somewhere before finding any real fame to begin with. Trippy.
This lesser-know tidbit is pretty darn cool all things considered, and it’s not lost to time either. Thankfully the Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library, has all of Bill Murray’s Fantastic Four episodes intact. Take a listen here. It’s frikken’ rad.
Honestly, I love stuff like this. Hearing an old-timey radio show (which were even old-timey for the ’70s) is like opening a time superhero-themed capsule. We get to catch a glimpse of a world we no longer live in, and imagine what it was like to be entertained by nothing other than sound through speakers.
My advice? Carve out a bit of time, and fire up this audio drama. After all, the human imagination is one heck of a superpower. You need a break from your phone anyway. Be good. Stay crazy. Tell your friends.