The MCU is absolutely overstuffed with heroes.
On top of the standalone favorites, like Spider-Man, Thor, and Cap, teams like the Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man’s superhero family tack a handful of fresh heroes onto the MCU. Without the Avengers, however — which only serves as a team in times on need — the MCU has very few consistent superhero teams. The Guardians are the only real entry in that particular category — and, to some degree, Scott’s family — at least until one of Marvel’s most popular teams finally enters the fold.
The Fantastic Four have a bad rap among most moviegoers, thanks to two failed attempts to bring the team to the big screen. Among comic fans, however, they maintain as one of Marvel’s best, and most enduringly popular, staples. Looking ahead, to the future of the MCU, fans are well aware that a new, canon version of the team is set to be introduced any day, and hype is higher for their introduction than perhaps any other incoming hero. Not everyone understands the excitement, however, particularly after watching the failed 2005 and 2015 attempts to bring them to live action.
Among these skeptical MCU fans is Reddit user sammybunsy, who recently questioned the Fantastic Four love in the dedicated Marvel Studios sub. In no time, responses were flooding in to answer sammybunsy’s confusion about that Fantastic Four hype.
The post quickly stirred up ire among the team’s most passionate fans, who took to the comments to detail the Fantastic Four’s history in comics, and the myriad of reasons fans are excited to see them enter the MCU. The top comment perhaps says it best, noting that the team’s charm has always been in their status as a family of superheroes. It is “the characters and their dynamic,” rather than action and explosions, that make them so popular among comics fans.
The comment also makes parallels between the Fantastic Four and The Incredibles, which might just be the best way to explain why people love the team. They are a family, with family problems, and they are also heroes. That is not a dynamic that the MCU has managed to pull off so far — despite attempts in the Ant-Man trilogy — and it could deliver a breath of fresh air in the increasingly predictable MCU.
The biggest issue sammybunsy appears to have with the team relates to their “campy” powers and catch phrases, both things other readers took issue with. While its likely the MCU will find space for at least one mention of “clobbering,” if only as a call-back, its all but certain that those outdated aspects of the characters will be abandoned for the live action releases. As for the team’s powers? If we’re okay with talking trees, grouchy raccoons, and stretchy teenagers, it seems odd to complain about fire, forcefields, and stony skin.
A few other comments also provide context about the general passion for the Fantastic Four, nothing that they are “literally the first family of Marvel Comics,” and that their dynamic is far removed from that of other teams. But one things stands out more than any other, when it comes to fan enthusiasm for the Fantastic Four: Doom.
Doctor Doom is one of Marvel’s very best villains, and many fans would prefer to see him over the likes of Thanos or Kang. He may not offer the same level of multiversal threat, but Doom offers up a brilliance and creative ingenuity that could thoroughly change up the formula the MCU has come to rely on. We’ll rely on commenter Mindless_Ad_6145, who put the sentiment best: “With the Four comes DOOM and with DOOM comes a whole new level of villainy.”