Growing up, one of my favorite superheroes was Johnny Storm, aka, The Human Torch. Johnny was young, arrogant, and so cool. As a boy reading comic books there was nothing better than a hero you could relate too. Because of my preference for the Torch I kind of thought as my family as the Fantastic Four. My father, the smart guy who is borderline mad scientist. My mother, the nurturer who kept us all together. My brother, the moody guy who liked to use his fists on me. And myself, the young hothead who could never sit still. However, I could never really get into Fantastic Four comics. Now, as a full grown adult, I figure it was time to give the FF another try. It's been years since I tried reading anything about Marvel's First Family so I thought years experiences, and a bit of wisdom, might have changed my perspective. I went to my local library and picked up as many FF books as I could. After I browsed through the regular series I dabbled in the Ultimate universe since it looks like that's what this years Fantastic Four movie will draw from.
I started off as far back as I could. I was surprised to find out that most of the movies Marvel Studios are gonna roll out in their Phase 3 were introduced in FF. Black Panther and the Inhumans both first appeared in Fantastic Four. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's early work was rich in story, but like most comics back in the day, the dialogue and character development left much to be desired for today's modern reader. However, Lee and Kirby laid the ground work for some great mythology.
Throughout the years the Fantastic Four saw some guest members like She-Hulk, Ant-Man, and the Inhuman's Crystal, but it always reverted back to the core 4. In 1996, following the events of Onslaught, most of the Marvel heroes got a re-vamp with Heroes Reborn. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four got updated origins, with a bit of a twist, provided by Jim Lee(no relation to Stan) and Rob Liefeld. Both had worked with Marvel in the past, but had since went on to start Image Comics. Lee's art added a new sense of style to the FF and I enjoyed quite a bit more of these stories compared to the 1960's comic.
After a year of Heroes Reborn Marvel's First Family returned to the actual Marvel U with some big problems to come. This was the start of some of my favorite FF stories with Civil War and Marvel Knights 4 written by playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. His run saw the team kicked out of the Baxter Building and trying to live like real people who had to get real jobs. I enjoyed these volumes because they were so much more personal. Most FF stories involve them going on some crazy adventure through time or space, but I'm a fan of smaller stories that focus on the characters themselves and not the villain their fighting that month. Marvel's Civil War also saw the team split on the Superhero Registration Act. The event almost destroyed the FF as well as Reed and Sue's marriage.
As time progressed the team stayed true minus a brief death by the Human Torch(which no one believed would be gone long). The current Matt Fraction series takes the family through space as Reed tries to solve the issue of not only his cells brake down and eventual death, but those of his teammates. Reed hopes to find the answers in the stars to save those he cares about most.
Ultimate Fantastic Four started in 2004 and saw the FF back as young adults. Reed's experiment into the N-Zone goes awry and instead of them gaining abilities by cosmic rays, it's by an N-Zone explosion. While quite a bit different from their original beginnings, I enjoyed this reboot the most. Making them younger made them seem more relatable than the characters who have been heroes since 1963.
On top of reading all the graphic novels I also watched the Fantastic Four movies. I remember watching the 1994 Fantastic Four film as a child. The movie was never released in theaters, and for good reason. It was pretty bad. 2005 saw the FF actually on the big screen thanks to 20th Century Fox. A lot of comic readers rag on this film and it's sequel, but I'm in the minority that I somewhat enjoy them. Rise of the Silver Surfer has less of my respect, but that first film I thought highlighted the core of what the Fantastic Four is about; family. We saw Ben and Johnny fight, Reed wrap the Thing into a knot to control is rage, and Chris Evans play the perfect Human Torch. Evans was so good as Johnny Storm I was very against him being cast as Captain America. I ate my foot on that one.
From what I could tell the 1994 film drew straight from the original 1963 origin, the 2005 film got a lot from the Heroes Reborn origin, and the 2015 film will basically be Ultimate FF. Michael B. Jordan has been cast as Johnny Storm; totally changing his ethnicity. Sue Storm is going to be played by Kate Mara(not a blonde) and their most hated enemy, Victor Von Doom, will go by another name. The Dr. Doom changes are the most disturbing to me, but the cast itself is one of the few aspects I think will be good about this film. I'm sure I'll change my tune when I see a trailer, but for now, my hopes aren't high.
So, after a few months of reading and watching Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing, I'm kind of back to where I was when I was 10 years old. I love the concept and characters of Fantastic Four, but actually enjoy few stories told about Marvel's First Family. However, I will continue to keep up with their adventures and cross my fingers that this next FF film will be the one that catches on. And if it doesn't then the rights will go back to Marvel Studios and in another few years we'll see the Human Torch fighting alongside Captain America. I won't mention the irony there.
I can't believe I wrote this whole post without working in, "It's Clobberin Time."
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