Warning: contains potential spoilers forFantastic Four: First Steps#1!
TheMCU’sFantastic Fouris getting a new official origin courtesy ofMarvelComics, and you can read it now. As the anticipation forFantastic Four: First Stepsbuilds, Marvel is releasing a special, prequel one-shot. Now, in a special preview ofFantastic Four: First Steps#1, fans get a glimpse of the team’s origin.
Matt Fraction is no stranger to the Fantastic Four franchise, having written the team in the 2010s.
Fantastic Four: First Steps#1 is written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Mark Buckingham. The preview opens with a retelling of the team’s origin as first told inFantastic Four#1: Reed Richards leads a team of explorers aboard an experimental rocket, who receive fantastic powers thanks to exposure to cosmic rays.
After a Few Less Than StellarFantasic FourFilms, Fans Are Ready For the MCU’s Take
Fantastic Four: First Stepswill be the fourth attempt to bring Marvel’s “First Family” to the big screen. In the mid-2000s, 20th Century Fox released a pair ofFantastic Fourmovies that did a decent box office but bombed with critics. Fox tried again in 2015, with a new cast, but it met with widespread fan and critical derision.
After Disney, Marvel’s parent company, acquired 20th Century Fox, it appeared the Fantastic Four were charting a course for home. Fanshad dreamed of an MCU-setFantastic Fourfilmfor years, and now it was going to be a reality. Many felt the MCU could vastly improve on the 20th Century FoxFantastic Fourmovies.
Sure enough, Marvel Studios announced a newFantastic Fourfilm, starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the titular heroes. The film is set to debut in America on July 25th, but as fans patiently wait for its release, Marvel reveals the origin of the MCU’s Fantastic Four.
The MCU Is Sticking to the Fantastic Four’s Classic Comics' Origin
Previous FilmedFantastic FourOutings Took Liberties With the Team’s Lore
As seen in the preview pages forFantastic Four: First Steps#1, the team’s origin in the MCU is comics’ accurate. The origin story Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created in 1961 is a classic, and there was no need to tamper with it. Instead, it looks as if the MCU will faithfully recreate the team’s beginnings.
The Fantastic Four’s previous cinematic outings did take some liberties with the team’s lore. In 2005’sFantastic Four,directed by Tim Story, the team still received their powers via cosmic radiation, but in that film, they were visiting a space station. It also tied the team’s origin to that of Doctor Doom, which was not in the comics.
Get Ready: the MCU’sFantastic Four: First StepsLooks to be a Winner
There is No Need to Change the Fantastic Four’s Origin
Adhering to the Fantastic Four’s classic origin in theMCUis the best indicator, yet this will be the best filmed version of the team yet. There is no attempt to “modernize” theFantastic Four’sclassicMarvelComics backstory, and instead it is a glorious celebration of the high-concept adventures the team is known for.
Fantastic Four: First Steps#1 is on sale July 9 from Marvel Comics!
