The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first superhero team created by artist/co-plotter

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

and editor/co-plotter Stan Lee, who developed a collaborative approach to creating comics with this title. The four characters traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers after exposure to

cosmic ray Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...

s during a scientific mission to outer space, are:

Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and ...

(Reed Richards), a scientific genius and the leader of the group, who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes; the

Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel during ...

(Susan "Sue" Storm), who eventually married Reed, who can render herself invisible and project powerful invisible force fields and blasts; the

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a si ...

(Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can generate flames, surround himself with them and fly; and the monstrous

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...

(Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, a former college football star, Reed's college roommate and a skilled pilot, who possesses tremendous superhuman strength, durability and endurance due to his stone-like flesh. Since the 1961 introduction, the Fantastic Four has been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional, yet loving, family. Breaking convention with other comic archetypes, the members squabbled, held grudges both deep and petty, and eschewed anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. They are also well known for their recurring encounters with characters such as the villainous monarch Doctor Doom; the planet-devouring Galactus; the Kree Empire's ruthless and tyrannical enforcer

Ronan the Accuser Ronan the Accuser is a fictional character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Ronan was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantasti ...

; the

Negative Zone The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently in ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Captain Mar ...

's ruler

Annihilus Annihilus () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an adversary to the Fantastic Four. The character debuted in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four Annual'' #6, which was published i ...

; the sea-dwelling prince

Namor Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc ...

; the spacefaring

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

; and the

Skrull The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated fro ...

warrior Kl'rt. The Fantastic Four have been adapted into other media, including four

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

and four live-action films.

Publication history

Origins

Apocryphal legend has it that in 1961, longtime magazine and

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

Martin Goodman was playing golf with either

Jack Liebowitz Jacob S. Liebowitz (; born Yacov Lebovitz October 10, 1900 – December 11, 2000)Irwin Donenfeld of rival company

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, then known as National Periodical Publications, and that the top executive bragged about DC's success with the new superhero team the

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceive ...

.That DC all-star superhero team had debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d Feb. 1960) before going on to its own hit title (issue #1 cover-dated Nov. 1960). While film producer and comics historian

Michael Uslan Michael E. Uslan (; born June 2, 1951) is an American lawyer and film producer. Uslan has also dabbled in writing and teaching, he is known for being the first instructor to teach an accredited course on comic book folklore at any university. Ear ...

has debunked the particulars of that story,Uslan, in a letter published in ''Alter Ego'' #43 (December 2004), pp. 43–44, writes: "Irwin Donenfeld said he never played golf with Goodman, so the story is untrue. I heard this story more than a couple of times while sitting in the lunchroom at DC's 909 Third Avenue and 75 Rockefeller Plaza office as Sol Harrison and roduction chiefJack Adler were schmoozing with some of us... who worked for DC during our college summers.... e way I heard the story from Sol was that Goodman was playing with one of the heads of Independent News, not DC Comics (though DC ''owned'' Independent News). ... As the distributor of DC Comics, this man certainly knew all the sales figures and was in the best position to tell this tidbit to Goodman. ... Of course, Goodman would want to be playing golf with this fellow and be in his good graces. ... Sol worked closely with Independent News' top management over the decades and would have gotten this story straight from the horse's mouth." Goodman, a publishing trend-follower, aware of the JLA's strong sales, did direct his comics editor, Stan Lee, to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. According to Lee, writing in 1974, "Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called ''The'' ''Justice League of America'' and it was composed of a team of superheroes. ... 'If the Justice League is selling', spoke he, 'why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?'" Lee, who had served as editor-in-chief and art director of Marvel Comics and its predecessor companies,

Timely Comics Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...

and Atlas Comics, for two decades, found that the medium had become creatively restrictive. Determined "to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books", Lee concluded that, "For just this once, I would do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading.... And the characters would be the kind of characters I could personally relate to: they'd be flesh and blood, they'd have their faults and foibles, they'd be fallible and feisty, and — most important of all — inside their colorful, costumed booties they'd still have feet of clay." Lee provided one of his earliest recorded comments on the creation of the Fantastic Four for a fanzine in 1968, during which time Jack Kirby was also working at Marvel (Kirby himself is interviewed separately in the same publication). When asked who conceived the team, him or Kirby, Lee responded "Both – 'twas mainly my idea, but Jack created characters visually". In the 1974 book Origins of Marvel Comics Lee described the creative process in more detail, stating that he developed the basic characters as well as a story synopsis for the first issue

penciller A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

to follow. Lee noted the involvement of both Kirby and Publisher Martin Goodman prior to preparing his synopsis: "After kicking it around with Martin and Jack for a while I decided to call our quaint quartet the Fantastic Four. I wrote a detailed first synopsis for Jack to follow and the rest is history." Kirby turned in his penciled art pages to Lee, who added dialogue and captions. This approach to creating comics, which became known as the " Marvel Method", worked so well that Lee and Kirby used it from then on, and the Marvel Method became standard for the company within a year. Kirby recalled events somewhat differently. In a 1970 Fanzine interview he confirmed Lee's involvement in the creation of the Fantastic Four but took credit for the main characters and ideas, stating "It was my idea. It was my idea to do it the way it was; my idea to develop it the way it was. I'm not saying Stan had nothing to do with it. Of course he did. We talked things out." Years later, when specifically challenged with Lee's version of events in a 1990 interview, Kirby responded: "I would say that's an outright lie", Reprinted in although the interviewer,

Gary Groth Gary Groth (born September 18, 1954) is an American comic book editor, publisher and critic. He is editor-in-chief of ''The Comics Journal'', a co-founder of Fantagraphics Books, and founder of the Harvey Awards. Early life Groth is the son of ...

, notes that this statement needs to be viewed with caution.Groth explains in his 2002 introduction to the interview that Kirby's state of mind needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating certain statements within the interview. Kirby was involved in an acrimonious dispute with Marvel Comics regarding the return of his artwork, and his relationship with Lee had deteriorated, in part due to this dispute but also due to Lee's public statements through the years, which Kirby saw as diminishing his role. Groth states: "Lee's contribution is a matter for endless speculation, but most observers and historians consider Kirby's claims here to be excessive." Kirby claims he came up with the idea for the Fantastic Four in Marvel's offices, and that Lee merely added the dialogue after the story was pencilled. Kirby also sought to establish, more credibly and on numerous occasions, that the visual elements of the strip were his conceptions. He regularly pointed to a team he created for rival publisher DC Comics in the 1950s, the

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

. " you notice the uniforms, they're the same... I always give them a skintight uniform with a belt... the Challengers and the FF have a minimum of decoration. And of course, the Thing's skin is a kind of decoration, breaking up the monotony of the blue uniform." It is important to note, however, that the Fantastic Four wore civilian garb instead of uniforms, which were only introduced (along with the Baxter Building Headquarters) in the third issue of the series following readership feedback. The original submitted design was also modified to include the iconic chest insignia of a "4" within a circle that was designed by Lee. Given the conflicting statements, outside commentators have found it hard to ascertain who created the Fantastic Four. A typed synopsis by Lee for the introductory segment of the first Fantastic Four issue exists and outlines the characters and their origins, with various minor differences to the published version. However Earl Wells, writing in ''The Comics Journal'', points out that its existence does not assert its place in the creation: " have no way of knowing of whether Lee wrote the synopsis after a discussion with Kirby in which Kirby supplied most of the ideas". Reprinted in George, ''The Comics Journal Library''. It is also notable that the Fantastic Four's first adventure in 1961 depicts a team of four adventurers (three men and a woman) led by a Professor travelling to the Earth’s centre and encountering giant monsters while contending with a human protagonist who is also from the surface world. Although neither Lee nor Kirby ever mentioned the 1959 film ''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...

'' as a direct inspiration, publisher Martin Goodman was well known for following popular entertainment trends to attract sales in his comics line. Comics historian

R. C. Harvey Robert C. Harvey (May 31, 1937 – July 7, 2022) was an American author, critic and cartoonist. He wrote a number of books on the history and theory of cartooning, with special focus on the comic strip. He also worked as a freelance cartoonist. ...

believes the Fantastic Four was a continuation of the work Kirby previously did, and so "more likely Kirby's creations than Lee's". Reprinted in George, ''The Comics Journal Library''. But Harvey notes that the Marvel Method of collaboration allowed each man to claim credit, and that Lee's dialogue added to the direction the team took. Wells argues that Lee's contributions set the framework within which Kirby worked, and this made Lee "more responsible". Comics historian Mark Evanier, a studio assistant to Jack Kirby in the 1970s, says that the considered opinion of Lee and Kirby's contemporaries was "that ''Fantastic Four'' was created by Stan and Jack. No further division of credit seemed appropriate."

1961–1970s

The release of '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 (Nov. 1961) was an unexpected success. Lee had felt ready to leave the comics field at the time, but the positive response to ''Fantastic Four'' persuaded him to stay on. The title began to receive fan mail and Lee started printing the letters in a letter column with issue #3. Also with the third issue, Lee created the hyperbolic slogan "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!!" With the following issue, the slogan was changed to "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" and became a fixture on the issue covers into the 1990s, and on numerous covers in the 2000s. Issue #4 (May 1962) reintroduced

Namor the Sub-Mariner Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc ...

, an aquatic

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

who was a star character of Marvel's earliest iteration,

, during the late 1930s and 1940s period that historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comics. Issue #5 (July 1962) introduced the team's most frequent nemesis, Doctor Doom. These earliest issues were published bimonthly. With issue #16 (July 1963), the cover title dropped its ''The'' and became simply ''Fantastic Four''. While the early stories were complete narratives, the frequent appearances of these two antagonists, Doom and Namor, in subsequent issues indicated the creation of a long narrative by Lee and Kirby that extended over months. According to comics historian

Les Daniels Leslie Noel Daniels III, better known as Les Daniels (October 27, 1943 – November 5, 2011), was an American writer. Background Daniels attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he wrote his master's thesis on ''Frankenstei ...

, "only narratives that ran to several issues would be able to contain their increasingly complex ideas". During its creators' lengthy run, the series produced many acclaimed storylines and characters that have become central to Marvel, including the hidden race of alien-human genetic experiments, the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...

;DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 111: "The Inhumans, a lost race that diverged from humankind 25,000 years ago and became genetically enhanced." the Black Panther, an African king who would be mainstream comics' first black superhero; the rival alien races the

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are a fictional scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic Cl ...

and the shapeshifting

s;DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 84: "The second issue of the increasingly popular ''The Fantastic Four'' introduced the shapeshifting Skrulls, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...Like the 1956 sci-fi mmovie ''The Invasion of the Body-Snatchers'', Lee and Kirby tapped into a fear that gripped the U.S. at this time: the fear that Russian spies were infiltrating society." Him, who would become

Adam Warlock Adam Warlock (also known as simply Warlock) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character would first appear in ''Fantastic Four'' #66–67 (cover-dates September 1967 and October 1967) cr ...

; the

and unstable molecules. The story frequently cited as Lee and Kirby's finest achievement is the three-part " Galactus Trilogy" that began in ''Fantastic Four'' #48 (March 1966), chronicling the arrival of Galactus, a cosmic giant who wanted to devour the planet, and his herald, the

. ''Fantastic Four'' #48 was chosen as #24 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that, "As the fourth year of the Fantastic Four came to a close, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to be only warming up. In retrospect, it was perhaps the most fertile period of any monthly title during the Marvel Age." Daniels noted that " e mystical and metaphysical elements that took over the saga were perfectly suited to the tastes of young readers in the 1960s", and Lee soon discovered that the story was a favorite on college campuses. The ''Fantastic Four Annual'' was used to spotlight several key events. The Sub-Mariner was crowned king of

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...

in the first annual (1963). The following year's annual revealed the origin story of Doctor Doom. ''Fantastic Four Annual'' #3 (1965) presented the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Lee and Kirby reintroduced the original Human Torch in ''Fantastic Four Annual'' #4 (1966) and had him battle Johnny Storm. Sue Richards' pregnancy was announced in ''Fantastic Four Annual'' #5 (1967), and the Richards' son, Franklin Richards was born in ''Fantastic Four Annual'' #6 (1968)DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 133: "November

968 Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (th ...

saw the birth of Franklin Richards, the son of Reed and Sue." in a story which introduced

as well.DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 133: "Annihilus first encountered humanity when Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, and the Thing entered the Negative Zone in search of anti-matter particles." Marvel filed for a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

for "Fantastic Four" in 1967 and the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

issued the registration in 1970. Kirby left Marvel in mid-1970, having drawn the first 102 issues plus an unfinished issue, partially published in ''Fantastic Four'' #108, with alterations, and later completed and published as ''Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure'' (April 2008), ''Fantastic Four'' continued with Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's ''The New Te ...

as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists such as

John Romita Sr. John V. Romita (; born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and for co-creating characters including the Punisher and Wolverine. He was inducted into the Will Eis ...

, John Buscema,

Rich Buckler Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

and

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four'' and '' The Avengers'' for Marvel Comics. In the 198 ...

, with longtime inker

Joe Sinnott Joseph Leonard Sinnott (; October 16, 1926 June 25, 2020) was an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' '' Fantastic Four'', from 1965 to 1981 (and briefly in the l ...

adding some visual continuity. Jim Steranko also contributed some covers during this time. A short-lived series starring the team, ''Giant-Size Super-Stars'', began in May 1974 and changed its title to ''Giant-Size Fantastic Four'' with issue #2. The fourth issue introduced

Jamie Madrox James Arthur Madrox, also called the Multiple Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Len Wein, he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Giant-Size Fantastic F ...

, a character who later became part of the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...

. ''Giant-Size Fantastic Four'' was canceled with issue #6 (Oct. 1975). Roy Thomas and George Pérez crafted a metafictional story for ''Fantastic Four'' #176 (Nov. 1976) in which the

Impossible Man The Impossible Man is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #11 (February 1963), and was created by writer Stan Lee and writer/artist Jack Kirby. The Impossible ...

visited the offices of Marvel Comics and met numerous comics creators. Marv Wolfman and

Keith Pollard Keith Pollard (; born January 20, 1950) is an American comic book artist. Originally from the Detroit area, Pollard is best known for his simultaneous work on the Marvel Comics titles ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Fantastic Four'', and ''Thor'' i ...

crafted a multi-issue storyline involving the son of Doctor Doom which culminated in issue #200 (Nov. 1978). John Byrne joined the title with issue #209 (Aug. 1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish. He and Wolfman introduced a new herald for Galactus named

Terrax the Tamer Terrax the Tamer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist John Byrne and writer Marv Wolfman, the character first appeared in October 1979 as a herald of cosmic entity Galactus a ...

in #211 (Oct. 1979).

1980s and 1990s

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: ''Micronauts'' and ''Ro ...

briefly followed Wolfman as writer of the series and wrote a crossover with '' Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #42 (May 1980). Byrne wrote and drew a giant-sized Fantastic Four promotional comic for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

, which was rejected by Coca-Cola as being too violent and published as ''Fantastic Four'' #220–221 (July–Aug. 1980) instead. Writer

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, '' Electric Warrior'' and '' Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critica ...

and penciller

Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and '' Elektra: Assassin''. Sienkiewicz's work in the 1980 ...

then took over for 10 issues. With issue #232 (July 1981), the aptly titled "Back to the Basics", Byrne began his run as writer, penciller and inker, the last under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Bjorn Heyn for this issue only. Byrne revitalized the slumping title with his run. Byrne was slated to write with Sienkiewicz providing the art however, Sienkiewicz left to do '' Moon Knight'', and Byrne subsequently became writer, artist, and inker. Various editors were assigned to the comic; eventually

Bob Budiansky Bob Budiansky (; born March 15, 1954) is an American comic book writer, editor, and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel's '' Transformers'' comic. He also created the Marvel character Sleepwalker and wrote all 33 issues of that comic. ...

became the regular editor. Byrne told

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...

that he could not work with Budiansky, although they ultimately continued to work together. In 2006, Byrne said "that's my paranoia. I look back and I think that was Shooter trying to force me off the book". Byrne left following issue #293 (Aug. 1986) in the middle of a story arc, explaining he could not recapture the fun he had previously had on the series. One of Byrne's changes was making the Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman: assertive and confident. During this period, fans came to recognize that she was quite powerful, whereas previously, she had been primarily seen as a superpowered mother and wife in the tradition of television moms like those played by

Donna Reed Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in ...

and

Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson also appeare ...

. Byrne staked new directions in the characters' personal lives, having the married Sue Storm and Reed Richards suffer a miscarriage and the Thing quitting the Fantastic Four, with She-Hulk being recruited as his long-term replacement. He also re-emphasized the family dynamic which he felt the series had drifted away from after the Lee/Kirby run, commenting that, "''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

''—and not ''

dysfunctional family A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often child neglect or abuse and sometimes even all of the above on the part of individual parents occur continuously and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such ...

''—is the central, key element to the FF. It is an absolutely vital dynamic between the characters." mphases in originalref name="Back38"/> Byrne was followed by a quick succession of writers:

Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' (''Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfor ...

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', and ''Fantastic Four''. Career While in college, DeFalco "wrote fo ...

, and Roy Thomas.

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early lif ...

took over as writer for issues 304–332 (except #320). The title had been struggling, so Englehart decided to make radical changes. He felt the title had become stale with the normal makeup of Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, so in issue #308 Reed and Sue retired and were replaced with the Thing's new girlfriend,

Sharon Ventura Sharon Ventura, also known as She-Thing, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has used the pseudonym Ms. Marvel and has served as a member of the Fantastic Four and the female wrestlers known ...

, and Johnny Storm's former love, Crystal. The changes increased readership through issue #321. At this point, Marvel made decisions about another Englehart comic, ''

West Coast Avengers The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''The West Coast Avengers'' #1 (Sept. 1984), created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall. It was the fi ...

'', that he disagreed with, and in protest he changed his byline to S.F.X. Englehart (S.F.X. is the abbreviation for Simple Sound Effects). In issue #326, Englehart was told to bring Reed and Sue back and undo the other changes he had made. This caused Englehart to take his name entirely off the book. He used the pseudonym John Harkness, which he had created years before for work he didn't want to be associated with. According to Englehart, the run from #326 through his last issue, #332, was "one of the most painful stretches of iscareer." Writer-artist

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...

took over as writer with #334 (December 1989), and three issues later began pencilling and

inking Inking may refer to: *Inking (attack), act of throwing ink on other person *Inking, a defensive activity of certain cephalopods and sea hares * Inking (comic book production) *Pen computing Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using ...

as well. With brief inking exceptions, two fill-in issues, and a three-issue stint drawn by Arthur Adams,Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 252: "Spider-Man, the Hulk, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider were tricked into forming a new Fantastic Four...Written by Walter Simonson with art by Arthur Adams, this new FF found themselves locked in battle with the Mole Man." Simonson remained in all three positions through #354 (July 1991). Simonson, who had been writing the team comic '' The Avengers'', had gotten approval for Reed and Sue to join that team after Engelhart had written them out of ''Fantastic Four''. Yet by ''The Avengers'' #300, where they were scheduled to join the team, Simonson was told the characters were returning to ''Fantastic Four''. This led to Simonson quitting ''The Avengers'' after that issue. Shortly afterward, he was offered the job of writing ''Fantastic Four''. Having already prepared a number of stories involving the Avengers with Reed and Sue in the lineup, he then rewrote these for ''Fantastic Four''. Simonson later recalled that working on ''Fantastic Four'' allowed him the latitude to use original Avengers members

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

and Iron Man, which he had been precluded from using in ''The Avengers''. After another fill-in, the regular team of writer and Marvel editor-in-chief

, penciller Paul Ryan and inker Dan Bulanadi took over, with Ryan self-inking beginning with #360 (Jan. 1992). That team, with the very occasional different inker, continued for years through #414 (July 1996). DeFalco nullified the Storm-Masters marriage by retconning that the alien Skrull Empire had kidnapped the real Masters and replaced her with a spy named Lyja. Once discovered, Lyja, who herself had fallen for Storm, helped the Fantastic Four rescue Masters. Ventura departed after being further mutated by Doctor Doom. Although some fans were not pleased with DeFalco's run on ''Fantastic Four'', calling him "The Great Satan", the title's sales rose steadily over the period. Other key developments included Franklin Richards being sent into the future and returning as a teenager; the return of Reed's time-traveling father, Nathaniel, who is revealed to be the father of time-travelling villain

Kang the Conqueror Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is most frequently depicted as an opponent of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. A time-traveling entity, sev ...

and Reed's apparent death at the hands of a seemingly mortally wounded Doctor Doom. It would be two years before DeFalco resurrected the two characters, revealing that their "deaths" were orchestrated by the supervillain Hyperstorm. The ongoing series was canceled with issue #416 (Sept. 1996) and relaunched with vol. 2 #1 (Nov. 1996) as part of the multi-series " Heroes Reborn"

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

story arc. The yearlong volume retold the team's first adventures in a more contemporary style, and set in a parallel universe. Following the end of that experiment, ''Fantastic Four'' was relaunched with vol. 3 #1 (Jan. 1998). Initially by the team of writer

Scott Lobdell Scott Lobdell (; born 1960) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous ''X-Men'' series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely '' Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Tita ...

and penciller Alan Davis, it went after three issues to writer Chris Claremont (co-writing with Lobdell for #4–5) and penciller

Salvador Larroca Salvador Larroca () is a Spanish comic book artist, primarily known for his American work on various ''X-Men'' titles for Marvel Comics. Career After several years of working as a cartographer, he began working as a comic artist at Marvel UK, th ...

; this team enjoyed a long run through issue #32 (Aug. 2000).

2000s

Following the run of Claremont, Lobdell and Larroca,

Carlos Pacheco Carlos Pacheco Perujo (14 November 1961 – 9 November 2022) was a Spanish comics penciller. After breaking into the European market doing cover work for Planeta De Agostini, he gained recognition doing work for Marvel UK, the England-based bra ...

took over as penciller and co-writer, first with

Rafael Marín Rafael Marín Trechera (Cádiz, Spain, 1959) is a Spanish novelist, translator, comic book writer and co-plotter. He is best known in the United States for his work with artist Carlos Pacheco on the ''Fantastic Four'' Vol.3 title in 2000 and 2001, ...

, then with Marín and

Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville'' and ''Lost'', writer for the films '' Commando'' and ''Teen Wolf'', and a writer and ...

. This series began using dual numbering, as if the original ''Fantastic Four'' series had continued unbroken, with issue #42 / #471 (June 2001). At the time, the Marvel Comics series begun in the 1960s, such as ''

'' and ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

'', were given such dual numbering on the front cover, with the present-day volume's numbering alongside the numbering from the original series. After issue #70 / #499 (Aug. 2003), the title reverted to its original vol. 1 numbering with issue #500 (Sept. 2003). Karl Kesel succeeded Loeb as co-writer with issue #51 / #480 (March 2002), and after a few issues with temporary teams, Mark Waid took over as writer with #60 / 489 (October 2002) with artist

Mike Wieringo Michael Lance Wieringo (June 24, 1963 – August 12, 2007), who sometimes signed his work under the name Ringo, was an Americans, American comics artist best known for his work on DC Comics' ''The Flash (comic book), The Flash'', Marvel Comics' '' ...

with Marvel releasing a promotional variant edition of their otherwise $2.25 debut issue at the price of nine cents US. Pencillers Mark Buckingham, Casey Jones, and Howard Porter variously contributed through issue #524 (May 2005), with a handful of issues by other teams also during this time. Writer J. Michael Straczynski and penciller

Mike McKone Michael McKone is a British comic book artist. Career McKone's first published works for the major companies included ''Justice League of America'' and ''Justice League International'' for DC Comics and ''The Punisher War Zone'' for Marvel Com ...

did issues #527–541 (July 2005 – Nov. 2006), with

Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series '' Static Shock'', '' Damage Control'', ''Justice League Unlimited'' and '' Ben ...

taking over as writer the following issue, and

Paul Pelletier Paul Pelletier is an American comic book penciller. Career Pelletier began working as a professional comic artist in the late 1980s. His first work appeared in Cosmic Steller Rebellers (hammac publications) and Wayward Warrior (Hammac Publica ...

succeeding McKone beginning with #544 (May 2007). As a result of the events of the "

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

" company-crossover storyline, the Black Panther and

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

temporarily replaced Reed and Susan Richards on the team. During that period, the Fantastic Four also appeared in ''Black Panther'', written by Reginald Hudlin and pencilled primarily by Francis Portela. Beginning with issue #554 (April 2008), writer Mark Millar and penciller

Bryan Hitch Bryan Hitch (born 22 April 1970) is a British comics artist and writer. Hitch began his career in the United Kingdom for Marvel UK, working on titles such as ''Action Force'' and ''Death's Head'', before gaining prominence on American titles ...

began what Marvel announced as a sixteen-issue run. Following the summer 2008 crossover storyline, "

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...

", and the 2009 aftermath " Dark Reign", chronicling the U.S. government's assigning of the Nation's security functions to the seemingly reformed supervillain

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July ...

, the Fantastic Four starred in a five-issue miniseries, ''Dark Reign: Fantastic Four'' (May–Sept. 2009), written by

Jonathan Hickman Jonathan Hickman (born September 3, 1972) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Nightly News'', ''The Manhattan Projects'' and ''East of West'', as well as his lengthy stints as a writer on M ...

, with art by Sean Chen. Hickman took over as the series regular writer as of issue #570 with Dale Eaglesham and later Steve Epting on art.

2010s

In the storyline "Three", which concluded in ''Fantastic Four'' #587 ( cover date March 2011, published January 26, 2011), the

appears to die stopping a horde of monsters from the other-dimensional

. The series ended with the following issue, #588, and relaunched in March 2011 as simply ''FF''. The relaunch saw the team assume a new name, the Future Foundation, adopt new black-and-white costumes, and accept longtime ally Spider-Man as a member. In October 2011, with the publication of ''FF'' #11 (cover-dated Dec. 2011), the ''Fantastic Four'' series reached its 599th issue. In November 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four and of Marvel Comics, the company published the 100-page ''Fantastic Four'' #600 (cover-dated Jan. 2012), which returned the title to its original numbering and featured the return of the Human Torch. It revealed the fate of the character of Johnny Storm after issue #587, showing that while he did in fact die, he was resurrected to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of Annihilus. Storm later formed a resistance force called Light Brigade and defeated Annihilus. Although it was launched as a continuation of the ''Fantastic Four'' title, ''FF'' continues publication as a separate series. Starting with issue #12, the title focuses upon the youthful members of the Future Foundation, including Franklin and Valeria Richards. In the graphic novel ''Fantastic Four: Season One'', the Fantastic Four is given an updated origin story set in the present day instead of the 1960s. The hardcover compilation debuted at number four on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for graphic novels. As part of

Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including '' U ...

''Fantastic Four'' ended with #611, ending Jonathan Hickman's long run on ''FF'' titles, and the title was relaunched in November 2012 with the creative team of writer Matt Fraction and artist

Mark Bagley Mark Bagley (; born August 7, 1957) is an American comics artist. He has worked for Marvel Comics on such titles as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thunderbolts'', ''New Warriors'', ''Venom'' and '' Ultimate Spider-Man'' and for DC Comics on ''Justic ...

. In the new title with its numbering starting at #1, the entire Fantastic Four family explore space together, with the hidden intent for Reed Richards to discover why his powers are fading. Writer James Robinson and artist

Leonard Kirk Leonard Kirk is an American-born comic book artist living in Canada. He has worked on such properties as ''Supergirl'', '' JSA'', ''Star Trek'', '' Batman'', and ''Witchblade''. Currently Kirk is exclusively signed for Marvel Comics.Richards, Dav ...

launched a new ''Fantastic Four'' series in February 2014 ( cover dated April 2014). Robinson later confirmed that ''Fantastic Four'' would be cancelled in 2015 with issue #645, saying that "The book is reverting to its original numbers, and the book is going away for a while. I'm moving towards the end of ''Fantastic Four''. I just want to reassure people that you will not leave this book with a bad taste in your mouth." In the aftermath of the "

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...

" storyline, the Thing is working with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Human Torch is acting as an ambassador with the Inhumans. With Franklin's powers restored and Reed having absorbed the power of the Beyonders from Doom, the Richards family is working on travelling through and reconstructing the multiverse, but Peter Parker has purchased the Baxter Building to keep it "safe" until the team is ready to come back together. A new volume for the Fantastic Four was released in August 2018, written by

Dan Slott Dan Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as ''She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer'', '' The Superior Spider-Man'', '' Tony Stark: Iron Man'', ''Th ...

, as part of Marvel's Fresh Start event. The first issue of the new series was met with strong sales, and a positive critical reaction. When the Future Foundation is threatened by the Griever at the End of All Things, Mister Fantastic plays on her ego to convince her to provide him with equipment that will allow him to summon his teammates. When Human Torch and Thing are reunited with Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, the other superheroes that were part of the Fantastic Four at some point in their lives also arrived, including, unexpectedly,

's Iceman. With the gathered heroes assisted the Fantastic Four into causing so much damage to the Griever's equipment, she is forced to retreat in her final telepod or be trapped in that universe. This left the heroes to salvage components from the broken ship to create their own teleport system to return to their universe. The Fantastic Four and their extended family returned to Earth where they find that

Liberteens The Liberty Legion is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was first created in 1976 and set during World War II. Composed of existing heroes from Marvel's 1940s Golden Age of Comic Bo ...

members Ms. America, 2-D, Hope, and Iceberg have come together as the Fantastix with Ms. America taking the codename of Ms. Fantastix. Following the staged bank robbery that the Wrecking Crew committed and their involvement of being hired to humiliate the Fantastix in public, the Fantastic Four gave the Fantastix their blessing to continue using the Baxter Building while the FF operate in a house on Yancy Street with a dimensionally-transcendental interior.''Fantastic Four'' Vol. 6 #4. Marvel Comics. In the storyline ''Point of Origin'', the Fantastic Four entrust Alicia, H.E.R.B.I.E., Franklin and Valeria to protect Earth while they begin their mission to learn a further origin of the cosmic radiation that granted them their powers in the first place, piloting a new space ship called Marvel-2. While in the middle of a space adventure to find the origin, the Fantastic Four are attacked by a group who believed themselves to be the superheroes of Planet Spyre, the Unparalleled. Reed and Sue are separated from the Thing, Human Torch is revealed to be the soulmate of the Unparalleled member named Sky, and they learn that the Unparalleled's leader and the Overseer of Planet Spyre, Revos, was responsible for the cosmic rays that struck the team on their original trip, as he wanted to stop them coming to his planet. Revos subsequently mutated his people to "prepare for their return" before trying to eradicate the mutates who are unable to retain their original forms in the same manner as the Thing, accusing the mutates of being "villains and imperfects"; as a result, through his own paranoia and xenophobia, the Overseer himself is responsible for the fateful creation of the Fantastic Four and mutated his entire race to face a non-existent threat. Revos challenges Mr. Fantastic to a fight over their differences, until it is settled and they finally made peace. As the Fantastic Four are about to depart Spyre after helping its citizens clean up the Planet (as well as Reed providing the mutates with a variation of the temporary 'cure' he has created for Ben), Skye join them to learn about Earth and every unseen galaxy. When the incoming Kree-Skrull

Empyre "Empyre" is a 2020 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. This storyline follows the events of ''Incoming!''. It was published in July of 2020. Premise The Avengers, the Fantastic Four and various other heroes of the Marvel univers ...

occur at the same time as teen heroes are being

outlawed An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

, the original Fantastic Four went to space with Avengers to stop this Empyre, leaving Franklin and Valeria being backed by Spider-Man and Wolverine to defend Earth.

2020s

In August 2022, Marvel announced that writer

Ryan North Ryan North (born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian writer and computer programmer. He is the creator and author of '' Dinosaur Comics'', and has written for the comic series of ''Adventure Time'' and Marvel Comics' ''The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl''. ...

and artist Iban Coello would launch a new volume of Fantastic Four in November of that year after Slott had concluded his run on the title with issue #46.

Spin-offs

Ancillary titles and features spin off from the flagship series include the 1970s quarterly ''Giant-Size Fantastic Four'' and the 1990s ''Fantastic Four Unlimited'' and ''Fantastic Four Unplugged''; '' Fantastic Force'', an 18-issue spinoff (November 1994 – April 1996) featuring an adult Franklin Richards, from a different timeline, as Psi-Lord. A 12-issue series ''Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine'' ran in 2001, paying homage to Stan Lee and

's legendary run. A spinoff title ''

Marvel Knights 4 ''Marvel Knights 4'' is the name of a comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero team, the Fantastic Four. The series was launched as part of the company's Marvel Knights imprint, and ran for 30 issues (Apr. 2004 – Aug. 2006). All ...

'' (April 2004 – August 2006) was written by

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (born 1973) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series '' Glee'', '' Big Love'', '' Riverdale'', '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' ...

and initially illustrated by Steve McNiven in his first Marvel work. There have also been numerous limited series featuring the group. In 1996, Marvel launched the series '' Fantastic Four 2099,'' part of the company's

Marvel 2099 Marvel 2099 is a Marvel Comics imprint, started in 1992, that was originally one possible future of the Marvel Universe, but later revealed in a climax of ''Superior Spider-Man Goblin Nation arc'' and ''Amazing Spider-Man'' Vol. 3 #14 to be the ...

imprint which explored an alternate future of the Marvel Universe. The four protagonists inexplicably find themselves in 2099, with the world believing them to be clones of the original members of the Fantastic Four. The series ran for 8 issues (Jan. – Aug. 1996), serving as a companion to ''

Doom 2099 Doom 2099 (Victor Von Doom) is a fictional anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was primarily featured in the Marvel 2099 series ''Doom 2099''. The character is based on Doctor Doom, created by St ...

''—an original Marvel 2099 title featuring an individual claiming to be the original Victor von Doom. In 2004, Marvel launched '' Ultimate Fantastic Four''. As part of the company's

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters ...

imprint, the series re-imagined the team as teenagers. It ran for 60 issues (Feb. 2004 – Feb. 2009). In 2008, they also launched ''Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four'', an out-of-continuity series aimed at younger readers. Although it was launched by Marvel as a continuation of the Fantastic Four title in 2011, '' FF'' continued publication as a separate series after the regular series resumed in 2012. From issues #12, the title focused on the youthful members of the Future Foundation, including Franklin and Valeria Richards. A second volume was launched as part of

by Matt Fraction and

Mike Allred Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer most famous for his independent comics creations, ''Madman'' and ''iZombie''. His style is often compared to pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s ...

depicting a substitute Fantastic Four team starring Scott Lang,

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

, She-Hulk and Ms. Thing.

Solo series

The Human Torch solo

The Human Torch was given a solo strip in ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science ...

'' in 1962 to bolster the title's sales. The series began in ''

'' #101 (October 1962), in 12- to 14-page stories plotted by Lee and initially scripted by his brother

Larry Lieber Lawrence D. Lieber (; born October 26, 1931) (Scroll down) is an American comic book artist and writer best known as co-creator of the Marvel Comics superheroes Iron Man, Thor, and Ant-Man; for his long stint both writing and drawing the Marvel ...

, and drawn by penciller Kirby and inker

Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on s ...

. Here, Johnny was seen living with his older sister, Susan, in fictional Glenview, Long Island, New York, where he continued

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and, with youthful naiveté, attempted to maintain a "secret identity". In ''Strange Tales'' #106 (March 1963), Johnny discovered that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity all along from Fantastic Four news reports, but were humoring him. Supporting characters included Johnny's girlfriend, Doris Evans, usually in consternation as Johnny cheerfully flew off to battle bad guys. She was seen again in a 1973 issue of ''Fantastic Four'', having become a heavyset but cheerful wife and mother. Ayers took over the penciling after ten issues, later followed by original Golden Age Human Torch creator Carl Burgos and others. The Fantastic Four made occasional cameo appearances, and the Thing became a co-star with issue #123 (Aug. 1964). The Human Torch shared the split book ''

'' with fellow feature Doctor Strange for the majority of its run, before being replaced in issue #135 (August 1965) by Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Silver Age stories were republished in 1974, along with some Golden Age Human Torch stories, in a short-lived ongoing ''Human Torch'' series. A later ongoing solo series in Marvel's manga-influenced

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

imprint, ''Human Torch'', ran 12 issues (June 2003 – June 2004), by writer Karl Kesel and penciler Skottie Young. The series was followed by the five-issue limited series ''Spider-Man/Human Torch'' (March–July 2005), an untold tales

team-up In superhero comic books, a team-up is a fictional crossover where two or more superheroes or superhero teams who usually do not appear together work together on a shared goal. Overview The first team-up between characters published in different c ...

arc spanning the course of their friendship.

The Thing solo

The Thing appeared in two team-up issues of ''

Marvel Feature ''Marvel Feature'' was a comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. It was a tryout book, intended to test the popularity of characters and concepts being considered for their own series. The first volume led to the launc ...

'' (#11–12, September–November 1973). Following their success, he was given his own regular team-up title '' Marvel Two-in-One'', co-starring with Marvel heroes not only in the present day but occasionally in other time periods (fighting alongside the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

-era Liberty Legion in #20 and the 1930s hero

Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...

in #21, for example) and in alternate realities. The series ran 100 issues (January 1974 – June 1983), with seven summer annuals (1976–1982) and was immediately followed by the solo title ''The Thing'' #1–36 (July 1983 – June 1986). Another ongoing solo series, also titled ''The Thing'', ran eight issues (January–August 2006). A six issue miniseries written by Walter Mosely, entitled ''The Thing'', was released in November 2021.

Invisible Woman solo

In April 2019, Marvel Comics announced that it would publish ''Invisible Woman'', a five-issue miniseries written by Mark Waid and drawn by artist Mattia De Lulis. This was Sue Storm's first solo title. Adam Hughes drew the cover for all five issues.

Characters

The Fantastic Four is formed after four civilian astronauts are exposed to cosmic rays during an unauthorized

outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

test flight in an experimental

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

ship designed by Dr. Reed Richards. Pilot Ben Grimm and crew-members Susan Storm and her brother Johnny Storm survive an emergency crash-landing in a field on Earth. Upon exiting the rocket, the four discover they have developed incredible superpowers and decide to use these powers to help others. In the first issue the crew talks about Reed Richards' rocketship flying to the stars. Stan Lee's original synopsis described the crew's plan to fly to Mars, but Lee later shortly afterward wrote that due to "the rate the Communists are progressing in space, maybe we better make this a flight to the STARS, instead of just to Mars, because by the time this mag goes on sale, the Russians may have already MADE a flight to Mars!" In a significant departure from preceding superhero conventions, the Fantastic Four make no effort to maintain secret identities or, until issue #3, to wear superhero costumes, instead maintaining a public profile and enjoying celebrity status for scientific and heroic contributions to society. At the same time, they are often prone to arguing and even fighting with one another. Despite their bickering, the Fantastic Four consistently prove themselves to be "a cohesive and formidable team in times of crisis." While there have been a number of lineup changes to the group, the four characters who debuted in ''Fantastic Four'' #1 remain the core and most frequent lineup. They consist of: *

(Reed Richards) - A scientific genius, can stretch, twist and re-shape his body to inhuman proportions. Mr. Fantastic serves as the father figure of the group, and is "appropriately pragmatic, authoritative, and dull". Richards blames himself for the failed space mission, particularly because of how the event transformed pilot Ben Grimm. Stan Lee said the stretch powers were inspired by DC's

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Cole, Plastic Man was one of the fi ...

, which had no equivalent in Marvel. * Invisible Girl/Invisible Woman (Susan Storm) - Reed Richards' girlfriend (and eventual wife) has the ability to bend and manipulate light to render herself and others invisible. Stan Lee did not want Sue to have superstrength, "to be

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

and punch people", so eventually he came to invisibility, inspired by works such as ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...

''. She later develops the ability to generate invisible force fields, which she uses for a variety of defensive and offensive effects. *

(Johnny Storm) - Sue Storm's younger brother, possesses the ability to control fire, allowing him to project fire from his body, as well as the power to fly. This character was loosely based on a

character published by Marvel's predecessor

in the 1940s, an android that could ignite itself. Lee said that when he conceptualized the character, "I thought it was a shame that we didn't have The Human Torch anymore, and this was a good chance to bring him back". Unlike the teen sidekicks that preceded him, the Human Torch in the early stories was "a typical adolescent — brash, rebellious, and affectionately obnoxious." Johnny Storm was killed in the 2011 storyline "Three", before being brought back and rejoining the reformed Fantastic Four. *

(Ben Grimm) - Reed Richards' college roommate and best friend, has been transformed into a monstrous, orange, rock-like humanoid possessing high levels of superhuman strength and durability. The Thing is often filled with anger, self-loathing and self-pity over his new existence. He serves as "an uncle figure, a long-term friend of the family with a gruff

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

manner, short temper, and caustic sense of humor". In the original synopsis Lee gave to Kirby, The Thing was intended as "the heavy", but over the years, the character has become "the most lovable group member: honest, direct and free of pretension". Lee said his original pitch to Kirby stated that The Thing was "someone who turned into a monster" and is bitter because unlike the other three he cannot change back to a normal appearance. The Fantastic Four has had several headquarters, most notably the

Baxter Building The Baxter Building is a fictitious 35-story office building appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The building is depicted in Manhattan, and its five upper floors house the Fantastic Four's headquarters. Publication hist ...

, located at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City. The Baxter Building was replaced by Four Freedoms Plaza at the same location after its destruction at the hands of Kristoff Vernard, adopted son of the team's seminal foe Doctor Doom (prior to the completion of Four Freedoms Plaza, the team took up temporary residence at Avengers Mansion). Pier 4, a waterfront warehouse, served as a temporary headquarters after Four Freedoms Plaza was destroyed by the ostensible superhero team the Thunderbolts shortly after the revelation that they were actually the supervillain team the

Masters of Evil The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in '' The Avengers'' #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. Publication ...

in disguise. Pier 4 was eventually destroyed during a battle with the longtime Fantastic Four supervillain Diablo, after which the team received a new Baxter Building, courtesy of one of team leader Reed Richards' former professors, Noah Baxter. This second Baxter Building was constructed in Earth's orbit and teleported into the vacant lot formerly occupied by the original. After their brief hiatus creating universes after the Secret Wars event, they took residence on 4 Yancy Street before moving back into the newly rebuilt Baxter Building.

Supporting characters

Allies and supporting characters

A number of characters are closely affiliated with the team, share complex personal histories with one or more of its members but have never actually held an official membership. Some of these characters include, but are not limited to:

(previously an antagonist), Alicia Masters, Lyja the Lazerfist, H.E.R.B.I.E., Kristoff Vernard ( Doctor Doom's former protégé), Wyatt Wingfoot, Sue and Johnny's father

Franklin Storm Franklin Storm is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of Susan Storm and Johnny Storm better known as Invisible Woman and Human Torch of the Fantastic Four respectively. Franklin ...

, the receptionist android

Roberta ''Roberta'' is a musical from 1933 with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel ''Gowns by Roberta'' by Alice Duer Miller. It features the songs " Yesterdays", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Let ...

, governess

Agatha Harkness Agatha Harkness is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a powerful witch, typically portrayed as a friend and teacher of Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, as well as the mother of Nicholas Scratc ...

, and Reed and Sue's children Franklin Richards and

Valeria Richards Valeria Meghan Richards, originally von Doom, is a fictional character of Marvel Comics, the daughter of Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) and the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm-Richards) and goddaughter of Doctor Victor von Doom. She is the young ...

. Several allies of the Fantastic Four have served as temporary members of the team, including

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...

, Power Man (Luke Cage), Nova (Frankie Raye), She-Hulk,

Ms. Marvel Ms. Marvel is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was originally conceived as a female counterpart to Captain Marvel. Like Captain Marvel, most of the bearers of the Ms. M ...

(Sharon Ventura), Ant-Man (Scott Lang),

Namorita Namorita Prentiss is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a mutant clone of her mother, Namora, and a member of the New Warriors. She was killed in the explosion in Stamford that started the Superhero ...

, and the Black Panther. A temporary lineup from ''Fantastic Four'' #347–349 (December 1990 – February 1991) consisted of the Hulk (in his "Joe Fixit" persona), Spider-Man,

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

, and

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

. Other notable characters who have been involved with the Fantastic Four include Alyssa Moy, Caledonia ( Alysande Stuart of Earth-9809), Fantastic Force, the

(particularly the royal family members

Black Bolt Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appears in ''Fantastic Four'' #45 (December 1965). Black Bolt is the ...

, Crystal, Medusa,

Gorgon A Gorgon ( /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. While descriptions of Gorgons vary, the te ...

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constr ...

, Triton, and Lockjaw), Reed's father Nathaniel Richards, the

(previously an antagonist), Thundra, postal worker Willie Lumpkin, Baxter Building landlord Walter Collins, the Thing's rivals the Yancy Street Gang and Uatu the Watcher. Author Christopher Knowles states that Kirby's work on creations such as the Inhumans and the Black Panther served as "a showcase of some of the most radical concepts in the history of the medium".

Antagonists

Writers and artists over many years have created a variety of characters to challenge the Fantastic Four. Knowles states that Kirby helped to create "an army of villains whose rage and destructive power had never been seen before," and "whose primary impulse is to smash the world." Some of the team's oldest and most frequent enemies have involved such foes as the

Mole Man The Mole Man (Harvey Rupert Elder) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Mole Man is a recurring foe of the Fantastic Four and was the first villain they ever faced. His schemes usually consist o ...

, the

, Doctor Doom, the Puppet Master, Kang the Conqueror/Rama-Tut/

Immortus Immortus (; Nathaniel Richards) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the future self of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, and Iron Lad / Kid Immortus, and a descend ...

, Blastaar, the

Frightful Four The Frightful Four are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They serve as the antithesis to the Fantastic Four. Publication history The Frightful Four first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' ...

, Galactus, and Klaw. Other prominent antagonists of the Fantastic Four have included the Wizard, the

, the Red Ghost and the Super-Apes, the

Mad Thinker Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ri ...

, the Super-Skrull, the Molecule Man, Diablo, Dragon Man, Psycho-Man,

Salem's Seven Salem's Seven is a fictional team of magical beings and former supervillains appearing in Marvel Comics. They were initially foes of the Scarlet Witch and the Fantastic Four, but became allies to both. All seven are the children of Nicholas Scr ...

Terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

, Hyperstorm, and Lucia von Bardas.

Fantastic Four Incorporated

Fantastic Four Incorporated, also known as Fantastic Enterprises,''Marvel Knights 4'' #28 is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by

. It was founded by Reed Richards to license use of Richard's patents and funded the Fantastic Four's operation and their source of income. Staff are: * Susan Richards (Invisible Woman)''Fantastic Four'' vol. 3 #61 - CEO of Fantastic Four Inc. * Johnny Storm (Human Torch) - made COO by Susan to give him some work ethic. *Christi Stoger''Fantastic Four'' vol. 3 #62 - with Ethan Crane, tried to frame Johnny Storm for a screw-up to get themselves promoted *Ethan Crane - with Christi Stoger, tried to frame Johnny Storm for a screw-up to get themselves promoted *Jian Feeta - Johnny's Personal Assistant *Bethany Palmer - assisted out of abusive relationship with ex-husband, Jeff, by the Invisible Woman *Jed Schultz - informed Reed about the embezzlement of their funds *Margaret Kofpulski

Cultural impact

The Fantastic Four's characterization was initially different from all other superheroes at the time. One major difference is that they do not conceal their identities, leading the public to be both suspicious and in awe of them. Also, they frequently argued and disagreed with each other, hindering their work as a team. Described as "heroes with hangups" by Stan Lee, the Thing has a temper, and the Human Torch resents being a child among adults. Mr. Fantastic blames himself for the Thing's transformation. Social scientist Bradford W. Wright describes the team as a "volatile mix of human emotions and personalities". In spite of their disagreements, they ultimately function well as a team. The first issue of ''The Fantastic Four'' proved a success, igniting a new direction for superhero comics and soon influencing many other superhero comics. Readers grew fond of Ben's grumpiness, Johnny's tendency to annoy others and Reed and Sue's spats. Stan Lee was surprised at the reaction to the first issue, leading him to stay in the comics field despite previous plans to leave. Comics historian Stephen Krensky said that "Lee's natural dialogue and flawed characters appealed to 1960s kids looking to 'get real'". As of 2005, 150 million comics featuring the Fantastic Four had been sold.

In other media

There have been four ''The Fantastic Four'' animated TV series and three released feature films. The Fantastic Four also guest-starred in the "Secret Wars" story arc of the 1990s ''Spider-Man'' animated series, and the Thing guest-starred (with a small cameo from the other Fantastic Four members) in the "Fantastic Fortitude" episode of the 1996 ''The Incredible Hulk'' series. The Fantastic Four also appeared in the 2010 series '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''. There was a short-lived radio show in 1975 that adapted early Lee/Kirby stories and is notable for casting a pre-''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

as the Human Torch. Also in the cast were Bob Maxwell as

Reed Richards Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and ...

, Cynthia Adler as Sue Storm, Jim Pappas as

Ben Grimm Benjamin Jacob Grimm, also known as The Thing, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. The Thing was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and ...

and Jerry Terheyden as Doctor Doom. Other Marvel characters featured in the series included

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in cost ...

, Prince Namor, Nick Fury and the Hulk. Stan Lee narrated the series and the scripts were taken almost verbatim from the comic books. The radio show was packaged into five-minute segments, with five segments comprising a complete adventure. The team appeared on the Power Records album ''Fantastic Four: "The Way It Began"'' book and record set, an audio dramatization of ''Fantastic Four'' #126.

Television

The Fantastic Four has been the subject of four animated television series. The first, '' Fantastic Four'', produced by Hanna-Barbera, ran 20 episodes on ABC from September 9, 1967 to September 21, 1968. The second '' Fantastic Four'' series, produced by DePatie-Freleng, ran 13 episodes from September 9, 1978, to December 16, 1978; this series features a H.E.R.B.I.E. Unit in place of the Human Torch. In 1979, the Thing was featured as half of the Saturday morning cartoon '' Fred and Barney Meet the Thing''. The character of the Thing received a radical make-over for the series. The title character for this program was Benjy Grimm, a teenage boy who possessed a pair of magic Thing-rings which could transform him into the Thing when he put them together and said "Thing-rings, do your thing!" The other members of the Fantastic Four do not appear in the series, nor do the animated ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'' stars

Fred Flintstone Fred Flintstone is the main character of the animated sitcom '' The Flintstones'', which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960 to 1966. Fred is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles Flintsto ...

and Barney Rubble, despite the title of the program. The third '' Fantastic Four'' was broadcast as part of '' The Marvel Action Hour'' umbrella, with introductions by Stan Lee. This series ran 26 episodes from September 24, 1994 to February 24, 1996. The fourth series, '' Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes'', debuted on September 2, 2006, on Cartoon Network and ran for 26 episodes. Different Fantastic Four members appear briefly and with little or no dialogue and are mentioned various times throughout the first season of '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''. The most expansive appearances are in the episode "The Private War of Doctor Doom", in which the Avengers team up with the Fantastic Four to battle the titular supervillain, and in the final episode of season two, in which the groups team up to battle Galactus. The Thing becomes a member of the New Avengers in episode 23 of season 2. The Fantastic Four appear in the children’s show ''

The Super Hero Squad Show ''The Super Hero Squad Show'' is an American superhero animated series produced by Marvel Animation. It is based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad action figure line from Hasbro, which portray the Avengers, the X-Men, and various other characters ...

'', such as the episode "If this Be My Thanos" and "Last Exit Before Doomsday!" The Fantastic Four appear in the '' Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.'' episode "Monster No More." The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. assist the Fantastic Four in thwarting the Tribbitite Invasion.

Film

A film adaptation of the characters, '' The Fantastic Four'', was completed in 1994 by producer

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

and starred Alex Hyde-White as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Rebecca Staab as Sue Storm-Richards/Invisible Woman,

Jay Underwood Jay Underwood (born October 1, 1968) is an American actor and pastor. Beginning a prolific career as a teen actor in the mid-1980s, he is perhaps best known for his starring feature film roles; portraying Eric Gibb in ''The Boy Who Could Fly'', ...

as Johnny Storm/Human Torch,

Michael Bailey Smith Michael Bailey Smith (born November 2, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his appearances on the television series ''Charmed'', where he played Belthazor, a Grimlock leader and Shax. Early life Smith was born in Alpena, Mich ...

as Ben Grimm and Carl Ciarfalio as The Thing and

Joseph Culp Joseph Culp (born January 9, 1963) is an American actor and director. He is the son of actor Robert Culp and his second wife Nancy Ashe. He received his acting training at HB Studio in New York City. Early life Joseph Culp was born on January 9, ...

as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom. The film was not released to theaters or on home video, but it has since been made available through bootleg video distributors. It was made because Constantin Film owned the film rights and would have lost them if it failed to begin production by a certain deadline, a tactic known as creating an

ashcan copy An ashcan comic is a form of the American comic book originally created solely to establish trademarks on potential titles and not intended for sale. The practice was common in the 1930s and 1940s when the comic book industry was in its infancy, ...

. According to producer Bernd Eichinger, Avi Arad had Marvel purchase the film for a few million dollars. In 2005, the second film adaptation, '' Fantastic Four'' directed by

Tim Story Timothy Kevin Story (born March 13, 1970) is an African American film director. He is best known for '' Barbershop'' (2002), the '' Fantastic Four'' (2005) and the ''Ride Along'' franchise. He has been nominated for two NAACP Image Awards for O ...

, was released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it earned US$155 million in North America and $330 million worldwide. The sequel, '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'', directed by Story and written by Don Payne, was released in 2007. Despite mixed-to-negative reviews, the sequel earned $132 million in North America and a total of $330.6 million worldwide. Both films feature

Ioan Gruffudd Ioan Gruffudd (; (born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He first came to public attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in ''Titanic'' (1997), and then for his portrayal of Horatio Hornblower in the ''Hornblower (TV series), Hornblower'' seri ...

as Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic,

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

as Susan Storm / Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm / Human Torch,

Michael Chiklis Michael Charles Chiklis ( born August 30, 1963) is an American actor, television director, television producer and musician. He is best known for his role as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Vic Mackey on the FX police drama ''The S ...

as Ben Grimm / The Thing, and Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom / Dr. Doom. Stan Lee makes cameo appearances as the mailman Willie Lumpkin in the first film and as himself in the second film. A reboot directed by

Josh Trank Joshua Benjamin Trank (born February 19, 1984) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film editor. He is known for directing the found-footage sci-fi thriller film ''Chronicle'' (2012), the superhero film '' Fantastic Four'' (2015), and ...

(also titled '' Fantastic Four'', but stylized as ''Fant4stic'') was released on August 7, 2015. The film stars Miles Teller as Reed Richards,

Kate Mara Kate Rooney Mara ( ; born February 27, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for work in television, playing reporter Zoe Barnes in the Netflix political drama ''House of Cards'' (2013–2014; 2016), computer analyst Shari Rothenberg in t ...

as Sue Storm,

Michael B. Jordan Michael Bakari Jordan (; born February 9, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama ''Fruitvale Station'' (2013), boxer Adonis Creed in ''Creed'' (2015), and Erik Killmonger in ''Bl ...

as Johnny Storm, Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm and Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom. It is based on '' Ultimate Fantastic Four''. It earned poor reviews and box office results. On March 20, 2019, due to the

acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and ...

, the film rights of ''Fantastic Four'' reverted to Marvel Studios. In July 2019 at the

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

, producer and head of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige, announced that a Fantastic Four film set within the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

is in development. In December 2020, it was announced Jon Watts will direct the film, but left the project in April 2022, citing personal reasons for stepping away. On September 10, 2022 at the

D23 Expo D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name ''D23'' refers to ''D'' for ''Disney'' and ''23'' ...

, Kevin Feige revealed director Matt Shakman would be taking over the film, with a release date of November 8, 2024. On September 21, 2022 Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were announced to be writers for the film.

Video games

In 1985, the Fantastic Four starred in '' Questprobe #3 The Fantastic Four'', an adventure game from

Adventure International Adventure International was an American video game publishing company that existed from 1979 until 1986. It was started by Scott and Alexis Adams. Their games were notable for being the first implementation of the adventure genre to run on a m ...

for the Atari 8-bit series. In 1997, the group starred in the ''Fantastic Four'' video game. The team appeared in the '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series'' video game, based on the 1990s Spider-Man animated series, for the

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...

and Sega Genesis. The Thing and the Human Torch appeared in the 2005 game '' Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects''. All of the Fantastic Four appear as playable characters in the game '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'' with Doctor Doom being the main enemy. The members of the Fantastic Four are also featured in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', although the team is separated over the course of the game, with Mister Fantastic being 'locked' into the Pro-Registration side of the game's storyline and the Thing briefly becoming unavailable to the player - just as he left America in protest of the war - until he returns to assist in preventing civilian casualties during the conflict. The Fantastic Four also appear in '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'' this time as playable DLC (downloadable content) alongside additional members of

Marvel Knights Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (''Black Panther'', ''Punisher'', '' Daredevil ...

and the

. The Human Torch has an appearance in a mini-game where the player races against him in all versions of ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...

'', except on the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

platform. The Fantastic Four star in tie-in videogames based on the 2005 film '' Fantastic Four'', and its sequel. The Fantastic Four are also playable characters in '' Marvel Heroes'', and ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'' is a 2013 Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft W ...

''. The Fantastic Four starred in their own virtual pinball game Fantastic Four for '' Pinball FX 2'' released by Zen Studios.

Notes

References

External links

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{{Authority control Characters created by Jack Kirby Characters created by Stan Lee Comics adapted into television series Comics characters introduced in 1961 Fictional explorers Fictional families Fictional quartets Fiction about invisibility Marvel Comics adapted into films Marvel Comics American superheroes Marvel Comics adapted into video games Marvel Comics superhero teams