Search results
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium.
- Overview
- Origins
- After Lee and Kirby
Fantastic Four, American team of comic strip superheroes, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics in 1961, that brought an element of realism to the genre unique for its time. A cornerstone of Marvel’s universe of characters, the Fantastic Four remains one of the most popular superhero teams in comic book history.
The Fantastic Four no. 1 (November 1961) introduced a quartet of new characters: Dr. Reed Richards, a pompous scientist; Sue Storm, his lovely and somewhat reserved fiancée; Sue’s hotheaded teenaged brother Johnny Storm; and Richards’s beefy longtime friend pilot Ben Grimm. The foursome commandeered an untested spaceship of Richards’s design from the U.S. military in a frantic but unsanctioned effort to beat the Soviets into space. In orbit, the craft was flooded by cosmic rays that genetically altered its passengers. Upon returning to Earth, the quartet discovered that they had been forever changed: Sue could fade in and out of view and eventually developed the ability to project force fields as the Invisible Girl (later Invisible Woman); Grimm mutated into the rock-skinned powerhouse dubbed the Thing; Richards became the rubber-limbed Mr. Fantastic; and Johnny erupted into flame, blazing through the skies as the Human Torch. Richards persuaded the group to join forces as the Fantastic Four, but the group’s dynamics made them more than a team: they were a family, albeit a dysfunctional one.
Britannica Quiz
Pop Culture Quiz
Fantastic Four (“The” was dropped from the title in issue no. 16) quickly became a triumph for Marvel, and an array of fearsome foes appeared and reappeared, including the oafish Mole Man, the Golden Age antihero Namor the Sub-Mariner, the alien Super-Skrull, and the towering Galactus, who gained sustenance by absorbing the life forces of planets. No menace was more persistent than Doctor Doom, whose hideously scarred face was hidden behind an ominous iron mask. This despotic mastermind—originally Richards’s scientific colleague Victor von Doom—habitually returned to plague the group and to engage Richards in intellectual battles, always with dire consequences.
By the late 1960s the Fantastic Four’s acclaim had extended beyond comic books. Fantastic Four (1967–68), an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera, borrowed heavily from the Lee/Kirby comics. Despite its short run, the cartoon spurred a flurry of merchandising and served as an early crossover success for Marvel. A dispute involving story contributions divided the team of Lee and Kirby, and in the 1970s both vacated the comic. A variety of creators ventured in and out of the title, some making minor contributions to the canon and others leaving a larger mark. The Thing headlined the long-running team-up title Marvel Two-in-One (1974–83), and members came and went from the team, being temporarily replaced by such heroes as Power Man, Crystal, and Medusa.
The Human Torch was optioned for an unrealized live-action film, precluding his inclusion in the Fantastic Four’s second animated series, The New Fantastic Four (1978) on the NBC television network. Johnny Storm was replaced in the show by a comical robot named H.E.R.B.I.E., and the program lasted only a single season, owing at least in part to the relatively low quality of its animation. Writer and artist John Byrne’s run during the 1980s on The Fantastic Four comic book (nos. 232–292, July 1981–July 1986) featured such memorable events as the induction of the She-Hulk as a temporary member and the evolution of the once-meek Invisible Girl into the forceful and liberated Invisible Woman.
Special offer for students! Check out our special academic rate and excel this spring semester!
Learn More
The 1990s did not bode well for the Fantastic Four. Convoluted plot lines impeded series continuity, and sales dropped as readers sought out stories that were grittier and, on the whole, more violent than those involving Marvel’s first family. In the 2000s the Human Torch was spun off into his own series, and Fantastic Four was restored to its former glory by writer Mark Waid and artist Mike Wieringo. A decision by Marvel to remove the two creators in 2003 was met by such overwhelming backlash from readers that the move was soon reversed. An alternate-universe title featuring a younger version of the team, Ultimate Fantastic Four, premiered in early 2004.
The live-action Fantastic Four movie was released by Twentieth Century Fox in 2005, and its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, followed in 2007. A new animated TV series, Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes, premiered in 2006 on cable television. In spite of these successful ventures into other media, sales of the Fantastic Four comic were moribund. Writer Jonathan Hickman took over the title in 2009, revitalizing the stalled book with a critically acclaimed three-year story arc that capitalized on the franchise’s traditional strengths: cosmic scale, super science, and family interaction. Twentieth Century Fox attempted to reboot its cinematic franchise with Fantastic Four (2015), but the film, derived in part from the first arc in the Ultimate Fantastic Four series, received a harsh reception from critics. Peter Sanderson
Aug 8, 2023 · where did the fantastic four come from? Even before the famous quartet headed for space, two of the greatest creators in comics joined forces to change the industry forever. Back in the late 50s and early 60s, the comic book landscape looked much different than it does today.
Dec 14, 2017 · Name: Fantastic Four. Founding Members: Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing. First Appearance: Fantastic Four #1 (November, 1961) Created By: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Did You Know: The Fantastic Four are often considered the first superhero family in comics. Comic Book Origins: Fantastic Four – A Little History
- 3 min
Operating from Central City, California, the first menace the Fantastic Four were called upon to face was the Mole Man and his ever changing cadre of monsters and sub-human races from below the Earth. They were soon thrown into conflict with the shape-shifting Skrulls, the first of many alien menaces they would battle in their long careers.
Sep 1, 2024 · From their headquarters at the Baxter Building in New York City, the Fantastic Four become the world’s most famous superheroes. As the Fantastic Four established themselves as Marvel’s First Family, countless other characters enjoyed their debut within the pages of the superhero team.
People also ask
Who are the Fantastic Four?
Who created the Fantastic Four?
What was Marvel Comics before the Fantastic Four?
Are the Fantastic Four still popular?
How did the Fantastic Four become famous?
What does a Fantastic Four writer do?
In this reality the Fantastic Four were the original four, but with different powers and codenames: Big Brain (Reed Richards) exists as a disembodied brain with vast mental powers, Dragonfly...
