Top 10 Facts About The Fantastic Four 2005

WatchMojo

From cosmic origins to revolutionary storytelling, Marvel's First Family changed superhero comics forever! Join us as we explore the fascinating history behind Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's groundbreaking creation that saved careers and introduced countless iconic characters to the Marvel Universe.

Transcript

00:00The Fantastic Four. Their amazing powers help keep our world safe.

00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most interesting bits of

00:11trivia you may not know about Marvel's first family.

00:14You're Mr. Fantastic, aren't you? That's so awesome.

00:19Number 10. Sue Storm was originally the Invisible Girl.

00:23As one of Marvel's most popular and iconic female heroes,

00:26Susan Storm's legacy as the Invisible Woman needs no introduction.

00:30Sue, she's always there. Or is she?

00:34Hello, boys. Jesus.

00:35However, that's actually not the moniker she debuted in.

00:39During the Fantastic Four's initial run in the comics,

00:41Sue acted under the name The Invisible Girl.

00:44And when we say initial run, we actually mean 20 full years.

00:48I'll be with you as The Invisible Woman.

00:51That's a third of the Fantastic Four's history.

00:53It wasn't until Sue had a nasty run-in with a mind-controlling villain that she finally shed her old name

00:58and matured into the hero we know her as today, The Invisible Woman.

01:03Number 9. The Fantastic Four movie you never saw.

01:06Even if you're a die-hard cinephile, there's one superhero film you probably haven't seen.

01:11Look at you.

01:14The Fantastic Four.

01:16Mainly because it was never released.

01:19After purchasing the film rights to The Fantastic Four in the 80s,

01:22low-budget filmmakers Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger finally put the movie into production in 1992.

01:27Why don't you have a seat?

01:30So we can maybe work this out together.

01:39And they waited.

01:41And waited.

01:42And waited some more.

01:43The release date never came,

01:45with many theorizing the two only made the movie to retain their rights to the characters.

01:49It would certainly explain the dubious quality.

01:52Pirated copies have circulated the web for years,

01:55but that's as close to an official release as this bizarre B-movie has ever seen.

01:59Pitiful.

02:01You are pitiful.

02:04Half the fun is the chase.

02:07You've robbed me of even that.

02:09Number 8. Alter Egos Be Gone.

02:12At a time when most superhero comics followed a very familiar handbook,

02:16Jack Kirby and Stan Lee decided to buck all conventions with this foursome.

02:20He did.

02:20Oh, yes, he did.

02:23Flame Boy never listens.

02:25Rather than spandex-clad vigilantes,

02:27the Fantastic Four were bona fide celebrities.

02:29They didn't wear masks,

02:31bickered like real people,

02:32and were arguably just as famous for their brains as their powers.

02:35While we can never repay them,

02:37we can certainly celebrate them.

02:39Thank you, Fantastic Four.

02:41These small but noteworthy details

02:42paved the way for a whole new kind of superhero storytelling.

02:45One where the super suits weren't as important as the people wearing them.

02:49Based on the team's long-lasting appeal,

02:51it's safe to say abandoning alter egos was a fantastic choice.

02:55Thank you all for coming to be a fantastic fifth for a day.

03:00On behalf of the Fantastic Four,

03:02we welcome you to the Baxter Building.

03:04Number 7.

03:05The Future Foundation Storyline

03:06Nothing shakes up the status quo like new suits and a new roster.

03:11Dissatisfied with the state of the world,

03:13Mr. Fantastic takes it upon himself to rebrand the team into a high-tech charitable organization.

03:17Its name?

03:19The Future Foundation.

03:20Sue, Reed, and Ben all get major upgrades,

03:23and Johnny?

03:24Well, Johnny's dead.

03:25As part of his dying wish,

03:27the friendly neighborhood webhead takes his place to round out the team.

03:30So does Doctor Doom,

03:31but that's a whole other can of worms.

03:33The Future Foundation rebuilt everything people thought they knew about the Fantastic Four,

03:37and remains one of the most notable sagas in the team's modern history.

03:41Number 6.

03:42Sue and Reed have super-powered offspring.

03:45Sue and Reed.

03:46Reed and Sue.

03:47Their romance is written in comic history for a reason,

03:50and so it only makes sense that they have a pair of super-powered twerps.

03:54What isn't expected is that Franklin and Valeria are uber-strong.

03:58Like, strong enough to make Galactus himself sweat.

04:00While Valeria's only superpower is her father's brains,

04:04Franklin has the ability to unravel all of reality.

04:07As a matter of fact,

04:08he is often ranked as one of Marvel's most powerful beings,

04:11and that's counting gods and cosmic beings.

04:14Forget the supervillains.

04:15Raising a kid like that is the biggest challenge Sue and Reed will ever face.

04:20Number 5.

04:21A revolving roster.

04:22Across all of the Fantastic Four's mainstream appearances,

04:25the lineup has remained incredibly consistent.

04:28Famous around the world.

04:31Please welcome...

04:32The Fantastic Four.

04:34You've got the Invisible Woman,

04:36Mr. Fantastic,

04:37the Human Torch,

04:38and the Thing.

04:39The comics, however,

04:40are a very different story.

04:42As strange as it is to hear,

04:44there have been more than four members of the team on multiple occasions.

04:48Everyone,

04:48I'd like you to meet Dr. Henry Pym,

04:51also known as Ant-Man.

04:53Hi there.

04:54Funny,

04:55I thought you'd all be taller.

04:56The most notable recruits include Spider-Man,

04:59Hulk,

05:00Ant-Man,

05:00Storm,

05:01Black Panther,

05:02and so many more.

05:03Occasionally,

05:04they even butt out mainstays like Sue and Reed.

05:07While the Core Four are still the most iconic,

05:09don't be surprised when you open a Fantastic Four comic

05:12and see a very different team inside.

05:14How's this hot stuff?

05:17Of course.

05:18You're cool.

05:20Number four.

05:21They introduced some of Marvel's biggest characters.

05:24The Fantastic Four aren't just legendary on their own.

05:27Man, I love this job.

05:30Job, huh?

05:32Well, we do have a suit.

05:34They're legendary because of how much they brought to Marvel canon.

05:38So many of the brand's biggest characters and storylines

05:40branched out of the first family's comics.

05:42The team's cosmic origins opened the door to Galactus,

05:45the Inhumans,

05:46the Skrulls,

05:47and later Black Panther,

05:49who would go on to become comics' first major black superhero.

05:52That's without even mentioning the team's frequent run-ins with the Avengers.

05:56If the Fantastic Four hadn't been so popular,

05:58we wouldn't have just lost Sue, Reed, Ben, and Johnny.

06:01We would have missed out on a whole new era of Marvel comics altogether.

06:05At last,

06:06the Black Panther's prey has arrived.

06:09Number three.

06:11The Human Torch predates the Fantastic Four.

06:14Johnny Storm may be Sue's younger brother,

06:16but the Human Torch has been around a whole lot longer.

06:19Now picture that.

06:20But everywhere.

06:22It was everywhere.

06:26What?

06:27While Mr. Fantastic,

06:28the Invisible Woman,

06:29and the Thing were all created specifically for the Fantastic Four,

06:33John Hammond spent decades scorching comic pages as the Human Torch.

06:36Alongside Captain America and Namor,

06:39the pyrotechnic android was considered one of Marvel's biggest draws.

06:43Ironically, though,

06:44his popularity burned bright and fast,

06:46which later allowed for a new hero to carry the torch.

06:49Pun intended.

06:50Even though Johnny Storm wasn't the first to flame on,

06:53there is no denying he brings the heat.

06:55Oh my god,

06:56he's gonna say it.

06:57Ha!

06:58Oh my god,

06:59he's gonna say it!

07:00Say what?

07:01Avengers!

07:01Blame on!

07:02Sorry, what now?

07:04Number two.

07:05The Fantastic Four were created by copying DC's homework.

07:09They don't call these guys Marvel's first family for nothing.

07:12They're extraordinary heroes,

07:14but they're an ordinary family.

07:17We make a point to do family dinner every week.

07:19Marvel's first family.

07:23The Fantastic Four.

07:25Until this foursome came along,

07:27most heroes were lone wolves with an occasional team-up.

07:30But after seeing high sales for DC's Justice Society of America,

07:33Marvel decided to try their own hand at a super-powered group.

07:36Thus,

07:37The Fantastic Four were born.

07:39That's what they're calling you.

07:40The Fantastic Four.

07:42Cool.

07:43As it turned out,

07:44quadrupling the lead characters also quadrupled the success.

07:47The Fantastic Four was a smash hit.

07:50And despite the challenges of balancing so many characters,

07:53it emboldened Marvel into greenlighting even more ambitious crossovers.

07:57You may have heard of them.

07:58The Avengers.

08:08Whoever said cheaters never prosper?

08:11Before we continue,

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08:27Number one.

08:28They saved Stan Lee's career at Marvel.

08:30As you may have picked up on,

08:32The Fantastic Four reinvented a lot of what defined Marvel comics at the time.

08:36The very same things that Stan Lee was growing tired of.

08:39Books were doing well and I had a steady job,

08:42but it wasn't satisfying.

08:45Because I really think of myself as a reasonably good writer.

08:49I like to write.

08:51So I really wanted to quit and try something else.

08:55He had been in the world of comics for two decades at the time

08:57and was about to retire from the medium when The Fantastic Four burst onto shelves.

09:02Well, the book did wonderfully.

09:04It sold great.

09:06It was fresh,

09:07it was relatable,

09:08and it was so much fun to write that it kept Lee aboard the comic train well into the 90s.

09:13Whenever you think about all Stan Lee brought to the Marvel Universe,

09:16just remember,

09:17you have The Fantastic Four to thank for a lot of it.

09:20Welcome back to the back, sir, Dr. Richards.

09:23I've got the usual for you.

09:25Good to have you back, sir.

09:27Did we miss any fantastic facts?

09:29Let us know in the comments below.

09:30But without our powers, The Fantastic Four is...

09:33is...

09:34Kaputski.

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