Fantastic Four: First Steps Poster

A loving ode to the Fantastic
Four comic books of the 1960s and
1970s, Fantastic Four: First Steps
is unlike any other MCU movie in two regards. First, its faithfulness to its
source material can be found as much in its tone and style as in its content.
Secondly, this represents a rarity for the cross-connected, multi-franchise
platform: a standalone story. By virtue of its being set in an alternate
universe where superheroes are limited to the titular team, there is no need to
wonder about the presence or absence of other ultra-powered people. No
Avengers? No problem. There’s something incredibly refreshing – not to mention
creatively freeing – about this. Removing the shackles of canon and continuity
allow First Steps to breathe. 

One could argue that this movie is as guilty as any other
recent MCU entry of waving a magic wand to facilitate a conclusion. I suppose
that’s fair – the film’s climax is a little underwhelming. But there are two
things to note. Although First Steps gets its inspiration from Marvel’s
1966 “Galactus Trilogy”, this is not a rigorous adaptation – numerous
changes have been made to update certain elements of the story (no Watcher or “ultimate
nullifier” deus ex machina, for example). And the movie is more about
making introductions to both heroes and villains than telling a richly-detailed
story. It’s like cracking open a comic book and diving in. And this may be the
closest any 21st century Marvel movie has gotten to replicating that singular,
tactile experience. The only thing missing is the earthy smell of the yellowing
pages. 

The movie begins with a retro “Marvel” logo that
recalls the era in which the story occurs – a late-1960s futuristic version of
New York City. For those who care (and there are many), a caption announces
that the movie transpires on “Earth-828” to differentiate it from
“Earth-616”, home of the MCU. Although this is not an “origin
story” for the Fantastic Four, it briefly recaps their transformation from
astronauts to superheroes and their early days of protecting the planet. When
we catch up with the family-oriented team, they have been active for four
years. 

The quartet – comprised of their leader, Reed “Mr. Fantastic”
Richards (Pedro Pascal); his wife, Sue “Invisible Woman” Storm
(Vanessa Kirby); her brother, Johnny “Human Torch” Storm (Joseph
Quinn); and Reed’s best friend, Ben “The Thing” Grimm (Ebon
Moss-Bachrach) – are crime-fighters and celebrities. First Steps takes
about a quarter-hour following their everyday lives in the Baxter Building,
where Herbie the Robot acts as a combined butler/maid. During these sequences,
we learn that after two years of trying, Sue has become pregnant. This introduces
the hitherto taboo concepts of sex and procreation into the puritanical MCU. (Well,
outside of Deadpool, that is.) But when the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner)
pays Earth a visit, the Fantastic Four discover a foe they are unable to defeat…and
it gets even worse when they learn she is the herald of the World Devourer Galactus
(Ralph Ineson), who is on his way to dine on the planet. 

Presenting Galactus as a live-action villain (as opposed to
an animated one) has always presented stumbling blocks, the most obvious of
which is the character’s appearance: a giant figure wearing purple and blue
armor. In an attempt to address this issue, 2007’s Rise of the Silver Surfer
re-imagined Galactus as a giant gas cloud – an abomination decried by fans far
and wide. In introducing the World Eater to the MCU, the filmmakers, including studio
honcho Kevin Feige and director Matt Shakman, opted to go for a comics-accurate
depiction, trusting that audiences have seen enough hard-to-swallow things in
the past 18 years to justify the Jack Kirby version. As a leap of faith, that
has proven to be a valid one – Galactus is a bold, terrifying entity – a force
of nature whose immediacy makes him all the more credible as one of the greatest
foes the people of Earth have encountered. 

First Steps is an appropriate name for the movie
since the focus is on building and refining the relationships within the team
as they navigate the intertwined challenges of turning away Galactus and coping
with the care of a newborn. Which is more monumental? While the action-heavy
scene in which the Fantastic Four first encounter the Devourer of Worlds represents
the height of the movie’s spectacle elements, some of its best scenes focus on
the joyful (and not-so-joyful) ups-and-downs of parenting. My favorite:
installing Franklin’s car-seat into the Fantasticar. (Boy does that hit home.) 

Shakman so deeply infuses First Steps with a retro comic
aesthetic that it’s hard to imagine fans of the book title not swooning over
this adaptation. One wonders, however, to what extent the mainstream portion of
the MCU’s audience will accept the more fantastical aspects of the story. At about
115 minutes, the film is surprisingly (and thankfully) short, but it’s an appropriate
length. Although Galactus is an epic figure, this is not necessarily an epic narrative.
It feels like an appetizer; unfortunately, the next time we see the Fantastic
Four, they will no longer left to their own devices in this cozy home world. 

Of the four cast members of the team, Vanessa Kirby leaves
the strongest impression, although her delivery scene isn’t quite on the same
level as the one from Pieces of a Woman. Pedro Pascal brings a quiet,
understated intensity to Reed and Joseph Quinn’s generally upbeat approach is a
pleasant contrast to the brash brattiness of Chris Evans’ portrayal. Except in
flashbacks, Ebon Moss-Bachrach is buried under The Thing’s costume but the
actor effectively projects the character’s isolation and longing for human
connections outside of his “family.” As the Silver Surfer, Julia
Garner feels underused, but Ralph Ineson’s Galactus delivers an impact
consummate with the antagonist’s size. 

As a means to finally bring the Fantastic Four into the MCU,
First Steps is as successful in its own way as Spider-Man: Homecoming
was. In addition to representing an apology for the previous big-screen
botching of Galactus, the film puts all the foundational pieces into place. If
this ultimately proves to be little more than a setup, it’s nevertheless a
worthy way to start the next phase of the multiverse-saturated saga. Its
greatest strength is its celebration of the comic book series that spawned it –
something that has sadly been missing from far too many recent Marvel films.

Fantastic Four: First Steps (United States, 2025)