The Fantastic Four are finally part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and things are going swimmingly so far. Critics and fans alike are embracing The Fantastic Four: First Steps, paving the way for a solid box office run. A lot of the credit goes to Marvel Studios for embracing the source material, making one of the comics’ most important villains, Galactus, a massive humanoid being instead of a cloud. The direction is also a highlight, with Matt Shakman showing off during the escape sequence in the middle of the movie. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in Fantastic Four land.
While the chemistry between the team members is off the charts in the new MCU movie, there are a few issues that the franchise has to address moving forward. Some of them are easy fixes that the team’s appearance in Avengers: Doomsday can solve, while others are going to take quite a bit of work to undo.
1) They Aren’t Prepared for Doctor Doom
First Steps ends on a high note, with the Fantastic Four sending Galactus to another point in the galaxy and saving Earth. The mid-credits scene, which takes place a few years after that, ruins the mood by introducing a new threat in the form of Doctor Doom, who seems to take Susan Storm by surprise.
The only issue is that the movie reveals that Latveria, Doom’s home, is part of the world and already causing problems. The representative from Latveria is missing from Sue’s summit, which seems to tease that the country isn’t on good terms with the Fantastic Four. If that’s the case, the Baxter Building should be ready for an attack from Doom at any moment.
2) Mister Fantastic’s Powers Leave a Bit to Be Desired
Out of all of the Fantastic Four members, Reed Richards uses his powers the least. He’s pretty occupied with creating a solution to the Galactus problem, which doesn’t leave much time for stretching. Reed finally gets to show off his abilities at the end of First Steps when the Devourer of Worlds makes landfall, but he doesn’t put on a good show.
After getting the advantage over Galactus by opening one of the fuel reserves on his back, Reed loses the edge when the villain grabs him. Galactus pulling Mister Fantastic as far as possible causes the hero great pain, which doesn’t make a lot of sense, given his skill set.
3) Everyone Underestimates Johnny Storm
In every iteration of the Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm is the hothead who runs it without doing much thinking. Well, First Steps goes in a different direction, making the Human Torch as smart as his peers, except for Reed.
But as soon as Johnny starts to make headway with decoding the Silver Surfer’s message, everyone blows him off. He’s smart enough to be an astronaut but not smart enough to help with Galactus. In the end, Johnny proves everyone wrong by confronting the Silver Surfer and playing her messages from planets she’s hurt.
4) They Rely on H.E.R.B.I.E. Too Much
Being as smart as Reed certainly has its advantages. He builds a spaceship, a flying car, and a device that allows him to teleport objects. However, his most impactful invention is H.E.R.B.I.E., a robot companion who helps out around the Baxter Building.
It’s clear that there’s a bit too much pressure on H.E.R.B.I.E., though. The team asks him to help escape from the Silver Surfer and protect Franklin Richards from the Devourer of Worlds once they trick him. There’s only so much a little robot can do.
5) They’re Concerned About Their Public Perception
Earth-828 loves the Fantastic Four, and it has every reason to. They protect the world from villains, including Mole Man and Red Ghost, and do so much for the community. But humanity turns its back when it learns that Galactus is willing to spare the Earth in exchange for Franklin.
All the backlash really bothers the Fantastic Four, namely Sue, who decides to take matters into her own hands and confront the naysayers. While the move works out in her favor because the entire world comes together to build the bridges, it’s not good for heroes to worry too much about what people think about them.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters.
Do you agree that the things on this list don’t make sense? What else is wrong with the MCU’s version of the Fantastic Four? Let us know in the comments below!