Fantastic Four: first Steps
Hey everyone, and welcome. Today, we will be talking about the film Fantastic Four: First Steps. Fun Fact: The Fantastic Four first appeared in their self-titled comic book in 1961. They are often considered Marvel's first family and were the first superhero team created by legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby, whose birthday, 828, is used for the universe, and Stan Lee. This film came out in 2025 and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach and was directed by Matt Shakman. So without further ado, let's get right into it.
Fantastic Four: First Steps follows the team who have been fighting crimes for a couple of years. Sue learns she is pregnant, meaning their lives are going to look a bit different, and then the Silver Surfer shows up, marking their planet for death. After trying to strike a deal with Galactus and it failing due to him wanting their child, they must figure out a way to stop him, save Earth, and their child.
Fantastic Four: First Steps is a superhero film. It has similar vibes to X-Men '97, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, or The Jetsons.
The subtitle of this film is First Steps, which could be taken as a lot of things. The story revolves around Galactus either wanting the planet or their child, and typically the First Steps are in reference to a child, but I think it could also be in reference to the team taking the First Steps on a new journey, helping raise this future powerhouse. I think it may also be in reference to the comic book history and how they are the first Marvel superhero team. This film is also the First Steps for their Earth, realizing there are threats beyond their planet that they aren't prepared for, but also how the team and the world should address these issues. I love that there are so many possible interpretations you could gather from that title.
Fantastic Four: First Steps caught my attention because I watch every Marvel project and keep up with what's coming up. The cast had me interested to see how they would adapt these characters, and if I'm being honest, I didn't see the vision at first, but after the trailer, I was sold. I loved the idea of it being like the Jetsons were the vibes were giving 60's, but the technology was giving futuristic. It was cool that the film highlighted how everyone on the team is smart, and it looks different for each member. The teams fighting is a bit more unique because they will incorporate their knowledge with their use of powers. I loved the idea of having Galactus and a different Silver Surfer from Norrin Radd, Shalla-Ball, in this movie.
It was cool to see their team dynamic and how it differs because they are a team, but more importantly, a family. They tied this beautifully into the story by bringing up this conflict, where the solution is to give up their child, and then seeing how some people want them too, because they are scared. I loved it when Sue addresses this head-on instead of hiding and goes outside to speak with everyone and tell them that she's not splitting up her family, and that family is about fighting for something bigger than yourself. She tells everyone that Earth is her family as well, and they won't give up their son and will fight to find a solution to save everyone. It's a moving speech and I loved every part of it.
Pedro Pascal plays Reed Richards, aka Mr Fantastic, who has the ability to stretch and is married to Sue and best friends with Ben. The film did a fantastic job showing how smart he is and how he uses that brain to benefit society. I know it's controversial in the movie, but I love how he examines the options, but maybe he doesn't need to say it out loud. When a problem arises, he thinks of all solutions, good and bad, which can come off as insensitive, but it's a smart way to be prepared for as much as possible. When he becomes a father, he is worried about what his son's powers will be and tries to get ahead of it and prep for that, but his son is his match because he hides it from him. I love how, even though he is so smart, we see how his family helps him think of things from a different perspective, like when they decide to attempt to move the planet. I loved to see him stretching in battle and how he used his ability to move faster, but also to gain momentum to attack, but they also showed how he can be stretched out too much.
The word mother gets thrown around to a few Marvel women who are complete badasses, and with this movie, Vanessa Kirby has joined the ranks as Sue Storm, aka Invisible Woman. At the beginning of the film, she finds out she is pregnant, and while Reed is worrying about what powers the kid may have, she is just worried that they will have a good family, considering that she and Johnny didn't. She already raised her brother, so raising a child will be easy for her, but this time she has powers and a partner, and a team to take into account. When she is giving birth in space, we see how badass she is once again when she has to use her powers to hide them in between contractions, and that scene just looked so cool. I loved how she has amazing people skills and is the best person to negotiate because she does a better job speaking to humans like humans, unlike Reed, who sometimes can come off as robotic. She is good at reading people as well, which makes sense because, as someone who has to deal with so many personalities in her job, she has to know how to guide her conversations and think like others sometimes. She is the heart of the team, the one who truly brings them together, the strongest one, and best believe if you get in her way, she will move you. Sue is a force to be reckoned with, and I just love how the film makes sure to highlight that in a variety of states, pregnant, not pregnant, or in labor.
Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, is played by Joseph Quinn, who is a hot head and the youngest member of the team, but keeps things fun. This film dialed down on his cockiness and flirtatious attitudes, but still makes sure that they included the shit talking he does with Reed and Ben. I loved how he and Sue really seemed related, and you could see he felt more comfortable talking to her about serious things because she listened, and he seemed to be excited by her acknowledgement that he is helping, which shows more of their relationship and how she raised him. I loved how they showed how his powers are more than just producing fire; he can absorb it too, and when he is carrying someone, he can ensure they don’t get burned. Johnny can be very rash and make a lot of mistakes, but I love how the film showed that even with that, he can be useful, like when he put together that the weird recordings Reed got from Shalla-Ball. I honestly thought he was going to just come out and translate what she said, and to my shock, he was speaking her language, and because of that, he was able to get through to her to show her that while she saved her planet so much pain, she is causing other planets so much worse. He is willing to risk himself for his family, which is nice to show that even though he may make fun of the others and joke around a lot, at the end of the day, he loves them and would sacrifice himself for them.
Ben is played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who is the resident chef, it seems, and the muscle. He is the only member whose physical appearance was changed permanently, and there are some subtle hints that it bothers him. He's Reed's right-hand man and tries to help support the team and his found family. The film shows that even though he may look scary, he's just a big teddy bear, and everyone loves him. I will say out of the four, I think he got the least amount of development, and the film kind of just focused on the fact that people like him. The film sets up Rachel Rozman as a potential love interest, and I loved the film showing that some people outside of the team still can look past the rocky, hard skin and see his true heart. It’s interesting to learn that Jack Kirby modeled the Thing after himself and while Rachel is a new character I think she may be named Rachel Rozman to play homage to Kirbys late wife Roz who he also met cause they lived in the same area like Rachel and The thing. I loved the film, deciding to show what it looks like if he doesn't shave and giving us an idea of how there are still human aspects to his physiology. Ben is great at listening to people and helping where needed; he's kind of the support for the team.
Herbie was cute, and I need a Herbie in my life.
Julia Garner plays Shalla-Ball, who is the Silver Surfer, and may be different from the Silver Surfer some people know, Norran Radd, but she absolutely killed it. Not hesitating to say my favorite line from the movie was given by her when she says I herald his beginning, I herald your end, I herald Galactus. The delivery of those lines sends chills down my spine and really instills how big of a threat he is. They truly nailed how conflicting her role is because she's doing it to save her family and her planet, but at the cost of other planets, and somehow has blocked it out until Johnny confronts her. I love how, before this, they show that there is some doubt in her when Galactus wants the child, and you can tell she doesn't want to help with that, but she is a servant of Galactus. I do wish we dug a little more into this because I wanted to know how much control Galactus has over her mind. When we see her riding the surfboard, I was really impressed by how she made it look so flawless, but also how scary she was, because you knew if she caught up, it would mean a lot of death. The scene with hyperspace travel was so cool to see because not only was she chasing them but also she was able to control herself in that tunnel where physics didn't seem to exist which was impressive. When she came to Earth, she destroyed the devices so quickly, and I was completely shocked because the humans had worked so long on those. I'm glad in the end she helps get rid of Galactus, but I do wonder if she survived and how she will manage to keep her abilities granted by Galactus if she did. This was some top-tier casting, and I hope Julia Garner returns.
So I enjoy the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie even though it's not accurate at all, but it's kind of campy. The one thing, as I've grown older, that I hated was Galactus because he has such a cool design, and they turned him into a damn cosmic storm. This movie did a great job at giving Galcatus his chance to shine by showing how cool his design is, how big he is, how he has a machine that helps him feed on planets, and by having a great voice actor, Ralph Ineson, voice the character. The film showed that he was hard to take down but also that he isn't dumb, as seen by the team trying to get him into a trap. I love how he jumped out of his chair when he got to Earth, signaling his arrival, which had me shook cause he’s too big to be doing all that, and was just set on getting Franklin. I did think it was odd how he got to their solar system so fast, and then after he was by Jupiter, it took him so long to get Earth, like why did he slow down? In the end, he isn't killed but pushed very, very far away, which leaves the door open for him to return, which will be exciting if it ever happens, and I just know he will be angry.
The film was smart to bring in Mole Man early and show how Sue brokered negotiations with him, which at first helps lay the groundwork for the team, but later, you find out they mentioned that for a reason. When Galactus comes, they mention they need to move people out of the way, which many superhero films fail to think about, but this one did, which is great, to cause minimal casualties. Sue asks Mole Man to help by housing people underground while they deal with the threat, which also shows how smart the team is because clearly something that is important. I love that this thought came up.
The design of the sets was cool since the film takes place in a world that is like the 60s but more technologically advanced. I loved how they showed this with the sets, how the TV show looks, and the styling of the characters. It shows a different style than modern-day superheroes and also pays homage to the original intro to the team, since that took place in the 60s. It's cool how they take some of the retro aspects, but also cool how they show the progressiveness in other aspects.
Michael Giacchino did the music, who has dabbled in other Marvel projects and has a few awards under his belt. The Fantastic Four song in the trailer really got me hyped, and it has this nice build-up that really had me ready to see the movie immediately. Throughout the movie, the music has influences from the music of the time, which was nice to hear. The music definitely elevated the film.
My favorite part of the film was Sue and the Silver Surfer. Sue really showed how empathetic she could be; she knew how to communicate well with people, and she is a powerhouse on the battlefield. When Galactus took her child, she came back in full force and didn't care that it would kill her, as long as her child was safe. Sue didn’t hold off Galactus; she pushed that giant cosmic being to the portal by herself. e The Silver Surfer comes off as this evil being, but when we learn more about her, we learn it's not that simple. She started because she felt it was the right thing, but it seems like as she's gone on, she is on cruise control until Johnny throws it in her face that she's killing people. She was a badass and didn't go down easily, and was a force to be reckoned with. I'm glad, however, in the end, she realized that Galactus wouldn't stop, and she was just helping to cause so much pain for others. Both of these characters really stood out and became a highlight of the film, and the actresses who played them really shone.
Fantastic Four: First Steps is a great intro for the team in the MCU. The cast was great, and the setting was interesting and felt different from most modern superhero movies. I’m interested to see how they crossover with other teams, but also how their powers grow and evolve, and how Franklins will too, but also how Doom plays a part in all of this since he’s in the end credits. They'll be back in Avengers: Doomsday, and I'm excited to see them return.
