Fantastic Four on TV: 3 Ideas That Could Work

A while back we reported that Fox was considering both X-Men and the Fantastic Four as potential sources for small screen iterations or spinoffs. This was based on some comments by writer/producer Simon Kinberg who made it sound like Fox was thinking pretty hard about how to get the most out of their licenses, saying "it makes sense to tell some of these stories in TV partly because there's just not enough screens to do all of these characters."

While the Fantastic Four may not have quite the sprawling cast of thousands that the X-Men can boast (or some might say are burdened with), there's still a lot going on in their corner of the Marvel Universe to work with. We gave it some thought and here are some ideas that we think would translate to television pretty well. When can we expect to receive our check, Fox?

Oh, and just to forestall any questions, we won't be suggesting series that explore the backstories of any of our heroic leads. That's the sort of thing that really should be explored in the films. Also, unless you're casting "child version" and "adult version" of the same character, you probably want to stick with the same actor which isn't likely to happen when you're casting for a movie and a TV series. So, we won't be suggesting a series exploring Ben Grimm's time in the air force or as a test pilot, a family drama centering on Johnny and Sue losing their mother (died) and father (jailed), or a series showing Reed dealing with the possibly abusive father that the Ultimate Universe wrote into his childhood. We also won't be suggesting the admittedly awesome idea of doing a college-based series showing even younger versions of Ben Grimm, Reed Richards, and Victor Von Doom dealing with being room and lab-mates. Frankly, the characters will be too young in the movie to suggest that their college days were far enough behind them to do a series exploring them.

Alicia Masters

I'm honestly not sure what this series would be called, probably some play on sight/vision (or lack thereof) or puppet strings, but the blind girlfriend of Ben "The Thing" Grimm is a decent source of real human drama. While it might not be the first thing to come to mind, a prequel of sorts exploring her life prior to meeting and dating the Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Idol of Millions could be quite engaging. Think about it for a second, a blind woman raised by an abusive stepfather trying to navigate New York City's art scene with her skill as a sculptress. Put this in the hands of some creative individuals and this could be something really special.

Rather than focusing on super-heroics, this would be a comics-based human drama of a sort that we've rarely if ever seen before. Thinking back, I can't actually recall Alicia's past prior to The Fantastic Four #8 ever being explored in any depth. Beyond the fact that she is a blind sculptress with a stepfather named Phillip Masters who eventually becomes the villainous Puppet Master, there isn't much that we know about her at all. Fox has license here to do pretty much whatever they want within a very limited set of boundaries without stepping on established continuity (not that they seem to care about such things).

Even without delving into her father's inevitable turn to super-villainy, there is a lot that can be done with Alicia Masters. Her familiar and interpersonal relationship with her stepfather can be explored. She can have a whole social life with friends and dating to deal with. On top of that, the New York art scene is, I think, a proven source for worthwhile narrative. Perhaps we can even work a few other future FF supporting cast members to round out the cast of this show and introduce them to audiences. Maybe Willie Lumpkin can be her mailman. Maybe Frankie Raye can be her best friend. Maybe Wyatt Wingfoot can be a friend or even boyfriend material.

Now that I've got this idea in my head, if Fox doesn't do anything with Alicia other than stick her on Ben's arm, I want to see a comic miniseries that fleshes out her character. Get on that, Marvel!

Agatha Harkness

Think John Constantine by way of Helen Mirren and you start to get an idea of this character's potential. Ms. Harkness was originally introduced as a nanny to Reed and Susan Richards' son Franklin. However, she is also a powerful witch who has stood up to super villains both mystical and mainstream. Delving into her backstory, one finds that she is a centuries old witch who may or may not have been part of the Salem Witch Trials. Just read that much and tell me there isn't potential here! I even smell shades of the successful Sleepy Hollow series which will be entering its second season this fall on Fox.

Not only does she have appeal in and of herself, but Agatha Harkness even has her own archenemy and supporting cast built in. After the Witch Trials, she became the leader of a colony of witches in Colorado called New Salem. At some point in her history, she had a son by the name of Nicholas Scratch, who would come to oppose his mother. Scratch grew to become an evil wizard who generally seeks to lead New Salem and defeat Agatha. Scratch himself has seven children, Salem's Seven, each with the ability to transform into monstrous alter egos to assist their father in his heinous deeds. I could pull three seasons from this material without breaking a sweat!

Oh, and if you're worried about an older woman carrying a mainstream series, that's not a problem. Let's just turn to Marvel's Ultimate Universe as Fox already appears to be doing with the Fantastic Four movie itself. In that reality, Agatha Harkness is generically young and attractive! Hey, I'm pretty sure that image at right is her first appearance and there's even a boob joke. Progressive treatment of female characters? What's that?

Of course, her backstory in the Ultimate Universe is different from what I've outlined above. Unfortunately, it's also stupid and confusing so I'm not even going to reference it here. If need be, I'll take the classic Agatha Harkness wrapped up in a young and attractive exterior. She IS magic so presumably she could look however she wants anyway.

Let's slap a working title of Harkness on this bad boy and rush it into production. Next!

Victor Von Doom

So, this series would basically be Gotham but with a young Victor Von Doom instead of Bruce Wayne.

The next few sentences outline just a few of the things that happen in Victor's childhood that would make for excellent drama: Victor was born to gypsies in a camp in the fictional Eastern European nation of Latveria. His mother was a witch who was killed in a bargain gone wrong with the devil-like demon Mephisto. Later, Victor's father was forced to attempt to care for a nobleman's sick wife; however, when she died he attempted to flee from the enraged toff. Unfortunately, he died from hypothermia, an experience Victor barely survived. He would eventually take his revenge against the nobleman and take control of the entire nation of Latveria. Throughout his youth and young adulthood, Victor was obsessed with mastering science and magic to the point where he could liberate his mother's soul from hell.

All of this (possibly discounting the complete takeover of Latveria) predates Victor even meeting Reed Richards and Ben Grimm when they were all students at Empire State University in New York City.

Of course, a child lead for a television series might not be the best idea. As such, while this series would likely need to have even more of a focus on Victor Von Doom than it appears Gotham will have on Bruce Wayne, it would likely need to have well-developed adult leads to carry the show. Doom's father could provide the focal point at first, the role possibly transitioning to other guardians following his death, and then eventually to Victor himself.

Perhaps Gotham isn't even the most apt comparison or model on which to base this series… Let's start with teen Victor and do Smallville from a villain's perspective. How's that work for everyone?