Fantastic Four on TV: 3 Ideas That Could Work

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

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

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!

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.

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?