5 Things Marvel Fans Don’t Want to Admit About Fantastic Four Comics

The Fantastic Four has had such a storied existence, it isn’t even funny. Marvel was out of the superhero game in the ’50s, while their distinguished competition was defining what they would be in the Cold War era. The House of Ideas re-entered the game with 1961’s Fantastic Four #1, from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, kicking off the new Marvel Universe. If you love any Marvel superhero, you have the the success of the First Family of Marvel Comics to thank for it. While it’s been decades since their ’60s heyday, when they were indeed, as it says on their covers, “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine”, the team is still a huge part of the Marvel superhero community and hold a beloved place in readers’ hearts.

Since the grand old days, many things have changed for the Fantastic Four. Over the years, their adventures have given fans certain ideas about the team and their villains. However, not all of these ideas are correct, and here five Fantastic Four ideas that Marvel fans don’t want to think too much about.

5) Mister Fantastic Being Possibly Autistic Doesn’t Excuse His Wrongdoings

Reed Richards has saved the world numerous times, his flabbergasting intelligence allowing him to untangle the problems of the universe. However, Reed is also sometimes one of the least pleasant superheroes around. He’s not mean, but he gets absorbed into his work in ways that hurt his family (and he was a complete misogynist in the Silver Age), and is sometimes pragmatic to a fault. Online, many fans like to say that this proves that he’s on the autism spectrum. While this is a valid read on the character, this line of thinking has sometimes led people to hand wave away the worst parts of the character. Reed can be autistic and problematic, or he can be neurotypical and problematic. It doesn’t matter which you think he is, but he is problematic and there’s often no excuse for it.

4) Jack Kirby Made Fantastic Four Great, Not Stan Lee

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four using the Marvel Method. The Marvel Method is somewhat simple: the artist and writer plot out the issue’s story, the artist goes and draws it, without much or any input from the writer, and then the writer puts in the dialogue. However, Kirby was as much a writer as Lee back in those days, and he would often include dialogue on the page. Looking at their work together, it’s plain to see who did what, and honestly, Fantastic Four is much more a Kirby-style sci-fi story than Lee’s more Earthbound superhero soap operas. To begin with, the Fantastic Four is basically Kirby and Joe Simon’s Challengers of the Unknown with superpowers. Kirby was much more of a sci-fi writer and idea man than Lee, and it was Kirby’s ideas that made Fantastic Four so great. As good as the character work in the book was, Kirby’s ideas, page layouts, and gonzo visuals were what made the book so great.

The Thing and Human Torch Are Better than Reed and Sue

Reed and Sue Richards are the heart of the Fantastic Four, their relationship giving the family its parents. However, let’s be real — as fun as the two of them can be in stories, the best parts of the team have always been the Human Torch and the Thing. It’s the classic relationship between an older and younger brother, and it’s fantastic. The Thing is one of the best Marvel characters ever created, a complex character with an amazing history, and Human Torch is one of the most underrated heroes ever. He’s the hothead powerhouse, and can tackle Power Cosmic-holding combatants. Their interplay with each other is perfect, and their moments on their own are just as great. They’re the two best members of the team, and anyone that doesn’t think so needs to go check out 2017’s Marvel 2-In-1 from Chip Zdarsky, Jimmy Cheung, Carlos Pacheco, Valerio Schiti, Nick Bradshaw, and Pere Perez. The two of them are so much better than Reed and Sue it isn’t funny.

2) Valeria and Franklin Would Be Better in Their Own Book

Franklin and Valeria Richards are the best kids in comics. Franklin has been a kid comic character GOAT since the ’90s, at least in my opinion, and Valeria is even better. They make an amazing team; the powerful older brother, who can basically do whatever he wants, and the genius sister who can build anything she wants. They’re fun in Fantastic Four, but it’s time the two of them got their own book, maybe a new Future Foundation book starring them. They’re such fun characters and giving them more time for their schtick would be better for them as characters than just hanging around their parents. Marvel had success with Power Pack in the ’80s, and if they played their cards right, they could do the same with Franklin and Valeria.

1) Doctor Doom Shouldn’t Be as Close to the Family as He Is

Doctor Doom has been an extended member of the Richards family since he delivered Valeria, and it has led to some amazing moments over the years, including the much memed, “What is the meaning of this, Richards. Here in Latveria, Doom demands that children get a good night’s sleep,” moment. Readers have gotten to see some stuff they’ve never seen before and it was fun, but fun Doom has blunted who the villain is. Doctor Doom is a complete monster, and his current relationship with Valeria and the rest of the family blunts a lot of that. One of the biggest problems is that fans love Uncle Doom; I’m one of them. But looking at the history of the character, things are more interesting when the Latverian monarch can be more dangerous and not always worrying about Valeria.

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