The Fantastic Four are Marvel’s First Family, the superhero team that put the company on the map. Their family dynamic and interpersonal drama defined what Marvel comics of that era looked like, and their popularity continues to this day, evidenced in no small part by their new movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps. Of course, no great heroes can fight crime for as long as these four have without dealing with equally entertaining villains. Galactus is a gargantuan powerhouse that shaped the nature of Marvel’s cosmology, Super-Skrull is the perfect example of a complex and mirrored opponent, and Doctor Doom is one of Marvel’s best villains, period.
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Today, however, we’re not talking about the greats that defined the genre, but the unsung villains that never get their due, but are still great foils to the Four. The Fantastic Four have tangoed with more than their fair share of monsters, mad scientists, and murderers over the years, and we’ll be going over seven of their foes that are great but are too often overshadowed by their flashier compatriots. Without further ado, let’s check out some fantastic villains.
7) Red Ghost
Red Ghost is one of the FF’s earliest villains, first appearing in Fantastic Four (1961) #13. Ivan Kragodd was a Russian scientist who recreated the space flight that gave the Four their powers, exposing himself and three trained apes to the cosmic rays, letting them each develop their own ability. Red Ghost gained intangibility, Peotor the Orangutan magnetism, Miklho the gorilla super strength, and Igor the baboon shapeshifting. There is something so endlessly entertaining about a man and his three trained apes with superpowers fighting the Fantastic Four, and it being played seriously. This is peak comic book silliness, and we can always use more of that.
6) Diablo
Another classic villain, Diablo debuted in Fantastic Four (1961) #30. He was a man born in the ninth century who became obsessed with attaining godhood and understanding everything. Diablo sold his soul to Mephisto in exchange for eternal life, and he’s used every extra year to build towards his goal. Diablo is a master of alchemy, which perfectly matches his unpredictable magic against the science-focused Fantastic Four. Diablo is almost a force of nature in and of himself, and his intelligence, combined with his magic, perfectly contrasts Reed’s own. Whenever Diablo and the FF clash, it’s a battle of perspectives on the world as much as it is a physical battle, and that’s always appreciated.
5) Blastaar
While Annihilus is the most popular and feared villain from the Negative Zone, he isn’t its only resident antagonist, as Blastaar showed when he debuted in Fantastic Four (1961) #62. He was born of the chaotic, swirling dark energies of the Negative Zone. He rose as a monstrous ruler with a drive for nothing short of complete domination over everything, starting with the planet Baluur. Blasataar is a classic pure-evil villain that wants to rule for control’s sake, hurting others for the heck of it, and while that might be simple to some, he never needs to be anything else. The Fantastic Four stopping Blastaar is them stopping an unabashedly evil monster with plenty of action, and sometimes, that’s all a story needs to be awesome.
4) Terminus
Terminus first appeared in Fantastic Four #269, and he is not the average villain. Millenia ago, the Terminex race was destroyed by the Celestials, but not before they created Terminus and launched him and others like him into the stars. Terminus is a gargantuan monster that travels from planet to planet, extinguishing all life on each in spite-driven acts against the Celestials. He’s as much of a planetary threat as Galactus, only he cannot be reasoned with.
Since they can’t beat him in a fight, every time the Fantastic Four encounter Terminus, they’re forced to think outside the box and find a way to save the day with nothing but their brains and ingenuity, which is always when they’re at their best. At their cores, the FF are problem solvers, and foes like Terminus bring that out of them in the best ways, forcing them to think up solutions that nobody in their right mind would get anywhere near conceptualizing.
3) Abraxas
Speaking of cosmic-level beings out to destroy everything, nobody fits that bill better than Abraxas. First introduced in Fantastic Four Annual 2001, Abraxas is the antithesis of Eternity. Where Eternity represents creation and life, Abraxas seeks the end of all things. He is usually kept in place by Galactus, but after the Planet-Eater’s death, he was freed. His unstoppable might forced the Fantastic Four to pair up with the then-revived Galactus, and unknowingly brought about the birth of Vaerlia Richards, thanks to Franklin’s powers. Abraxas is the type of threat that forces the FF to use all the special doomsday devices and power-plays they never get to do, like Franklin resurrecting Galactus and actually firing the Ultimate Nullifier.
2) Aron the Rogue Watcher
The Watcher is one of the Fantastic Four’s oldest companions and the one who helped them connect with the grand cosmology of the Marvel Universe. In contrast, his nephew Aron was a villain who sought to use his grand power to rule the universe, rather than watch and protect it. Although he first appeared in Captain Marvel (1968) #39, he quickly became a recurring enemy of the FF, even impersonating his uncle to lead them to unwittingly help him gather more power. Aron often acted like a petty child gifted with immeasurable power, which made the Fantastic Four bounce off him perfectly. He’s a wild break from the usual Watcher, and that’s what makes him so interesting.
1) Psycho-Man
Psycho-Man first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #5 as a mad scientist who ruled a technocracy consisting of several worlds within the Microverse and sought to conquer the normal-sized universe. Although he has not had many appearances, each of them has been impactful, as it was his plan that brought out the darkness in Sue Storm to create Malice, and had Invisible Girl rechristen herself as Invisible Woman. Psycho-Man left a deep, permanent mark on the Fantastic Four, which is certainly not something that everyone can say. He hurt them in a way few other villains have, and that’s exactly what makes each of their fights so impactful.
So there we have seven severely underrated Fantastic Four villains. Which of them is your favorite, and which villain of the FF do you think deserves more love than they get?
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