The Fantastic Four is one of the most important teams in the history of comics. While they haven’t been as massively popular as they once were for a long time, there would basically be no Marvel Universe without them. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the perfect group of heroes for the 1960s, changing the way superheroes were written forever and opening the door for Marvel to become the force they are. They are the First Family of the Marvel Universe, always playing a key role in major events, and creators have introduced numerous versions of the team, both on Earth-616 and throughout the multiverse.
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On their own, the base Fantastic Four is pretty potent, powers-wise. However, some of these other versions of the team are actually much more powerful. These are the seven most powerful versions of the Fantastic Four, introducing readers to the most powerful groups in comics.
7) ’80s Fantastic Four
Marvel in the ’80s was awesome, with Fantastic Four under the aegis of writer/artist John Byrne. Byrne’s run on the group is generally considered one of the best of all-time, the writer taking the team through numerous changes. One of those was the Thing leaving them, replacing him with She-Hulk. Shulkie’s base strength is about the same as Mama Grimm’s ever-lovin’, blue-eyed boy, but much like her cousin, she has infinite potential strength and an amazing healing factor. This bumps up the strength of the team immensely, making them more powerful than the base version.
6) The Fantastic Five
Marvel’s MC2 is a beloved alternate universe, introducing readers to the children and future versions of their greatest heroes. The Fantastic Five was this future’s version of the team, with Psi-Lord – the de facto name for older versions of Franklin Richard – joining the group. Various other members would join, like Lyja the Laserfist (who was married to Johnny Storm; I love Lyja and should write more about her), Lyja and Johnny’s son Super-Storm, and Doom’s ward Kristoff, amping up their power level. Any team with Franklin on it is automatically powerful, and this group had several other new members to add to the power quotient as well.
5) The New Fantastic Four
The New Fantastic Four was a short-lived version of the team from the ’90s, where Marvel decided to pack the most popular Marvel characters of the day into the group for a quick sales bump. While this version of the group didn’t have Franklin, it did have the Hulk and Ghost Rider. The Hulk is, well, the Hulk, even if the Joe Fixit version had lower base strength; he still has the “angrier he gets, the stronger he gets power” and the healing factor. Ghost Rider is one of the most slept on heroes when it comes to power level, pumping this team’s power level to insane proportions.
4) Fantastic Four of Earth-71166
There are some amazing alternate universe Fantastic Fours, with the team hailing from Earth-71166 being one of the best. Fantastic Four: The End is an outstanding story (it’s hard to find, but I was able to pick up the original issues for a song last summer; I already owned the hardcover, though), with the team coming back together after the loss of Franklin and Valeria tore them apart. The base team is at their most powerful levels, years of extra experience and enhancements stemming from Reed’s scientific breakthroughs for humanity making all the difference. The book ended with the Richards family reunited, with older versions of Valeria and Franklin joining up, adding their intelligence and power to the group respectively.
3) Fantastic Thors
Secret Wars (2015) introduced readers to numerous versions of classic Marvel heroes. God Emperor Doom’s Battleworld was protected by the Thor Corps and the final siege on the Shield Wall saw a group of them banding together as the Fantastic Thors. This team is made up of various multiversal versions of the God of Thunder, making it superlatively potent in battle. The only thing better than one Thor is a bunch of Thors and this team proves it.
2) The Future Foundation
After the death of Johnny Storm, the Fantastic Four lost their heart and soul and would rebrand as the Future Foundation, with Spider-Man taking his best friend’s place. However, he wasn’t the only addition, nor why the team is ranked so high. This group brought together some of the most powerful young heroes in the Marvel Universe, like Franklin, Valeria, Alex Power, Lightspeed, Artie, and Leech. On top of that, Dragon Man, Doctor Doom, She-Hulk, Ant-Man, and others also joined the group. That’s an amazingly powerful team and would wipe the floor with some of the most formidable groups in comics.
1) Secret Wars (2015) Fantastic Four
Secret Wars (2015) is the best Marvel event of all-time, and one of the most important parts of the story is its version of the Fantastic Four. When he was creating Battleworld, God Emperor Doom found a version of the Fantastic Four where Reed had died and took over their minds. Sue, Franklin, and Valeria were made into his family, barely remembering their old life, Johnny Storm was transformed into the sun, and the Thing was made into the Shield Wall of Battleworld. Franklin even had access to the power of Galactus, as well, as if he needed to be anymore powerful. It’s up to you whether you want to include Sheriff Stephen Strange in the group, but even without him, this is one of the most powerful teams in comics.
What do you think is the most powerful version of the Fantastic Four? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
