Marvel Reveals New Fantastic Four Rivals

The Fantastic Four are making their return to the Marvel Universe, but they may find their old stomping grounds a little more crowded than they remember.

Marvel today revealed the Fantastix, a new group of heroic rivals to Marvel's First Family. Like the Fantastic Four, the Fantastix have set up their headquarters inside the Baxter Building.

"As we get back to things down on Earth, we introduce a new team of Super Heroes who are operating out of the Baxter Building who are surprised when the Fantastic Four show up on the doorstep, thinking that they still have the rent on the place," executive editor Tom Brevoort said on the This Week in Marvel podcast.

Take a look at the Fantastix on Esad Ribic's cover to Fantastic Four #4.

Fantastic Four relaunched last week after a year's long hiatus, returning to a positive and emotional reception from fans and critics. The new series is written by Dan Slott and drawn by Sara Pichelli.

"The Fantastic Four are the cornerstone of the Marvel Universe since 1961," Slott said ahead of the series' launch. "This is the first family...It's the family that goes off and explores the cosmos. Not just the cosmos. Anything Reed or Valeria can come up with, going into new dimensions, going into crazy new things. One of the strengths of Stan [Lee] and Jack [Kirby] is that you never knew what you were going to get in Fantastic Four. You were always seeing new worlds. You were always seeing new ideas. You were always seeing brand new characters. The world of the Fantastic Four is the anything can happen book and also the book that shapes what the Marvel Universe is."

Slott also teased a return to form for the Fantastic Four's arch-nemesis and one of the Marvel Universe's greatest villains.

"Keep an eye out for Castle Von Doom," Slott said. "You've been missing a villainous Doctor Doom in the Marvel Universe for a while, haven't you? Is he a villain? Is he a hero? He's complicated, and the one thing that you know about the Fantastic Four is that two plus two equals four. That's at the heart of it. They all have to be here together."

Are you excited for the return of the Fantastic Four? What do you think about the Fantastix? Let us know in the comments!

Fantastic Four #1 is on sale now.