Jeopardy! Honors the Fantastic Four in Recent Episode

Less than a week after featuring two of Marvel’s female superheroes in a category about female action stars, Jeopardy! — the long-running game show hosted by Alex Trebek, shone a spotlight on the Fantastic Four this week. Of course, the Jeopardy! answer was about Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, so ironically that “spotlight” wouldn’t have made much of a difference. It was probably inevitable that the FF would come up in the episode, since the category that housed the clue was literally just “four.” Still, given the trouble they have had with their movies, Marvel’s First Family aren’t exactly household names these days.

The Fantastic Four were key in building Marvel into a powerhouse in the ’60s, marking the first time in years that the publisher had really embraced superhero comics. At a time when other genres were more popular, early issues were actually made to resemble the popular monster comics that artist Jack Kirby was already working on, so that they would still have a viable title if the superhero stuff didn’t work for them.

“Invisibility is a key attribute of Sue Storm, a member of this group,” the clue read, and Kyle Dallman, a political recruiter and trainer from Cincinnati, correctly identified the question as “What is the Fantastic Four?”

The hit series has been in the news more than usual over the course of the last year, with host Alex Trebek undergoing cancer treatment that threatens to end his on-air career. Along the way, player James Holzhauer made a run at the all-time record, which led to a special primetime event called Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time, which saw franchise champions Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, and Brad Rutter competing for a $1 million prize.

Viewers who tuned in to see the first night were treated to an unexpected surprise, in the form of host Alex Trebek saying “bitchin’.” In a category about 1980’s culture, Trebek read aloud a clue that mentioned giving someone a “bitchin’ mixtape,” and the sight of the dignified, aging Trebek saying that word was a delight for social media.

While the network is looking for a potential replacement for Trebek, the host himself has recused himself from the process, and just tells whoever asks that he has no say in the matter.

“[Alex] really has no interest in being involved in that process,” Jeopardy! executive producer Harry Friedman said during the network’s TCA appearance earlier this year. “We would welcome his opinion, obviously, but he feels like it’s really not up to him. And he has said that for a long time.”