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Could Fantastic Four: First Steps help Marvel out of the slump they have been in since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame?
Set in the alternative universe of Earth-828, the movie focuses on the MCU characters Fantastic Four: Mr Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Thing, and The Human Torch.
Unlike the X Men, who are despised by some, in 818, the Fantastic Four are both loved and appreciated.
Taking cues from the silver age comics, Fantastic Four lives in a world that is futuristic, while still giving off a distinct 1960s vibe. This applies to every aspect of the visual aspect,
including the locations and characters who could have easily been ripped from the pages of an actual comic book.
Rather than making First Steps an origin movie about how the main heroes got their powers, the story instead goes down the Spider-Man route and fills in their backstory via televised exposition. It’s a refreshing way of explaining how they got their abilities, and I wish more movies did the same.
Characters are well-developed and nuanced. One standout is the villain turned anti-hero Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), though I do find it hard to believe he could be anything but a mild nuisance to our four heroes.
The story picks up when a female Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) announces that Galactus, the eater of worlds (Ralph Ineson), is coming to devour their world to sustain himself. Speaking of Galactus, he’s possibly the best MCU villain yet since Thanos, and the only problem wasthat he was not in the movie more. Watching him explore their version of New York City, at times like a three-year-old, was a delight, and I wish there were more of it.
For a long time, the MCU’s role as king of the box office was in dispute, but with Fantastic Four: First Steps showing signs of returning to form, the MCU may be back.
