One of summer’s most anticipated movies, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” opens Friday, July 25.
“I always reserve judgment until I actually see the finished product. However, everything I’ve seen indicates that (‘First Steps) will be a lot of fun with some great acting,” said former Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, who wrote the “Fantastic Four” from 1991-96.
Long-time Marvel stalwart/University of Michigan alumnus Al Milgrom, who worked on the “FF” and many other Marvel titles, shares DeFalco’s mindset.
“I won’t know until I see the movie,” said Milgrom. “I’ve heard pretty good things about it from people I respect. I’m hoping. I tend to be less critical about these movies than other people.”
Grosse Pointe native and Secret Friends Unite! podcast host Charlie Carden remains cautiously optimistic.
“Marvel has the tools for success, but their continual stumbles post-2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’ makes me dubious as to the prospect of endearing box office success, if not perhaps the quality of the film itself and how it adheres to the spirit of the source material,” said Carden.
For the uninitiated, the Fantastic Four debuted in its titular comic book in 1961, created by the late writer/editor Stan Lee and the late artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby. It ushered in the “Marvel Age of Comics,” creating a resurgence in superheroes. The team consists of Reed Richards, alias Mr. Fantastic, a brilliant scientist who can stretch his body; Susan Richards, alias the Invisible Woman, Reed’s wife who turns invisible and creates invisible forcefields; Johnny Storm, alias the Human Torch, Susan’s younger brother who can burst into flame, fly, and hurl fireballs; and Ben Grimm, alias the Thing, Reed’s best friend who’s super-strong but cursed with a rocky, monstrous appearance. They get their powers when bombarded by cosmic rays aboard a space shuttle.
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In 1994, a low-budget movie called “The Fantastic Four” – produced by the late Detroit native Roger Corman (“Little Shop of Horrors”) and featuring actor/Eastern Michigan University alumnus Michael Bailey Smith as Ben Grimm – was made but never released. Nor was it intended to be released, much to the surprise and consternation of the cast. Co-executive producer Bernrd Eichinger wanted to make it in order to keep the film rights.
“It was disappointing,” recalled Smith. “I have to give a lot of credit to playing football at EMU. From my experience, we didn’t do a lot of winning. It was something that taught you to never give up. There’s always another game, another practice, another play. No matter what happens, if you want to achieve something, you do what it takes to make it happen. I live by that to this day.”
In 2015, the documentary, “DOOMED! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s ‘The Fantastic Four,’” was released.
“It’s a blessing in disguise because it came a cult hit. It had legs after that,” said Smith.
In 2005, “Fantastic Four” was released. While it got mixed-to-negative reviews, it grossed $333.5 million at the box office to warrant “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” released in 2007 also to mixed-to-negative reviews with a box office gross of $302 million. A third installment was cancelled.
“The 1994 version was always meant to be shelved. The studio only produced it so that they could keep the rights to the characters. I think the 2005 and 2007 movies had a great understanding of the characters and some terrific moments. Making movies is hard work and so many things can go wrong, The Fantastic Four has had a rough time going from printed page to the big screen, but so have so many other properties,” explained DeFalco.
In 2015, the rebooted – and much-maligned – “Fantastic Four” (stylized as “FANT4STIC”) was a commercial and critical failure. It resulted in an estimated loss of $80-$100 million for Fox. It also was nominated for five Golden Raspberry Awards, winning Worst Picture and Worst Director (Josh Trank, “Chronicle”).
“The 1994 story was well-documented as kind of a ‘stunt’ to retain rights. That said, its spirit is FAR closer to what Lee and Kirby created than anything that followed, which is ironic and sad!” said Carden. “I ‘took a bullet’ for my podcast for the sake of art and saw the 2015 movie, so my co-host Todd Oxtra didn’t have to and I’ve always regretted it because it makes my eyes and heart hurt to this day 10 years later. The movies from the early 2000s? I enjoyed them. My kids were small at the time and loved them… so I look back on them with rose-colored glasses, but the failures within the movies are numerous and easy to document.”
In 2008, “Iron Man” debuted, which was the dawn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only is “First Steps” the 37th MCU film, it also marks the Fantastic Four’s MCU debut. The Walt Disney Co., which owns Marvel, bought Fox in 2019, reclaiming the rights to the Fantastic Four (and the X-Men).
“First Steps” occurs in a retro-futuristic 1960s New York City. Pedro Pascal (“The Mandalorian”) plays Reed, Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”) plays Susan, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“Star Wars: Andor”) plays Ben and the Thing, and Joseph Quinn (“Warfare”) plays Johnny. Ralph Ineson (the “Harry Potter” movies) plays the giant, planet-devouring Galactus. Matt Shakman (“Game of Thrones”) is the director.
“‘Fantastic Four’ is a comic I’ve loved since I was a kid,” said Shakman. “(Reed) is basically Steve Jobs meets Einstein who’s creating technology that’s changing the world.”
Despite the superhero trappings, DeFalco and Carden agreed that what makes the Fantastic Four unique is that they’re a family.
“(The late artist Paul Ryan) and I were determined to make the ‘Fantastic Four’ the wildest roller coaster ride in comic books. We must have done something right because sales increased every issue while we were on the title,” said DeFalco. “The Fantastic Four is a family saga – like ‘Star Wars, (‘Thrones’), ‘Yellowstone,’ ‘Blue Bloods,’ and so many others. It’s a family that is constantly thrilling and inspiring us.”
“I think, for better or worse, family is family, and this was the first family of superheroes the world has ever seen,” said Carden. “Of course, the Avengers, the X-Men, and many others that followed rolled into the concept of ‘found family’ … but this was a husband, (future) wife, her brother, and the husband’s lifelong best friend who, bound together by a fated accident, took to saving the multiverse together through thick and thin. I think that message is universal, no matter how you feel about your own family.”
Many creators have portrayed the Fantastic Four as a dysfunctional family, but fan-favorite writer/artist Walter Simonson portrayed them as a happy family during his well-received 1989-91 run, much to the joy of popular artist Arthur Adams, who appeared at the Motor City Comic Con in May.
“They’ve had so many excellent creators working on that series for so long,” said Adams. “It’s fun to have that family dynamic. It’s been interesting over the years to see how people write the characters. Walter made them a happy family, which I found quite refreshing. A lot of people have written them as a troubled family but always a family. The Thing is one of the greatest characters ever. He’s a guy who’s had a lot of rough breaks and just keeps trying to do his best.”
Adams collaborated with Simonson and Milgrom on one of the most popular “Fantastic Four” stories. In 1990-91’s No. 347-349, the Fantastic Four was believed to be dead, so Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk and Ghost Rider became the new Fantastic Four.
“I think it’s just a lot of fun. Walter came up with a super fun story that people liked a lot with characters that were popular then and still are pretty popular today,” said Adams. “If Walter and I were as smart as we like to occasionally think we are, we would’ve just kept doing that team!”
Milgrom attributed the Fantastic Four’s success to the innovative work Lee and Kirby did. They were on the title for 102 issues before dissolving their partnership due to creative differences.
“I know the two of them disagreed about who created what – I don’t care, I wasn’t there,” said Milgrom. “Clearly, they were both phenomenally creative guys. Based on Kirby’s output and what he did without Stan, he was a creative force second to none. But his stuff was far more popular when Stan was writing it… the two of them together created so many characters that have gone on and the MCU is the obvious example of that.”
According to Shakman, he feels a great responsibility to the characters, the audience and the concept of the big summer blockbuster as “First Steps” opens on the heels of “Superman,” DC Comics’ flagship character who’s soared high and crashed on the big screen. “Superman” has been No. 1 for two consecutive weeks, so far grossing $409.3 million.
“It was the joy of my childhood… A lot of it has to do with building worlds and entering into a place of wonder,” said Shakman. “That’s what I felt when I saw ‘Indiana Jones’ as a kid and its’ what I hope people feel when they see (‘First Steps’) this summer.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
