Immediate Response: The Fantastic Four- First Steps (2025)

 Let's return to the 1960s (on Earth 828)!

Will this one be, well, Fantastic?

The Good

* The Film looks great!  It has a retro-futuristic look to it, bright visuals and lovely space footage.
* The Cast truly unites as a 'family' in this one, which is how this has to work.
Human Torch even gets to be smart to boot!

* This version of Silver Surfer looks great, shining and reflecting just the right way.

* Plotwise, this one works, presenting 'real' people in fantastic...al situations.

* Galactus on the big Screen.  Yes, please!

* Great Music yet again.  Thank you, Mr. Giacchino

* Bonus points for HERBIE.  We all owe you an apology.

The Bad

* If the look of the Film isn't your thing, there's pretty much no escape from it.
* I honestly wanted more of the beginning segment, which will hopefully be restored in a later Cut (although Marvel has been sparse with them lately.

#JusticeForRedGhost

* Another tease for Avengers: Doomsday.  Damn this delay!

No major complaints- honest!

This one is great and I can't wait to see more of this group.

Current or lapse Marvel Fan?  Go see it.  Fan of Superheroes in general? Go see it!

My Crazy Youth: The Fantastic Four vs. Galactus from 1967

 I came around at the time when Shows that were 20 years old were 'retro' and in syndication via Channels like Boomerang.

As such, I saw this Cartoon before the 1994 Fantastic Four Cartoon.

Unsurprisingly, the Hanna Barbera Cartoon also featured the famous fight against Galactus.

Let's see how the original animated showdown went.

...um, phrasing.

A strange effect happens on the Earth.  Rocks form a barrier in the sky.

Is this Reed stretching his neck or an animation error?
You decide!

The Watcher shows up and warns them that they must stop the Herald of Galactus- the Surfer- from signaling him.

There'd be no conflict if they did it in time, so they fail.

Time to punch out the...wait- that's Silver Surfer?!?

Galactus shows up...and he's green.

Coloring in this Show is sure a choice!

This angle also nearly gives us an intergalactic upskirt shot!

As always, Watcher sends Johnny to retrieve the one weapon that can give Galactus pause.

Since this is still in the Kirby Era (he left in 1970- well, the first time), we get some trippy (but also cheap enough for animation) visuals.

Meanwhile, Susan finds the beat-up Surfer and asks him to turn against Galactus to help the Earth.

That or she's giving him therapy.

Tell me about your Space Mother.

The group fight Galactus, essentially just stalling to keep him from getting his machines (which will drain the Earth) running.

Can they stall long enough?

Yes, obviously.

They give the Ultimate Nullifier (in a lovely gift box) to The Watcher who negotiates a deal for Galactus' exit.

Is THIS your card?

In a change from the Comics, Galactus just threatens reprisal against the Silver Surfer.

In the Comics, he put a restriction on him that didn't allow him to leave the Milky Way.

In a bit of pure coincidence, this is the SECOND Fantastic Four content in a row I've covered that ends with Reed waving.

A fun, if very copy-paste version of the famous Comic Book Trilogy.

On one hand, why change what Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created here?
On the other hand, are you just getting paid to do the exact same thing twice?

This is the early days of Saturday Morning Cartoon Animation, so I give i a pass (with a joke) on the little errors, hiccups and the like.

Why make Galactus green?
Why make Surfer look like Iceman?

I guess I can't complain about this one regard, as this isn't like those early Marvel Cartoons which were literally just reused Comic Book Panels (and they didn't pay the Artists again)!

Speaking of payment, I should note that Jack Kirby would go on to work for Hanna-Barbera around 1979, even creating HERBIE for an FF Show (and also Thundarr the Barbarian).

If you were of a certain age to see this new or in syndication (like me), there's a fun charm here.
It's also free to watch and download, so there's that.

Talk to the hand- the Devourer of Worlds isn't listening!

An Episode that fights against the limitations of its day and weird choices made.  A must-see for fans of Retro Animation.

Rare Flix: The Fantastic Four (1994)

 The most famous Film that was never released (that isn't Batgirl, Coyote vs Acme or The Day the Clown Cried).

Look- it is the most famous Film to not be released by Roger Corman!  Happy now?!?

This is 1994's The Fantastic Four, a Film Produced by Roger Corman in an attempt to stall and keep the Film Rights.

There was no follow up Film though, leaving this one a seemingly-lot oddity until the Internet had its turn.

This one follows the tale pretty strictly, but does a few odd tweaks here and there.

How does it compare to the Tim Story Films, Fant4stic or the new one?

To find out, read on...

In the year whenever this is set, Reed and Victor are College Students...I think.

They could be Masters Students, to be fair.
Both Actors are in their 30s though.    

They work on a secret experiment to tap into some cosmic energy that is apparently just chilling by the Earth.

Reed says that the machine is dangerous, but Victor proceeds anyways and gets zapped.

We also see Reed and Ben (who share a Class) visit the latter's Boarding House, which apparently also houses a (possibly) teenaged Sue and Johnny Storm.

The former falls for Reed, which is definitely not creepy.
Right, John Byrne?

10 years later, the cosmic energy is apparently back and now our Lead is possibly/hopefully playing his real age.

He meets a now-legal Sue and...aw, why not just start with this part?!?

Their plan to fly up and collect the energy safely involves a special shielding technology.

Said technology is powered by this...crystal lamp, I guess?

Anyhow, Dr. Doom is spying on Reed and sees The Jeweler (and not the Mole Man!) switch it with a fake.

This causes the ship to explode and the group is bombarded by cosmic rays.

The ship explodes!

They somehow land on Earth safely (!!!), but are changed.

Oddly, Ben transforms a good 12 hours or so later...because reasons.

They are being studied by the Military (just like Fant4stic)...or so they think.

It is actually Dr. Doom!

Our Heroes learn to use their powers, but Ben is still down on himself.

He accidentally meets the Jeweler after he *just happens* to kidnap Ben's possible love interest.
What are the odds of that?!?

She's re-kidnapped by Doom, which rallies the team together.

The group show up, get immediately captured, but later break free.

They fight off Doom's goons, but the guy activates his MacGuffin Death Laser (powered by the same crystal from earlier).

Johnny flies in and saves the day...somehow, by shooting flames at a cosmic laser.

Doom escapes for the Sequel that Corman never planned to make.  The End.

This Film sure feels half baked, but is full of heart.

I, like many people, watch Doomed many years ago and learned all about this.

Everyone who worked on it was really trying.

The Film was perhaps going to look better in the F/X Department if it was *actually* made to be released.  The CGI is just not that good here.

I was a big fan of the practical Thing look though.

For better or worse, this one is a product of its time.  It is based on the looks, aesthetic and vibes of the Old School Comics.  

Those were popular with Marvel at the time- see Season 1 of the Cartoon. 

This does give the Film a real charm, as long as you are in the mood.

As far as unreleased Films, this one is fine and kind of fun...even if they briefly turned Dr. Doom into Wolverine...

Snikt.

A Film whose reputation proceeds it quite well.  That said, it is an early attempt at what we got in 2005.

My Crazy Youth: The Fantastic Four vs. Galactus- Round 3!

 After the last Episode, I figured I'd keep going.

In Episode 20 (now fully in the new style), Galactus would return in 'When Calls Galactus...'

The FF go out to dinner, but are mobbed by fans.  Whoops.

One girl (Nova) is daring and kisses a morose Johnny (missing his beau Crystal) and... lights on fire.

It turns out that she was exposed to chemicals as a kid and now has Johnny's powers too!

Bad timing as Terrax- last seen in 'To Battle the Living Planet'- arrives and attacks!

He is Galactus' new Herald (replacing Silver Surfer), but wants their help to kill him!

They are forced to acquiesce when he floats New York City into the upper Atmosphere!

The group- with Nova and now Invisible Woman- goes to him and he explains that he was 'poisoned' by a Planet chosen by Terrax.

He attacks them and our Heroes realize that his attacks power up Galactus, allowing him to defeat his Herald!

As he goes to leave, Galactus is suddenly 'sick' from that Planet (delayed reaction?) and now decides to feed on Earth!

They battle him, but things aren't going well.

A literal Deus Ex Machina arrives in the form of Thor (voiced by John Rhys Davies!), who aids them.

However, he's still not enough.

As a Fox Crossover, Ghost Rider (who previously appeared on Hulk and was going to get a Show) rides onto the scene and uses his Penance Stare.

It makes Galactus feel the pain of every life he took by eating their Planets (which is countless 1,000,000,000s!).

Galactus goes down!

He soon begins to feed on its own energies, shrinking the giant alien!

However, Nova speaks up, offering to become Galactus' new Herald and exploring the Galaxy with him.

Johnny doesn't take it well, obviously.

She goes with him, apparently not appearing on the Show again.  Dang.

The End.

A fun Episode, even if it does speed through a ton of story in just one Episode.

Curiously, the 1st Season did a 2-Part Episode on Galactus (which I remember watching on my living room floor one Saturday morning) and then did these Episodes in just one-offs.

In the course of 20+ minutes, we have to meet Nova, get her origin, see her relationship form with Johnny, see her fight the villains and then see her change her fate to leave with Galactus.

If that's not a speed run, what is?

Having said that, I did like it.  I like that they introduced Terrax and Thor before and then paid them off in the same Episode.

Ghost Rider was a good replacement for Dr. Strange, who did the same thing in the Comics (just with a spell that caused the same effect).

It is a random, but fun cameo.

All in all, this one- sans Silver Surfer- does show what an improvement we got from Season 1.  I mean...this is a real Screenshot from that 2-Part Episode.

A less remembered, but still fun Episode of this dated Show.  Thankfully, it is less dated in the bad way, especially compared to the previous 2.

My Crazy Youth: The Fantastic Four (and The Silver Surfer) vs. Galactus - Round 2!

 The 1990s were an *interesting* time for the Comics Industry and the Fantastic Four were no exception.

They got a Cartoon in 1994 and it was...something.

In short, it was changed drastically for the better in Season 2.

Before that, let's cover the final Episode before the rebrand and it features the return of The Silver Surfer!

A quick recap first (which is given in the Show later as well) ...

The Silver Surfer stood up to Galactus and was forbidden to soar the Universe in return.  He could only stay in our Galaxy.

The Episode begins with Ben and Alicia at home watching the TV, finally with some alone time.

It is interrupted by Johnny (whose Pearl Jam Concert was rained out) and then the other two.

Weird energy in the air is causing what appears on TV to come out of the screen!

That's all of the setup I need for the team to fight Dinosaurs!

They trace the energy to the upper Atmosphere and find Galactus' ship, albeit worn down.

They go inside and THEN put on space suits.

They are called that because you only put them on AFTER you're in Space, right?

All is not what it seems as The Silver Surfer- fresh off of meeting Alicia and recapping his origin- arrives.

They have more company- Dr. Doom!

This was all a trap so that he could zap The Surfer and steal his powers!

He sets the ship to explode and flies to Earth.

Obviously, our Heroes survive and Reed tries to find a way to restore The Surfer's powers.

It is not going well!

Meanwhile, Dr. Doom hijacks all of the TV Signals to announce that he wants the World Rulers to all surrender to him and make him King (of the World)!

As luck would have it, the nosy Land Lady (she stopped appearing in Season 2) inspires a simple plan.

They bait Dr. Doom into chasing them into Outer Space.

They make him fly past Galactus' limit on the Surfer, which gets his attention.

He's a full on Deus Ex Machina here, stopping Doom, restoring the Surfer and then leaving them.

Bye!

The End.

This is a fun Episode, as long as you understand what you are going to get here.

The Show was not great, especially in this 1st Season.  It had moments and it adapted the early Comics, giving a younger Demographic (like me) a taste of them.

There's a genuine charm here.

That said, the Animation, Writing and Production are a little bit off and pretty silly.

We see Sumo Wrestlers come out of a TV!

Pacing is strange as we don't get to fully powered Doom until over halfway through.  As such, they have to rush through to the End.

I can't be mad at this- it is endearing and just kind of silly.

It also features some not so subtle advertising for the Marvel Action Hour (of which this is the 2nd half) ...

Have some goofy fun with this Show- wrinkles and all.  It is both silly and self-serious, which is a good combination for animation.

Immediate Response: Thunderbolts* (2025)

I was hyped for this.  I didn't want anything SPOILED.

I saw it.

Here are my thoughts...

The Good

* The Plot is fun and inventive, with the ragtag group brought together via strange circumstances.  Fate made them a team.

* Strong performances by everyone here, especially Florence Pugh as the Film's main Star/focus.  There are no slouches here.

* The team is made up of a fun group of characters, who bounce off of each other nicely.

* The Film has great action, coming to you in fun bursts.  The Scene are given room to breathe and the Plot doesn't suffer from having to fight for screentime.

* A good focus is given to Mental Health in this one.  It is not treated as a joke and is given proper care.

* Lots of build-up for future Films to boot.  I won't SPOIL what, of course.

The Bad

* The Film does a decent job of giving all of the characters' backstories, but it helps plenty to have seen the other Films and Shows (like Ant-Man and the Wasp or Black Widow).  
Do you really get Ghost, for instance, without seeing that 2017 Film?

* There is a pretty muted color palette here.  I don't hate it, but I prefer the brighter stuff as a whole.

* A Trailers note.  Do we really need a THIRD Now You See Me?

* After the setup and teases, I have to wait a few months for FF and longer for the next Avengers.

What the f**k is this AI Trailer Image?!?

A very different-feeling, but quite good Marvel Film.  

Hopefully more of this will silence the haters.

My Crazy Youth: A Fantastic Four Cartoon with a now ironic Guest Star

 A Fantastic Year to be a Marvel fan!

With the release of the first proper Trailer for this July's Fantastic Four: First Steps out now, let me look back at an earlier adaptation of the team.

This is 2006's Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes.

Specifically, I'm covering a later Episode which is notable for its Guest Star.

He...
Is...
I-RON MAN!

In this Show, the Foursome are famous Heroes located in New York City.

They have a sort-of Anime look to them, with the elongated bodies close to that of Aeon Flux.

Anyhow, they're being a fun family when they are attacked by the original Iron Man Suit.

It is soon joined by more!

The team goes right to the source, confronting Tony Stark at his Headquarters.

He's sure that his suits are safe...only to find them missing.

The unseen culprit tries to blow them all up.

As it turn out, the culprit is Dr. Doom!

Yep, that is why this Episode is so ironic to watch now in 2025.

Of course, the Heroes team up to save the day,

Iron Man vows to return the favor.
Does he appear again in the remaining 4 Episodes?

No.

A fun Episode.

After all, we get to see the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Dr. Doom in one Episode.

I didn't see much of this Show originally, as its original run on Cartoon Network was very erratic.  Apparently only 8 of the 26 Episodes ran originally.

It took until 2009 until all of them actually aired.

The idea of Iron Man and Doom as villains is a popular one, going back to the 1970s where they ended up in Arthurian England.
Of course I'm not kidding.

This Show is pretty fun all around and is worth a look on Disney Plus, along with Iron Man's own show.

Just don't hold his scary smile against him please.

Are there more hidden gems to cover in this Series?  Let me take a look in the coming weeks...