Fantastic Four (Comic Book): Difference between revisions

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* '''{{color|blue|Mr. Fantastic}}''' (Dr. Reed Richards), [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]] who [[Rubber Man|can stretch and bend any part of his body at will]].

* '''{{color|gray|The Invisible Woman}}''' (Susan "Sue" Richards [née Storm]), who originally could only become [[Visible Invisibility|invisible]], she later developed special [[Barrier Warrior|force field]] powers, and these have arguably been her defining ability ever since.

Their number one recurring enemy is Victor von Doom ('''[[Doctor Doom]]''' to you), who was [[Everyone Went to School Together|at college with Reed and Ben]] and holds an almighty grudge against Reed for "sabotaging" one of his experiments: the experiment actually failed because of Doom's own error, which Reed noticed and tried to warn him about, but Doom's pride will not permit him to accept the truth. Reed may have Doom (narrowly) beat for the title of World's Smartest Man, but Doom is well ahead for the title of World's ''Vainest'' ([[Fridge Logic|though he's not the one calling himself "Mr. Fantastic"...]]). It really didn't help that the experiment in question literally blew up in Doom's face, [[Minor Injury Overreaction|marring his previously flawless good looks]]. These days he wears an iron mask at all times, usually as part of a full suit of [[Powered Armor|battle armor]].

 

 

The series currently has spun off ''FF'', meaning ''Future Foundation''. Originally a temporary replacement for the regular ''Fantastic Four'' book, the Foundation is a scientific organization working for the betterment of mankind. The book features Reed and Sue's children, Franklin and Valeria; and notably includes [[Spider-Man]] and [[Doctor Doom]] as members.

There have been several TV adaptations of the family, all [[Animated Adaptation|animated]]; ''The Fantastic Four'', a 1967 [[Hanna-Barbera]] series with many episode plots taken straight from the comics, ''[[The Fantastic Four (animation)|The Fantastic Four]]'', the 1978 series with H.E.R.B.I.E the Robot in place of the Human Torch, ''[[Fantastic Four (animation)|Fantastic Four]]'', a 1990s series that aired along with ''Iron Man'' as part of the "Marvel Action Pack", and ''[[Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes]]'', a 2006 [[Animesque]] [[International Coproduction|French co-production]]. Ben also appeared in his own show in the late 1970s as part of ''[[Fred and Barney Meet The Thing]]''; on that show he was reimagined as a mild-mannered teenager, who had the power to turn back and forth from the comic-book alter ego with the help of a magic ring. ("Thing Ring, do your thing!")

 

 

In 1994, ''[[The Fantastic Four (film)|The Fantastic Four]]'', a low-budget movie never intended to be released, was made by [[Roger Corman]]. Eleven years later, ''[[Fantastic Four (film)|Fantastic Four]]'', a big-budget movie, was released; it was followed in 2007 with a sequel, ''Fantastic Four: Rise of the [[Silver Surfer]]''.

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{{tropelist}}

* [[Action Mom]]: Invisible Woman, mother of two and still telekinetic butt-kicker supreme.

* [[Alliterative Name]]: Reed Richards, Susan Storm.

* [[All Your Powers Combined]]: The Super Skrull has all the powers of the Fantastic Four. When [[Marvel vs. Capcom 3]] came out, the Super Skrull was on the roster as their gameplay equivalent.

* [[Alternate Company Equivalent]]: [[Jack Kirby]] originally reworked his old [[DC Comics]] team the [[Challengers of the Unknown]] to create the Four.

* [[Alternate Universe]]: Many, ''many'' of them. The FF have the highest number of canon AU stories. And whenever they needed to be avoided from a crossover; their absence is usually handwaved with: "The FF are away in an alternate dimension..." At one point, it's even revealed that Reed Richards often holds trans dimensional conferences with numerous alternate versions of himself at the same time.

* [[Ambiguously Jewish]]: Benjamin Jacob Grimm, until it became canon a few years back; and he recently undertook a second Bar Mitzvah to commemorate the occasion of his 13th Anniversary of turning into The Thing. His very look is loosely inspired by the Jewish folktale of the [[Golem]].

* [[Appropriated Appellation]]: In the first story, Sue was the first person to call Ben a "Thing".

* [[Arch Enemy]]: Doom and Reed, one of the most strongly [[It's Personal]] pair of nemeses in all of comics, although in practice the enmity extends to the rest of the team as well.

* [[Fakeout Escape]]: There's a sequence in ''Fantastic Four #2'' where Sue turns invisible when government officials come to check on her, then runs out the doorway during their confusion; this was enough of an [[Establishing Character Moment]] that it gets repeated in both the Ultimate and filmed versions.

* [[Faux Action Girl]]: The Invisible Girl, originally; though she slowly got better over time, it wasn't until the John Byrne run in the 1980s that she toughened up into a real [[Action Girl]].

** [[The Hero]]: Varies depending on the story, but usually Reed Richards

** [[The Lancer]]: Sue Storm

* [[Goo-Goo Godlike]]: Franklin Richards.

** Also, Infant Terrible, a Silver Age alien antagonist.

* [[Happily Married]]: Reed and Sue, most of the time.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|[[Tear Jerker|Johnny does this to save his niece and nephew. He succeeds, but dies in the process]]}}. (Don't worry, kids, this is a comic book).

** IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!

* [[Last-Name Basis]]: The Thing seems to be on a permanent last-name basis with Bruce Banner (possibly having to do with his main rival being [[The Incredible Hulk|Bruce's alter-ego]], and when he gets sufficiently pissed at Reed he'll start referring to him exclusively as "Richards."

** Another time, Johnny purposely used a intentionally-crudely-drawn version of the first issue of "The Incredible Hulk" to rile Ben. Needless to say, it worked, and even before Ben could tear the issue up himself, Johnny accidentally burned it to cinders while trying to grab it.

* [[Layman's Terms]]: Ben usually dumbs down the complex explanations Reed Richards comes up with for the people around him. When Reed starts speaking ''too'' Star-Trek even for him, it's also Ben who normally snaps at him to "Speak English, Stretcho!"

** Then again, it's (maybe) possible Victor'd already had at least one doctorate under his belt and was pursuing another one at the time of the accident that scarred him.

*** Or, perhaps when he took over Latveria he had one of its universities give him an honorary degree.

* [[Most Common Superpower]]: For a time during the [[The Dark Age of Comic Books|mid-90s]], the Invisible Woman wore a skimpy costume with a cut-out "4" on her cleavage. This was before writers and editors realized that they didn't have to dress Sue up in a slinky costume to make her sexy -- she was already a MILF.

* [[Mr. Exposition]]: In their early appearances the Inhumans come across as an entire race of these. This is partly because they have to speak for their mute leader Black Bolt, and partly because they would appear [[Once an Episode]] as part of a story arc and have to recap everything for casual readers.

** {{spoiler|Johnny dying a year before the FF's 50th anniversary.}} Yeaaaah, ''that'll'' stick.

* [[Story-Breaker Power]]: Franklin is a major case of having this, which is why he can never be allowed to permanently grow up in-story.

* [[Sudden Humility]]: In one issue, Sue and Johnny swap powers. Sue constantly loses control over her new powers and notes how she constantly "Flames On!" by accident whenever she gets excited or emotional. She's utterly amazed that a [[Hot-Blooded]] person like Johnny was able to keep this much power under control, and she gained a newfound respect and appreciation for her brother because of how difficult it was for her to remain in control at all times.

* [[Super Family Team]]: One of the first and longest lasting in comics.

* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: [[She Hulk]] was a member of the team for a while when the Thing went solo. Having the same powers let her fill the role effectively.

* [[They Do]]: Reed and Sue.

* [[True Companions]]: [[Spider-Man]] is one of the most trusted allies and friends of the Four. After the {{spoiler|Torch's supposed death}}, Spidey temporarily became a member of the ''Future Foundation''.

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Johnny and Ben, and Johnny and Spidey whenever they team up.

* [[The Von Trope Family]]: Doctor Doom's real name is Victor Von Doom. Reed and Sue's daughter Valeria could also fit here, since in one alternate future she was Doctor Doom's daughter, but Sue was still her mom.

* [[What Have I Become?]]: Ben Grimm.

** By this point now he's pretty much over it, although he has his good days and his bad days.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Marvel Comics Series]]

[[Category:Better Than It Sounds/Comic Books]]

[[Category:Print Long Runners]]

[[Category:Marvel Comics Characters]]

[[Category:Marvel Universe]]