10 Things You Need To Know About The Fantastic Four
With news of a new FF movie, here's all you need to know about Marvel's First Family.
Created by the beloved duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1961, the Fantastic Four are very much part of the furniture where Marvel Comics is concerned.
While Marvel's First Family has had its fair share of ups and downs in the world of comic books, the buzz right now is all about what could lie ahead for the FF on the silver screen. This buzz being drummed up in the wake of Marvel Studios confirming that Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts has signed on to direct a Fantastic Four movie that will introduce the characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
That film will ignore the previous Fantastic Four movies, and it's fascinating to think of how the FF will be introduced into the MCU, when they'll arrive, and then what role they'll have alongside the established heroes of this shared cinematic realm.
For those wanting to know more about the Fantastic Four other than the standard 'he's stretchy, she can turn invisible, that one's on fire, and the other fella's made out of rock', we've got you covered.
Here, then, are ten pieces of information to get you up to speed on some of the elements that make the Fantastic Four tick.
10. The First Creation Of A Lee And Kirby
No relationship in comic book history ever created as many great characters as the relationship between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. And the first creation of note from the pair? That would be the Fantastic Four.
Kirby and Joe Simon had already created Captain America two decades prior to the FF's debut, and the arrival of Marvel's First Family meant that Lee and Kirby were off to the races. Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm were handed their own title with The Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, although the story of their creation is up for some debate.
According to Stan Lee, he came up with the idea for the team and how they'd look, then got Kirby to draw the story. For Kirby, he says that he came up with the majority of the Fantastic Four's characters, design and stories, and Lee simply added in whatever dialogue he deemed suitable. Of course, this is a prime example of the oft-strained relationship that existed between these two powerhouses of the comic book industry.
Following the Fantastic Four, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby would go on to create the Hulk, then Thor, then Ant-Man, then Iron Man, assemble the Avengers, follow that up with the X-Men, and the introduce Black Panther. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
First and foremost, though, this iconic partnership gave readers the adventures of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing.