Even ignoring the benefits of the team itself, killing off or removing the Fantastic Four entirely would only serve to harm one of Marvel's most famous villains: Victor Von Doom. While Doom may be a major figure within the Marvel universe, having fought the Avengers more than once, it's with Reed Richards and his team that he has the most chemistry. Along with personal history dating back to their origins, the group have fought Doom more times than any other character and work off of him the best. The team and villain perfectly depict the use and misuse of their powers (the usual song and dance of the hero using it to better others, the villain for self service) but with an added shade of grey thanks to Doom ruling Latvaria and his treatment of its people. Stories have been built out of the complex relationship between them, Doom's own diplomatic immunity, and the fact the Richards family and he are linked by Valeria. Putting the Fantastic Four on hiatus, or even into limbo for a while, would limit storytelling opportunities with the character; removing the source of many of his most interesting developments. Sure, there are opportunities for great stories with heroes and villains beyond the Fantastic Four, but they would lack that same history or connection. You could have Captain America punching Doom as much as possible, but it wouldn't have that same impact as he and Reed concluding one final chess game left unfinished since they were students.
A gamer who has played everything from Daikatana to Dwarf Fortress. An obsessive film fanatic valuing everything from The Third Man to Flash Gordon. An addict to tabletop titles, comics and the classics of science fiction, whatever media they are a part of.
