The Fantastic Four Belong on TV
It’s a real shame when Marvel’s first family, the Fantastic Four (FF), have had the misfortune have having four crappy films. In 1994 we got this campy version of the FF, which is actually the most faithful adaptation of the team, that was never officially released. 11 years later in 2005 we got the one everyone knows and dislikes. The film was too goofy even for FF standards and the acting certainly wasn’t the greatest. The sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer, gave us more of what we disliked about the first one. Then came Josh Trank’s version of the FF, where I believe he wanted to add a new approach and make the film into a body horror. Bold idea that could’ve worked, but the studio got in the way and gave us the worst FF film. All four films forgot the most important thing that makes the FF who they are: family.
Source: OpenCBDB
Family has been the #1 thing (pun intended) that has defined the FF. Their powers don’t define them, it’s their love for one another. Through the darkest times they manage to come back together and that’s what the films lack, the hope and love that no matter what happens, they’ll always be together. The comics have always been a fun, weird, sci-fi story, where they have strange adventures as they travel to stranger worlds/dimensions. The films never seem to capture the family and the sci-fi aspect correctly, though they’ve certainly have tried, it’s just that film isn’t the right medium for the FF.
If you were to make the FF into a procedural show, with a different adventure each episode, while still having a singular storyline in a season, you can have a great FF story! One of the most constant problem in the FF films is that Dr. Doom is the villain and although he’s one of the BEST villains in the comics, he’s easily the worst out of all the superhero films. With a series, they wouldn’t have to blow their load and give us a terrible Dr. Doom. Instead we can spend time developing villains, with an arc of their own; plus their are several villains and storylines they can choose from. Villains such as the Wizard and Molecule Man can test Reed’s mind, Dragon Man can test Ben’s strength and humanity, the Skrulls can pull the family apart. Namor, Mole Man, Uatu the Watcher, the amount of characters and material they can pull from is astounding.
Source: Ranker
What I’m getting at is that the FF have a rich sense of storytelling of traveling to far off worlds and battling colorful villains that can’t be told within a 2 hour time frame. We need time, we need to see them function as a family and a team. Now I wouldn’t want this series to be part of the MCU or even be in the hands of Fox for that matter. I’d much rather see the FF on their own, in a separate universe, doing their own thing. People seem to be forgetting about the FF since none of the films have been good and the comics are just wiping them away. A series can really give them the boost they need and solidify them as major household name for Marvel.
Let me know what you think? Should they have their own series or can a FF film work? Tweet us @GeeksOfColor or myself @Manny_Castell.
