Right off the bat, I wanna say that Fantastic Four First Steps is one of the best Marvel Movie trailers to come out in the past few years. It has a very different vibe from all the other ones. Honestly, I haven’t been this excited for a Marvel movie in so long.
A Fresh Start
First things first, the movie feels refreshing just from the trailer alone. Marvel has had a habit of over sensationalizing their trailers and movies. It’s as if they’ve been desperately trying to break away from the source material and modernize all of their IPs. This may have worked for some dated designs and concepts, but there’s a problem with that. It got to the point that everything they’ve done in the past few movies came across as deliberate departures from the source. This is thankfully not the case with the Fantastic Four.
Marvel seems to be embracing the retro designs and are rolling with it fully. The aesthetics are clearly retro and even the overall theme feels nostalgic of the original Fantastic Four. It’s a period setting through and through and it works exceptionally well with the movie. While it has a lot of expectations riding on it, we personally feel that it’s going to deliver. The score for the trailer is phenomenal and fits the movie perfectly. The actors they got to play the characters are on point, but here’s the Thing.
Comic Accuracy
It’s the first comic accurate live-action Fantastic Four we got; well, more or less. The original 2005 movie copied their costumes from the original run, while First Steps appears to mix the colors from both costumes of John Byrne’s run. First Steps is not without its own share of controversy, however. A lot of the comments most fans have is on the design of the Thing. While it’s not in the comics, his costume is reminiscent of his first uniform from issues 3-5 wherein he actually rips off the top and bottom. That’s why he’s depicted in only shorts or a singlet.
His design is personally a lot better than the 2015 version where he looked more like Korg from the Thor films rather than the Thing. I just wish his voice was a little more gravely but that’s a personal nitpick.
The overall design of the costumes and the aesthetics really does strike a nostalgic chord with fans however. Compared to the 2015 movie, this one feels like a proper Fantastic Four movie that’s not trying to reinvent them. After all, you don’t need to fix what’s not broken. The costumes and the scenes help sell the fact that this is a period movie and it’s meant to be reminiscent of the classic comic days. Personally, I can appreciate a movie that’s not trying to modernize the source material.
We’re especially excited to see how Pedro Pascal is as Reed Richards. He’s known for his roles in the Mandolorian and Narcos, so it’s going to be interesting watching him play Reed Richards.
Expectations
Fantastic Four First Steps already succeeds where a lot of FF adaptations fail. The Fantastic Four’s whole theme and overarching motivation in the first place centers around the concept of “the normal family”. They push the idea that even after they get their powers, they’re still a family and try to live a domestic life. From the get-go, First Steps pushes the notion that they’re a family and how important the idea is to them.
What makes the Fantastic Four so iconic is their struggle to marry the concept of the “normal family” with their current situation. So many of them have juxtapositions with each other and yet they’re still more or less unified. You have the Thing always wearing a trench coat and fedora when he goes outside despite the sense of normalcy the family tries to give him at home. On the other hand, Johnny uses his powers when given the chance and loves showing off. It’s this sense of opposition among their personalities and yet they still find a semblance of unity. First Steps has the potential to show us this.
At the end of the day, it’s an MCU movie and we’re still wondering how it’s going to fit in the bigger scheme. They’ve shown us Galactus from the get-go and we’re hoping he’s not going to be a one-and-done type villain. It be great to see them transition this into Secret Wars down the line by introducing other cosmic entities other than Galactus and the Beyonder. Overall, we can’t wait to watch First Steps when it comes out in July.
Why don’t you read these articles while waiting for First Steps to release in July?
