This list contains major spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.The Fantastic Four: First Steps has opened in theaters, successfully introducing the iconic heroes into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only does the film pit Marvel’s first family against The Silver Surfer and Galactus, but it also drops the viewers into a world where the Fantastic Four have encountered many of their past foes. Mole Man has a brief role in the film, while various other classic Fantastic Four villains like The Puppet Master, Diablo, and The Red Ghost are name-dropped. With rumors circulating that The Fantastic Four could receive a sequel in 2028, and their debut film already establishing that they’ve successfully defeated their past villains, this leaves some questions about who the team could face off against in a follow-up.
The most obvious answer is Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four’s archenemy. Yet with Robert Downey Jr. already set to play Doctor Doom in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, it feels like it would be redundant to feature him as the primary villain for a Fantastic Four sequel after two team-up movies. The Fantastic Four have plenty of villains outside of Doctor Doom that could make for compelling foes. Even though it is still far too early to guess what shape a sequel to The Fantastic Four: First Steps will take, given that Avengers: Secret Wars could reset everything, there are six villains that could build upon both the film’s theme of family and test the heroes in new, challenging ways.
These are the 6 villains that aren’t Doctor Doom that should be considered for The Fantastic Four: First Steps sequel.
6
The Frightful Four
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #36 (March 1965)
Every superhero team needs a dark mirror counterpart. The Justice League has the Legion of Doom, The Avengers have the Masters of Evil, and The Fantastic Four have the Frightful Four. While the roster for the team has changed over the years (with the Ultimate Comics universe version being the Marvel Zombies Fantastic Four), the one element that has remained consistent is that they are a team of villains who work together to stop The Fantastic Four.
With The Fantastic Four: First Steps name-dropping various Fantastic Four villains like The Puppet Master, The Wizard, Diablo, The Mad Thinker, and the deleted Red Ghost, it would feel like treading old ground to make any of those characters a primary threat for a sequel. However, if those characters combined forces to take down The Fantastic Four, it would not only justify using them but also present the chance to explore villains developing their own warped, twisted family dynamic to fight the Fantastic Four.
Related
10 Fights We Want To See in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ has the chance to turn long-established MCU rivalries into spectacular fights.
5
Hyperstorm
Created by Paul Ryan and Tom DeFalco
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #406 (November 1995)
Hyperstorm is the grandson of Reed Richards and Susan Storm from the Days of Future Past timeline, with him being the son of Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers (Cyclops and Jean Grey’s daughter). He is royalty to both the Fantastic Four and X-Men lineages. In the comics, he is a villain who conquers timelines, like his possible descendant, Nathaniel Richards/Kang the Conqueror. Even if the MCU post-Avengers: Secret Wars will tone down the multiverse, the Fantastic Four franchise makes the most sense to feature multiverse elements, given their nature as scientists and explorers.
Given how much of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is centered around family, and specifically the birth of Franklin Richards, it feels like the sequel’s natural direction is to dig deeper into the family dynamic and have their next threat come from one of their own, a potential dark version of what their family could become. How do the Fantastic Four fight a hypothetical member of their family? Do they stop him, or can they save him? Are some family members beyond saving? These are the types of questions that make a sequel worthwhile.
4
Kang the Conqueror (Sue Storm)
Created by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Carmine Di Giandomenico
First Appearance: Ultimate Comics Wolverine #4 (May 2013)
Marvel Studios likely has no interest in touching Kang the Conqueror ever again, but if they did, they have a workaround that doesn’t involve Jonathan Majors. In the Ultimate Comics, it is revealed that the Ultimate version of Kang the Conqueror is actually an alternate version of Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. The Fantastic Four: First Steps sequel could see the Fantastic Four encountering Kang the Conqueror, something the team has done many times in the comics, with the twist being that this version is an alternate version of The Invisible Woman.
It allows Marvel Studios to not only repurpose and salvage some of the Kang the Conqueror plotlines left hanging after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki, but also could tie in with a plotline from Deadpool & Wolverine. A nice bit of stunt casting would be to have this evil version of Sue Storm be played by Jessica Alba, and reveal that after her brother, The Human Torch (Chris Evans), died in the Void, she became a villain. It not only ties various MCU plotlines together but also allows the MCU to adapt the iconic Malice storyline from the comics in a new and altered way. If Jessica Alba didn’t want to return, nothing prevents Vanessa Kirby from also playing the part. Her role in The Fantastic Four: First Steps was a standout, and we say give her even more to do.
3
Psycho-Man
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Fantastic Four Annual #5 (November 1967)
Speaking of Malice, why not feature Psycho-Man, the villain who turned Sue in the comics in the first place? Psycho-Man hails from the city of Sub-Atomica, which the MCU now calls the Quantum Realm. He uses his powers to emotionally manipulate and control people, often playing off their worst fears and anger. Having Psycho-Man come from the Quantum Realm might be too similar to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (which at times felt like Peyton Reed’s version of a Fantastic Four story with the Ant-Man characters grafted on). Yet Psycho-Man could hail from another dimension that the Fantastic Four investigate early on, and later find his way to Earth.
With the first movie being so much about the strength of the family, Psycho-Man is the perfect villain for the sequel, as he can chip away at the dark secrets and resentments that each member may hold, allowing these feelings to bubble to the surface and test the family unit, and put them on the verge of collapsing. There is the iconic Malice storyline for Sue Storm, but also Psycho-Man could resurface some of Ben Grimm’s anger towards Reed for his transformation, after seemingly moving on from it. After the fate of the world hung in the balance in First Steps, Psycho-Man challenges their world in a personal way. Sequels tend to be darker, and Psycho-Man provides the perfect opportunity to push the Fantastic Four to the limits of the family.
Related
How the Silver Surfer Survived a Tidal Wave of Failed Movie Projects
There have been more attempts to give the Silver Surfer a solo film than you realize.
2
Annihilus
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Fantastic Four Annual #6 (November 1968)
Annihilus and the iconic storyline Annihilation are big enough to warrant a crossover film with various Marvel heroes. Yet the character originated in the Fantastic Four comics, and it would be appropriate for him to be a villain for the team in a sequel. Annihiulus is the ruler of the Negative Zone, a dimension the Fantastic Four often visit in the comics. Annihilus is also responsible for the death of Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in the comics, which gave birth to the Future Foundation. While it is too early to kill off the Human Torch, Annihilus is a villain with deep ties to the Fantastic Four.
A Fantastic Four sequel could easily see the Annihilation Wave, a large armada of warships, begin their invasion from the Negative Zone into deep space, forcing the Fantastic Four to get involved in the fight. The Annihilation comic storyline gave birth to the modern incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the very team that Marvel Comics seemed to position as the Fantastic Four’s replacement during that period in the comics when the team was being downplayed due to not having the film rights. It would be ironic, but also appropriate, for Annihilation to serve as the inspiration for the Fantastic Four‘s sequel.
1
The Maker
Created by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and Adam Kubert (Ultimate Reed Richards). Jonathan Hickman (The Maker).
First Appearance of Ultimate Reed Richards: Ultimate Fantastic Four #1 (February 2004). First Appearance of The Maker: Ultimate Fallout #4 (August 2011)
One of the biggest swings for the Ultimate Comics was to transform Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, the leader of the Fantastic Four, into one of the comics’ greatest villains: The Maker. While Ultimate Fantastic Four often struggled to find its voice, transforming Reed Richards into the Maker was a genius move that showed just how terrifying his main 616 counterpart could be if he ever lost his family. The Maker has been at the center of many key multiversal events in Marvel Comics, including Secret Wars and the recent Ultimate Comics relaunch, Ultimate Invasion. In the Ultimate Comics, The Maker filled the role of classic, more evil Doctor Doom in many stories, and he could do the same for the MCU so that the franchise doesn’t repeat itself so quickly.
With the Fantastic Four sequel following Avengers: Secret Wars, and likely the consolidation of the Multiverse, it would be fitting for one of the few survivors to be the evil Reed Richards, whose universe was destroyed. The best news would be to have Miles Teller reprise his role from 2015’s Fantastic Four. That reboot drew heavily from the Ultimate Fantastic Four, and it would feel appropriate for a character from one of the most hated Marvel Comics adaptations to now be a resentful villain whose universe was destroyed in favor of this new, happier team. This is both a meta-narrative and a thematically rich one, as it tests the heroes to see what they might be like in another life, had it not been for their family. The Maker could recruit his version of the Frightful Four, possibly recruiting Sue Storm, Kang the Conqueror, and others, to battle the team and act as a dark mirror to the team. In the end, The Maker is the perfect foe for The Fantastic Four: First Steps sequel.
Source link
Add Comment