Casting Call: Fantastic Four

Welcome to Casting Call! Where we pick our favorite comic books and do some fantasy casting for them! This week, Marvel’s Fantastic Four!

Yeah, yeah, yeah…we know the much hyped/lauded reboot has landed, crashed, and burned. We’ve all heard the cries from fandom to “GIVE THE RIGHTS BACK TO MARVEL!!” Fox has recently announced that they plan to make a sequel to the biggest bomb of 2015.

Why? Well, the quick answer is they don’t want the rights to revert to Marvel. They must figure that any dollars that come from a comic book movie based on the FF is better than no movie or money at all. They still have in their dreams a cohesive universe with the X franchise they are trying to build currently. If that will actually happen remains to be seen. I believe Fox had seen what happened when they allowed Daredevil to revert back to Marvel. Fox had failed to produce a decent Daredevil film and within a short time of receiving back the rights, Marvel produced an acclaimed Daredevil show on Netflix. Fox may be thinking that can do the same with FF.

In the meantime we’re going to act like the FF rights will revert back to Marvel and we’ll recast the franchise for the MCU. Granted, we have no problem with the actors that Fox got for the reboot, we just have a problem with how they were directed to act. Here’s some bullet point that we’d hit in our FF film:

• It would be set in the MCU’s past. With the Ant-Man film acknowledging that there was a Silver Age of Marvel heroes (with the Hank Pym Ant-Man and Wasp team), along with Peggy Carter and Howard Stark contributing; who’s to say that the FF wasn’t active back then?
• Our FF would begin with a quick recap of how Reed and Ben knew doom from college. We would show the accident that resulted in Doom’s hatred for Reed.
• We would see the team take the test rocket to space where they gain their powers.
• Our Doom would not be a hacker or a business mogul, he’d be the vain genius that we know from the comics. He would be the sorcerer and dictator of Latveria. He would be the fearsome foe that the comics show us.
• The team would battle the Mole Man as their first adversary.
• They would battle with Annihilus in the Negative Zone (not the horribly named Planet Zero) and in order to save the Earth from the Annihilation wave they destroy the only way back and are thought dead.
• They would re-emerge in the present day MCU (thanks to Tony Stark screwing with wormholes into other dimensions) where they reveal they were just stuck for decades in the Negative Zone.
• We find out time is much different there and the team has only aged a few years while everyone else has aged decades.
• We find out that while there Sue gave birth to Franklin. Trying to help him adjust to normal life would be an ongoing storyline. Reed ends up coming to the conclusion that they need to teach powered children how to use their powers and be heroes in the Future Foundation.
• They could have Power Pack be part of them.
• The only villains to have battled the FF in the past could be Doom, Mole Man, and Annihilus. This leaves the rest of the FF villains open for use.
• Doom could have been sucked into Mephisto’s (Marvel’s version of the Devil) realm in an attempt to free his mother’s soul and finally made his way out in present day as well. He would go back to claim the throne of Latveria only to see that his fail safe protocols have been put into effect and Kristoff Vernard (his young protege) has taken the throne and name of Doom.

Our timeline is set so here’s our casting (warning, it’s a long one) for the heroes and villains of The Fantastic Four!

Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic – John Krasinski

Yes, Jim from The Office. We know he hasn’t been a lead in a major hollywood film yet, but this is his chance to shine. He has the chops to play the nerdy superhero. It would be a much cooler and less stiff version that what we saw from Ioan Gruffudd, and an older, confident, and actually have a personality than the version we saw from Miles Teller. In our film Reed would be the self absorbed genius we see in the comics. Being able to see Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and Bruce Banner together on screen would be awesome; not to mention that fact that with Reed added we’d have almost the entirety of the Illuminati in the MCU. Some of Krasinki’s best work was in Away We Go, Promised Land, andNobody Walks; his first big action type film is 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Plus we think he’s got the look for Stretcho.

Susan Storm/The Invisible Woman – Carey Mulligan

Aside from very much looking like Sue, Mulligan has the acting chops and combination of sweet and tough to play the Marvel Comics matriarch. You need an actress that’s capable of playing smart, strong, sweet, and is believable as someone who could put the boys in their place. Our Sue would not be on the sidelines and marginalized, she would be front and center in the majority of the movie. She would be able to come into her own as a hero and show why she is considered one of the more powerful characters in the Marvel U. Look for Mulligan in The Great Gatsby, Public Enemies, Drive, and Inside Llewyn Davis.

Johnny Storm/The Human Torch – Zac Efron

We need an actor who can convincingly play the cocky, snarky, funny, ladies man of the team. We wanted someone who has had experience playing that type of character. Well, Efron was made for this role. See his performances inNeighbors, 17 Again, New Year’s Eve, and That Awkward Moment (in which he coincidentally starred alongside FF 2015 stars Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan). Plus he and our next cast member could do a great job of antagonizing each other like Johnny and Ben should.

Ben Grimm/The Thing – Kellan Lutz

Big, strong, brooding, baby blues, and physically imposing. These are some of the traits shared by Lutz and Grimm. It seems like a very natural fit to play the sad outcast of the team. Lutz could easily do motion capture work for the part and not have to wear a rubber suit. He and Krasinski would make a convincing duo that was friends long before the team was formed. I would believe that Lutz was a pilot that could helm the rocket ship of destiny. For Lutz’s action roles check out: The Legend of Hercules, The Expendables 3, Immortals, and Arena.

Victor Von Doom/Dr. Doom – Ben Barnes

Mostly known from The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, Barnes is a terrific actor that has yet to stretch his legs playing the part of a bad guy. Since playing Caspian he has yet to land another big role that will catapult him into stardom. He’s a great actor that could hold his own as Victor Von Doom against John Krasinski’s Reed Richards. Our Doom would not be American as the last two were, he would be a student from Latveria hoping to use American tech to find a way to bring his mother’s soul back to him. No campiness and no metal skin. Barnes would be wearing the Doom armor.

Alicia Masters – Brie Larson

The love of both Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm’s lives needs a part in the movie. Who else to play the girl next door than Brie Larson. A great actress and she looks damn near identical to Alicia. Larson would be able to bring that calming presence needed to help tame the beast that is The Thing. We could even use Larson to play the Skrull imposter version of Alicia Masters that tricks Johnny to infiltrate the FF. To see Larson is action check out the following: Scott Pilgrim vs The World, 21 Jump Street, Trainwreck, and Short Term 12.

The Mole Man – Paul Giamatti

To play the FF’s first villain and constant thorn in their side we chose Giamatti. He’s played the bad guy before and done a bang up job at it. He has the smaller husky stature we’d need for the role. Normally folks would pick someone like Danny DeVito for the part but we feel that’s a bit tired. Plus Giamatti is a phenomenal actor and has experience with comic movies. Take a peek at Paul in the following: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, American Splendor, Win Win, Shoot ‘Em Up, and Straight Outta Compton.

The Red Ghost – John Malkovich

What part can’t Malkovich play? Crazy? Check. Russian? Check? Astronaut? Check. Can talk to apes? Check. Perfect for this part? Check. More Malkovich:Red, Con-Air, Knock Around Guys, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Making Mr. Right.

The Puppet Master – Jackie Earle Haley

Aside from looking eerily like Masters, Jackie Haley has played the bad guy very convincingly before. The is his role to lose as far as we’re concerned. See A Nightmare on Elm Street, Robocop, Watchmen, Shutter Island, and Little Children.

Annihilus – Diedrich Bader (Voice Over)

Not needing show his actual face for the role, we can get past the fact that Bader doesn’t look evil at all. His voice however is another story. Using mocap and CGI, Bader’s deep and menacing voice could be one to put fear into all who would oppose Annihilus! For some of his V.O. work see: Surf’s Up, JLA: Trapped in Time, Bolt, Ice Age, and Lego DC Comics.

The Super Skrull – Omari Hardwick

The role of Kl’rt the first Super Skrull and one of the few foes to defeat the FF singlehandedly, needs to be played by someone who is not only physically imposing but can portray an aura of royalty. Kl’rt becomes the Skrull Emperor and is more of an adversarial character than outright bad later on. This would also be a character who comes to blows with The Inhumans and Guardians of the Galaxy as well. Hardwick has the size and presence to play Kl’rt and would be a sure bet to appear in multiple Marvel films, a’la Sam Jackson. Hardwick can be seen in: Kick-Ass, Miracle at St. Anna, Linewatch, For Colored Girls, and The A-Team.

Thundra – Jessica Biel

Now wether Biel would take a smaller secondary hero’s role is debatable, but what isn’t is the fact that she is one of the most athletic, fit, and perfectly-built-for-this-part actresses out there. This part however could lead to a Lady Liberators or A-Force movie role and expanded parts in other Marvel films. She’s shown she can kick ass in Blade: Trinity and Total Recall, so playing an ass kicking lady hero seems like a cinch. More Biel can be found in: Stealth, Home of The Brave, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and Next.

Agatha Harkness – Judi Dench

The role of wise, mature, master witch could go to none other than Dame Judi Dench. After 7 turns as M in the James Bond movies she could move on to be Marvel’s top resident mystic, just a skosh behind Dr. Strange. We need an actress who commands respect and awe, Dench seems like a natural fit. Dame Judi can be seen in: Philomena, Notes on a Scandal, Chocolat, Chronicles of Riddick, Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides, and J. Edgar.

The Impossible Man – Stephen Merchant (Voice Over)

Some more mocap and CGI here to enable Merchant to be himself and expand upon his quirkiness. All he would need to do is just be silly and a little threatening. Not such a stretch for the talented Brit. More Merchant at: Hall Pass The Office (UK), Hello Ladies, and Movie 43.

Wyatt Wingfoot – Adam Beach

The FF’s handyman/assistant/exploring friend and one of the lone Native American characters with multiple appearances in a Marvel title. Wingfoot was a college friend of Johnny Storm and became almost a defacto member of the FF, joining them on many adventures. He was even engaged to She-Hulk at one point! Adam Beach just seems the logical choice for this part and would be a great supporting character in a She-Hulk movie as well. Beach can be found in:Windtalkers, Flags of Our Fathers, Joe Dirt, and Law & Order: SVU.

Blastaar – Dennis Haysbert (Voice Over)

Mocap and CGI along with Haysbert’s deep voice would make for a very fearsome Blastaar, the other big bad from the Negative Zone. Another role that can be spread throughout the MCU. Haysbert has a long list of great parts in:Major League, 24, The Unit, Heat, and Jarhead.

Diablo – Esai Morales

Diablo is the alchemist that has lived since the 9th century thanks to a deal he made with Mephisto. Diablo is a mid-tier FF bad guy and would be a good second villain in one of their movies. Diablo also brings with him Dragon Man a robot he brought to life via alchemy, and later becomes part of the Future Foundation. Morales is one of the best hispanic actors out there and could go full bore with his villainy. Morales is best known for La Bamba, Caprica, NYPD Blue, Gun Hill Road, and My Family.

Diablo’s Dragon Man

Uatu The Watcher – Michael Chiklis

Uatu has yet to make his presence known in the MCU. Many have theorized that Stan Lee is The Watcher due to his various cameos in MCU films. We’d actually like to see the big bald peeper standing silent as the big MCU events unfold. Chiklis is mainly and nostalgia choice for the role due to his being Ben Grimm in the early FF films. He has the look and can probably seem intimidating standing over 20 feet tall. Chiklis can be seen in: The Shield, Fantastic Four 1 & 2, Vegas, No Ordinary Family, and American Horror Story.

Trapster – Oliver Jackson-Cohen

More of a joke villain nowadays than when he first appeared, the Trapster was considered formidable when he debuted. A member of the Frightful Four team that took on the FF many times and a Spider-Man nemesis sometimes, we fell Jackson-Cohen could help to restore some of the shine to this baddie. See more of Jackson-Cohen in: Faster, The Raven, and Dracula.

The Mad Thinker – Sean Bean

Finally a role that won’t have to see Bean die. On the serious side, he has the look and the gravitas to play the FF bad guy that believes himself smarter than Reed Richards in every way. Thinker also brings us the Awesome Android who later on becomes an ally to many Marvel heroes. This is also the villain that brings us the Awesome Android. For more Sean Bean see: Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, National Treasure, Troy, Jupiter Ascending, and Legends.

The Mad Thinker’s Awesome Android

The Molecule Man – Colin Hanks

Now this may seem out of left field but hear me out. Colin Hanks is a terrific actor. He has the look to play the unassuming Owen Reece and the understated evil of the Molecule Man. The sone of Tom is a highly underrated actor and deserving of that one breakout role. Allowing him to flex his bad guy side is also a way to open him up to other parts. See more of Hanks in: Orange County, Dexter, Fargo (TV), Untraceable, King Kong, and Parkland.

The Psycho Man – Doug Jones

Another part that would be heavily CGI and MoCap. Who else but one of the best actors known to work with costumes and makeup, Doug Jones. The Psycho Man is a more hands off villain than the FF are used to and prefers to deal with trying to dismantle them mentally. Jones seems the ideal fit for the part. Find Jones in the following: Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, Mystery Men, andFantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer.

The Wizard – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

The ego, the attitude, the smarminess, the helmet. These are traits of the Wizard and Coster-Waldau…well, except for the helmet. Someone who is capable of playing a despicable asshat of a genius is needed for the part and Coster-Waldau is perfect; and he’s believable as the leader of the Frightful Four. To see Coster-Waldau at his best check out: Game of Thrones, The Other Woman, Mama, Oblivion, and Headhunters.

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk – Abigail Spencer

Ah, She-Hulk. The one and only member of the FF to actually make fans not miss Ben Grimm; that’s a feat unto itself. However, Shulkie is one of the most beloved secondary members of the FF and a popular member of the Avengers too! She just happens to be Bruce Banners cousin who gained her powers through a blood transfusion. Though unlike her cousin she keeps her intelligence and sense of humor. We wanted someone who could play the role in multiple MCU films and pull off the lawyer side of Shulkie. Abigail Spencer is another underrated actress who would get her big break through a Marvel film (see Scarlett Johansson). For more off Spencer see: Cowboys & Aliens, Oz The Great & Powerful, The Haunting in Connecticut 2, This is Where I Leave You andChasing Mavericks.

Sharon Ventura/Ms Marvel – Bridget Regan

Another female hero from the pages of FF (there were quite a few), Ventura was a one time girlfriend of Ben Grimm and eventually turned into a She Thing; she has been linked to Captain America as well. She served as a member of the FF with Ben, Johnny, and Crystal for a time and eventually turned bad. We wanted an actress who could play both sides of the coin and give us range. We went with Bridget Regan who had a brief part in Marvel’s Agent Carter as a spy. For more of Regan see: The Legend of The Seeker, Agent Carter, and Beauty and The Beast.

Lyja – Yaya DeCosta

Now this is a role that starts out as the Brie Larson Alicia Masters character. At some point in the comic the Skrulls kidnap Alicia and replace her with Lyja and infiltrate the FF. Alicia was involved with Ben Grimm at the time and when he didn’t come back from the Secret Wars she got involved with Johnny Storm instead. We didn’t find out that she was really a Skrull until much later; and much to Johnny’s chagrin she actually fell in love with him. Now having Brie Larson play Alicia up to her change into Lyja is fine, but after that point we would have Yaya portray the Skrull spy/warrior. For more of DeCosta see:Chicago Fire, Whitney, and the upcoming The Nice Guys.

Namor – Matt Bomer

Marvel’s first Mutant and one of their earliest heroes (along with Captain America and the Jim Hammond Human Torch), Namor the Submariner is the one person that has Sue Storm’s affections aside from Reed. This is much like the Wolverine/Jean Grey/Cyclops triangle. Bringing Namor to the big screen needs the acting ability to play royalty and the looks to make the women of the MCU swoon. Bomer is a great actor that has yet to have that breakout role and this is it. For more of Bomer see: White Collar, Magic Mike, American Horror Story,and The Normal Heart.

Nathaniel Richards – Bryan Cranston

The absentee father, the genius, the time traveller, the scientist, these are all words that describe Reed’s father and roles that we can see Bryan Cranston filling. Richards left Reed when he was a child and randomly came back into his life at crucial times for him. He also raises Reed and Sue’s kids, Franklin and Valeria in the future to be the saviors of humanity. Cranston is the ideal actor for this part. He brings the gravitas and seriousness needed for the part. For the best of Cranston see: Breaking Bad, Malcom in the Middle, Saving Private Ryan, Argo, and Trumbo.

Galactus – Ciaran Hinds

The world devourer Galactus. A part that was done as a damn space cloud in his only film appearance. Ugh… We want the giant guy in the purple and blue suit! I mean a 30 foot guy trying to destroy our planet with an even bigger piece of machinery. Preceded by the Silver Surfer, Galactus would be a foe for the entire MCU. Hinds has the intimidating stare and stern look on his face that would fit for the big guy. For more of Hinds work see: Game of Thrones, Ghost Rider, The Woman in Black, Rome, There Will Be Blood, and Munich.

Norrin Radd/Silver Surfer – Adrien Brody

Played prior by Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne in the original FF films, we feel Norrin Radd, the tortured Surfer would be perfectly played by Adrien Brody. The herald of Galactus, Norrin gave his life to servitude to spare his planet from being devoured. Brody has the lanky but muscular physique for the role and plays tortured well. He would have the name recognition to be able to headline a solo film as well as bring a name to other MCU films he appears in. You can find Brody in: The Jacket, The Pianist, Predators, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Cadillac Records, and King Kong.

The Frightful Four (The Wizard, Medusa, Sandman, and Trapster) – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Evan Rachel Wood, Kevin McKidd, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen

In listing Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Oliver Jackson-Cohen earlier we feel we need to cast the final two members of the first team that the FF encounters, The Frightful Four. Now there have been several incarnations of the team over the years but we’d stick with the original. Plus it gives us a chance to introduce Medusa to the MCU. Medusa would be played buy Evan Rachel Wood and Sandman would be played by Kevin McKidd. Wood eventually will of course be part of the Inhumans films and possibly make appearances in the Agents of SHIELD tv show. Wood has the acting ability to play royalty and villainess. McKidd we had mentioned playing William Baker in our Spider-Man Casting Call before. McKidd just has the look and can play the bad guy who turns good later. Wood can be seen in: Across the Universe and The Wrestler. McKidd can be seen in: Rome and Kingdom of Heaven.

The Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, Crystal, and Maximus) – Vin Diesel, Evan Rachel Wood, Daniel Henney, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, Sendil Ramamurthy, Laura Vandervoort, and Iwan Rehon

Another group who got their start in the FF comics was the Inhumans. Now we mentioned Medusa starting out as a villainess, but Crystal (her younger sister) actually served as a member of the FF for a time. So we had our picks of who should play the rest of the royal family. Black Bolt played by Vin Diesel, Karnak played by Daniel Henney, Gorgon played by Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, Triton played by Sendil Ramamurthy, Crystal played by Laura Vandervoort, and Maximus played by Iwan Rehon. You can see more of them in the following – Diesel: Fast and Furious franchise and Riddick franchise. Henney: Big Hero 6 and X-Men Origins Wolverine. Bjornsson: Game of Thrones. Ramamurthy: Heroes andCovert Affairs. Vandervoort: Smallville and V. Rehon: Game of Thrones and Misfits.

The Royal Inhuman Family

The Black Panther – Chadwick Boseman

Already cast for the role in upcoming MCU films, Boseman would be able to make appearances in the FF films and show the friendship that exists between T’Challa and Reed.

Klaw – Andy Serkis

Serkis also already cast in the role will be able to play a part in the FF films too.

There you have it folks! The cast we would try for when FF joins the MCU! What do you think? What changes would you make? Let us know in the comments!

Comic Book Origins: The Fantastic Four

Welcome to Comic Book Origins. Today we give you The Fantastic Four! With the release of the movie and the backlash it has received, we wanted to give you the low down on how the FF should have been done and could still be if reverted back to Marvel. Here we go!

Via Marvel.com

The Fantastic Four is an internationally-renowned group of superhuman champions (often dubbed the world’s premiere super hero team or the first family of super heroes) based in New York City and dedicated to the betterment of the world through scientific discovery and defense against evil.

It all started with a rushed test flight of an experimental spacecraft. Years before, while a student at Empire State University, Reed Richards began working on plans for one of the first vehicles capable interstellar travel. His roommate and best friend, Benjamin Grimm, jokingly promised to pilot the craft. But Reed, after studying to be an aeronautical engineer, finally realized his lifelong dream. Exhausting the majority of his vast inheritance, he funded the construction and launch of such a starship. Other financers, particularly the U.S. government, however, were losing interest and they threatened to cut him off from their funding of the project. Reed embarked on an immediate test flight, taking Ben Grimm with him who had become a successful Air Force pilot. Reed’s longtime sweetheart and fiancée, Susan Storm, and her brother, Johnny, also joined them. Ben opposed the idea, warning that the ship’s shielding might prove inadequate against intense forms of cosmic radiation. Nevertheless, Reed persuaded them all to accompany him, stealing into the launch facility, boarding the starship, and blasting off in pursuit of scientific glory. They intended to travel to another star system and back, but a solar flare temporarily boosted the intensity of the ionizing radiation in Earth’s Van Allen belt.

The spaceship encountered a bombardment of cosmic radiation, causing both the mission to be aborted and the craft to crash. Emerging from the ruins of the spaceship, they discovered the radiation had mutated their bodies. Reed gained the ability to stretch his body and limbs, Johnny was able to fly and become engulfed in flame, and Sue was able to bend light around her body and become invisible. Ben, on the other hand, gained incredible strength and durability at the cost of being severely disfigured. All four decided to use their powers to better humanity and founded the Fantastic Four.

Calling themselves Mister Fantastic, the Thing, the Human Torch and the Invisible Girl, the four established their headquarters atop the Baxter Building in midtown Manhattan – a building originally erected in 1949 by the Baxter Paper Company and since owned by a number of other corporations. Noah Baxter, a friend and fellow inventor, helped Reed Richards purchase the Baxter building. Then, financed by profits from the patents on Reed’s inventions, the Fantastic Four set out to safeguard the world from any and all threats beyond the purview of conventional peacekeeping forces.

The team first put its abilities on public display when the subterranean Mole Man attempted to take revenge on the surface world by destroying Earth’s power plants and unleashing an army of gigantic monsters to annihilate the human race. But the Fantastic Four turned back the Mole Man’s threat. After this and many more public adventures, the Four soon became worldwide celebrities, and their exploits were recounted in newspapers, on television, and in comic books. The heroes also have been on the forefront of scientific discovery, such as the discovery of the parallel dimension known as the Negative Zone, the first public contact with alien races such as the Skrulls and Kree, the discovery of the hidden civilization of the Inhumans and the secret African nation of Wakanda, as well as being the first humans to step foot on the moon – alongside the Red Ghost.

Months after their public appearance, Reed and Sue were married, which became a celebrity event. The two enjoyed a healthy marriage despite the Four’s constant public scrutiny for many years. However, the two fell into an estrangement at one point, with Sue dissatisfied with the public life as a superhero celebrity. She briefly left the team and the Inhuman known as Medusa filled her spot on the team before Sue’s return. In another membership shake-up, when Ben Grimm temporarily lost his powers, Reed Richards hired the mercenary Power Man to take over his place on the team, but this lasted only until Reed could finish an armored exoskeleton for Ben. Later, Reed and Sue had a son, Franklin. During Sue’s maternity leave, the Four’s long-standing ally (and girlfriend of the Torch), Crystal, joined the team, until an allergic reaction to Earth’s pollutants pushed her to quit and forced the rest of the Inhumans to leave Earth. Sue soon returned to active duty.

At one point, the Fantastic Four were among the various heroes transported to a planet created by the alien Beyonder for the first of the so-called “Secret Wars”. After defeating the Beyonder, the Thing refused to return to Earth with the heroes, happy to have found the ability to transform into his human form at will. His position on the team was filled by the She-Hulk, who had been similarly transported to the planet. When the Thing returned months later, he was distraught to find that his former girlfriend, Alicia Masters, had begun an affair with his teammate, Johnny Storm. The Thing quit the Fantastic Four to wander the country for a time, and She-Hulk remained in his stead.

The Fantastic Four resided at the Baxter Building for many years, through various villain attacks, which often destroyed multiple floors and caused most of the other residents to abandon the building. However, one time, Kristoff Vernard – a youth who had been programmed to believe he was Doctor Doom – shot the building into space and destroyed it. Afterwards, instead of rebuilding the old building, Reed Richards designed and oversaw the construction of a new tower, named Four Freedoms Plaza.

The three original members of the Fantastic Four later found the Thing in the Mole Man’s realm, where they discovered the Mole Man trying to raise a continent in the Pacific and threatening to destroy California. The Thing rejoined the team after helping to stop the Mole Man, and She-Hulk left to other pursuits. Soon after, Reed and Sue Richards announced they were leaving the Four to raise their son in relative normalcy. The Thing became head of the group, and proved to be an able, levelheaded leader, despite the fact that Johnny had just married Alicia Masters (although it was later revealed that this Alicia had been replaced by the shape-shifting alien Skrull, Lyja). Ben and Johnny were joined by Crystal and Ms. Marvel, a hero the Thing had met during his time away from the Four. During one adventure, both the Thing and Ms. Marvel were subject to another shuttle accident, bombarding them both with cosmic rays. This mutated Ben further and turned Sharon into a She-Thing.

When the villain Nanny and her Orphan-maker kidnapped Franklin, Sue and Reed were drawn into adventuring alongside Captain America (then known as the Captain) and a re-forming of the Avengers. But once the Avengers were re-established, Sue and Reed left and returned to the Fantastic Four once again. During this time, Ms. Marvel was lost on a mission to the European nation of Latveria, having been manipulated by Doctor Doom and other of the FF’s villains, before finally leaving to seek refuge with Wyatt Wingfoot. Crystal also left, opting to return to her Inhuman family.

Like its previous incarnation, Four Freedoms Plaza also had its share of attacks, culminating in a gamma bomb explosion set off by a of doppelganger Reed Richards during the “Infinity War”, which blew the top floors off, including the giant number fours that surrounded the roof. Lacking the finances to fix it, the majority of the damage stayed for many years.

Later, Franklin was kidnapped by Nathaniel Richards, the time-traveling scientist and father of Reed Richards. Nathaniel believe that Franklin’s powers were a threat to all existence, and so allowed him to age under his strict tutelage in a point in the distant future, returning him to his family moments after his abduction and aged to a teenager. Franklin was hard-pressed to reconcile with his family, and at the same time, he formed a sister team to the Fantastic Four – dubbed the Fantastic Force.

At one point, Doctor Doom lured a powerful alien entity to his nation of Latveria, coveting its power. The entity began laying waste to the countryside and the Fantastic Four arrived to investigate. Doom tricked the team into continue fighting the creature while he appropriated a portion of its energies to boost his own power. Confronting the alien directly, Doom eventually teleported the alien away, but was left soundly defeated and lay dying. Reed offered his aid, but Doom used the remaining power in his armor to disintegrate himself and his archenemy. Sue refused to believe her husband had died, although she nevertheless assumed leadership of the team. She also hired Ant-Man to supervise and care for the Four’s equipment, and she formed an alliance with the Sub-Mariner so that the ranks of the Fantastic Four would not be weakened. During this time, Lyja had returned to attempt reconciliation with Johnny and Kristoff von Doom had been discovered to be alive. Both became staunch allies of the Four.

Eventually, the team discovered that Reed and Doctor Doom did not die, but were snatched moments before death by the villain Hyperstorm. The Four had tracked them to Hyperstorm’s dimension, discovering Doom and, later, Reed Richards. Doom was able to escape with the help of Kristoff and tried to siphon Hyperstorm’s power for himself. Instead, Hyperstorm used his powers to return Doom to his proper place and time. The Fantastic Four managed to defeat the villain with the help of the planet-devouring Galactus. Upon the Four’s return, Ant-Man, the Sub-Mariner, and Lyja soon parted company. Also during this time, Nathaniel Richards allowed Franklin to revert to his rightful age, and the Fantastic Force was disbanded.

Soon afterward, the Fantastic Four were caught up in a battle with the psychic being known as Onslaught. To defeat the villain, the active members of the Four, as well as their allies (which included the Avengers, the Inhumans, Doctor Doom, and others), seemingly sacrificed themselves to contain its energies. As a result, the Fantastic Four were believed dead. The government was inclined to appropriate the Four’s equipment, but instead Nathaniel Richards used time-traveling devices to shunt all of it to the Negative Zone. Nathaniel also took charge of Kristoff and disappeared into the future. In reality, the Fantastic Four were saved by Franklin, who through his reality-altering powers bodily recreated them and others who died into an alternate dimension. Eventually, Franklin Richards was forced to bring his created world into true reality, thus bringing the Fantastic Four and the other heroes back to Earth.

In the meantime, believing the FF dead, the Thunderbolts took over residency of Four Freedoms Plaza. When the Four finally returned, they gave up their home for a new warehouse headquarters, called Pier 4. Shortly after, however, the Fantastic Four were confronted by lawyers representing the Gideon Trust, a consortium of investors who inherited the actions and debts of the late Gregory Gideon, an early adversary of Four. The Trust hoped to buy Pier 4 and all its inventions and technology, which would thus save the stock of Richards Inc., as it had been losing value during the time the Fantastic Four were believed dead. The Richards agreed, although yet again they were forced to move when a villain, this time Diablo, destroyed Pier 4. However, during negotiations with the Gideon Trust, Reed revealed he had commenced work on an all-new Baxter Building with the help of Noah Baxter. With Pier 4 destroyed, the team brought the new Baxter Building online and teleported it in place of the old Four Freedoms Plaza.

More recently, Doctor Doom abandoned his technological prowess for the study and mastery of magic in order to defeat the Fantastic Four. Doom was able to capture the Four and to trap the Richards’ son Franklin in Hell itself. He tortured the Four while leaving Reed imprisoned in an arcane library. Hoping to humiliate his rival, Doom forced Reed to find an escape by using the magic available in the library. The spirit form of Doctor Strange appeared and helped Reed escape, then gave him a magical device capable of breaching Doom’s defenses. In the final battle, Reed succeeded in freeing his son from Hell and trapping Doom inside.

Reed then embarked on a plan that would completely rid the world of Doom’s weapons of mass destruction and free his oppressed people of Latveria. The United Nations warned Reed not to take international law into his own hands, but when met with Reed’s indifference, the UN sent a multinational strike force to undo Reed’s coup d’etat. Reed also neglected to fully explain his plans to the other members on the team, which alienating them in turn. Reed, for his part, was completing the second part of his plan to ensure that Doom would remain trapped from Earth’s dimension forever. Reed hoped to exile himself into the same pocket-dimension prison as Doom so that he could personally make sure Doom would never escape. However he kept his true agenda a secret from his family, and in the end, the rest of the Fantastic Four entered the dimension as well. This allowed Doctor Doom to escape using his mind-swapping abilities, hitching a ride back to Earth in the body of the Invisible Woman. Doom continued to switch bodies among the Four during the battle that raged between the Four, Doom, and the UN as well. Doom ultimately transferred his mind into the Thing’s rocky form. Doom then manipulated Richards into obliterating his enemy the only way possible: by killing the Thing.

The trauma of the Thing’s death tore the family apart. Richards, however, determined a spark of life remained in the Thing’s body and led the remaining members of the Fantastic Four into Heaven itself in hopes of retrieving his friend’s soul. Ultimately, the Thing agreed to return from Heaven rather than allow Richards to blame himself for Ben’s death.

In addition, Richard’s involvement with Latveria nearly branded the team as traitors. With its public relations severely undercut, Richards forfeited his patents to the government to avoid imprisonment. This left the team broke and virtual social pariahs. The Fantastic Four continue to explore the ordinary and the extraordinary, to fight evil and to adventure, while also starting from scratch to rebuild their fortune and their good name.

Over the years the Fantastic Four have earned many friends and have relied on many family members to lend them assistance, or in the case of the witch Agatha Harkness, baby-sitting. Their list of heroic friends includes Black Panther, Black Bolt, Wyatt Wingfoot, Thundra, the Silver Surfer, Tigra, and even a very brief, and unofficial, replacement FF consisting of Ghost Rider, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and the Hulk. Some of their super-powered family members have also joined them in their adventures, including Valeria Richards (believed for a while to be an alternate-timeline child of Sue Storm and Victor Von Doom, reverted to an infant).

Though the Fantastic Four have made many friends, they potentially made even more enemies. They have fought, and won, against the worse that the galaxy has to offer; villains like Doctor Doom, an alternate future version of Doom, Annihilus, the Wizard, the Skrulls, including the Super Skrull and Paibok the Power Skrull, Blastaar, the Mole Man, and the world-devouring Galactus and his many heralds.

They have traveled across the planet, saving the world in their various versions of the Fantasticar, as well as across the entire universe, the Negative Zone, and into many different alternate universes and futures. The Fantastic Four have also come across, and survived meeting, beings of immense power; such as the Molecule Man, the Beyonder, and Uatu The Watcher. They have participated in the beginning of the universe, stood in the presence of entities beyond human comprehension, and even destroyed an ancient member of the mysterious race of eternal beings known as the Celestials.

Yet through this all they remain close friends and, most importantly, a family.

More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/universe/Fantastic_Four#ixzz3iRNhV2WF