With 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' Clobberin’ Time Is Back—and So Is Hope for the MCU
It only took four reboots and one stretchy genius to get Marvel back on track.
After 17 years of She-Hulks, Netflix deflections, and a fruitless flirtation with Black Bolt and them, we’ve finally arrived at the auspicious arrival of the belle of the ball: The Fantastic Four.
So if retrofuturism sprinkled with group hugs and fireballs is your thing, then much like me, you’ve been waiting for literally your entire life for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” to finally—finally!!!!!!—arrive in theaters.
And yes, while we’ve done this song and dance before—with a rotating cast of everyone from Michael B. Jordan to John Krasinski being sent from the future to play in our faces and waste our fucking time—Marvel has finally delivered the orgasmic bliss we all deserve.
Let the church say, “Amen.”
While Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has spent the post-“Avengers: Endgame” era bludgeoning us with an endless deluge of big-budget films, TV series, and special presentations—all in the name of greed “worldbuilding”—he’s also created a narrative labyrinth that’s exhausting to navigate. If 12-year-old me gave less than a shit about Black Widow or U.S. Agent in the comics, why am I required to now in order to know what the hell is going on in the Marvel Convoluted Universe?
Thankfully, Feige is acutely aware of this self-inflicted conundrum and has offered a generous helping of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” as a conciliatory peace offering.
It’s the first Marvel film in forever that not only feels essential in scope—as it clearly sets up a myriad of perils to unfold in 2026’s “Avengers: Doomsday”—but doesn’t require a YouTube explainer or lengthy Disney+ binge sessions beforehand. It’s a beautifully rendered, sovereign entity—free of the MCU’s signature bloat, yet pivotal to the same cinematic universe it brazenly eludes.
Much like the comics, the prevailing theme in this film is the necessity of family. The interpersonal dynamic between Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Sue Storm, and her horny little brother Johnny is heartwarming. And instead of putting a premium on curb-stomping Galactus—although clobberin’ time is always welcome—the star of this movie is the emotional rapport these four share, and the catastrophes they’re able to overcome as a result.
With that premise in mind, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” leers into your soul and asks the uncomfortable question: What are you willing to jeopardize to protect everything you love? The answer is terrifying, but at least the hour-and-55-minute question is thoroughly entertaining.
But where is an Ultimate Nullifier when you need one?