Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer has already done something that bodes well for the reboot by borrowing a subtle but effective trick from The Avengers. The MCU timeline has become known for its epic battles, but part of what made The Avengers resonate so powerfully was something smaller and more understated: its ability to humanize its larger-than-life heroes. A quiet moment in The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer hints that Marvel is once again relying on character-centric detail that helps audiences connect more deeply with its superpowered leads.

Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is one of the most anticipated projects in the MCU’s future. After years of false starts and underwhelming adaptations from previous studios, this marks the first time the team will be fully integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision) and featuring a cast that includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, First Steps is set to reboot the team with a fresh tone, period setting, and a more grounded emotional focus.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Already Mirrors An MCU Trick The Franchise Has Used Effectively With Its Biggest Heroes

A standout moment from The Fantastic Four: First Steps’s trailer is surprisingly low-key: Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, preparing a home-cooked meal for the rest of the team with HERBIE. Marvel’s first family subsequently sit down to eat, in a vision of quiet familial comradery. It’s a beat that contrasts sharply with the film’s visuals and ‘60s-inspired retro-futurism. Yet for long-time MCU fans, it’s a familiar kind of storytelling – reminiscent of The Avengers’ iconic post-battle shawarma scene.

That quiet post-credits moment in The Avengers (2012) – where Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, still bruised and dirty from the Battle of New York, silently eat together in a half-destroyed restaurant – wasn’t flashy, but it became one of the most beloved scenes in the film. It was a humanizing break between the chaos, reminding audiences that these characters aren’t just superheroes – they’re people. First Steps seems to be aiming for that same energy with its dinner scene.

Ben Grimm isn’t just a rock-skinned powerhouse; he’s a guy who cares for his friends, cooks for them, and shares a meal like any family man would. Scenes like these offer emotional texture that big action sequences often can’t. They build relationships, establish intimacy, and create moments audiences can emotionally latch onto. For The Fantastic Four, whose core strength lies in being a functional – and sometimes dysfunctional – family, showing these quieter moments early on is a smart, character-driven move.

The MCU’s Avengers Are Arguably The Franchise’s Most Successful Example Of Humanizing Its Heroes

The Avengers were the first MCU characters to truly feel like a lived-in team, and much of that comes down to how they were portrayed outside their suits. The MCU’s early Phases frequently included scenes where the heroes weren’t saving the world – they were arguing over silly things, throwing parties, or just trying to have a drink together. Even in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the group’s downtime, like the party at Avengers Tower and the playful attempt to lift Thor’s hammer, offered insight into their personalities, insecurities, and bonds.

Food, interestingly, has often served as a through-line for these domestic touches. Whether it’s shawarma, Thor devouring a whole box of Pop-Tarts in Thor: The Dark World, or Iron Man snaking on fruit in The Avengers, these seemingly trivial moments establish a sense of realism. They show that even gods and geniuses need to eat, joke, and decompress. These glimpses into the Avengers’ lives beyond the battlefield are a big reason the team has remained so endearing.

I’m Glad The MCU Still Makes Time To Show Its Heroes At Their Most Relatable Even Now

In a cinematic universe where the stakes are constantly escalating (multiversal incursions, timelines fracturing, cosmic gods awakening), it would be easy for Marvel to lose sight of its most grounded strengths. Thankfully, the studio continues to prioritize character depth and relatability, especially in its recent projects. Characters like Agatha Harkness in Agatha All Along, whose villainous persona masks deep loneliness and trauma, were explored in tender and intricate detail.

Meanwhile, Yelena Belova’s sarcastic charm in Thunderbolts* is punctuated by her deep grief over her sister’s death. Sam Wilson’s evolution in Captain America: Brave New World is as much about his community, struggles, and moral compᴀss as it is about wielding the shield. These personal, character-driven details matter. They keep the MCU emotionally tethered, and they remind us that these characters are more than mythic icons — they’re flawed, funny, and deeply human. If The Fantastic Four: First Steps is already tapping into that same energy, it’s a promising first step indeed.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday

  
  
  
  

  
  

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