The Fantastic Four: First Steps has not even been released yet, but it’s already fixed these nine big issues with 2015’s Fantastic Four. The latter counts as one of the most unwatchable superhero movies ever made, primarily due to its lackluster filmmaking elements that caused it to be the one thing no one wanted: boring.
The ending of 2015’s Fantastic Four has become an online joke in the decade since its release, as it typifies a lot of the core filmmaking issues it suffered from. However, the entire film is chock-full of these problems, which upcoming Marvel movies will be looking to continue avoiding. The story of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is chief among these.
The MCU’s attempt at rebooting the Fantastic Four franchise is under pressure to be the first truly great iteration of Marvel’s First Family. To do this, it would need to fix several issues that 2015’s Fantastic Four suffered from, which The Fantastic Four: First Steps has already proven to do before it has even been released in theaters.
9
The Fantastic Four’s Family Dynamic
Marvel Studios Has Cracked The Chemistry Code
The first issue that The Fantastic Four: First Steps has already fixed from 2015’s Fantastic Four is the chemistry of the тιтular team. 2015’s iteration tragically failed in this department. For one, Reed Richards and Sue Storm were not a couple and barely had any romantic tension throughout the story.
Johnny and Sue had a few sibling scenes, but not enough to make the audience care about them. Then there was the treatment of Ben Grimm, who spent the majority of the movie’s first half alone with no screen time. Ben’s only friendship was with Reed, with Fantastic Four failing to portray the source material’s familial bonds.
Thankfully, The Fantastic Four: First Steps made sure to fix this first and foremost. The chemistry of the main cast is on point and has been outlined as the primary aspect director Matt Shakman looked for when casting each role.
The decision to make the four an established team from the onset of the movie is a great way of showing their chemistry together. Thankfully, all pieces of marketing indicate the Fantastic Four are a family, something 2015’s version sorely lacked.
8
The MCU’s Fantastic Four Exist In A Much More Exciting World
The Retrofuturistic 60s
Another issue of 2015’s Fantastic Four that has clearly been improved in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the world in which the team operates. Fantastic Four takes place in our world, with the film having no visual style or flair to distinguish it from the everyday. Overall, this makes Fantastic Four look as boring as it is to watch.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will not have this issue. The film wisely utilizes the MCU’s multiverse by being set in an alternate dimension, one with a retrofuturistic look. This makes the film have a much more unique visual palette, with the marketing making it clear just how original this dimension of the MCU is.
7
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is Not Aiming For A Dark, Gritty Tone
Despite Having Some Dark Elements
A big difference between The Fantastic Four: First Steps and 2015’s Fantastic Four is that the latter aimed for a dark tone. The film is very much a product of its time, when it became somewhat of a norm to take established superhero IPs and make them more grounded and gritty than they ought to be.
This meant that Fantastic Four was incredibly bleak and avoided several comic book elements. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is fixing this. By focusing on a lighter, more hopeful world, the MCU film is much more akin to the joyful aspects of its source material.
6
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Avoids Supervillain Backstories
Thanks To Two Key Characters
The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ Galactus and Silver Surfer will likely avoid comic book backstories. Although the latter may have some, the former is simply a primordial being who devours the life force of planets to survive, meaning he does not necessarily need a backstory that explains his villainy outside of his “higher purpose.”
Therefore, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will have a hero-villain story that is much easier to invest in. 2015’s Fantastic Four tried to give Victor Von Doom a backstory and failed, making him much less threatening, sympathetic, and believable than his comic book counterpart. The new version will not need to do this, avoiding 2015’s screenwriting woes.
5
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is Embracing Its Comic Book Characters
Unlike 2015’s Iteration
2015’s Fantastic Four was ashamed to be a comic book movie. It did not give its team a name besides the now-infamous final scene that hints at it, nor were any of the individual members’ hero names used earnestly. The members also did not get comic-accurate suits, with even Doctor Doom being more of a horror movie monster.
Johnny Storm used “The Human Torch” and “The Thing” in the film’s meme-worthy final scene as a joke, and “Doctor Doom” was also only said as a quippy pun by Sue.
All of this proves how Fantastic Four wanted a more grounded take on these heroes, which came across as the filmmakers being ashamed of the source material. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is avoiding this entirely by embracing its comic book roots. The film’s final trailer proves this as much as anything.
The trailer opens with the Fantastic Four being name-dropped, both as a team and as their individual hero names. The vibrant suits have been visible in all forms of marketing, with the Silver Surfer naming Galactus, both of whom have extremely comic-accurate designs. Rather than be ashamed of its source material, The Fantastic Four: First Steps welcomes it.
4
The Thing’s Catchphrase
Which Received An Awful Update In 2015
One of the most baffling choices in 2015’s Fantastic Four, linked to the film’s insistence on being dark and gritty, was the change made to The Thing’s iconic catchphrase: “It’s clobberin’ time!” In the movie, this phrase came from Ben Grimm’s older brother, who used to say those words when abusing him. Bizarrely, Ben thought to adopt that as a hero.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will not be making this mistake. The trailers for the film have hinted at Ben’s iconic catchphrase being said and existing in-universe because of a cartoon. This makes the catchphrase inherently more fun and whimsical, which is much better than the dark, trauma-based origins of it in Fantastic Four.
3
The MCU Makes Interdimensional Travel Less Boring
Unlike Fantastic Four From 2015
Fantastic Four involves interdimensional travel to a place called Planet Zero. Planet Zero is essentially a nothing dimension that gives the Four their powers, but it has nothing else of note there. The very short final battle takes place here before Planet Zero is ignored, rendering multiversal travel fairly boring in 2015’s movie.
It is interdimensional travel that will allow the тιтular team to become part of the main MCU timeline…
In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we already know the interdimensional aspects of the story will not be boring. After all, it is interdimensional travel that will allow the тιтular team to become part of the main MCU timeline. This will set up Avengers: Doomsday‘s story, making this plot point much more exciting than it was in 2015’s Fantastic Four.
2
Ben Grimm’s Role In The Fantastic Four
The Thing Was Sidelined
As alluded to earlier, Ben Grimm’s role in 2015’s Fantastic Four was baffling for many reasons. Not only was his catchphrase butchered, but his connection with all characters besides Reed Richards was removed. Ben appears in the movie’s opening before disappearing for a large stretch and randomly coming back as an inexplicable interdimensional explorer.
Once becoming The Thing, Ben is sent on missions for the military, removing him from the compound housing Johnny, Sue, and Reed. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is changing this by making Ben Grimm’s role more akin to the comic books. The film proved this before its release with a clip тιтled “Sunday Dinner.”
The clip sees Ben wondering why Sue and Reed are late for dinner before being attentive enough to realize Sue is pregnant. Ben and Sue then embrace warmly, providing more chemistry between the two than in the entirety of 2015’s Fantastic Four. Ben will be more of a part of the team in the MCU movie, fixing 2015’s errors.
1
Johnny Storm’s Characterization Has Improved In 2025
Beyond What Was Shown 10 Years Ago
The final improvement that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will make to 2015’s version concerns Johnny Storm. As mentioned, Fantastic Four was a product of its time, meaning Johnny Storm’s bad-boy persona came across as more mean and dismissive than anything else.
The ending of the film sums this up, with Johnny making a needlessly harsh joke about Ben being “The Thing that nobody wanted,” despite the two never interacting. 2025’s Johnny Storm, played by Joseph Quin, will be different. Quinn’s Johnny Storm was commented on by the actor, who outlined how the issues of 2015’s Johnny will be avoided.
Quinn stated that Johnny will be “less callous with other people’s feelings.” This means that Johnny will still retain his humor and confident demeanor, but less at the expense of other people’s feelings. Thankfully, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is implementing this change after the almost unlikable Johnny Storm from 2015’s Fantastic Four.
