By the looks of a recent trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the MCU’s rendition of Marvel’s First Family will be making up for the biggest mistake regarding the Thing in the 2015 adaptation, Fantastic Four. This isn’t all that shocking, given Marvel Studios is no doubt looking to change the fortunes of the Fantastic Four’s cinematic legacy.
2015’s Fantastic Four was the third attempt at adapting the тιтular team into live-action, following the duology released a decade prior and the unreleased 1994 film, The Fantastic Four. Whereas its immediate predecessor earned mixed reviews (a sentiment that has since sweetened), Fantastic Four didn’t fare nearly as well.
Fantastic Four was mainly criticized for what was seen as inexcusable creative liberties. Instead of leaning into the wholesome family dynamic that typifies the тιтular team, Fantastic Four took a more grounded approach, which tonally fell flat due to its dark depiction of a team thrown together in a decidedly more professional capacity.
This is a far cry from what can be seen in trailers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which embraces the team’s colorful origins in a rare period piece from the MCU. Better yet, it seems to be making up for mistakes made by its predecessor, with its depiction of Benn Grimm, AKA the Thing, positively standing out.
2015’s Fantastic Four Essentially Ruined Its Version Of The Thing’s Iconic Catchphrase
The Thing Has A Particularly Dark Backstory
It’s fair to say that Fantastic Four made some questionable creative decisions. Although the movie was released at a time when the MCU was at its peak, with the distinctly lighthearted Ant-Man releasing in the same year, it opted for a more serious approach evocative of movies like Chronicle.
Josh Trank directed both Chronicle and Fantastic Four, and he disputes that the latter was compromised by studio interference.
The Thing and his origins perfectly encapsulated this tone. Deciding to provide a reason behind the Thing’s iconic catchphrase, “It’s clobberin’ time,” Fantastic Four reveals that Ben Grimm’s abusive brother habitually uttered the phrase before he began beating him.
Ben Grimm is an inherently tragic character even in the most lighthearted depictions of the Fantastic Four. Unlike his teammates, Grimm is unable to conceal his powers and typically struggles with what he perceives to be his loss of humanity due to being composed of rocks. This tragedy is admittedly what makes him so compelling.
Nevertheless, Grimm is also capable of striking a lighthearted tone, which his iconic catchphrase exemplifies. Fantastic Four instead decided to double down on Ben Grimm’s tragic story, leaving little room for any joy whatsoever. Thankfully, Marvel Studios appears to be taking a different approach.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ New Trailer Proves The MCU Are Taking A Far Different Approach To The 2015 Movie
Ben Grimm Is A Lot More Lighthearted
The final trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps reveals a lot more about the narrative and focuses heavily on the Thing’s catchphrase. Although it stops short of showing Benn Grimm yelling it himself, he is repeatedly encouraged to utter the phrase by the public and Johnny Storm.
The trailer reveals that the Thing’s catchphrase isn’t something he typically utters. Instead, when responding to a fan asking, “What time is it?“ Ben Grimm says, “That’s just in the cartoon,” incidentally revealing that the Fantastic Four have been adapted into a cartoon in their universe.
With Johnny subsequently pushing Ben Grimm to say the phrase towards the end of the trailer, it seems inevitable that the Thing will eventually declare, “It’s clobberin’ time!” Still, the fact that the origins of the phrase in this universe are tied to a cartoon epitomizes the difference between The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Fantastic Four.
I’m Glad The MCU Is Fully Embracing The Silliness Of The Thing’s Comic Catchphrase
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Honors Comic Book Origins
Ben Grimm is reluctant to utter the catchphrase in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, presumably because he finds it too silly. The fact that it originates in a cartoon and the notoriously mischievous Johnny Storm pushes Grimm to say it seems to grate on the Thing, who seems to prefer being taken more seriously.
This is the kind of tone that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is leaning into, and I’m all for it.
Nevertheless, it pays homage to the inherently campy origins of the Fantastic Four. The Thing first uttered the phrase in 1963’s The Fantastic Four #22 before it would become a staple of his vocal repertoire in future appearances. This era was typified by characterizations as colorful as the comic book page.
This is the kind of tone that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is leaning into, and I’m all for it. It looks as though the MCU’s next installment is fully embracing its comic book origins, paying homage to the era that birthed the modern superhero genre as we know it.
I also love how The Fantastic Four: First Steps appears to be bridging the gap between campy and grounded. While I can’t wait to hear Ebon Moss-Bachrach finally utter the Thing’s catchphrase, it’s better to know that he is embracing it as a result of the Thing’s in-universe popularity from a cartoon instead of thinking it up on the fly.
