# First Look at the Fantastic Four **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434 "2004-09-22T03:05:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/21 "2004-09-22T22:20:33Z")
From the article: [http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-09-20-fantastic4\_x.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-09-20-fantastic4_x.htm) > [@](#): > > Alas, the Thing’s trademark stogie might be stubbed out, thanks to PC concerns. That’s pretty sad. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/22 "2004-09-22T22:33:40Z")
I’ve always said the FF was one super group I don’t mind waiting a long time to see because the special effects just aren’t up to it. I’m afraid I’m still of that opinion. How exactly are they going to do Human Torch? I like Jessica Alba a lot, but in no way does she remind me of the loving, devoted supportive wife who just happened to find herself with super powers. BTW, will her power just be invisibility, or will she get her later force field powers? Chiklis is right on though, if they let him run with it, and I’m sure they won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/23 "2004-09-23T01:37:15Z")
I’d be more worried about Mr Fantastic’s stretching than I would the Torch’s flaming body but if they can make the Thing look like he does, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. ---
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/24 "2004-09-23T02:43:40Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I’ve always said the FF was one super group I don’t mind waiting a long time to see because the special effects just aren’t up to it. > > I’m afraid I’m still of that opinion. How exactly are they going to do Human Torch? > > I like Jessica Alba a lot, but in no way does she remind me of the loving, devoted supportive wife who just happened to find herself with super powers. > > BTW, will her power just be invisibility, or will she get her later force field powers? > > Chiklis is right on though, if they let him run with it, and I’m sure they won’t. Invisibility is the most boring power ever. I sure hope they give her the upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/25 "2004-09-23T07:14:28Z")
> [@xvxdarkknightxvx](#): > > Invisibility is the most boring power ever. I sure hope they give her the upgrade. Boring? Don’t you recall the three TV series, the awful but scarey Kevin Bacon movie. Plus she has that invisible shield. ---
**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/26 "2004-09-23T09:15:42Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Boring? > > Don’t you recall the three TV series, the awful but scarey Kevin Bacon movie. > > Plus she has that invisible shield. Yeah, it’s boring: What’s the point of having Jessica Alba in the movie, if she’s invisible? 😉 I’m not really worried about special effects, the whole computer tricks are quite advanced already (see LotR or the newer Starwars episodes for reference, obviously). ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/27 "2004-09-23T13:03:50Z")
Maybe the invisibility will only work on her clothing? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/28 "2004-09-23T18:25:11Z")
It isn’t just the special effects either. To me there are just some super powers that look ok in a comic, or _maybe_ in a cartoon, but would look silly in a “live action” film. I’m afraid Mr. Fantastic’s stretch ability is going to make me cringe. And then there’s flying. They almost always screw that up. Ok, they did alright with Agent Smith & Neo in Matrix. Mostly. But Storm in the X-Men was awful. This levitating up & down on wires is… well I almost wish they hadn’t bothered. How’s the Human Torch going to look? Maybe if he’s 100% CGI it won’t make me barf. I heard a rumor they were going to make a Silver Surfer movie. How could they possibly make his flying around on a surfboard not look ridiculous? But yeah, Sue Storm’s invisibility power should kick in as clothes first, then body. And wasn’t she the Invisible _Girl_ at first? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/29 "2004-09-23T19:14:00Z")
Can any of the more comic-literate Dopers link to pictures of the early and recent comic-book versions of the Thing? Despite not knowing the comics, I do have the sense that a movie should respect its source material. And what else has Jessica Alba been in? The name rings a bell, but judging from that picture, I’m pretty sure I would have remembered her had I seen her in anything before… As for her clothes, an equally acceptable solution would be for the invisibility to only affect her and not her clothes, so she has to strip first to vanish. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/30 "2004-09-23T19:18:20Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > That’s odd. I thought Hulk arguably had the most substance of any of the new Marvel flicks, and the least flash. That’s why a lot of people didn’t like it; it took some time with the characters, instead of being wall to wall CGI. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/31 "2004-09-23T19:20:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Can any of the more comic-literate Dopers link to pictures of the early and recent comic-book versions of the Thing? Despite not knowing the comics, I do have the sense that a movie should respect its source material… [Earlier looked a lot like this](http://perso.wanadoo.fr/encyclopedie.univers.marvel/Rubriques/Etat%20civil/The%20Thing_4.jpg). [Later more like this (Warning: Geocities site)](http://www.geocities.com/turkmarvel/kahramanlar/thething.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/32 "2004-09-23T19:29:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > As for her clothes, an equally acceptable solution would be for the invisibility to only affect her and not her clothes, so she has to strip first to vanish. Interesting. It would be breaking decades of firmly established canon, but would any fanboys actually complain about seeing Jessica Alba naked? And if the name’s familiar, her biggest role was the lead in _Dark Angel_ on TV a few seasons ago. She’s usually brunette, which may be why you didn’t recognize her. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/33 "2004-09-23T19:32:24Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I heard a rumor they were going to make a Silver Surfer movie. How could they possibly make his flying around on a surfboard not look ridiculous? Considering that’s something that Marvel hasn’t been able to do in forty years, I don’t expect Hollywood to be much better at it. The Silver Surfer has to be of the most lame superheroes ever… even worse than Aquaman. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/34 "2004-09-23T19:40:15Z")
And hey, isn’t the Human Torch a blonde? gotta dig out my FF comics… ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/35 "2004-09-23T19:43:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And what else has Jessica Alba been in? Dark Angel. And yes, it’s fine with me if she strips naked. I won’t tell anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/36 "2004-09-23T20:01:03Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > She’s usually brunette, which may be why you didn’t recognize her. Jessica Alba has hair? ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/37 "2004-09-23T22:47:49Z")
I really know nothing about this or whether it looks like it sucks or anything, but Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd are seriously hot, so I’ll be seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/38 "2004-09-23T23:19:13Z")
In those pictures, Johnny looks older than Reed. Hopefully, since Gruffudd is actually 7 years older than Evans, that’s just due to the photography. I was hoping that they’d do a CGI Thing with Chiklis just playing the pre-transformation Ben Grimm and doing the voice of the ‘walking orange brickyard.’ He looks way too human the way they’re doing him–he could disguise himself too well with a hat and an overcoat. Part of the pathos of the character is that it is totally impossible for him to blend in, because he isn’t just super-strong and orange, he isn’t even _shaped_ like everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/39 "2004-09-23T23:28:55Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > [Earlier looked a lot like this](http://perso.wanadoo.fr/encyclopedie.univers.marvel/Rubriques/Etat%20civil/The%20Thing_4.jpg). [Later more like this (Warning: Geocities site)](http://www.geocities.com/turkmarvel/kahramanlar/thething.jpg) Yeah, the original Thing was pretty nasty. The latest Thing is kinda cute, in a “clobbering time” kinda way. What they’re doing isn’t a too terrible compromise. > [@](#): > > Considering that’s something that Marvel hasn’t been able to do in forty years, I don’t expect Hollywood to be much better at it. The Silver Surfer has to be of the most lame superheroes ever… even worse than Aquaman. Hey, hey, hey there! Silver Surfer is a total dude. Just because he’s stuck in an indestructible body condom… he’s cool! ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434/40 "2004-09-24T00:17:50Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > …Hey, hey, hey there! Silver Surfer is a total dude. Just because he’s stuck in an indestructible body condom… he’s cool! My problem with the Silver Surfer is that, IMHO, the character is a relic of a time when Marvel was trying too hard to be hip. Much like I think that Ghost Rider was trying to cash in on the biker fad, I think that Silver Surfer was a marketing ploy to cash in on the surfing fad. I could be wrong, but it feels true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-look-at-the-fantastic-four/265434.md?page=3)