# The Fantastic Four: First Steps - pre-release discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [February 4, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874 "2025-02-04T16:00:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/161 "2025-06-26T13:29:42Z")
On the one hand, I really like the “retro-futuristic” look of the movie. On the other, you all tell me it is some parallel universe. BOOORING. The mulitverse is the worse thing to happen to the MCU. Maybe I’ll have to stick to The Incredibles. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/162 "2025-06-26T13:31:00Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Maybe I’ll have to stick to The Incredibles. So, an alternate universe? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/163 "2025-06-26T13:35:05Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > So, an alternate universe? I was ready for that! No, it’s the main, one and only universe. Just different. There are no others. A subtle distinction. But an important one. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/164 "2025-06-26T13:57:32Z")
I think it’s pretty clear wherever the danger is in Avengers Doomsday will get set up in the post credits of this movie. I think this universe’s days are numbered and the FF either escape to warn others or maybe missed it because they left to go exploring (I like the latter option much better). ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/165 "2025-06-26T14:34:06Z")
I think their entire universe or earth being destroyed and them escaping to another dimension is too much of a downer because there is no way to undo it or fix it. I think it is a lot more likely that they will bring whatever the threat is to us, which would set them up to want to help. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/166 "2025-06-26T14:38:35Z")
If there are an infinite number of universes, and some existential threat destroys an infinite number, how many universi are left intact? Can’t we just have movies in this one universe? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/167 "2025-06-26T15:02:27Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I think their entire universe or earth being destroyed and them escaping to another dimension is too much of a downer because there is no way to undo it or fix it Our Avengers built a time machine that allowed them to go back and collect items (stones) to essentially fix everything. Maybe the FF are coming for that tech so they can do the same thing in their universe. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/168 "2025-06-26T15:20:25Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I think it is a lot more likely that they will bring whatever the threat is to us, which would set them up to want to help. The Fantastic Four were explorers. Their origin story is that they were bombarded with cosmic rays when making an unauthorized civilian spaceflight in a rocket ship Reed Richards designed. Reed built a ship, decided to invite his friends along, and flew into space all based on his own curiosity and without help. Richards also was the person who discovered the “Negative Zone”. He was trying to find a way to travel through “sub-space”, and stumbled on a gateway to another dimension. He explored it with probes before deciding to poke around in it himself. It would be very much on-brand for the Fantastic Four to travel to the standard MCU reality “just because”, and bring havoc with them. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/169 "2025-06-26T15:55:09Z")
I agree that it would be a downer. I think the movie will end with them winning, discovering there is a multiverse and say, “Let’s go exploring!” So you have the optimistic fun ending but in the end credit scene Doom does whatever he does to destroy their Universe after they leave so you get the Avengers set up. They have their cake and eat it too. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/170 "2025-06-26T16:10:28Z")
Wait, isn’t the villain in _Ant Quantum and the Quantum Quantumania_ going to destroy all the multiverse universes, too? “Hey, kid! Get in line!” Or did they drop that because the actor was a total abusive asshole? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/171 "2025-06-26T16:12:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Can’t we just have movies in this one universe? Personally I like what they are doing here. It’s a good way of getting around retelling their origin story yet again. They get to be an established team without hand waving why they’ve been absent until now. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/172 "2025-06-26T16:16:37Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Or did they drop that because the actor was a total abusive asshole? Kang was going to be the main villain of the new Avergers arc. They had to pivot after his legal troubles. There are current rumors he will be back in a limited role. I’ve seen nothing to confirm that. Of course it’s been established that variants don’t all have to look like each other so they could always bring in a different actor. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/173 "2025-06-26T16:17:27Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Personally I like what they are doing here. Don’t think I’m arguing, I’m just commenting… But why does Marvel have to tie everything together? Can the F4 be in their own universe? This isn’t the comics. It’s OK to have a stand alone film series (even if they use similar villains.) And for that matter, keep the X men (and Blade!) out of the MCU. Thanks in advance! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/174 "2025-06-26T16:19:46Z")
The movie had other problems but not using Sinestro as the villain in the first Green Lantern movie insured that they wouldn’t get the chance to at all. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/175 "2025-06-26T16:30:25Z")
True, but using up your Top Bad Guy in the first film gives you the problem of “Now what?” A look at Batman shows you - Round Two uses two bad guys of lesser standing. Boring. So what’s the solution? Hollywood hasn’t figured that out quite yet, I fear. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/176 "2025-06-26T17:06:33Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I don’t like his delivery though. He was always written as a very blue collar guy with a distinctive way of speaking, and that doesn’t seem present at all in this character. He doesn’t seem to have Ben’s personality, which is a massive miss to me. He just sounds like a bored emo guy, at least in this preview. “By jove, this would be an excellent time for some clobbering.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/177 "2025-06-26T17:08:10Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A look at Batman shows you The decreasing quality of the first four Batman films (Keaton-Kilmer-Clooney) wasn’t due to their choice of villains. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/178 "2025-06-26T17:19:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But why does Marvel have to tie everything together? Can the F4 be in their own universe? That’s what their whole deal has been since _Iron Man_. They had this grand vision of a shared universe with all of these different movies tying in to each other, then tying into TV shows, and tying into video games, etc. And it worked. It worked so well that it became the biggest film franchise in history. Even if not every movie is a hit, and even though the momentum is slowing down, it’s still a financial juggernaut. [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/3ccAAOSw9Z5kI17H/s-l400.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/3ccAAOSw9Z5kI17H/s-l400.jpg) That’s why it is all tied together. Not tying it together is the old, less lucrative way of doing things. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/179 "2025-06-26T17:26:28Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > That’s why it is all tied together. Yea, I remember how impressed I was when the X men showed up to fight Thanos. That was boss! ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874/180 "2025-06-26T17:37:37Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > That’s what their whole deal has been since _Iron Man_. It’s what Marvel has almost always been. The heroes always existed in the same universe from damn near its inception. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-pre-release-discussion/1013874.md?page=10)