Iron Man Set Up A Plot Hole Problem For Marvel’s Fantastic Four Movie 16 Years Ago

There are some exciting rumors about Marvel’s Fantastic Four, but if they’re true, the movie will have to be careful not to contradict previous MCU history set up in movies like Iron Man. As the MCU continues to grow, it gets more difficult for Marvel to maintain the sprawling MCU timeline without it impacting creative decisions. Sometimes Marvel will solve this issue with a retcon, but that doesn’t always work. Especially not with larger elements of the universe’s history.

Iron Man kicked off the MCU, and each subsequent movie built off the base it established. Early on, this kept the MCU’s history easy to track. However, as the MCU has added more movies that delve into the universe’s past, like Eternals and Captain Marvel, it has become a bit trickier for Marvel to not contradict themselves. Now, given rumors of the setting for Marvel’s Fantastic Four, it looks as though Marvel will again have to be very careful not to create a plot hole.

Marvel’s Fantastic Four Is Rumored To Take Place In The 1960s

The Fantastic Four Were First Created In 1961

There have been rumors that Marvel’s Fantastic Four will take place in the ’60s. These rumors have only been fueled by Marvel’s art promoting The Fantastic Four cast reveal, featuring the characters in a very 1960s-looking setting. This could be a very fun and unique setting for an MCU movie, especially because this is the same time period that The Fantastic Four first appeared in the comics. This means the movie could perfectly capture the style and setting of the original comics, more so than most MCU movies.

While Marvel’s Fantastic Four‘s rumored setting sounds like it would make for a great movie, it does pose a risk for the MCU’s continuity. Marvel will have to be very careful not to actively contradict anything that they have established about the past in the universe. This could be especially tricky given some things that were set up in Iron Man, and commented on in subsequent installments of Marvel’s franchise.

The MCU Made It Seem Like Iron Man Was The First Public Superhero

Iron Man (2008) Took Place In 2010 In The MCU

The MCU has had some indications that Iron Man was the first public superhero, not counting Captain America. In the first Iron Man, Rhodey and the military seem perplexed by Tony’s suit when they first encounter it, which would be a strange reaction if the world was already full of superheroes. In Iron Man 2, Tony’s ability to operate independently as Iron Man is an issue that is brought before congress, and nobody mentions any sort of precedent. Vision also remarks in Captain America: Civil War that superhuman activity increased only after Tony revealed himself as Iron Man.

For all of this to still fit and have The Fantastic Four exist in the past, that would mean they couldn’t be public superheroes. Instead, they would have to operate in secret like the original Ant-Man and Wasp. However, this doesn’t really track with how the team typically operates, and would limit Marvel’s ability to have large action set pieces. There is, of course, the possibility that the Fantastic Four operate in an entirely different strand of the multiverse, and will be brought to the main timeline. But even without that, Marvel has already established a perfect solution for how to avoid this issue.

The MCU Already Has The Perfect Solution To Its Fantastic Four Problem

Avengers: Endgame (2019) Established Time Travel Via The Quantum Realm

If The Fantastic Four were to have a major public confrontation with Doctor Doom, or another supervillain, this would seem to contradict Iron Man’s status as the first public superhero in the MCU. However, if Marvel’s First Family time travels before getting into any major fights, this could easily explain why nobody has mentioned them before. There are already theories that The Fantastic Four could use the Quantum Realm to travel forward in time to the modern MCU. As long as this happens before the climactic battle in their movie, Marvel can avoid any plot holes.

Including time travel in Marvel’s Fantastic Four‘s final battle could also create some unique scenes. Maybe the team could pop out in multiple time periods on their way to the present, or see flashes of other notable MCU events. Once they land in modern day, The Fantastic Four would be set up perfectly to meet up with another MCU hero in a post-credits teaser. Even if the rumored setting is true, it seems unlikely that Marvel’s Fantastic Four won’t at least set up a way to have the team join the modern day MCU.