The MCU Fantastic Four’s Biggest Challenge Is Avoiding Avengers Comparisons

The Fantastic Four need to have a unique dynamic in the MCU in order to avoid being too similar to the original Avengers. The Avengers are the heart and soul of the MCU. After all, their formation was the biggest event in Phase 1 leading up to the Infinity Saga, and their triumph over Thanos concluded more than 20 movies’ worth of companionship and mutual struggle. However, they’re not the only superhero team that will define the MCU. The Fantastic Four’s arrival at the end of Phase 4 is expected to shake the franchise to the core.

The Fantastic Four are called “Marvel’s First Family” due to their significance in the comics. Not only are they as famous as the Avengers, but they’re also closer as a team than Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman are one of Marvel’s central couples, while the Human Torch’s familial link to Sue makes him a brother figure to both of them, and The Thing’s loyalty makes him just as important to the family. The Fantastic Four also tend to ditch the Avengers’ militaristic style of membership and instead tend to welcome new recruits like Spider-Man or She-Hulk into their circle, based on the merits of friendship.

All these characteristics are key to the MCU’s adaptation of the Fantastic Four, as it would feel derivative to define each character exclusively by their most famous trait. If the upcoming Fantastic Four movie depicts Reed Richards as an eccentric genius millionaire with egocentric tendencies like Iron Man, Sue Storm as the stoic fighter that bonds the team together like Natasha Romanoff, and Ben Grimm as the troubled monster with a heart of gold like the Hulk, the MCU would risk repeating the same team dynamics as the original Avengers, creating a nearly one-to-one Phase 4 replacement of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The source material hasn’t been shy about exploring these aspects of the Fantastic Four, but it’s important to remember that their comic book history dates back to November 1961, while the Avengers had their first comic book appearance in September 1963. Both teams have had the chance to evolve simultaneously and share similar arcs throughout the decades in the comics. On the other hand, the MCU’s Fantastic Four are preceded by more than 15 years and 30+ movies centered on the Avengers. Whether the Fantastic Four are revealed to have been active in secret all along, assemble for the first time onscreen, or are introduced while trapped in the Negative Zone, they will inevitably be seen as successors to the Avengers on the big screen.

Aside from avoiding comparisons to the Avengers, diving deeper into the different strengths and weaknesses of the Fantastic Four would help the MCU’s version of the team stand apart from their previous cinematic failures. The upcoming Fantastic Four movie can explore wildly different angles, from their lighthearted experiences as a dysfunctional family to the darkest secrets that plague their intimate lives. Whatever the case, a fresh take on Marvel’s First Family can give the MCU a superhero team that has nothing to envy the Avengers.