‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ is shaping up to be fantastic

Credit: Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

There will always be some losses when it comes to movie adaptations of anything based on a comic book, and that includes the gender swapping of The Silver Surfer, the first herald of “The Devourer of Worlds,” Galactus. However, given that this is what happened, it still feels like she is The Silver Surfer. Aside from the obvious signature traits — such as being silver, having a space surfboard, and being completely under the control of Galactus as his “messenger of death” to any world he has set his sights upon to annihilate and consume for nourishment — it holds. 

I believe all comic book readers and collectors are, in short, us nerds. Haha…. We should be happy that this is going to be a retelling of probably the most famous The Fantastic Four storyline, “The Coming of Galactus,” which was written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. Stan Lee is the creator of The Fantastic Four among many other Marvel comic book characters. Jack Kirby drew the first 102 issues of The Fantastic Four. 

That is why one of the most remembered milestones must be happening here. This is the creative decision they are going for, and when I saw The Silver Surfer come down to Earth in the presence of the people and The Fantastic Four, giving them an ominous warning of the dangers to come, that gave me a bit of goosebumps. And yes, this is not the comic-accurate The Silver Surfer, but the presence is still there. Everyone must remember that The Silver Surfer was a villainous cosmic being at first before he became the good space hero that we all know he is. The point is, this is taking us back to the very beginning stages of The Fantastic Four as a team and facing their most legendary villain in the cosmic threat in none other than Galactus. 

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Image: Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

I believe the official movie trailer is polished, crisp, and very well executed. It conveys a sense of doom and gloom; it feels monumental, and for the most part, you can sense that The Fantastic Four is indeed The Fantastic Four. This has been a long time coming; ever since I was a child, there have been attempts to create a Fantastic Four or FF movie for decades. Yes, there have been budgetary issues, miscasting problems, storyline missteps, poor creative decisions, and many overlooked flaws. However, none of the past four FF movies felt this way, which makes this version authentically convincing as a comic book adaptation. Once you accomplish that, for the most part, it will turn out fine in the end for this highly anticipated movie.

I am glad that “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is treated as a stand-alone film, meaning that it will not be a prequel, sequel, or loosely connected to anything Marvel Entertainment has done before. This was one of my hopes because it has to exist in its own world, meaning the movie focuses on the team itself and is not a launching pad, reference point, or support film for a larger movie. From what I can tell, and based on all the verified reports about The Fantastic Four, this will be purely on its own, and to that I say hallelujah because it is about time. This feels more in line with what was done in the early stages of the MCU, before it was even called that. To me, this indicates a clear attempt to fix things, perhaps even simplify everything, because not everything needs to be interconnected. 

We finally got to see Mr. Fantastic, portrayed by Pedro Pascal, use his stretching abilities; it looked convincing and not cheesy at all. We saw more of The Human Torch, portrayed by Joseph Quinn, flight ability on display as he flew out of Earth’s atmosphere in his effort to chase and stop The Silver Surfer from exiting Earth’s orbit. We got a better glimpse of The Invisible Woman, portrayed by Vanessa Kirby, using her invisible force field, and we saw more of The Thing, portrayed by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, using his superhuman strength while pulling what looked like a huge ferry across the harbor. Indeed, this is how you make your mark in a superhero movie — by showcasing what the superheroes can do. 

I think the combination of the official teaser trailer and movie trailer is more than enough to pique the interest of moviegoers who are both familiar and unfamiliar with The Fantastic Four. This would serve as the proper introductory movie for these beloved Marvel comic book superheroes that first appeared in their series in 1962; they are, after all, the first team ever in Marvel Comics. They are the pioneers, and to have been this long before they got their proper big-screen adaptation without doing any radical changes to them is significant because it means the movie studio listened more to the requests of the right people for them to get The Fantastic Four, right? Which, from everything released thus far, is as close to a 100 percent faithful comic book adaptation as it will ever be.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is shaping up to be what it was always meant to be: fantastic.