In November of 1961, writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby changed the uniform formula of superhero comics by bringing to life a new team of superheroes that were people first and heroes second. This team was The Fantastic Four and everything they brought to the table was new; they were explorers stationed in New York City (not a fictional place like Gotham City or Metropolis), they got into fights with one another, their newfound powers brought them as much trouble as it did well, and instead of having to live with the burden of a secret identity they became celebrities on the same level as The Beatles.
But most of all, the Fantastic Four at their heart were a family bonded by their fateful trip into space and facing the consequences of being bombarded by cosmic rays together. The Fantastic Four and their adventures helped to lay the groundwork for almost everything else in Marvel from "Spider-Man" to "Hulk" to "The Avengers". These four would become known by fans as Marvel's First Family.
After years of successful comic runs and gaining popularity with fans all across the world via cartoons and video games, the Fantastic Four would see their first shot at the big screen in 2005 with Tim Story ( "Barbershop", "Taxi") helming the project. The film was very anticipated by fans as "Fantastic Four" was what started the Marvel Renaissance in comics, but unfortunately, the film was never able to deliver on what the original comics entailed.
A sequel, "Rise of the Silver Surfer", would be released a few years later in 2007, followed by a Fox studio mandated reboot in 2015 directed by Josh Trank ("Chronicle") that was even more unaware of what the original comics were all about. Meanwhile, "The Avengers" films at Marvel Studios / Disney were becoming widely successful and beloved by fans, but a franchise that gets almost just as much love and respect in fandom that is as close to a Fantastic Four comic as any film is another Disney franchise... "The Incredibles".
2004 saw the arrival of Disney's "The Incredibles" which, in some ways, were based on Marvel's titular team of adventurers, mainly the dysfunctional family aspect. This core element of "Fantastic Four" that was sorely missing from their own first film a year later was ever present in "The Incredibles". The Parrs were not scientists, but they were people with extraordinary abilities that stuck together as a family and fought villains, even though they could barely stand each other.
The distinct feeling that "The Incredibles" gave off during a time of superhero films being interchangeable was a hit with audiences and made die-hard comic fans even more desperate for an accurate depiction of their Fabulous Foursome on screen.
The 2005 and 2015 films each had The Fantastic Four mainly operate on Earth, and while their base of operations, The Baxter Building, is in New York, the group spends more time in the comics going to other planets and dimensions than they do their own. The titular four are explorers and scientists first that want to know to discover new worlds and creatures that no one else cares to think about or has the resources to do.
The comics offer a vast canvas of out there concepts and worlds for the team to explore in that the films have barely even touched on. If the Fantastic Four are just another group of superheroes fighting Doctor Doom on Earth time and time again, then it is not going to be as memorable in the eyes of general audiences.
But, with the family dynamic and exploration elements sprinkled in, that has staying power. However, with Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox's film assets that would allow Marvel Studios to regain the "Fantastic Four" film rights sometime this year, things are looking up again for Marvel's First Family on film.
