Current Events > Here's how I'd approach the Fantastic Four movie

(+) Yeah! (+)

The team went on a space mission during the 60s and got trapped in an alternate dimension up until recently.

The movie would be a family comedy, but with superheroes. Basically The Incredibles, because it IS the best F4 movie. Much of the plot would center around the team, being setup as a typical Nuclear Family, adapting to modern day (at least as far as the MCU is concerned). Each character has their own sort of story arc. Johnny Storm now exists in a post-Avengers society, where superheroes are revered as celebrities. Johnny Storm leaps at the opportunity to become one and naturally, starts becoming addicted to the fame. Reed Richards is in awe at all of the scientific breakthroughs the world has managed to accomplish since the 60s. He, being Reed Richards, picks up on the new technology extremely quickly and starts to become revered as a genius that surpasses the likes of Shuri, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Reed starts to get an ego, as he wasn't respected in the 60s, but is now. Susan Storm has to adapt to the life of the modern woman, and find her own identity in a world where woman are even more independent and active in the work force than they were in the 60s. Ben Grimm suffers from his usual insecurities over his looks, but a lot of the drama with him comes from people kinda sort of fetishizing him because of the way he looks (not in a sexual way obv). A lot of reason he hits it off so well with Alicia Masters (we'll get to her later) is because she can't see him, so she treats him like just a regular guy and not a superhero.

What that would do is split the movie 2/2 between Johnny and Reed adjusting well to the new decade, while Sue and Ben are struggling to adjust. The entire group pretty much all have their own nitpicks with one another, besides probably Sue and Ben, and Reed and Ben's deal would be more one-sided (I could elaborate on how that all would play out if anybody cares).

That leaves a segue for the villain of the movie to pop in, The Puppet Master (who would be Alicia's biological father in this adaptation). No, Dr. Doom does not need to be the villain for the FIRST MCU Fantastic Four movie. Give him lots of buildup Thanos-style (not necessarily as long, but just foreshadow his appearance in the MCU for a few movies). Give us a simple, fun villain that keeps the stakes moderately low so we can enjoy the family dynamic. Puppet Master would have some sort of beef with the Fantastic Four that involves how Alicia ended up blind, and he would manipulate the Fantastic Four into turning against each other. I'm not sure if he should have mind control powers or not. It'd almost be cool if he were a Baron Zemo type of villain that simply knew how to play everybody's personalities against each other, but I can't tell if that'd make him more or less fun. If he doesn't have powers, there should definitely be a secondary threat in the movie working with The Puppet Master that would serve as a physical threat in the movie. Wizard or Trapster would be really good choices. Puppet Master's motive for targeting the Fantastic Four would go along with the whole "family" theme of the movie and would parallel the Fantastic Four's overall story arc because his own actions are tearing his family (he and his daughter) apart. He'd ultimately survive, but end up in prison.

At the end, the Fantastic Four obviously get over their issues and resolve their family drama. And then the obligatory post-credits scene, where we see some hint towards Doom. Whether that be a scene that takes place somewhere that's later revealed to be Latveria, or a flashback scene where the big reveal at the end is the iconic metal mask being grafted to Doom's skin or even the appearance of a metal fist. (PLEASE make Doom's first full appearance a huge fucking deal).

What do you think? Tbh, I'm kinda stoned and this all came flowing out.

EDIT: Btw, Doom and Reed would still have a very personal, long storied rivalry. Doom IS from the 60s, but has been using dark magic to keep himself forever young, very similar to the Ancient One. You can't tell me he wouldn't, either.

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ok

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Elaborate on the one sided relations ship please? I like this and it's similar to what I was thinking.

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Just remake the 1994 film, with an actual budget this time.

Just have Jessica Alba be nude for the entire film.

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au_gold posted...

Just have Jessica Alba be nude for the entire film.

But she's invisible the entire time.

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SolidShadow3 posted...

Elaborate on the one sided relations ship please? I like this and it's similar to what I was thinking.

So a big part of Reed and Johnny's relationship is that Reed feels Johnny is extremely immature and is letting the fame get to his head and cause him to make reckless decisions. Johnny, on the other hand, feels that Reed is hypocritical since he's letting the fame go to his head and feels he's neglecting his wife and friends for the pursuit of his own scientific goals.

Sue and Johnny have the typical Older Sister/Younger Brother relationship they normally have, but this is elaborated on. Susan is somewhat resentful of the fact that she has to keep looking after her own brother (which is exacerbated since she's now trying to adjust to her own new life), meanwhile a lot of Johnny's attention-seeking behavior stems from the fact that he can't get approval from his big sister (or any of the other team members), which is why he becomes so addicted to superhero fame.

Reed and Sue's relationships keeps the neglect that is typical of their relationship in some stories. But the main catalyst for this is that Reed is so caught up in his newfound respect that he can't see the problems that either Sue or Ben are having in this new decade.

Ben and Johnny naturally come to blows because while Ben just wants to be left alone and treated as a normal guy, Johnny is soaking in all of the attention, with neither understanding the other side's viewpoint.

Reed and Ben have tension for much the same reason that Reed and Sue though. Except with Ben, it's spite over the fact that his best friend doesn't seem overly concerned with trying to "fix" him.

Susan steal remains the most level-headed member of the group, and is the one most capable of keeping the team together and getting them to focus.

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Id spin them like the four in Planetary.

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I'm glad I'm not the only person who had the thought to keep them as having a 60s aesthetic.

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