Marvel fans just don't like the Fantastic Four anymore, but the team has been losing popularity ever since the fall of the Soviet Union.
PUBLISHED 11 HOURS AGO
Warning: contains spoilers for The Thing #1!
While Marvel's Fantastic Four is undoubtedly the team that started the true Marvel Universe, the team's popularity has faded over the last few decades with no sign of a resurgence any time soon. The Fantastic Four challenged many preconceptions about the superhero genre in comics, and created more than a few tropes of their own. But post-1991, the team simply is not what it used to be.
The creation of the Fantastic Four is as famous as the team itself. Writer Stan Lee was ready to give up on the industry altogether when his wife insisted he create one last comic, and create it the way he wanted. Thus the Fantastic Four was born: a group of superheroes (not one hero and a sidekick) with a variety of powers and no secret identities; they were even seen as celebrities and treated as such by the civilians of the Marvel Universe. Most importantly, the Fantastic Four were a family: Reed Richards and Susan Storm were engaged (later married), Johnny Storm was Sue's brother, and Ben - while not exactly a blood relative - was Reed's best friend and seen as an older brother to Johnny.
RELATED: The Fantastic Four Sequel's Worst Mistake Ruined The Silver Surfer
But the genesis of the Fantastic Four lies firmly in the Cold War. In the first issue, Reed's experiment is considered dangerous by all, but the scientist Susan Storm says the knowledge gained is worth the risk, "...unless we want the commies to beat us to it!" The team faced various Soviet Union-themed villains and in many ways were more patriotic than Captain America in their battles. But with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the team was suddenly aimless.
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This is even acknowledged in The Thing #1: Reed Richards bails Ben Grimm out of prison after an incredibly stressful day (after Ben saw his fiancee Alicia Masters walking with another man and assumed she was cheating). Ben is surprised that Reed came to get him, believing that both him and Susan Storm were in the USSR. Reed replies "It's Russia now, Ben." Ben Grimm, as an American pilot, would surely remember the name the country went by when it was the United States' most feared enemy. Times and geopolitical situations change - but the Thing has not. This mirrors his plight with his powers in a way, since Ben is the only member of the Fantastic Four who can't "switch off" his powers.
To many, Ben represents the United States' stubborn worldview and insistence on having one foot in the past - because he is constantly reminded of Reed's experiment that took place during the Cold War. Out of the four Fantastic Four films made, not a single one was received well critically. Perhaps that is because the Fantastic Four are past their time - and have yet to reinvent themselves as a team in the Marvel Universe.
While Marvel's Fantastic Four is undoubtedly the team that started the true Marvel Universe, the team's popularity has faded over the last few decades with no sign of a resurgence any time soon. The Fantastic Four challenged many preconceptions about the superhero genre in comics, and created more than a few tropes of their own. But post-1991, the team simply is not what it used to be.
The creation of the Fantastic Four is as famous as the team itself. Writer Stan Lee was ready to give up on the industry altogether when his wife insisted he create one last comic, and create it the way he wanted. Thus the Fantastic Four was born: a group of superheroes (not one hero and a sidekick) with a variety of powers and no secret identities; they were even seen as celebrities and treated as such by the civilians of the Marvel Universe. Most importantly, the Fantastic Four were a family: Reed Richards and Susan Storm were engaged (later married), Johnny Storm was Sue's brother, and Ben - while not exactly a blood relative - was Reed's best friend and seen as an older brother to Johnny.
RELATED: The Fantastic Four Sequel's Worst Mistake Ruined The Silver Surfer
But the genesis of the Fantastic Four lies firmly in the Cold War. In the first issue, Reed's experiment is considered dangerous by all, but the scientist Susan Storm says the knowledge gained is worth the risk, "...unless we want the commies to beat us to it!" The team faced various Soviet Union-themed villains and in many ways were more patriotic than Captain America in their battles. But with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the team was suddenly aimless.
This is even acknowledged in The Thing #1: Reed Richards bails Ben Grimm out of prison after an incredibly stressful day (after Ben saw his fiancee Alicia Masters walking with another man and assumed she was cheating). Ben is surprised that Reed came to get him, believing that both him and Susan Storm were in the USSR. Reed replies "It's Russia now, Ben." Ben Grimm, as an American pilot, would surely remember the name the country went by when it was the United States' most feared enemy. Times and geopolitical situations change - but the Thing has not. This mirrors his plight with his powers in a way, since Ben is the only member of the Fantastic Four who can't "switch off" his powers.
To many, Ben represents the United States' stubborn worldview and insistence on having one foot in the past - because he is constantly reminded of Reed's experiment that took place during the Cold War. Out of the four Fantastic Four films made, not a single one was received well critically. Perhaps that is because the Fantastic Four are past their time - and have yet to reinvent themselves as a team in the Marvel Universe.
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