Whether or not one believes the rumors about why the Fantastic Four was discontinued (and I want to be clear, I’m not sure if I do), the group’s long absence is historically strange. For my part, I was a little shocked that the team ever broke up in the first place, much less stayed broken up, and the presence of The Thing and The Human Torch throughout the Marvel titles keeps bringing it home. But, then again, that movie really did suck. Maybe the intention is to build our fanboy anticipation, making the inevitable reunion seem cooler when it does occur, or maybe it’s just another example of modern creators eschewing the old-school toys, but either way, it leads to today’s quaternary query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) figures, if they’re not gonna relaunch the FF, it’s time for Ben Grimm to finally become an X-Man, asking: Is it time to bring back the Fantastic Four already?
5 Comments
Actually… Nah. I like your notion of giving them some time, whether or not it builds anticipation, the brand seemed a little beat up of late. The films, some rather flimsy stories, and just not aging well have all taken tolls on the franchise. Additionally, the whole super-hero family thing has been done better by the Incredibles.
The FF need to find a new niche to make it seem fresh and pertinent. I’d like to see a return to the Future Foundation idea as a better hook for the team to tell stories more accessible to our times.
Much as I enjoy the Fantastic Four in theory, not yet. I like the idea of the absence to build up anticipation. I would ideally give the team a couple more years at least, and then bring the team back in a meaningful way with real stories to tell instead of bringing them back just to have a comfortable and familiar old team around again.
Yes with James Robinson writing. I liked his run.
Wayyy past time. What they should have done was bring an alternate 4 just to keep the embers lit. Like when we had the cold war Captain Americas.
Only if Reed is not a jerk. Otherwise, deep six them for another 20 years.