20 Years After the Release of ‘Fantastic Four,’ I Hope ‘First Steps’ Keeps This Part of the Original

Given the many attempts that have been made to bring Marvel’s First Family to life on the big screen, the characters of Fantastic Four are often deemed to be a cursed property. Despite being among the most popular heroes within the history of Marvel Comics, the Fantastic Four have a complex dynamic that has proven difficult to adapt. Although it is certainly no masterpiece, Tim Story’s Fantastic Four did a lot of things right when it came to developing interpersonal relationships. In particular, the film took advantage of the competitive relationship between Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), which would develop into mutual respect and affection.

Story’s Fantastic Four was not the first time that the characters were made into a film, as the Roger Corman production from 1994 was made purely to retain the rights to the characters, and never received a wide release. The less said about the 2015 reboot, the better, as director Josh Trank disowned the film almost immediately after it bombed in theaters and received scathing reviews. There is certainly a lot of enthusiasm for what Marvel Studios can do with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as the retro art style and talented cast suggest there is a lot of potential to improve on prior failures. However, the original Fantastic Four understood that banter between the characters was important, particularly when it came to larger-than-life personalities like Johnny and Ben.

Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm Have a Unique Relationship

Fantastic Four nailed the casting of Johnny and Ben, as while Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba were better than they were given credit for as Reed Richards and Sue Storm, respectively, the film falls flat whenever it focuses on their romance. Considering that Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) does not initiate his evil plan until the end of the film, the majority of the first Fantastic Four focuses on how the characters are learning to adapt to their powers. While Johnny is at first excited by what his new capabilities bring, he also isolates himself from the rest of the group, and takes risks purely to make himself feel something. Conversely, Ben is in shame about the way that he looks and acts, which leads to a heartbreaking breakup in his relationship. Given how wildly different their experiences are, it makes sense why Johnny and Ben would come into conflict with one another.

The cast of 2005's Fantastic Four in front of a Marvel Banner

C’mon, Admit It, 2005’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Totally Nailed This One Thing

“It’s clobbering time!”

Although they both struggle to express their emotions, both Johnny and Ben are deeply empathetic characters who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Ben has spent years sticking up for Reed, which makes it more challenging for him to wait idly by when he feels that his best friend is doing nothing to improve his situation. Similarly, Johnny does feel an obligation to support Sue due to the death of their father, which he brings up in a surprisingly emotional moment in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. While it’s amusing to see the arguments that they get into, Ben and Johnny both learn to take pride and responsibility for their powers after seeing what they can do to save people. Ben learns that “The Thing,” a nickname that Johnny gave him, has become a source of inspiration to the people of New York; Johnny recognizes that actually working for the betterment of others is more satisfying than any of the tabloid-heavy gimmicks he could pull off.

The Original ‘Fantastic Four’ Nailed the Character Interactions

Chiklis and Evans are great actors who brought surprising amounts of nuance to their roles, which certainly elevated the material. Even though Johnny is a literal hothead, Evans is able to show that he is willing to put himself in danger if it means saving the people he cares about, which explains why he decides to pursue the Silver Surfer (Doug Jones) after he interrupts Sue’s planned wedding to Reed. While anyone that has seen Chiklis’ all-time great television performance as Vic Mackey on The Shield knows that he is an incredible dramatic actor, he was able to bring a surprising amount of physical comedy to the role, particularly in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, when Ben begins to take pride in his image as a superhero. The Fantastic Four films came from a different era of comic book storytelling, as they prioritized character interactions and development over the establishment of crossover events within a cinematic universe.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps looks to be emulating a similar dynamic, as the most recent trailer shows Johnny (Joseph Quinn) teasing Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) about delivering his famous line of “it’s clobberin’ time!” Considering that Sue (Vanessa Kirby) and Reed (Pedro Pascal) are about to be parents in the film, it will be interesting to see how the family dynamic is developed, as Johnny mentions to Ben that they will be “the best uncles ever.” All signs suggest that Matt Shakman has been able to create a new and compelling superhero adventure that is offering a breath of fresh air to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the original Fantastic Four had some surprising attributes that should not be forgotten.