The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the thirty-seventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the first instalment of Phase Six and a Continuity Reboot of the Four, introducing Marvel's First Family into the MCU. It stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/the Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus.

Earth-828, the setting of the movie itself, is an Alternate Universe with a very The Sixties-like aesthetic that's protected by the aforementioned Fantastic Four instead of The Avengers. Not only that, but Reed has become the most famous inventor of the world and Sue has more or less achieved World Peace via her Future Foundation. Due to this, the Four have enjoyed a successful career as beloved superheroes and Reed and Sue are happily expecting their first kiddo... before they face a threat unlike anything they've seen before: Galactus.

A prequel comic of the same name was released on July 9th 2025 before the film released on July 25th 2025.

Tropes used in The Fantastic Four: First Steps include:

• 100% Adoration Rating: The Fantastic Four. It briefly dips in the middle when the public learns that the Four refused Galactus' Sadistic Choice, but it's ultimately restored by the end.
• Adapted Out: Though the film is a loose adaptation of "The Coming of Galactus", Uatu the Watcher is absent and unmentioned.
  • Norrin Radd is unmentioned in Shalla-Bal's backstory.
  • Alicia Masters is likewise nowhere to be seen, her role being split into Rachel Rozman (as Ben's love interest) and Johnny convincing Shalla-Bal/the Surfer to pull a Heel Face Turn.
• Adaptation Species Change: In the comics, Franklin is a mutant of the type most commonly seen in X-Men books. Here his powers are presented more in a "Touched by Vorlons" sense.
• Adaptational Heroism: Mole Man on Earth-616 is essentially throwing a Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum because people made fun of his Hollow World theories. The prequel comic shows him as an Anti-Villain whose followers are the downtrodden and politically forgotten, wanting Subterranea to be recognized as its own nation. Once he gets that, he pulls a Heel Face Turn. Even if he's still something of a petty jerk.
• Adaptational Jerkass: While Shalla-Bal cribs many of Norrin Radd's traits during her tenure as the Surfer, unlike him, she finds Earth to be an Insignificant Little Blue Planet (though not with any malice), as opposed to Norrin finding Earth to be beautiful.
  • Downplayed for Galactus. While he's largely his usual Blue and Orange Morality Anti-Villain, he has a notable It's All About Me streak and indulges in some Puny Earthlings sentiments.
• Alternate History: Seemingly diverged, heavily, from the Sacred Timeline in the 1960s. The Future Foundation became a One World Order that brought about world peace with technology more advanced than the Sacred Timeline in 2025.
• Alternate Reality Episode: Takes place on Earth-828, a retro-future inspired world, instead of the Sacred Timeline.
• Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: As the film isn't set on the Like Reality Unless Noted Sacred Timeline, the Fantastic Four have delivered huge technological and societal progress over the four years they've been around.
• Androcles' Lion: Throughout the whole film, everyone fears that Franklin could become a Deity of Human Origin and Person of Mass Destruction, but Sue shows him nothing but unconditional love. And Franklin's first use of his powers is to bring his beloved mother Back From the Dead.
• Babies Make Everything Better: Averted. Sue notes (and a Deleted Scene shows) that Franklin is keeping her up at night with his fussing.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Averted. Galactus sees through the Four's trap at the last moment. Though he does praise them as "clever little bugs."
• Brainy Baby: Downplayed for Franklin. While the Power Cosmic grants him full awareness of what's going on around him, he's still a baby and reacts to things like a baby would. Despite all his power, his first reaction to being scared is to cry and hope his mom hears.
• Casual Interstellar Travel: Played straight for the Four (whose ship has an FTL rig) and the Surfer (who can reach FTL speeds without a ship) but averted for Galactus. He needs his ship to get around and his ship moves at sub-light speeds. It's actually a factor in Reed's plan to move Earth as it would take Galactus an extra million years to reach the planet even if it moves a few light years away. And a factor in Plan B teleporting Galactus away as he'd be stranded without his ship.
• Comic Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: While the Four's codenames are mentioned, they're not used with any real frequency.
  • Downplayed with the Silver Surfer who is called "the Surfer". Johnny figuring out her real name is a plot point.
  • Justified with Mole Man. He hates the name and demands to be referred only as "Mr. Elder".
• Cosmic Keystone: The Surfer claims that Galactus is a universal force "as essential as the stars".
• Curb Stomp Battle: The Four's first fight with Galactus goes... poorly. While they win the second, it's still a Curb Stomp Cushion that requires Franklin to bring Sue Back From the Dead.
• Cursed with Awesome: Galactus is a Reality Warper but he needs to consume planets to keep going and misses being a regular mortal being.
• Death Seeker: Galactus, who hopes that transferring his Horror Hunger to Franklin will finally allow him to die.
• Deity of Human Origin: When he meets the Four, Galactus mourns that he Was Once a Man and Not So Different from them. Franklin appears to be heading in the same direction.
• Eureka Moment: Sue saying that she would "move Heaven and Earth" inspires Reed to literally move Earth away from Galactus.
• Exposed Extraterrestrials: The Silver Surfer as always. Though Reed suspects, and the flashback to her origin suggests he's right, that it's actually a skin-tight polymer rather than Shalla-Bal actually being naked.
• Evil Is Petty: After the Four refuse his Sadistic Choice, Galactus orders the Surfer to abduct Franklin, swearing he'll eat Earth, slowly, before transferring his curse to Franklin as a middle finger to the Four.
• Foil: Galactus and the Surfer to the Four.
  • In Galactus' case, he parallels Reed by getting stuck in his own head and way of doing things and like Ben, he's been warped against his will into something unrecognizable. But his attitudes, especially since, unlike Ben, he never came to terms with the change, push him into being a Shadow Archetype of both.
  • The Surfer contrasts Johnny and Sue. Like Johnny she was interested in space and gained great power from something in space. And like Sue she was willing to give her life for her child's survival.
• Foreshadowing: Latveria is prominently shown as an empty seat in the United Nations, foreshadowing that Doctor Doom shows up in The Stinger.
  • When the Four first encounter the Taa II, Galactus' scan doubles back to Susan, hinting that he wants Franklin.
  • When they're escaping Galactus shortly after, the Surfer dishes out Curb Stomp Battles to Ben and Johnny before Susan grabs her in a forcefield, doing no actual damage but actually causing the Invincible Villain to stumble. Hinting which of the Four is the only one who can do more than just inconvenience Galactus.
  • During the light-speed chase, Johnny manages to knock the Surfer off her board but she quickly recovers forcing them to trap her in a black hole so they can escape. Just like the Four's first plan to defeat Galactus fails and they'll have to trap him somewhere else to let Earth live.
• Fun with Acronyms: Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics.
• Going Commando: Implied. When out of her spacesuit, Sue only needs to remove her pants to give birth.
• Goo-Goo Godlike: Franklin Richards.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Johnny attempts two. He first offers himself as a new Herald to Galactus if Earth will be spared but the Surfer notes Galactus wouldn't be interested. He then prepares a one-way trip to shove Galactus through the portal, but the Surfer makes the sacrifice.
• Hidden Depths: When he arrives in New York, Galactus literally stops to smell the flowers, hinting that he misses being a mortal.
• Hope Spot: The Four hit on the plan to teleport Earth away from Galactus. And they very nearly succeed before the Surfer cannonballs through the equipment.
• In Medias Res: The film starts on the fourth anniversary of the Fantastic Four with the group already being established superheroes who have defeated most of their rogues.
• Invincible Villain: Nothing the Four do can actually hurt Galactus or the Silver Surfer. The best they can manage is Sue just throwing/pushing them in a force field.
• Logical Weakness: Fires need oxygen which means Johnny's powers are useless in an environment without oxygen.
• Mama Bear: Sue Storm throughout the film but in the climax she unleashes the full power of her forcefields on Galactus in an ultimately (temporarily) fatal effort to protect little Franklin.
• Momma's Boy: Downplayed but of the two, Franklin seems closer to his mother.
• Monumental Damage: Subverted. Galactus lands near the Statue of Liberty and briefly regards it in such a way that the film teases he's going to smash it. And then he starts walking, not giving it another thought.
• Mundane Utility: The Four all use their powers like this at various points. Reed to reach up and far away without walking over, Johnny to light up rooms in blackout, Ben to quickly crush garlic for pasta sauce and Sue to show Franklin in her womb, cutting through Reed's need for an ultrasound.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Johnny forces Shalla-Bal to experience this in the third act, subjecting her to the records of the screams of every world she's sacrificed for Zenn-La. It leads to her pulling a Heroic Sacrifice to strand Galactus from his ship.
• Mythology Gag: The film is set on Earth-828. 8/28 was Jack Kirby's date of birth.
  • Sue's pregnancy test is manufactured by the counterpart to Stark Industries.
  • The sky is set on fire before the Surfer descends, like in Galactus' first comic appearance.
  • In Earth X, Shalla-Bal was the Silver Surfer as a way to distinguish that the comic wasn't set on Earth-616. And in this film, not set on the Sacred Timeline, Shalla-Bal is again the Surfer.
  • To Rise of the Silver Surfer:
    • When the Surfer arrives, Johnny chases them around the world but finds himself outclassed.
    • Reed tracks the Surfer's energy to since destroyed planets to confirm what the Surfer said about Galactus.
    • The Surfer pulls a Heroic Sacrifice to defeat Galactus after one of the Storm siblings inspires a Dare to Be Badass Heel Face Turn.
  • The Four's ship is called the Excelsior, Stan Lee's famous Catch Phrase.
  • Galactus identifies Franklin as the one who could shoulder his burden. In the comics, Franklin has been noted as the one who will be the Planet Eater in the next universe and ultimately took his place in Earth X.
  • Johnny's transmissions from deep space are reflected on screen in a manner much like the Hex frequency from WandaVision, also directed by Matt Shakman.
• The Needs of the Many: After learning that Galactus would spare the Earth in exchange for Franklin, the people of Earth begin demanding the Four agree to the trade. Ultimately leads to Sue Shaming the Mob as they're asking a mother to give up her less than a year-old child.
• Oddball in the Series: Like Deadpool & Wolverine, the film does not take place in the MCU's Sacred Timeline.
• Outside Context Villain: Galactus is so far outside the scope of what the Four are used to facing. As he and his ship predate the universe, Reed can't even analyze him in a meaningful way.
• Pregnant Badass: Sue Storm for the first third of the film. Even when otherwise Imperiled By Pregnancy, she can still fight.
• Sadistic Choice: Galactus offers the Four a choice: He'll eat Earth or Sue can give up Franklin. The Four choose to try and save both Earth and Franklin.
• Shout-Out: Word of God is that a lot of the 1960s aesthetics are inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• The Stinger: In the traditional credits scene, Sue has to attend some matters when she's home alone with a two-three year old Franklin... When she returns, she finds him playing with a mysterious "visitor" who has just invited himself into the living room... and who's all but screamed to be Doctor Doom.
• Reality Ensues: Played for Laughs at the end when Ted Gilbert asks the Four if they can put Franklin in a custom onesie in under a minute. The answer is obviously no. No one can change a one-year old that fast.
• Reality Warper: The Power Cosmic. Though its feats shown in the film amount only to Galactus accelerating Sue's pregnancy and Franklin bringing his mom Back From the Dead.
• Revisiting the Roots: Owes much more to the original Fantastic Four Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comics set on Earth-616 than the Ultimate Fantastic Four that the 2005 and 2015 films were so inspired by.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Averted. To protect her child, Sue outright commands Johnny to kill the Surfer when she's chasing them in FTL. Johnny tries to, albeit somewhat reluctantly, but the physics of the wormhole and the Surfer's invincibility hamper his efforts.
• Truer to the Text: Galactus is depicted as a gigantic humanoid rather than the space cloud he was in Rise of the Silver Surfer. He even has his Worldship and uses machinery to convert planets to compatible energy.
• Vocal Dissonance: The Thing sounds largely like a normal guy instead of the big burly voice he had in the prior two films.
• Was Once a Man: Both Galactus and the Surfer were ordinary Human Aliens before receiving the Power Cosmic. The driving force of the plot is that Galactus will do anything to become an ordinary mortal once again.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The fate of the Taa II, presumably still in orbit, is not touched on after Galactus and the Surfer are banished.
• Would Hurt a Child: Galactus is perfectly willing to transfer his endless hunger to Franklin so he can finally die.
• Zeerust: Earth-828.