Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot is inspired by Guy Fieri

What happens when the new Fantastic Four #1 debuts in November, Marvel’s First Family will move in a direction inspired by… Guy Fieri?

“I pitched it as something like Diners, drive-ins, and dives,” said Ryan North, the incoming Fantastic Four writer. “There’s this guy showing up, a big personality, and he’s making something better when he’s leaving.”

“The main thing I had in my head was this image of the Fantastic Four rolling into town where nobody knew them, and there was a weird problem with the town,” said North. “They would fix it and they would roll on to the next town.” It’s a straightforward, down-to-earth concept, and a big shift for a franchise that has spent most of its recent history operating on a more cosmic scale.

Ben Grimm and Alicia arrive in a weirdly empty town in Fantastic Four #1 (2022). — It seems that something is strangely going on in the tiny town Ben Grimm, Alicia and Alicia arrived in Issue 1.

North was awarded the Eisner Award for his innovative work in comics such as Adventure Time Unbeatable Squirrel GirlHe is not a stranger to great ideas. His book. The Survival Guide to the Time Traveler in Time: How To Invent Everything, highlights how passionate he is about science, technology, anthropology, and more, making him an inspired choice to take comics’ preeminent explorers into the future.

“Something I’ve kept in mind is that I never want the book to feel like it is revisiting the greatest hits,” said North. “We’ve had those stories before; we want to do something new that feels fresh and feels like we haven’t seen it before. And so one of the ways I’ve been trying to get into that is by having them be very grounded. They’ve lost their money. They’ve lost their fame. They’ve lost a lot of their tech. They’ve lost their popularity.”

North is excited about the chance to attract new readers by publishing a new issue. “I wanted a book that could be accessible to someone going in completely cold and knowing nothing of the FF, but would also respect the history.” North said. “I wanted to tell more stand-alone stories. This is where it all started. Squirrel Girl, where between these arcs we do these one-off stories that had a beginning, middle, end, and were self-contained.”

Sue Storm and Mister Fantastic battle Doombots in an unfinished page from Fantastic Four #2 (2022).

Johnny Storm/The Human Torch flies wildly around the sky in flames in Fantastic Four #3 (2022).

The first issue features Ben Grimm, his wife, Alicia MastersGrimm and a time loop story. Issue 2 introduces Reed Richards and Sue Storm into a Doombot-filled town. Issue 3 shifts focus to Johnny Storm as he struggles to find funds and moves to his own place. But don’t worry, the team will be back together soon enough, and this first look at Alex Ross’ cover for issue 4 reveals the Fantastic Four united against an assortment of classic Marvel monsters.

The Fantastic Four battle fantastic creatures on the cover of Fantastic Four #4 (2023).

For readers wondering where the Fantastic Four’s kids fit into the new series, North is hesitant to say too much for story reasons but assures that they are still in the picture: “I promise I am not killing off the kids.” But for the start of the series, North wants to reduce the book’s ensemble and narrow the focus on the core five characters.

“Reed’s obviously the smart one, and I feel like for a lot of the Fantastic Four history, especially in the ’60s, that got portrayed as the correct one,” North said. “But you can be smart and be a complete idiot. Anyone who’s smart and honest will tell you that. Reed is a smart and honest person who can learn the books, but trusts Sue and his family for the interpersonal parts.

“I see Sue as the most powerful member of the team. […] It’s at a level that is far beyond what the others can do. She’s also the one who is the best at talking to people. She’s the one who you could drop into a room in which she knows no one, and she could come out with some friends on their side.”

To North, there’s more to Johnny “The Human Torch” Storm than being the irresponsible member of the group. “I see him at a place where he’s not a teenager anymore and he’s happy with who he is. He’s there to have fun. He’s there to have a good time. He doesn’t have a lot of money to go around and the only thing he has left with the unstable particles that make things fireproof are the trunks. When he ignites, his clothes burn and when they are gone, he becomes a shirtless, unclothed man in shorts. And Johnny is completely cool with that.”

The Four have been replaced by five this time. Ben Grimm and longtime flame Alicia Masters tied the knot in 2018, and as Ben’s partner for life, North wanted to give her equal footing on the team, whether or not she had superpowers, and her own perspective. “Alicia is an artist. She’s someone who cares about ideas and concepts and art and beauty and truth. Ben is much more grounded in dealing with the world: ‘Truth and beauty are important, but what are we getting for dinner?’ sort of thing. […] He’s got a shyness to him under there. He’s got a big, huge heart. His heart is full of compassion and a desire to do the right thing for others. He’s so sincere and almost guileless; he’s not going to sugarcoat for you. He’s not going to try to manipulate you to get what he wants. He’s just going to tell you the truth as he sees it and do what he thinks is right.”

Fantastic Four North partners with Iban Coello, colorist Jesus Aburtov and artist North. They previously collaborated on Venom. “It’s been a very collaborative experience, which is what I love,” said North. “Iban has been throwing ideas my way: These panels could be combined. Here’s where we could turn this into a splash. Not just rendering what’s in the script, but taking the script as a starting point for doing something better with it. In particular, his action scenes have been really cool, to the level of me saying, ‘Damn, we’ve got to put some more action stuff in this script because I want to see what Iban does with it.”

Ben Grimm and Alicia masters walk into a motel in Fantastic Four #1 (2022). Ben is carrying a superhuman number of suitcases under one arm.

Old timey trucks race at Alicia and Ben Grimm, and Ben charges ahead, bringin one to a halt by slamming his huge rocky body into it in a dynamic crash in Fantastic Four #1 (2022).

Ben Grimm trashes several old timey trucks, as purple vapor starts to pour off of him and Alicia in Fantastic Four #1 (2022).

Coello and North share a mutual admiration. Coello is grateful for North’s willingness to push him out of his comfort zones. “Ryan is a great writer with a lot of great ideas that force me to learn a new way to tell a story.” Coello said. “I’m learning a lot from him!” These exclusive preview pages from Fantastic Four #2 and #3 showcase how Coello leans into the dynamic visual elements of each hero’s powers, whether it’s Reed’s elastic appendages or Johnny’s roaring flames. Drawing the Human Torch is Coello’s favorite thing about working on the series, and he supercharges Johnny’s powers to make them pop even more on the page.

While circumstances for Marvel’s First Family might be dire, the creative team is committed to the core tenets of the Fantastic Four. “We still have the same optimism that’s baked into them,” said North. “That science and reason will save us. That we can, with enough smarts and compassion, do anything.”

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