10 REASONS WHY THE FANTASTIC FOUR FRANCHISE IS BETTER OFF AT MARVEL STUDIOS.
Hello, fellow CBM fans. This is my first contribution to this awesome site, so please forgive me if some of my grammars are a bit off. Though I hope you'll enjoy what I've prepared.
What made me do this list was because of what's been going on with comicbook adoptations in Hollywood. We're now in an age where we, the fans, are enjoying CBM like never before. It's like a dream come true wherever our favorite characters comes alive on the big screen. Because Marvel sold the rights of many of their characters to studios like Fox, Sony and Universal. They're leading over DC with more successful movies. It's a beautiful achievement. But not all didn't perform well at the Box Office and others weren't satifying enough to please us.
Now what I want to write about is this situation with the Fantastic Four franchise. Fox had done 2 movies already. The first was okay. While the second was a disappointment. If I'd be more harsh: It was a galactic cloud -fart. Because of this, the executives could have just handed over the rights back to Marvel. The same way that Universal Pictures did with the Hulk. But very surprisingly, Fox decided to hold on to it awhile. Years past and just when the rights was due back to its owner if nothing happens with it by 2014, Fox announced that they're making a reboot with Chronicle's Josh Tranks as director.
If it were the opposite, Marvel Studios may have come up with a Fantastic Four movie rather than a Guardians of the Galaxy. Very fortunately, things worked out pretty well with that just the same.
Mark Julian and darkknight2149 have both made terrific articles about this back then. I'm here to help drive the point further with a list of characters who I believe will work great if they'd be featured in a studio where they belong.
Honorary mention:
The Impossible Man - I know, this guy's a looney toney cartoon from the comics. But look at Marvel's handling with the Hulk in The Avengers and with both Rocket Raccoon and Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy? And dare I mention Howard the Duck? Tell me you wouldn't be at least curious to see how they'll handle him.
Wyatt Wingfoot - Talk about adding diversity. I've always like a none-superpowered supporting character. A native american even. But he was never featured in the Fox films. Neither did John Proudstar aka Thunderbird, Danielle Moonstar aka Mirage, Forge and Naze in the X-Men movies. Sure, there was Warpath in DOFP. But he was just there to be killed. And don't get me started with Silverfox in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Alica Masters and Phillip Masters aka Puppet Master – Besides having the ability to control people by use of radioactive puppets, Phillip has a deep hatred for the Thing, who's in a Beauty and the Beast like relationship with his blind step daughter Alicia Masters. A much talented group of writers should find this fun to work on.
Now for the top 10 list:
10. Uatu the Watcher – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was loosely based on Fantastic Four issue # 48 “The Coming of Galactus”. But Fox might have thought this fellow was too ridiculous and that he's not relevant. So he was never used. Which is such a shame. Uatu has been one of Marvel's strangest, yet very important player. He appears in almost all big events and regularly in the “What If” realities, only to WATCH. He rarely speaks to the characters he's with in the comics, but he speaks to us, the readers. Which makes him absolutely unique.
9. Franklin and Valeria Richards - These wonderful kids with mutant powers will, no doubt, feel at home with Disney owned Marvel. They could even encourage a Power Pack movie or a TV series.
8. Skrulls – They're the sneekiest alien race that's responsible for many of our heroes' head-aches. They're natural experts in the art of switch a roo on countless occassions. That shape changing gimmick has been over used by Mystique in all 5 X-Men movies. I don't believe Fox will ever feature them. And surely, we'll never see the ass-kicking Super-Skrull, because his powers alone were already shown in FFROTSS. At home, we could be treated with a Kree-Skrull War or a Secret Invasion, if the case may be.
7. Annihilus, Blasstar and the inhabitants of the Negative Zone – Mainly because I'd love to see Annihilation event on the big screen. In the comics, this was the crisis that revitalized the House of Idea's space opera again. And it led to the formation of today's Guardians of the Galaxy and turning Richard Rider aka Nova a major player.
6. Doctor Doom – He's the #1 baddie. And like the Skrulls, he's the only human supervillain who's clashed with every single heroes in the Marvel universe. Even Stan Lee expressed he was disatisfied with what Fox has done with the character.
5.Susan Storm aka Invisible Woman – Marvel did well in portraying strong women in their films. Best example being Black Widow. So it would be exciting to see Sue Storm show that, even though she's the only woman in the group. Perhaps her most intriguing story was when Namor the Sub-mariner came to her life. And that's a different story.
4. Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic - He's the biggest brain and even the luckiest nerd to marry a hottie like Sue Storm. Remember, Marvel is big with character building. It'd be interesting to see him interact with Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Hank Pym and his arch rival Doctor Victor Von Doom. And how he'll function as a husband and a father. And let's not forget that he sided with Tony Stark during Civil War event.
3. Johnny Storm aka Human Torch – Chris Even was perfect for playing Johnny Storm. Period! His dynamic chemistry with the Michael Chiklis was fun to watch. That's the reason why the movies were enjoyable enough. I guess, Fox was afraid to cast another white actor to take his place. So they took the easiest way out - Hollywood style. Now that there is a Pietro aka Quicksilver, Johnny could be entangled with him in a love triangle with the Inhuman's Crystal. Also, he and Spider-Man are best buddies. And that, sadly, is another story.
2. Galactus and the Silver Surfer - Ever since Marvel tried to negotiate with Fox into handing over these two in exchange for an extended term with Daredevil, it's obvious they've got big plans. Granted, the gigantic planet eater and his herald are the most popular characters in their cosmic universe and they've been involved in many of their events. To me, the most astounding highlight of Galactus' career was when he resolved the Annihilation wave with just a gesture. Now that's bad-ass!
1. Thing - Michael Chiklis did a good performance as Ben Grim. His Thing, on the other hand, looked awful! With Rocket Raccoon and Groot, Marvel has again proven to us that they've got what it takes to give us the soul tortured yet ever lovable blue eyed CGI Thing that we deserve. And with that, who wouldn't want to see him go clobbering time it with The Incredible Hulk? We were given Thor-Ironman and Thor–Hulk slugfest in The Avengers. This year, we saw Captain America match skill for skill with the Winter Soldier. Next year, we'll see Hulk smash with the Hulk-buster. In 2016, it's Captain America against Ironman! It's Battle of the Titans whenever it's Hulk versus Thing in the comics.
Realistically, this is a stretch. But you can't blame me for dreaming, can you? So there you have it. My reasons why our beloved first family deserves to be sent back home. I know, it's already too late. Fox announced that they've finished filming the reboot. If you're one of many who'rs against that? Then don't watch it. Let it flop at the Box Office. That way, Fox will have their backs against the wall and start thinking twice whether they'll maintain the franchise or not.
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Will you watch the reboot? Feel free to comment below.