"There are men so godlike, so exceptional, that they naturally, by right of their extraordinary gifts, transcend all moral judgment or constitutional control. There is no law which embraces men of that calibre. They are themselves law."

Fantastic Four History


Like many Marvel comic book superheroes in the last decade, the Fantastic Four enjoyed the release of their very own major motion picture. However, these two movies and the Fantastic Four characters have been overshadowed by other superheroes from the Marvel family.

The wildly successful Spider-Man movies, the new Iron Man movie and both of the Hulk movies all outsold the two Fantastic Four movies. Yet, the Fantastic Four predates all of those Marvel superheroes, going back to 1961.

In November, 1961, Fantastic Four #1 was released. This was the first superhero team created by Marvel Comics and it was their first new superhero creations in quite some time. Superheroes ruled the world of comic books before World War II. However, after the war interests had changed and superheroes fell off in sales and status. The entire comic book industry was suffering and was coming under strong criticisms.

With the help of the Comics Code Authority however, comic books would enjoy a superhero revival. DC Comics began to reissue many of their old superheroes, with new, more intricate storylines and more intricate and colorful artwork. This was the beginning of the Silver Age of comic books. DC Comics also released their own superhero team, the Justice League of America.

Marvel Comics was falling behind the times and decided that enough was enough. With Stan Lee at the helm, Marvel decided to get back into the superhero fold. Seeing the great success of DC’s Justice League, Marvel decided to release their own superhero group. With that, the Fantastic Four was created. They would be the first in a succession of many new superheroes created and released by Marvel Comics.

The Fantastic Four consisted of Mister Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch and The Thing. All four attained their super powers through a space test flight in which they were inundated with some form of powerful cosmic rays. While this sounds pretty standard in terms of comic book superheroes and their acquisition of super powers, the group stood out for different reasons.

Unlike many of their predecessors, these characters were more real. They had faults, they had problems; they argued and didn’t always get along perfectly. Each character was different and the group needed every member. Yet, there was not always perfect harmony.

While being superheroes, the characters were themselves more human than many other popular characters before them. Stan Lee said the reigns were finally freed and he created a group of characters that were more true to life. Ones that he would actually enjoy reading and learning about and ones that reflected more true human nature.

It is there that the legacy of the Fantastic Four remains. Not only were they the first Silver Age superheroes released by Marvel Comics, sparking a long trend with many famous and longstanding characters, but they also helped to revolutionize the superhero genre as a whole. No longer where these super humans perfect beings, they were, after all, just human.