Saving the Franchise: Fantastic Four

If any comic should translate easily to film, it's the Fantastic Four. They are Marvel first family and the embodiment of the Silver Age of comic books. They have no powers, no costumes, and no secret identity. The biggest problem is that they are kinda hokey. The characters often fall into stereotypes of the absent-minded professor, the immature prankster, the gruff tough guy, and the woman.

But well-worn characters have often been saved by writers who know characterization (see "Star Trek"), so my choice for Fantastic Four writer/director is Joss "Buffy/Angel/Firefly/Dollhouse" Whedon. Whedon is a fantastic character writer with a great sense of humor. He also is fantastic at leading the viewer's expectations then making a completely logical twist.

Theme

The central theme of Fantastic Four is scientific exploration. Whether they are going through space, other dimensions, back in time or checking out ancient excavations, it all revolves around science and understanding. In this way, it is very much like Star Trek... only with superpowers... in modern times.

But another core theme of this title is "family." It often bothers me when groups of friends or co-workers are referred to as a "family" because I find it sentimental to the point of being meaningless. But in the FF's case, it's true. Reed and Sue were married in the first few years of publication, Johnny is Sue's little brother, and Ben is Reed's best friend from college. They are very much a family which is why they are defined by their number. However, in recent comics this has expanded to include Franklin and Valeria Richards, the children of Reed and Sue, and Ben is currently engaged.

This is probably one of the few Marvel movies where you wouldn't necessarily have to show the origin. You could even take a page from the Incredibles (largely based on the Fantastic Four) and give all of the backstory in the beginning so you can concentrate on the family dynamic and the villain du jour. It would also be a way of distancing from the previous films without making any official declaration of whether this is a sequel or a revamp.

Characters

(Just for fun, I cast the team using actors who have previous experience working with Joss Whedon since Whedon has a reputation of working with old friends.)

Mr. Fantastic - Reed Richards is a hard character to write. Mainstream (particularly Hollywood) writers think he's a geek... and while that may be true, his defining factor is that he is a genius. I don't mean genius in the way I think about myself, but the kind of genius where it borders on a superhuman power itself. Science is a playground for Reed. He invents spaceships and time machines as his own educational toys. He has no thoughts about sensible applications or military uses, but only expresses his knowledge as a means of discovering more knowledge. His super-stretching ability is a reflection of the plasticity of his own mind.

Invisible Woman - Susan Storm was one of the first strong female characters in comic books and amongst the Fantastic Four, she is the mom or big sister. She is the one who is breaking up fights between Ben and Johnny or pulling Reed out of his lab when he forgets to do the little things like sleep and eat. Her powers likewise reflect her supportive nature, able to use more defensive abilities like invisibility and force field projection. It might work best if they build up her powers later in the stories and focused on character strength in the beginning.

(I tried to find a blonde Whedon girl to take the role, but only Amy Acker made the cut.)

The Thing - Of the actors in the previous films, I think Michael Chiklis was my favorite. His gruff personality worked, but maybe they should have just gone with full CGI because that suit looked awful. The tough part about Ben is that he is a warrior, a sweet guy, and a victim all in one. He's also funny, in the kind of way that only an indestructible bruiser can be. A Hulk-style full CGI Thing might just open things up visually as well, since watching a big guy in a rubber suit is rarely thrilling.

Human Torch - Johnny Storm is the easiest character to write poorly because he is an MTV stereotype. He loves fast cars, loose women, and practical jokes. For these reasons, his character is often annoying, superficial, and unreliable. They could make this work if they exercise subtlety. Johnny is an irrepressible man-child living in the shadow of his responsible older sister. He could never compete as good sibling, so instead he tried to have a life most enjoyed. One thing he learned from this lifestyle is that people weren't dependable or trustworthy. He became accustomed to abandonment and would often push people away, which has become second nature. When he found out about Reed's rocket flight, he begged or bribed his way on the crew and became lucky enough to be a bright, flashy superhero. So he is very grateful to be a part of this family and despite his attitude, he'll do anything to protect them.

Plots

Since comic films are now created with an eye toward multiple sequels, I've found a few villains that could support entire storylines.

Skrulls & Super-Skrull - The subject of last year's Marvel mega-event, the Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 making them the oldest Fantastic Four villains short of Mole Man. They possess advanced alien technology and the ability to shapeshift. In the comics, their homeworld was destroyed by Galactus, making them intergalactic refugees. This story could center around a shapeshifting alien invasion or the Skrulls making a giant cannon designed to kill Galactus (which at the same time will destroy Earth). One of the Skrulls was able to replicate all of the powers of the Fantastic Four and calls himself the Super-Skrull. He might make for a good fight scene at the end of the film. Also, since mainstream audiences haven't seen them before, it would feel fresh and original (which is always better than being fresh and original). The recent popularity of '60s style sci-fi fantasy makes me think that this plot could be very successful.

Namor & Atlantis - Namor is the Fantastic Four's most sympathetic enemy. In fact, he is in love with Sue. He was originally a World War II hero and one of Marvel Comic's first heroes, but by Fantastic Four #4 (1962), he was found as an amnesiac by Johnny. After restoring his memory, he returns to the underwater city of Atlantis, where he is the prince, only to find it destroyed. Overcome by grief, he turns his anger on the surface world. I'd like to do a large scale invasion of New York City by Atlantean forces like we've seen in the comics a few times before. It would give the CGI team a real challenge and look pretty cool in the process. To do this, he would have to find some Atlantean survivors, automate Atlantean technology, and/or summon mythical creatures from the deep (i.e. a kraken) as his invading army... all while engaging in a strange romance with Sue and arguing with Reed.

Inhumans - Another Fantastic Four concept that would look great on film are the Inhumans. This is a society hidden in the mountains of the Himalayas for thousands of years. Each member is exposed to the Terrigen mists when they come of age. The strange nature of this mist deforms them and gives them their powers, which define them in their society. Their ruler is called Black Bolt and his power is so great that a whisper has been said to destroy mountains, so he "speaks" telepathically to his wife, Medusa, whose long red hair can stretch, move, and lift heavy objects at her command. The rest of the Inhumans are a similarly motley crew including Black Bolt's brother, Maximus, who is often scheming for the thrown.

Doctor Doom - If the Fantastic Four is a family, Victor is the crazy uncle that makes everyone uncomfortable. The good doctor is the obvious choice for a Fantastic Four villain, but he can also be one of the most difficult. Victor von Doom is a man who must be better than anyone, so when he met Reed Richards in college, the two had a lot in common. Although he refused to admit it, Victor wasn't nearly as good a scientist as Reed which led to his deep-seated jealousy. When Doom accidentally scarred his face in a science experiment that Reed warned him about, Victor blamed Reed and hid his face behind an iron mask. But what does he do? I don't know. He is a classic meglomaniacal villain who honestly believes that he is best suited to rule the world. Maybe he needs a good, old fashioned Bondesque world domination scheme. Or maybe he could feature in the Inhumans story by making an alliance with Maximus or the Atlantis story by making an alliance with Namor.

Silver Surfer & Galactus - Naturally, Silver Surfer and Galactus featured in the last film, but that one sucked. Worst of all, you never saw Galactus. I admit that a skyscraper-sized guy in a big pink hat is hard to make work on film, but the giant cloud that was featured in the movie was so anti-climactic. If they made another film about this storyline, they would be best served to build it into a truly apocalyptic event of Biblical proportions. Ghostbusters did this better in 1984.

Conclusion

So that, in a nutshell, is what I think it would take to make a good Fantastic Four movie.