‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ and the future we could have had

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A common ethos is that science is not inherently good or bad. Science just is. It’s the scientists, or those who pay the scientists (my addition), that decide whether science is good or bad.

The last several decades have born this out as, even if scientific development has been an overall positive for the vast majority of humanity, for every way in which science has made our lives better – transportation, the internet, modern medicine – we can always name a way in which that same science has done us harm – fossil fuel consumption, misinformation, overmedication. It’s safe to say that while our everyday lives are built upon much that was once only theoretical, our future doesn’t exactly match that envisioned decades ago. While it was never realistic to believe that the 21^st Century would bring us flying cars and single pills to replace entire meals – and even more likely that those comforts would only backfire, there are enough people out there who can’t drive on the ground, now add the immediate result of also plummeting from the sky – it’s interesting to think that there might be some alternate dimension where humanity achieved the future our past promised.

That dimension could be the Earth 828 of Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Although never specifically stated, the distinctly 1960’s aesthetic displayed on screen immediately differentiates First Steps from nearly every other MCU offering, beginning with a blue art deco style Marvel logo replacing the usual red strip. While not without flaws, director Matt Shakman carries over the same impressive bygone-era pastiche of WandaVision, making First Steps into one of the most visually and aesthetically cohesive films in the entire MCU, and a refreshing break from a formula which much of the audience grew tired of several films ago. As such, many of the standard beats and character archetypes are largely absent from First Steps, foremost among them the snarky, bantering lead character.

One of the biggest fears going into Fantastic Four was that Reed Richards, the smartest person in the Marvel Universe (so far) would turn into a quippy jokester. Tony Stark, Peter Quill, Stephen Strange, Thor, and even Yelena Belova are just a few of the characters that were at one point crammed into this role. Thankfully, First Steps largely avoids the temptation of stuffing its cast into the same mold of previous MCU films, a trait which fits both its characters and the film’s position as an alternate take on the universe itself. Reed (Pedro Pascal) is just as brilliant as he should be. He’s the type of brilliant that builds teleportation devices and crafts machines that scan for genetic anomalies, but forgets where the iodine is and how to put in a car seat. He’s also the type of brilliant that will envision every possible solution to a problem without accounting for the cost of that outcome. He can be funny, yes, as smart people tend to be, but there’s an awkwardness in his expression, as smart people tend to have. By toning down his natural charisma and enthusiasm, Pascal finally turns in a version of Reed that captures both the magnitude of his brilliance and the ineptitude of his behavior. He’s far more comfortable in front of a chalkboard – a wonderful nod to the tactile and ritualistic aspect of creativity, knowing exactly how one does their best thinking – than in front of cameras or a room full of school children. However, as much as Pascal is the headline star and Reed is often the team’s focal point, and literal namesake, neither are the main attraction in the film. That distinction goes to one of two other candidates.

As is often the case, Reed’s wife serves as the balancing compliment to her husband. Where previous versions of Sue Storm focused on Reed being so single-minded that she may as well not exist, the joke of Jessica Alba being hot and getting naked, or… whatever Kate Mara’s thing was in the 2015 movie, no one saw that one anyway… First Steps presents a Sue that is Reed’s equal. Though not capable of the same raw, computational output as Reed, Sue (Vanessa Kirby) has the emotional intelligence necessary to make Reed sound like something other than a raving mad scientist. For her part, Kirby provides the proper blend of expert diplomat and protective mother (some people would call those the same thing), centering both the other characters and the film itself in a relatable narrative. Similarly, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s version of the Thing at last makes me understand why Ben Grimm is such a beloved character. Ben is the most human of the four, the blue collar, the working man, the pilot of the ship without whom they never leave Earth. Even the statue outside of the Baxter Building places him as the foundation upon which all the others extend. Bachrach’s rough yet hopeful voice beautifully matches Ben’s physical presence, a mass of jugging rock offset by bright blue eyes, and often dressed in wardrobe straight out of a Flannery O’Connor story. When Reed’s thoughts and Sue’s idealism leave all others behind, Ben is there to remind them of the common folk they’re supposed to be helping. He is in every way, both narratively and cinematically, their rock. Yet, strong as the performances are, the characters aren’t actually given very much.

Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) has always been the hothead, the hotshot, the hot-blooded male, and every other trait that is easily associated with a man who is literally on fire. If anyone would have fit the quippy, snarky archetype, it’s Johnny, which makes it both good and possibly bad that the film didn’t go that way. Good because it avoids a tired trope. Bad because then Johnny might have been more interesting. Instead, Johnny’s entire arc is that he wants to prove that he isn’t the team’s ladies man by deciphering the language used by the “sexy alien.” While this plays a role in the narrative, it doesn’t lock his dynamic within the family. The cast themselves have a great chemistry, capturing the distinctly familial bond of simultaneously loving and kind of hating each other, but the thinness of Johnny’s development reveals the gaps within each character’s narrative. Each is given an arc, and we do see the change, but each also basically has only one thing: Johnny wants to talk to the sexy alien, Reed needs to solve the world’s problems, Sue has to convince Reed to care about their family, and Ben… well, Ben captures the film overall: such a nice character to spend time with that we don’t notice that he doesn’t really do anything. First Steps is a very entertaining film, but there’s not much more to it than that.

Further example of this thinness can be found in the film’s villains. With her sleek hair and living metal, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) looks amazing. She’s both stunning and terrifying, with a reflective skin that allows both characters and viewers to assign any motivation they please. Combined with her ability to phase through solid objects and we have a character whose design perfectly captures her nature: a figure meant to move through existence without truly existing herself. Yet the glimpse we get of the personal under that design feels somewhat unfulfilled and cliché. To keep this short and spoiler free, the character ends up having the same tragic back story as so many others. There’s nothing wrong with falling back on old habits, but in a film that tries to offer an alterative course to the MCU’s usual trappings, it’s somewhat disappointing to fall back onto this one. Similarly, it’s wonderful to see Galactus as a humongous man wearing the most ludicrously 1960’s science fiction armor imaginable, instead of as, say, a cloud. Yet, when he comes to Earth, he’s actually much smaller than expected. Further developments also make it feel as though he’s not that powerful.

Curiously, and doing my best to avoid anything that could be considered a spoiler, there are no actual fight scenes in First Steps. There are action scenes, and they are the most action of action scenes, with one in particular having every possible obstacle thrown in at the same time, but no full-on fights. Much of the traditional “action” is smartly wrapped up in a brisk opening montage of the team’s history, allowing us to launch right into the present. While there are undoubtedly some who will find this lack of “something to punch” boring, the break from yanking the narrative between setpieces allows the film to play within the human drama. Better still, it allows the viewer to sit in the alternate reality the film presents.

One of the best aspects of First Steps is in allowing the viewer to imagine what the MCU and even our world could have been if they had developed along a different path. For the MCU, First Steps represents a universe where science was a force for good. Under Reed and Sue’s care, development led to a more peaceful and prosperous world, the utopian vision of 1960’s comics and pulp novels (and yet even this world only has one flying car, because flying cars are a bad idea). There are no super soldiers and nanotech war machines because, they aren’t needed. For our real world, First Steps presents an almost naïve idealism in the goodness of humanity. The people trust their brightest minds because those minds have proven themselves worthy of that trust. Instead of using their influence to steal personal data or spread misinformation, the Future Foundation brokers peace between warring nations. Instead of using A.I. to strip humanity of its creative output, thus reducing the human imagination to something that can be controlled and manipulated, Reed’s A.I. companion cooks, cleans, puts together baby furniture, and takes care of everything that distracts him from the more pleasurable pursuits of his life. Granted, this symbolizes Reed’s detachment from his family, but at least he knows better than to let a machine think for him. In the wake of covid, it’s almost naïve the way the film depicts all of humanity, barring some exceptions, coming together against a common threat.

It’s fitting that Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps came out within a month of each other. Both are seeking to re-establish existing properties. Both films are less exciting in execution than in expectation for the future. Both make their franchises exciting again. And both display an almost unnatural level of faith in human goodness. For example, the idea audiences will accept two film franchises being good at the same time!

First Steps offers an alternate take on the MCU, a timeline in which development wasn’t influenced by conflicts between nations and heroes alike. For us, it’s a vision of the future we could have had if science had continued to develop for the better of all instead of being hijacked by the few. If corporations, which now control science, prioritized people ahead of profits. First Steps reminds us that science is not inherently good or bad, it’s the people using the science who are. Cold, detached, unemotional logic may solve a problem. But warm, involved, compassionate sentiment makes for a solution.

Fantastic Four: First Steps is the future we could have had, if Reed Richards had listened to Sue.