In the comics,the Fantastic Fourare known to disagree on various issues, which is funny because the group’s creators, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, never seemed to agree on who came up with the idea. In the 1974 bookOrigins of Marvel Comics,Lee boasts that “it was mainly my idea, but Jack created characters visually.” In a 1970 Fanzine interview, Kirby gives a slightly different version of events, stating: “It was my idea. It was my idea to do it the way it was; my idea to develop it the way it was.” And when asked about Lee’s version of events in a later 1990 interview, he responded: “I would say that’s an outright lie.”
Well, it doesn’t really matter who did what. What matters is that fans have had the opportunity to enjoy the adventures of this lovely group of superheroes for decades. Following their debut inThe Fantastic Four #1(released in November 1961), The Fantastic Four went on to appear in numerous comics, movies, shows, and video games. In the process, they established themselves as one of the most popular superhero groups, alongside the Justice League, the Avengers, and the X-Men.
Here’s how critics rate the live-action Fantastic Four movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
5’Fantastic Four' (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes: 9%
Fantastic Four
InFantastic Four, the prodigies — Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan), Reed Richards (Miles Teller), Sue Storm (Kate Mara), and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) —gain superpowers after teleporting to a mysterious alternate dimension called Planet Zero. Reed is now elastic, Sue can become invisible and generate powerful force fields, Johnny can fly and manipulate fire, and Ben can transform into a strong, rock-like figure. As they adjust to living with their new abilities, they areforced to deal with Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell), a former friend who has also returned from the dimension with powers but plans to destroy the worldrather than protect it.
No X-Men Magic
Like theX-Menmovies,Fantastic Fourwas expected to be a huge hit for 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox). Many believed it would offer Marvel an even greater advantage over the fledgling DCEU, which was still trying to find its footing. Regrettably, that didn’t happen. Toby Kebbell has a virtuosic turn as the garrulous and loathsomelegendary Marvel villainDr. Doom. When he isn’t simply chastening those in his immediate vicinity, the character spews abrasive, corrosive vitriol about humanity and superiority. But Kebbel’s work wasn’t enough to elevate the film. Neither was the work done by Kate Mara. She was tailor-made for Sue Storm, a fun team player who spends far too much time snooping on others rather than figuring out her own disordered life. But the script failed her.
At a time when most superhero movies were killing it at the box office, this particular production made only $160 million against a $120 million budget. And critics were brutal with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus, noting that the movie was“dull and downbeat,”adding that this was all a“woefully misguided attempt to translate a classic comic series without the humor, joy, or colorful thrills that made it great.“At the Razzies, the movie was nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Director.
4’Fantastic Four' (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 27%
Dr. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), and Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) gain the usual powers inFantastic Four, but it happens differently. Richardsconvinces Dr. Victor Von Doom, CEO of Von Doom Industries, to allow him to use his space station to experiment on cosmic energy clouds. Victor agrees so long as his chief genetics researcher, Sue Storm, and her brother Johnny Storm tag along. Once in space, a cosmic cloud storm attacks the group.The failed mission causes investors to pull out of Victor’s company, so he plots revenge against Richards and his buddies.
The Unremarkable Four
It would have been great for all the cast members to shine here, but only Chris Evans does a good job. No wonder he was hired as Captain America, and later brought back as Johnny Storm, becoming one of onlya few actors to portray two different characters in the MCU.Fantastic Fouris also held back by a stodgily indigestible blob of melodrama that exists merely to pad the film out to a near 2-hour running time.
“Marred by goofy attempts at wit, subpar acting, and bland storytelling,Fantastic Fouris a mediocre attempt to bring Marvel’s oldest hero team to the big screen,“reads the general view on Rotten Tomatoes. Indeed, more thought could have gone into the script, but it’s all spilled water. Interestingly, some quarters saw plenty of good in the movie. The Saturn Awards nominated it for Best Science Fiction Film (didn’t they watchWar of the Worlds?) while Jessica Alba was nominated for Best Hero at the MTV Movie Awards. Interestingly, she also received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actress.
3’The Fantastic Four' (1994)
Rotten Tomatoes: 33%
The Fantastic Four
Executive-produced by B-movie kings Roger Corman and Bernd Eichinger,The Fantastic Fourwas never officially released, but it leaked far and wide. According toan interview Stan Lee did with Los Angeles Magazine, the film had never been intended for theaters, but had gone into production so that Eichinger to retain the rights to the characters.
In the movie,the crew experiments on a passing comet, unaware that a criminal named The Jeweler replaced a crucial diamond component meant to protect them from the comet’s cosmic rays with an imitation. They are thusexposed to the radiation, gaining powers. Versatile and well-meaning, the characters go about saving the world. They endure a lot of pain while doing so, but then, that’s what being a superhero is all about.
A Typical Roger Corman Movie
The Fantastic Fouris average, but director Oley Sassone can be commended for trying, keeping in mind the budgetary constraints. Through jarring jump cuts, long takes, and glimpses of ordinary people doing ordinary things, the filmmaker manages to evoke a psychedelic mood. And each character is given enough screen time to allow audiences to sympathize with their private torment.
Thoughthere isn’t an official consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, enough critics saw it to give it an aggregate score.Many reviewers acknowledged the terrible dialogue and unbearable visuals, but noted that it was still watchable. Actor Michael Bailey Smith’s name also pops up a few times in the reviews. He appears to be one of the few people who enjoyed playing in the mud. But it could be argued that The Thing is always going to be loved, no matter which actor is playing him.
7 Goated MCU Avengers Who Still Don’t Have Their Own Movie
Some Avengers have never starred in their own film despite appearing in multiple others across the MCU.
2’Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes: 37%
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
As sequel to the 2005 film,Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfersees the group face their biggest challenge when theSilver Surfer (voiced by Laurence Fishburne and portrayed physically by Doug Jones), a silver humanoid on a flying surfboard, shows up on Earth, triggering global anomalies that are meant to pave way for the arrival of the planet devouring Galactus. This disrupts Reed and Sue’s wedding plans. Another problem also emerges in the form of a returning Dr. Doom, who hopes to harness the Surfer’s cosmic power.
Better Than the First, But Still Weak in Some Areas
Once again, teamwork and sacrifice emerge as major themes — themes that do a great deal of good for the target audience.Rise of the Silver Surferappears to have been targeted towards younger audiences, so there were no surprises when it was nominated for five Kids' Choice Awards. The Teen Choice Awards also nominated it for eight trophies. The $301 million box office gross was decent, too, but the studio didn’t see a point in continuing, despite an initial three-movie plan.
The studio’s decision appears to have been influenced by the adult views at Rotten Tomatoes. The site described the movie as“an improvement on its predecessor, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” but labeled it “a juvenile, simplistic picture that has little benefit beyond its special effects.“Should we blame the Silver Surfer? The Marvel characterhas a history of jinxing thingsbehind the scenes.
1’The Fantastic Four: First Steps' (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsisset in a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic world (designated Earth‑828), where The Fantastic Four — Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss‑Bachrach) — are all established heroes. Reed and Sue are expecting a child, but the joy is short-lived. Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives and announces to humans that the Earth has been marked for destruction by a planet-devouring cosmic being known as Galactus (Ralph Ineson). What will Marvel’s first family do?
Finally… a Perfect Live-Action Treatment
The MCU went back to basics withFirst Steps. For a while, it seemed like the franchise had succumbed to the pressure of ‘art,’ experimenting with psychedelic grace notes and psychological sadism. All that has been thrown out of the window in favor of the good old color and humor. If you didn’t check the date, you’d think we were in 2012.
Critics loved every minute of it.“Benefitting from rock-solid cast chemistry and clad in appealingly retro 1960s design, this crack at The Fantastic Four does Marvel’s First Family justice,“the final word on RT states. Sections of fans have been complaining that there’s too much of Pedro Pascal nowadays, but this movie shows why he keeps getting cast in new projects. He is perfect.
