Ah the Marvel universe. A place known for attacking New York every few months, turning superheroes into a political issues and having our heroes fall in love only to watch them die before their very eyes (sadistic bastards).
In the ever increasing attempts to keep up with DC, the universe is getting darker and gritter. While it cool to see the likes of Wolverine actually decapitate someone or Iron Man take responsibility for his years of womanising and funding warlords, it does leave one issue. The Fantastic Four.
Currently as it stands we are getting shit Fantastic Four films. It doesn’t seem to be on paper a difficult thing to achieve given the years of background and development in the comics, but alas Hollywood needs a quick two hour story, not a long satisfying story arc. So what’s the issues people seem to face when trying to write a Screenplay for the Fantastic Four? Could I, I random blogger come up with a fairly effective story that would be engaging and actually profitable? Who fucking knows, but you can always agree or disagree in the comments. So lets have a discussion about what I got to work with and how I would create a decent F4 film.
In Stan Lee’s own words, the Fantastic Four were always meant to be the family friendly media adored superheroes. Clean and cheerful, they were morally infallible and to be considered to be the heroes the city needed and wanted. Unlike most Marvel heroes, the Fantastic Four never faced persecution for their powers and were a welcomed force of good to battle evil. Yes, Mr Fantastic Reed Richards who can turn his body into any shape ( Mystique), The Thing, Ben Grim a deformed monster of mass strength and toughness (Hulk), Sue Storm The Invisible Girl with telepathic powers ( Emma Frost) and The Human Torch, Johnny Storm ( Pyro) are only seen as a threat by disgruntled military and common thugs. Truly out of this bunch the only character who could have depth or personal tragedy is Ben Grim, who cannot turn his powers on and off. So minus doing a 180, the team are not going to the successful gritty reboot the other Marvel characters can achieve. If you make everyone hate the F4 then you have to get them to accept them within one film and with characters like Johnny Storm who are cocky and arrogant, winning over the crowd that decided to hate Spiderman in the third film after saving New York in Spiderman 2 ( the one with Doctor Octopus not that bullshit with Shocker) I seriously doubt is going to work.
Next we have one fourth of the team which honestly needs development. Sue Storm. In the original comics she is literally a damsel in distress, the spy doomed to get caught. Eventually she got a bit of an update, but for the most part remains as a way to humanise Richard Reeves, as oppose to being an individual herself.
So our cast currently contains: a tormented autistic scientist who laments over causing his friend to turn into a rock monster, a rock monster who struggles with curing himself and going on to lead a normal life VS being the freak that saves the day (similar to Bruce Banner, but less sad as Bruce’s more Jackel and Hyde to Ben’s Beauty and the Beast scenario), a high flying destructive teenager and the garden flower with powers that are truly random in potential and potency. What do we do with them?
Well I’ve bitched enough about the films and the source material, so what would I have done?
FANTASTIC FOUR: GEO-CRISIS
Stand alone timeline, the F4 have previously captured Doctor Doom and have him locked in large rubber cell (material that he cannot manipulate). The team are enjoying the post take down and for the most part adored and loved by all. We see a series of minor events that show off the heroes powers, but are all connected by strange shudders in ground.
Reed during his research has come across some very disturbing results in regards to the tremors and sends out message to the UN. As he sends the message an earth quake begins which lasts a few seconds. There is a moment of pause, but then the quake happens again increasing on the rector scale and lasting longer. The city is literally unstable and the team set off to help with the evacuation. Sky scrappers crumble and the whole city falls in on itself. While most people are saved, the survivors are left dumbfounded that the F4 did not manage to save everyone and begin to doubt their heroes. Reed decides to get the team away and leave the authorities to deal with the aftermath.
After reflecting on their own limitations of their powers, the team are contacted by the UN scientists. The theory is the tectonic plates around the world have started to move, causing a series of disasters. While Reed Richards focuses on finding a pattern, the team go off to manage the latest crisis, a mass tidal wave ready to wipe out Indonesian islands.
With the shear force of the water and the mud slides the three heroes struggle to manage the human cost. Johnny’s becomes broken after witnessing the death of an elderly woman he managed to save from drowning, but died from complications. Ben Grimm ends up sunk to the bottom of Mud Slide while a family is trapped in car. While he uses his strength to get the car to the surface, Ben is still feared as a monster by the family he just saved and in his rage smashes the car newly surfaced car. Sue is left to rally the team, but Johnny is defeated and in a rage picks a fight with Ben. The pair brawl and ultimately Johnny is beaten by Ben. Ben flees the scene declaring the F4 dead.
With Johnny in intensive care, Sue trying to find comfort but finds no solace to an unsympathetic Richard, who has discovered the next disaster. Yellow Stone Park. The eruption will cost millions of lives as the eruption will not only destroy the landscape, but also create an ash cloud that will cause a ice age. Richard explains how a volcano erupts and believes that if he can create pressure release points then it will ease the eruption. The only people who could withstand the heat would be Ben or Johnny.
With Ben missing and Johnny recovering, Reed goes off to find Ben, while Sue considers an alternative option should Richard fail. Reeds eventually finds Ben and the pair discuss the situation. Ben ultimately feels that the people he protects will never accept him for himself and the world is already over. Reed confesses his love for Sue and that he wants to fight for a future for all of them. That he looks to Ben for the strength to keep improving himself and that truly Richard is the monster and he is the man. That beneath the surface, Ben Grimm is the real ‘Mr Fantastic’ and he is ‘The Thing’. Ben is convinced by the plea of his friend and agrees to help.
Meanwhile Sue has penetrated the holding cell of Dr Doctor Doom. There she pleads with what little sanity he has left to help the F4. Doctor Doom expresses his distress that the love she once had for him is gone and does not feel he can trust her. Sue explains Reed’s plan and thinks only he could possibly have a solution using his powers, that if they could contaminate the volcano and add a substance that Victor Doom could control, they could condense the substance and prevent the blocking of the sun. Victor agrees and Sue breaks him out of his prison.
With Reed leading the operations, Johnny and Ben finally confront each other and make peace. Upon Sue’s arrival, Victor is introduced to a hostile team. Sue explains in brief the plan, but Reed is reluctant to agree to work with Dr Doom. Before there can be much debate, the group are interrupted by the announcement that the eruption will occur in the next hour. The plan is altered so that a large electro magnet will be attached to Victor and enhance his powers over matter. While Ben and Johnny work together adding a rare mineral that Victor can easily manipulate,while Reed and Sue work on the electromagnet. Reed fears that using the electromagnet will overpower Dr Doom and he will regain his strength back to full tor worse, beyond imagination. With time ticking away, it’s concluded that Sue will also need to use her telekinetic powers to help funnel the force of the volcano, while Reed monitors the electromagnet and prevent Dr Doom from over stretch is power intake. Despite the danger, Reed agrees and the three head to the peak of the volcano.
With eruption pending, Johnny and Ben make their away out of the rim, both suffering from the intensity of the heat. With the electromagnet in position and full power, the volcano erupts and, Sue and Victor work to collect the contaminated sulphur cloud, while lava falls from the sky. As the intensity of the force increases, Sue begins to lose her strength. Reed then faces the decision to to keep control of the electromagnet attached to Dr Doom or watch Sue fall to her death.
As she falls faint, Reed abandoned his post and props Sue into place using his stretching powers and encourages her to fight on. With no one controlling the electromagnet, Victor finds himself absorbing more and more energy at an excessive rate. Overwhelmed by power, Victor begins unleashing bolts of lighting as a way of forcing the volcano in collapse on itself, but this results in a breach of lava heading towards Ben and Johnny.
With the tide coming, Ben shields Johnny and forces the flow around him, while his own body become charred. He tell Johnny to flee and live his life to the full as he’s always done and apologises for never treating him like a man. Johnny humbled by this act of courage, manages to built enough energy to take hold of Ben and launch themselves off the volcano to safety.
With Reed’s support, Sue forces one final psychic blast to force the last particles towards Victor who has collected the matter into a large sphere, that he can manipulate to his will. Reed quickly turns off the electromagnet, but Dr Doom is now fully charged. Levitating into the air, Dr Doom takes the mass and flees away promising to beat Richard only when he was at his best.
The world rejoices and a terrible disaster is averted. Looking at the aftermath of the volcano, Reed awkwardly tries to make his feels known to Sue, who takes control and kisses him. The team ponder on what happened to Dr Doom. We see Dr Doom fly deep into the ocean and slowly lets down the matter into a landscape, that slowly grows into the size of large island. In the centre a large statue of himself is constructed and underneath it reads: Dr Victor Von Doom Founder and Ruler of New Latveria. End credits.
Wasn’t that slightly better than most Fantastic Four films. Could use tidying up, but fuck it this is something I spent like a week thinking about. If you think this was at least passable, share and like.
Colourful imagination with grey thoughts 