One day, I expect to wake up to the (earth-shattering) news that Google has discontinued its support for Blogger, and that my years and years of comic book-adjacent posts will disappear into the ether, and I'll then I'll be able to start off conversations with the phrase, "back when I had a blog..." and just trail off into silence. For now, thought, I guess I'll be content to post really important news that bots are probably scraping for content, such as this:
I have seen the Fantastic Four movie, and it is good.
2025 has been maybe the biggest year ever for the FF and its branding. I certainly struggled to keep up with all of the marketing for the new film, with new comics and an absolute ton of products surrounding Fantastic Four: First Steps. Fantastic Four milk is now a thing! What a world we live in. I'd like to, in the weeks and months to come, post about all of the new Fantastic Four items this year has brought (and, of course, the Comic-Con experience!). But for now, let's talk a little bit about the movie.
The movie opened up on July 25th, which happened to coincide with Comic-Con in San Diego. I was hoping that there would be a screening in Hall H like last year's Deadpool/Wolverine movie, but despite the Fantastic Four being Marvel's main focus at the show, it didn't happen. I ended up going to a Regal Cinemas north of San Diego for their "Fantastic Four Fan Event", which is a phrase that meant "Jeff, spend your money here." There weren't any specially themed things happening outside of the movie, which was somewhat disappointing, but I did walk out with a set of FF enamel pins that were specific to the 7pm showing.
Walking into the show, I was certain that I was going to like it. The previews and the general vibe surrounding the production all worked for (and on) me. Walking out, I felt like the Fantastic Four finally had put its best foot forward to the world at large, at least in movie form. The characters felt like they knew (and liked) each other. The changes made in the adaptation all made sense. The scene on Galactus's ship was top-notch science fiction and the practical effects worked really well. The Silver Surfer was eerie, cold and wonderful. The Thing said "it's clobberin' time!" H.E.R.B.I.E. was cute. The Jack Kirby tribute was long overdue.
I was hoping (and I'm sure Marvel and Disney were, too) that this movie would be a billion-dollar blockbuster. It's a little silly of me to hope that a giant corporation like Disney would get even more obscenely rich, but I guess if it had, it would have felt a little vindicating after the FF's previous cinematic missteps and because of my love for the characters. In the end, it looks like First Steps will fall into the category of "good, but not great" from a box office standpoint, as it just passed $500 million worldwide after about a month in theaters. It's worth noting, though, that it's Marvel's highest-grossing movie of '25, both in the US and worldwide, and that it did well even as it went up against a much more recognizable superhero in Superman (which was another movie I really liked).
One thing this higher profile brought with it was an absolute ridiculous amount of merchandise, and I did my level best to grab what I could when it was out. Did I mention the milk? Outrageous.
Okay. Maybe I'll get the Fantasticar on the secondary market one day.
I barely made it back to the car before I opened up the exclusive pins. I like 'em.
It looks like the Fantastic Four will be a lynchpin in this next iteration of Marvel movies, and I'll be there for it. Now let's see the First Steps director's cut with John Malkovich's Red Ghost.
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