First Steps Gives The Fantastic Four In 1 Movie What Sam Raimi Couldn't Give Spider-Man In 3
By Dan Bibby
September 30th, 2024
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Fantastic Four: First Steps!
Although neither The Fantastic Four: First Steps nor Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy is set within the MCU's main reality, the franchise's current multiverse saga pulls them both into the same vast, shared continuity. Despite over two decades separating Raimi's first Spidey movie and the premiere of First Steps, the two projects are surprisingly easy to compare.
The three Tobey Maguire-led movies gently hint at the existence of other Marvel superheroes, but none of them actually appear onscreen. So, it's reasonable to assume that Maguire's Peter Parker is the only vigilante (masked or otherwise) on Earth-96283. Similarly, First Steps' team of four has been confirmed to be the only heroes on Earth-828.
Cool parallels aside, Maguire's Spider-Man and the MCU's rebooted Fantastic Four have very different adventures for a huge reason that's pretty much hidden in plain sight. There are a few reasons for this, and some come down to how comic book movies have progressed since the 2000s.
The three Tobey Maguire-led movies gently hint at the existence of other Marvel superheroes, but none of them actually appear onscreen. So, it's reasonable to assume that Maguire's Peter Parker is the only vigilante (masked or otherwise) on Earth-96283. Similarly, First Steps' team of four has been confirmed to be the only heroes on Earth-828.
Cool parallels aside, Maguire's Spider-Man and the MCU's rebooted Fantastic Four have very different adventures for a huge reason that's pretty much hidden in plain sight. There are a few reasons for this, and some come down to how comic book movies have progressed since the 2000s.
First Steps Takes The Fantastic Four From Street Level Heroes To Cosmic Protectors In The Space Of One Movie
Fantastic Four: First Steps does what many modern superhero movies do and pretty much skips the titular team's origin story. Instead, everything the audience needs to know about how they gained their powers is told via brief flashbacks. This technique isn't something that always happens in comic book movies, but with huge characters like the Fantastic Four, it saves a lot of time, considering it's all generally assumed to be common knowledge.
First Steps' main story sees Pedro Pascal's Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards and his three-and-a-half allies taking on Galactus (Ralph Ineson). The iconic villain presents a threat as deeply existential as one could expect from a comic book project, but the movie doesn't forget to show earlier and more grounded/less challenging opponents that the Fantastic Four faced in the years before Galactus' arrival.
The result is a beautifully-woven chronicle of the protagonists' journey from learning the ropes and where their powers can take them, all the way to becoming the imposing figures capable of saving the world from a threat that initially seemed unbeatable. It may seem like a rapid rise to power, but it's not an unreasonable arc considering they've been in the game for years by the start of First Steps.
I will admit that the other Fantastic Four live-action adaptations did something very similar by making their title characters Earth's biggest defenders by the end of the first installment. However, none of those were executed quite so well as First Steps. There's something about first meeting the heroes relatively deep into their crime-fighting careers that allows it to come together far better than its predecessors.
First Steps' main story sees Pedro Pascal's Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards and his three-and-a-half allies taking on Galactus (Ralph Ineson). The iconic villain presents a threat as deeply existential as one could expect from a comic book project, but the movie doesn't forget to show earlier and more grounded/less challenging opponents that the Fantastic Four faced in the years before Galactus' arrival.
The result is a beautifully-woven chronicle of the protagonists' journey from learning the ropes and where their powers can take them, all the way to becoming the imposing figures capable of saving the world from a threat that initially seemed unbeatable. It may seem like a rapid rise to power, but it's not an unreasonable arc considering they've been in the game for years by the start of First Steps.
I will admit that the other Fantastic Four live-action adaptations did something very similar by making their title characters Earth's biggest defenders by the end of the first installment. However, none of those were executed quite so well as First Steps. There's something about first meeting the heroes relatively deep into their crime-fighting careers that allows it to come together far better than its predecessors.
Sam Raimi Never Made Spider-Man More Then A Street Level Hero In Tobey Maguire's Movie Trilogy
Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man had three movies under his belt before his return in 2021's No Way Home, but the landmark MCU Spidey team-up revealed little about what threats "Peter Two" had encountered since the end of 2007's Spider-Man 3. I think it's safe to say that he remained a Friendly Neighborhood kinda guy, rather than experiencing space-faring adventures like Tom Holland's web-slinger.
Maguire's character faced an impressive litany of legendary villains in his original trilogy, but all of them either had a deep personal connection to him or lacked the planet-wide threat that is so commonplace in modern Marvel movies.
I'll admit that there is a possibility that Alfred Molina's Doc Ock could have destroyed the world if Spidey hadn't stopped the reactor at the end of Spider-Man 2, but that's a What-If scenario, and I guess we'll never have the answer to it. Besides, the most prominent overtone is the shift in dynamic between what was a heartwarming dynamic between student and mentor.
I think the closest Raimi ever got to having Maguire's Spidey face off with a cosmic entity was his battle with Venom in the third movie. Spider-Man's encounter with an alien lifeform would have been great if that version of Venom hadn't been so poor, and if it hadn't felt like such a vast departure from previous villains within the trilogy. In a 2018 interview with Screen Rant, producer Avi Arad expressed his "guilt" for forcing Raimi to use Venom in Spider-Man 3.
Maguire's character faced an impressive litany of legendary villains in his original trilogy, but all of them either had a deep personal connection to him or lacked the planet-wide threat that is so commonplace in modern Marvel movies.
I'll admit that there is a possibility that Alfred Molina's Doc Ock could have destroyed the world if Spidey hadn't stopped the reactor at the end of Spider-Man 2, but that's a What-If scenario, and I guess we'll never have the answer to it. Besides, the most prominent overtone is the shift in dynamic between what was a heartwarming dynamic between student and mentor.
I think the closest Raimi ever got to having Maguire's Spidey face off with a cosmic entity was his battle with Venom in the third movie. Spider-Man's encounter with an alien lifeform would have been great if that version of Venom hadn't been so poor, and if it hadn't felt like such a vast departure from previous villains within the trilogy. In a 2018 interview with Screen Rant, producer Avi Arad expressed his "guilt" for forcing Raimi to use Venom in Spider-Man 3.
Why Fantastic Four's Latest Reboot Hurries The Arc That Sam Raimi Resisted (& Why It Still Works)
There are two harsh truths about MCU movies that Disney has quickly learned. The first is that audiences are generally done with origin stories. If it's an obscure character, then sure, it can work well when we first meet them at the very beginning of their superhero journey. For properties like the Fantastic Four, which has been rebooted numerous times, it's just not necessary.
So, First Steps brilliantly fast-forwards to the Fantastic Four's biggest milestone to date - in both their superhero endeavors AND their personal lives. The second thing Disney has admitted is that Marvel movies have pretty much shot themselves in the foot with the highly successful Avengers movies. Anything less than a world-threatening event now isn't deemed dramatic enough.
In other words, watching the Fantastic Four going toe-to-toe with minor villains like Paul Walter Hauser's Mole Man for two hours just isn't the sort of movie that tends to get made anymore. In earlier eras of Marvel movies, like Raimi's trilogy, the level of necessary stakes hadn't yet been so irreversibly stretched out.
When a more street-level hero does take to the limelight in the MCU nowadays, it tends to be in a Disney+ TV show rather than a feature-length movie, and the story pits them against similarly un-cosmic bad guys. Spider-Man projects can often be outliers in this, though. Holland's character has saved the world numerous times, but the upcoming Brand New Day looks to be a return to a less planet-ending affair. For whatever lies in store for the main cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps, I'm certain the threat level will only increase.
So, First Steps brilliantly fast-forwards to the Fantastic Four's biggest milestone to date - in both their superhero endeavors AND their personal lives. The second thing Disney has admitted is that Marvel movies have pretty much shot themselves in the foot with the highly successful Avengers movies. Anything less than a world-threatening event now isn't deemed dramatic enough.
In other words, watching the Fantastic Four going toe-to-toe with minor villains like Paul Walter Hauser's Mole Man for two hours just isn't the sort of movie that tends to get made anymore. In earlier eras of Marvel movies, like Raimi's trilogy, the level of necessary stakes hadn't yet been so irreversibly stretched out.
When a more street-level hero does take to the limelight in the MCU nowadays, it tends to be in a Disney+ TV show rather than a feature-length movie, and the story pits them against similarly un-cosmic bad guys. Spider-Man projects can often be outliers in this, though. Holland's character has saved the world numerous times, but the upcoming Brand New Day looks to be a return to a less planet-ending affair. For whatever lies in store for the main cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps, I'm certain the threat level will only increase.
Head to Talk Nerdy To Me's movie page for more coverage of your favorite films.