The villain and hero of SECRET INVASION were both skrulls who had the powers of pretty much every Marvel super from the climactic battle of AVENGERS: ENDGAME.
So, probably as Super Skrull as MCU is going to get (especially given the diminished state of the skrull civilization in the MCU).
If I had my way the first movie would be Blaster and his armada, the climax would reveal they're fleeing into Earthspace ahead of the Annihilation Wave led by Annihilus, (movie 2), who are in turn running barely ahead of Galactus in movie three.
I want to see a Planetary screenplay. If the F4 can't get a hero movie for the life of them then I want to see a serial number filed off villain interpretation of them get on the big screen.
My mildly hot take is that there’s shouldn’t be a villain on screen. Give the FF a problem like being lost in the Negative Zone or something, and show us how they’re intelligent problem solvers who can think their way out of a jam rather than beat up a bad guy.
Yeah, I was thinking of it giving off a Doctor Who vibe. Danger and peril and obstacles to overcome, but without the supervillain aspect. Agree Marvel probably wants a third act fight more than anything else though.
Mole Man. Put them into a fantastical journey to the center of the earth type milieu, where they don't have a lot of resources and their small-scale physical powers play well, against a lot of otherworldly visuals
I’d kinda like to see the Frightful Four, because I think the Wizard and the Trapster would translate well, and it’d be great to get Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman again. Maybe Thundra as the fourth, because the Inhumans are radioactive, and she’s fun.
Frightful Four could work really well visually, but, like Doom, I feel they're one of the FF villains who work best after the FF are an established presence.
Ah, a totally fair point! I guess I've been thinking about "what they should do in a First FF Movie instead of what they actually did do in the first three attempts at a First FF Movie" for so long my brain just autofilled that additional condition.
I initially agreed with Frightful Four in my head, but with the Fantastic Four included, that's already 8 characters, and I'm a little overwhelmed by Marvel's recent attempts to put everybody in movies at the same time: I'd like something pared down. Let 'em fight the Hulk.
The Wizard alone isn’t interesting enough to spend a whole movie on, especially when his motivation start out as him trying to prove he was smarter than Johnny, of all people,* and then borrowing Doom’s “I’m smarter than Reed” bit.
But he was the most-used villain in the Kirby run and he could…
I actually always liked his first story. It’s been awhile since I read it, but I thought he wanted to prove he was smarter than Reed, and Johnny was close at hand. (And he was incensed by a newspaper headline or something.)
…be fun. Set him up as a background villain in a movie, do the same for the Trapster in another, and then have him assemble the Frightfuls.
*actually, he wanted to prove he was more deserving of fame than Johnny, which I think is the hook to vary him from Doom successfully. He’s a glory hound…
Diablo and Dragon Man. I always like Magic vs Science. Too many of the movies are hero vs his doppelganger. Then you can start the rehabilitation of Dragon Man.
A problem with the FF is that they're anchored to the 1960s. Not just the origin story - the family dynamics, the Baxter building, Yancey Street, & more.
Doing a period piece would be a disaster.
Maybe have all but Reed frozen for 50 years until he finds & revives them?
If they could not fight anyone, I'd be fine with that. FF should lean into what makes them different, and that's that they're not primarily crime fighters, warriors, or even do-gooders, but scientific adventurers. Yes, they should use their powers, but maybe not to punch their way to victory.
Yeah. I’d do something like start with them investigating Atlantean ruins, because they’re science explorers. That leads them into the Mole Man’s territory and there’s monsters! Solving that leads to discovering the Negative Zone, and that leads to Annihilus and Blastaar. But maybe not directly…
Could be interesting to go completely old school with Mole Man and kaiju, but going with a Negative Zone adventure with Annihilus (and maybe Blastaar) gives a built in reason for time jump. Plus Annihilus is so much more a clear-cut villain.
Did you ever read Ellis'Ultimate Annihilus? He was basically the last king of a dying universe, desperately holding onto power out of sheer selfishness and fear. He felt more interesting than the main Marvel Annihilus.
Doesn't he, though? He's a creepy weirdo that wants to kill the entire universe because he's scared spitless of it killing him. Eventually you realize, this horrible thing that's so scary is probably just as scared of you; only he never manages to be sympathetic, which is almost a feat.
Annihilus would be a great choice, they could adapt the annihilation wave storyline for the next "all hands on deck" movie, but it might be too similar to the Thanos movies...
But I'm still waiting for the MCU to do justice to DOOM (all caps here). He's probably the best antagonist Marvel has.
It's a pity they screwed up the Inhumans. Earth X (and its two sequels) would be great if done properly. Just thinking about the scene with "Big G" vs. the Celestials on a big screen gives me goosebumps. They could get a dark style film (I'm thinking Aronofsky) to mirror the comic.
I don’t like the Celestials in the Marvel Universe, myself. And the Inhumans couldn’t be done soon, but memories of disappointing projects fade, especially if you fix them well. After all, the FF themselves have more unappetizing adaptations than the Inhumans, and people still anticipate a new one.
Any particular reason? I never cared for them myself, but the way they tied them up with the rest of the Marvel Universe in Earth X just made perfect sense. The celestial seed to explain the various mutation stages in the MU was a great device plot. Besides JP Leon nailed it.
I can think of ways to manage that. To give him a great, emotive face that would allow for a nuanced, expressive performance, but still keep that insect face.
I don’t think that a face always needs to be visible. Darth Vader worked much better when we didn’t see his face. Not having a face would be great for Annihilus in order to emphasize his inhumanity.
That's a good point. But if they're an unmoving, inhuman mask you need a Voice -- James Earl Jones, James Spader, some other James. What I'm not interested in is another CGI Steppenwolf or Doomsday. So boring
I love the idea of the Frightful Four, or any group with personality. We’ve had a lot of mega-powerful individuals with nameless armies. Even when the villain is way overpowered it just feels a bit like bullying having a whole team fighting an individual. Plus, more character interactions are good!
Anyone else remember the single-panel "fight" in the first issue of "Marvel vs DC" that showed Annihilus soaring over the Daily Planet building and Superman flying up to engage?
Cool-looking and obsessively, elementally vicious and kind of stupid but in a way that(besides making him beatable) makes him more dangerous. I like this idea.
Oh man…um, the Puppet Master would be interesting. Annihilus could bring the Negative Zone in and be fun. The Wizard would be great—an evil opposite for Reed who *isn’t* Doom.
I really think starting with Mole Man was the right move in the comics. He's simple but can be played with a bit of pathos, plus a variety of environments, plus MCU doesn't really have kaiju yet.
I think Mole Man and his monster would make for pretty cool opponents. With the Avengers basically being disbanded in the MCU, a public battle with the team and a giant monster would endear them to the public and establish them as celebrity superheroes in a way we haven’t seen since Tony Stark.
-sympathetic backstory
-cool underground world
-endless opportunities for sick creature designs
-various creatures provide lots of opportunities for the FF to use their powers
-danny devito is right there
Admittedly I haven't read a whole lot of Fantastic Four, but I'd like to see some of their weirder, more colorful foes like Red Ghost, Mole Man or Psycho-Man.
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Also Mad Thinker with Dragon Man, Awesome Android, Quasimodo and Scavenger.
So, probably as Super Skrull as MCU is going to get (especially given the diminished state of the skrull civilization in the MCU).
I’d kinda like to see the Frightful Four, because I think the Wizard and the Trapster would translate well, and it’d be great to get Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman again. Maybe Thundra as the fourth, because the Inhumans are radioactive, and she’s fun.
But he was the most-used villain in the Kirby run and he could…
*actually, he wanted to prove he was more deserving of fame than Johnny, which I think is the hook to vary him from Doom successfully. He’s a glory hound…
But they have to get the core done correctly first. Doom and Galactus should be avoided just because no one can interpret them correctly.
Mole man. The Puppet master. Sub-Mariner
She…would need some adjustment to fit her FF role.
Plus, you’d need Franklin.
Doing a period piece would be a disaster.
Maybe have all but Reed frozen for 50 years until he finds & revives them?
But I'm still waiting for the MCU to do justice to DOOM (all caps here). He's probably the best antagonist Marvel has.
He had to upgrade before they even let him in the Frightful Four.
We’ll see, I suppose.
It's doable.
I really wanted to see THAT fight! :)
Really, anyone besides Doom.
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Doctor_Doom%27s_Generals_(Heroes_Reborn)_(Earth-616)/Members
-sympathetic backstory
-cool underground world
-endless opportunities for sick creature designs
-various creatures provide lots of opportunities for the FF to use their powers
-danny devito is right there
*Okay, Serkis has already had a pretty high-profile MCU role.
I have an imaginary script for an FF origin movie using him.
Man had no chill.
No, Terrax, the untamed!
No, Annihilus!
No, Mole Man!
No, wait...
That giant monster is the second most iconic Marvel cover.
Largely thinking subjectively here, but this announced the Marvel Age of comics, even if they didn't know that's what they'd be doing.
Ooooooohhhhhh!