Characters / MCU: Earth-828

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• The '60s: This Earth is shown thriving in the early-to-mid 1960s when we're introduced to it, albeit with some significantly more advanced technology compared to other universes we've seen (let alone Real Life), including the ones where the Stark family has invented and provided high tech.
• Alternate History: The Fantastic Four have managed to bring about world peace in The '60s and the Cold War seems to not be a thing anymore in that universe. Only Latveria rejects their diplomacy. Plus, their space tech far outpaces Real Life's space race (even space tech of The New '20s, since they've mastered Faster-Than-Light Travel).
• Alternate Universe: Exaggerated. Not only does it lack a clear point of divergence from Earth-199999, but unlike Earth-838, it doesn't have any sort of clear crossovers from the Sacred Timeline or even 20th Century Fox continuities. To name a few differences, The Fantastic Four are presumably the only superheroes around (and to boot much different than what little was teased by Reed's Earth-838 variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), New York City boasts a retro-futuristic aesthetic that implies the course of history is wildly different, major organizations such as S.H.I.E.L.D or HYDRA don't seem to exist (taking into account that someone like Nick Fury would definitely have a response to a global threat as significant as Galactus), and Latveria is an established country and member of the United Nations. No variant of Sacred Timeline characters who lived in The '60s such as Howard Stark or Peggy Carter have shown up thus far, though regarding Stark, the brand of Sue Storm's pregnancy test is called "Stark Sure," which might indicate he's around running a tech empire.
• Homage: This Earth is named 828 because the Fantastic Four comics' co-creator (and artist) Jack Kirby was born on August 28 (in 1917).
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • This is one of only three realities the Fantastic Four is shown to exist along with Earth-838 and Earth-121698, though like with the latter they are the only superheroes of their worlds unlike with Earth-838.
  • While it happened under very different circumstances, Galactus almost destroyed Earth but was stopped by the Fantastic Four along with the Silver Surfer who they convinced to betray their master like on Earth-121698.
• Politically Correct History: A deliberate invocation as part of its Alternate History. Despite being set in 1960s America, segregation is nonexistent, the Fictional United Nations shows an equal amount of men and women delegates, and Sue Storm and black lady Lynne Nichols lead the Future Foundation. Presumably, this universe is socially futuristic as well as technologically futuristic.
• Raygun Gothic: Deliberately modeled on this aesthetic, with googie architecture, robots powered by casette tapes, flying cars, spherical computers, and an optimistic view of a world that has evolved past war and prejudice and into exploring the stars.
• Retro Universe: Earth-828 is effectively a futuristic vision of The '60s, featuring Retraux-y/Raygun Gothic sci-fi technology side-by-side with googie architecture, a Pan Am-like blue color pattern on everything owned by/about the Fantastic Four (Pan Am itself has a presence in town as well), and the continued presence of the Soviet Union and West and East Germany (and Berlin still being cut in two).

The Fantastic Four

Species: Enhanced human

Affiliation(s): Fantastic Four, Future Foundation

Citizenship: American

Live-Action Appearances: Thunderbolts* ^note post-credits scene; spaceship | The Fantastic Four: First Steps (film) | Avengers: Doomsday

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (comic book) | The Fantastic Four First Foes

In a universe apart from the Sacred Timeline, there exists the Fantastic Four. Once a regular quartet of humans, they became a superhero group after a space mission gave each of them special abilities. They now devote their time to serving and saving their world with both their scientific prowess and their newfound powers.

• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: This version of Reed and Sue, much like their counterparts in Fantastic Four: The Animated Series a little over 30 years prior, were married even prior to the trip to space that gave them their powers, while they were only in a somewhat tumultuous relationship in their origin issue and got married much further into their superhero career.
• Adaptational Late Appearance: Marvel's first family make their entry into the MCU (not counting John Krasinski appearing as Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Chris Evans' Human Torch appearing in Deadpool & Wolverine) nearly 20 years into its run, being introduced much later than every other major Marvel superhero who, aside from Steve Rogers/Captain America and Namor, debuted after them in the comics. Justified due to Marvel Studios not having the rights to the team and its associated characters in the first decade of the franchise's lifespan.
• Alliterative Name: Fantastic Four. This also applies to the organization they run called the Future Foundation.
• Adaptational Job Change: In the comics, only Ben Grimm was a real astronaut. Reed, Sue, and Johnny were all civilians who went on a clandestine space flight in the rocket Reed designed. In the movie, all of them have backgrounds as astronauts.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: As noted in the individual character sheets, all the male members of the FF get this. In a sort of inverse Flanderization, all of them have the same basic personality as the comic versions, but with the sharper edges a bit smoothed out.
• Alternate Self: Other versions of the team exist on Earth-838 and Earth-121698.
• Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: While the Earth-838 team were not seen and the further adventures of their Earth-121698 counterparts is unknown except for what happened to Johnny, the former were treated as being one of many heroes of their universes while the latter were celebrities sometimes distrusted by the government and others. Here they are the Big Goods of their world and the greatest heroes of their universe, having stopped many villains in the past while also changing the world for the better through the Future Foundation.
• Badass Crew: They're a quartet of enhanced humans who are considered the greatest heroes of their universe and are widely beloved by the masses.
• Badass Family: They're as much a family as they are a superhero team. Sue and Johnny are siblings, with Johnny being Reed's brother-in-law because of his marriage to Sue. Ben and Reed aren't blood-related, but are as close as brothers.
• Big Fish in a Bigger Ocean: What sets the team apart is that before encountering Galactus, there aren't really any other majorly powered individuals in their world to give them a challenge, with the majority being mundane terrorist cells with some technological theatrics.
• Big Good: They're this to Earth-828, being evidently the sole superhero team on Earth. In addition to fighting supervillains, they also make the world a better place through the Future Foundation's scientific advancements.
• Blessed with Suck: Each member has moments of feeling their powers have come with great cost:-
  • Reed's incredible intelligence led directly to the accident that gave them their powers, and his lack of tact and habit of considering unthinkable scenarios coldly and logically puts strain on his relationship with Sue.
  • Sue's powers allow her to become invisible and her natural charm make her a born leader, but her role as a world-famous diplomat and an expecting mother put an immediate target on her back when Galactus demands her unborn child in exchange for Earth's survival.
  • Ben's skin is impervious to damage, but his mutated appearance still isolates him from ordinary people, despite his more gregarious personality.
  • Johnny's powers of flight and fire manipulation are impressive, but rely on him being able to breathe/having oxygen to combust, and also make providing flame-retardant tailoring for him more complicated.
    • And due to Franklin not being conceived until four long years after the radioactive accident, it’s implied that Johnny and Ben would also be cursed with a low likelihood of becoming fathers should they ever become married themselves.
• Blue Is Heroic: Their astronaut gear and superhero costumes all have shades of blue on them, and they're a Super Family Team devoted to protecting their world from outside threats.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": Numerical example, as they have the number "four" emblazoned on their costumes as a Chest Insignia like in the comics.
• Celebrity Superhero: While most MCU heroes are praised and idolized by fans, the Fantastic Four have more explicit merch based on their likenesses. Their company, the Future Foundation, is also widely famous with everyone of all ages dying to see their broadcast.
• Chest Insignia: The iconic "4" symbol returns and unlike previous depictions where it was either positioned in the left side of their chests or belts or outright absent, it's now actually positioned in the center of their chests like in the comics.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: They have their codenames in merchandising in-universe but, with them not having secret identies, only Reed is referred to by his superhero name of "Mr. Fantastic," and even then very sparingly and in the context of his edutainment program.
• Cool Starship: Their Raygun Gothic rocket-shaped starship called Excelsior. Despite the setting being an alternate version of The '60s, it's quite advanced with its Faster-Than-Light Travel capability and energy cannons.
• Divergent Character Evolution: All Four are diversified with the details of their clothing, with Johnny and Reed looking less like wearing the same outfit and even Sue has a bit of her own style. The difference can be noticed in a full body shot of the four.
• Experienced Protagonist: They have been acting as superheroes for four years when we meet them in the movie.
• Family of Choice: Ben Grimm is not related to either Reed or the Storm siblings by blood, but he's so close a friend to them that they treat him like family anyway (plus, he's a Honorary Uncle to Franklin). And he lives with them at the Baxter Building.
• Guile Hero: Given that the Big Bad is Galactus, an eons-old planet-eating giant, the Fantastic Four repeatedly find themselves unable to defeat him or the Silver Surfer through brute force alone, and must use their intellect, cunning and scientific skills to gain the upper hand against them both.
• Hero of Another Story: Much like the X-Men, this incarnation of the Fantastic Four doesn't exist in the Sacred Timeline, with First Steps showing what kind of adventures and lives they have in their home universe that doesn't have any other superheroes in it.
• Irony: Their powers complement but also stand in contrast to their roles and personalities:
  • Reed is an Insufferable Genius Standard '50s Father whose power is to be the most malleable man alive.
  • Sue is a stylish and charismatic diplomat, whose power is stealth.
  • Ben is a strong and tough Ace Pilot with a zest for living, whose skin is rock-hard and impenetrable.
  • Johnny is a smart-alecky Casanova Wannabe, who wields a core elemental power of significant magnitude.
• Loved by All: Being established heroes that have saved the world multiple times and brought the world into a golden age with their technology, the Fantastic Four are beloved as celebrities and world leaders by the events of First Steps. While the fear caused by the apocalyptic threat of Galactus, and the perceived selfishness of the Fantastic Four refusing to give up Franklin to him in exchange for sparing Earth do result in protests and pushback against the Four, most citizens nonetheless rally behind the Four as the Earth's guardians.
• Nice Guy: They all get along well with each other, and they're polite and helpful to their fellow citizens and humanity at large.
• Not So Invincible After All: The fact that the civilians take it for granted that they beat Galactus strongly indicates that they were largely considered Invincible Heroes beforehand and their defeat is a major shock.
• The Power of Family: As to be expected with Marvel's First Family, the four are already quite powerful on their own as well as being very intelligent in their own rights, but when working together they are able to overpower and defeat even Galactus by using teamwork and just sheer determination to push him through the teleportation gateway.
• Science Hero: The four of them all became astronauts and are heavily involved with their scientific corporation the Future Foundation. Of all of them, Reed demonstrates himself as being the smartest.
• Super Family Team: One of the most iconic examples in all of fiction, finally being adapted to the MCU as a whole.
• Truer to the Text: Unlike previous live-action adaptations, this Fantastic Four is depicted as coming from a world straight out of the 1960s Retro Universe that the comics first introduced them into. They even have their blue-and-white costumes from their first appearances in the comics, rather than the solid blue outfits they wore in past films.

Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic

Species: Enhanced human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Fantastic Four, Future Foundation

Portrayed by: Pedro Pascal

Voiced by: Stéphane Pouplard (European French), Frédérik Zacharek (Canadian French), Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Daniel del Roble (Latin American Spanish)

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (film) | Avengers: Doomsday

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (comic book) | The Fantastic Four First Foes

A brilliant scientist whose exposure to cosmic rays gave him the ability to stretch and reshape his body. Leader of the Four, Susan's husband, Franklin's father and Ben's best friend.

• Absent-Minded Professor: Downplayed. While he's very much on top of his priorities, his first scene is him struggling to find iodine in the bathroom before Sue finds it in an instant and he prioritises the methodical and organized approach to being a new father when it's clear to everyone else he'd be better going with the flow.
• Action Dad: A superhero and Franklin's father.
• Adaptational Hairstyle Change: Pedro Pascal keeps his mustache for Reed, akin to many other roles of his, along with some stubble. Reed is traditionally drawn in the comics as either clean-shaven (classically) or more thickly bearded (in recent years; reflected by Earth-838 Reed).
• Adaptational Nice Guy: While he is a little uptight, and has trouble with recognizing some social clues, he's far more friendly and charming than his comic counterpart was during when the Galactus storyline took place, where he was more of a logic-driven Insufferable Genius who could be fairly inattentive to his wife's wants and needs.
• Adaptational Wimp: Reed's elasticity in the comics heavily depends on the author, with him being able to cover whole skyscrapers in some storylines, and 1500 feet being a number that's generally given for the amount of distance he can stretch 'comfortably'. In this film, he's not depicted being able to stretch particularly far, and is shown screaming in pain as Galactus stretches him what is probably less than thirty feet during the final battle, and his costume, which normally stretches with him, actually begins to tear, though this may simply be because Galactus was stretching him rather than him stretching himself. Even in the prequel comic, he is able to stretch even more than he does in the film.
• Alliterative Name: His given name and surname both begin with an R.
• Alternate Self: Has a variant on Earth-838 while another from Earth-121698 was mentioned in Deadpool & Wolverine.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: He often wears well-refined business suits during his public, non-mission-related appearances.
• Blessed with Suck: Reed's incredible mind has helped the world in countless ways, but the way his thought process works means he's forced to consider even the absolute worst variables.
• Cannot Keep a Secret: After Ben correctly figures out Sue is pregnant judging by her and especially Reed's body language and the fact that they are late, a happy Sue says Reed cannot keep a secret.
• The Cynic: True to his original comic version, Reed wearily admits to Sue he is not a romantic or dreamer, but a coldly-logical scientist first and a father second who is compelled to assume worst-case first in a dangerous dog-eat-dog universe in order to achieve an absolute minimized amount of harm to innocents. In fact, when first faced with the literal apocalyptic might of Galactus, the film subtly implies he has actually considered accepting Galactus’ terms of exchanging his infant son to save every other innocent life on Earth.
• Good Parents: Reed and Sue both deeply love their son Franklin, and each take moments to display their affection for him. And more importantly, they both go to great lengths to keep Franklin safe from Galactus without the rest of the world having to suffer too.
• Happily Married: Reed and Sue are married and happy together.
• Hidden Depths: In spite of all the good his intelligence has done the world, he frequently considers it a burden because he's able to imagine horrible scenarios rather easily, even if he tries not to dwell on them if he can help it. And he's also aware of how it strains his relationship with Sue, which he sincerely tries to mitigate but can't help sometimes. When spending a moment alone with Franklin, he tells his infant son he wants him to be different than his father.
• Idiot Ball: It wouldn't be Reed Richards if he didn't make some colossal screw up, either from his hubris or simply running his mouth a little too long, in the face of being the "smartest man alive." In this variant's case, it's telling the whole world that he refused to sacrifice his son to Galactus in exchange for the world. If he had lied just a little bit, or simply walked away from the podium before getting to that part specifically, he could have saved his entire family a whole lot of heartache and started working on a solution just that little bit sooner. That being said, it's still a relatively minor case of this trope when compared to the genius of his time that is the Earth-838 variant...
• Insufferable Genius: What Reed excels in scientific intellect and planning, he lacks in social tact. After he verbally walks through how trading Franklin for the Earth would be "ethical," Susan tears into him for even considering the option and for using that specific word. Reed responds that he's always considering every option, even if it's clearly the one that must never be considered. He realizes it's not the good, empathetic thing to do, but still considers every possibility. Susan's response is that while she does love him, his intellect sometimes causes her harm because of how focused he is on solving problems.
• It's All My Fault: He blames himself a lot over the accident that gave everyone their powers, feeling that someone of his intellect should have been able to find a way to avoid it.
• The Leader: Played With. Reed's the head of the Fantastic Four, and was the one who spurred their space mission that turned everyone into who they were in the first place. However, outside of missions and science projects, Sue tends to take command.
• Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher: Inverted. He runs a TV show to explain science to children but forgets himself and goes into detail far beyond the studio audience's demographic and interest. He catches himself and brings it back on track with a cool explosion.
• My Greatest Failure: Reed considers the space mission that gave them all powers to be a personal failure of his, and angsts about it at several points throughout the film. Both Sue and Ben try to absolve him of this.
• No Poker Face: After Ben works out that Sue is pregnant he cites the look on Reed's face as the main giveaway.
• Not So Above It All: Despite being the smartest man on Earth, it does not stop him from having his own silly moments like the rest of his family.
  • His best friend Ben lifts up his spirits when he is feeling down by pointing out he is not the smartest, namely how he of all people failed his driver's test. Reed can only sheepishly defend that the test was poorly designed.
  • He, along with Ben and Johnny, struggle to get the Baby Seat in their Fantasticar ready which takes them several minutes despite Reed being the one to design the vehicle in the first place.
• Obsessively Hyperfixated: Reed hyperfixates on solving difficult science problems, which is explored as a realistic detriment. His family confronts him multiple times for working in the lab instead of doing other things they've asked of him, such as redesigning space suits or building a crib. He's also called out for considering immoral options as solutions, to which he explains that it's not something he can control.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: The opening monologue explicitly calls attention to his mastery of multiple fields of science, from biology to physics to materials science to quantum mechanics.
• Panicky Expectant Father: He goes on a bit of a baby-proofing rampage around the Baxter Building (and the city) during Sue's pregnancy, and far less amusingly is low-key terrified of what her mutations and his may do to their offspring.
• Papa Wolf: When Galactus demands Franklin in exchange for Earth's survival, Reed makes it clear in no uncertain terms that will never happen. Even when he does bring it up as the "ethical" solution to the crisis, he assures Sue that it was only a thought experiment and never something he would act upon.
• Rubber Man: He can stretch his body like rubber.
• Science Hero: Reed's true superpower isn't his elasticity—it's his mind. He relies heavily on his intellect during his missions, especially when the likes of Galactus prove too difficult to defeat using only brute force.
• The Smart Guy: Being a Science Hero allows him to create devices that are able to teleport the Earth, improvise with them in case something goes wrong and use his head to deal damage to Galactus. While Sue is powerful enough that she can overpower Galactus in a shoving match, Reed's intelligence allows him to exploit Galactus's weak points and cause him real damage, even if Galactus does catch him moments later.
• What If the Baby Is Like Me: Reed confides in Franklin that he hopes the child didn't inherit "something wrong" from his brain, which would make Franklin grow up into another Insufferable Genius.
• World's Smartest Man: Of Earth-828, and his technology (alongside Sue's diplomatic acumen) is half the reason this Earth is as advanced, unified, and peaceful as it is. Other than their 1960s aesthetic, Reed's machines are easily comparable if not better than what Earth-199999's best can put forth, despite that world being in the next century chronologically.

Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards/The Invisible Woman

Species: Enhanced human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Fantastic Four, Future Foundation

Portrayed by: Vanessa Kirby

Voiced by: Audrey Sourdive (European French), Arianne-Li Simard-Côté (Canadian French), Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese), Kerygma Flores (Latin American Spanish)

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (film) | Avengers: Doomsday

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (comic book) | The Fantastic Four First Foes

• Action Mom: A superhero and Franklin's mother.
• Alliterative Name: Her first and last name both start with the letter S.
• Alternate Self: Has a variant on Earth-838 who was referenced by the Reed Richards of that reality.
• Ambadassador: Her achievements as the head of diplomacy for the Future Foundation are arguably even more impressive than her superhero feats, as the Four have successfully created world peace and united Earth (except for Latveria). She's able to convince Mole Man to take in the people of New York City in return for official recognition for the nation of Subterranea.
• Barrier Warrior: One of her superpowers is the ability to conjure and manipulate invisible force-fields. They're strong enough to overpower even Galactus.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She is a compassionate and kindhearted woman, but when being chased by the Silver Surfer, while in the middle of labor with Franklin, she outright orders Johnny to kill her to protect his nephew.
• Brother–Sister Team: As in the source material, Sue is Johnny's older sister, and they both work together to help save the world.
• Cool Big Sis: She's very supportive of Johnny and his endeavors, such as when he begins studying the Silver Surfer's language, and begins making breakthroughs, she proudly tells him that his work could be a massive help in protecting the Earth.
• Declaration of Protection: When offered a chance to save the world by sacrificing Franklin, and after refusing, the entire world turns against her and Reed. And while she firmly makes it clear to the entire world she will not let any harm come to her child, she is not about to abandon the world either.
  Susan: (to the angry crowd) I will not sacrifice my child for this world, but I will not sacrifice this world for my child. We will face this together, and we will defeat this together! As a family!
• Easygoing Expectant Mother: While Sue Storm is visibly thrilled to finally be pregnant (with Reed mentioning they tried for two years for a baby), she is fairly level-headed throughout her pregnancy. For example, when Reed is trying to build a scanner to check for mutations, Sue just turns her belly invisible to show him Franklin. And Reed, in contrast to Sue's calm, obsesses over making sure the baby's healthy while having H.E.R.B.I.E. go overboard with babyproofing the Baxter Building, and, to Ben Grimm's mild amusement, the whole planet.
• Everything's Better with Rainbows: Her powers are accompanied by a distinctive rainbow sheen, which is unique to this incarnation of the character.
• The Face: She's the most public-facing of the team in terms of diplomacy and handling the press.
• Formerly Fit: Played for Laughs when she and Reed discuss their new suits that Reed clarifies is just her old suit, but made a lot bigger since she's heavily pregnant compared to when she last wore it. Sue reacts with bemused shock and Reed quickly tries to backtrack.
• Good Parents: Sue and Reed both deeply love their son Franklin, and each take moments to display their affection for him. And more importantly, they both go to great lengths to keep Franklin safe from Galactus without the rest of the world having to suffer too.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Sue has a brilliant blonde hairstyle, and cares very much about her family and works for a brighter future through world diplomacy.
• Happily Married: Sue and Reed are married and happy together.
• The Heart: She is this for the Fantastic Four as a whole, with her affirming to Reed just how important he, Ben and Johnny are, and promises to face what comes at them together.
• Heroic Sacrifice: During the final battle Sue overexerts her powers to push Galactus into the wormhole to banish him into the deepest ends of space, but this proves too much for her body that it kills her, though thankfully Franklin is able to resurrect her with his powers.
• Imperiled in Pregnancy: She joins the negotiation attempt of the team when they go meet Galactus who causes her pregnancy to speed up to the labor phase, and during the ensuing chase the Silver Surfer directly targets her using Intangibility, attempting to steal Franklin from her womb. Then the team speeds towards a black hole to get rid of the Surfer, and she is very much at risk of getting sucked in it along with the ship and everyone onboard, while also being in pain from labor.
• Invisibility Flicker: She starts uncontrollably flickering in and out of visibility while giving birth, and later on as she exerts herself in the final battle with Galactus.
• Law of Inverse Fertility: Reed mentions that they spent two years trying to conceive before agreeing that it appeared unlikely they were going to have any children. So they're very surprised when Sue gets a positive pregnancy test at the beginning of First Steps.
• The Leader: Off-mission she is the leader of the Fantastic Four. She is the one who deals with diplomatic and political issues and is generally the one who keeps the team focused and grounded.
• Light 'em Up: This incarnation of Sue themes her powers more specifically around light in various forms. Whether shifting herself invisible or projecting forcefields, her powers are always accompanied with visual-distorting, rainbow-refracting effects on the space around her. This ties both forms of her powers together more closely, as opposed to typical depictions framing her forcefields as kinetic energy and separate from her invisibility. To quote the show jingle...
  Singers: Sue Storm commands the liiiight~!
• Mama Bear: One of the more impressive examples in modern media. She will do everything she can to protect her son and she is literally willing to kill herself to save him from Galactus. She only comes back after Franklin revives her with his powers. Likewise she doesn't take it well when she finds Victor Von Doom kneeling next to Franklin, getting prepared to fight the leader of Latveria if he poses a threat to her kid.
• The Matchmaker: At the very least she lets the world know on TV that her brother Johnny is "very single."
• Morality Pet: Has this dynamic with the Mole Man. She's the only person on the surface he'll treat with any sense of respect, and only agrees to help evacuate New York by her request.
• Mundane Utility: Sue sometimes uses her ability to turn invisible outside of combat — to avoid an unpleasant conversation and to show Reed the baby in her womb.
• Nice Girl: She's a caring and kind person who deeply cares about her family and has accomplished great diplomatic feats.
• Not So Above It All: While she generally only uses her abilities for superheroing purposes and is more serious minded compared to Ben and Johnny, Sue can't help but prank the both of them by sneaking into their room while invisible and suddenly appearing to jumpscare them, all while gleefully calling them "chickenshits" for trying to pass the buck on checking up on her and Reed.
• Pregnant Badass: Early in the film, she finds out she's pregnant with Reed's child. That doesn't stop her from joining the negotiation attempt of the team when they go see Galactus, and when that fails, she helps during the chase with the Silver Surfer by briefly turning the ship invisible (while in labor, no less).
• The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female member of the otherwise all-male Fantastic Four.
• The Social Expert: Her emotional and social intelligence are equal to her husband's technological intelligence. In the backstory she created world peace and then global demilitarization, and when the world turns against the Four for not wanting to sacrifice Franklin, all it takes is one speech from her to reaffirm their faith and convince the governments of Earth to go along with Reed's plan to teleport the Earth.
• Something Person: Her codename, The Invisible Woman, is this.
• Team Mom: She's this to the team, par the course. She keeps the team together and looks out for all of them. She would eventually become a literal example when she becomes pregnant with Reed's child.
• True Blue Femininity: She's a very feminine woman who wears blue like her teammates. She's also seen wearing a blue sweater in the scene where Shalla-Bal first arrives.
• Truer to the Text:
  • The previous adaptations had somewhat limited use of Sue's powers, with the Fantastic Four Duology version frequently playing it for laughs. This film remembers that her main power is bending light waves to her will. In terms of just pure raw power, she's by far the strongest on the team, which makes her much closer to her comic counterpart.
  • Sue and Johnny are blood siblings like in the comics instead of Sue being adopted which was a change made in the 2015 film.
• Visible Invisibility: Her powers are a Type 2, rendering anything made invisible by them with a flickering, murky distortion. Unfortunately, they might as well be straight-up visible for Galactus, whose sensors can see through Sue’s powers.

Jonathan "Johnny" Storm/The Human Torch

Species: Enhanced human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Fantastic Four, Future Foundation

Portrayed by: Joseph Quinn

Voiced by: Aurélien Raynal (European French), Marc-André Brunet (Canadian French), Yu Hayashi (Japanese), Alejandro Orozco (Latin American Spanish)

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (film) | Avengers: Doomsday

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (comic book) | The Fantastic Four First Foes

A hot-headed young man whose exposure to cosmic rays gave him the ability to fly and manipulate fire. Susan's brother and Franklin's uncle.

• Achilles' Heel: Johnny can fly and generate flames from his body, but he's useless without oxygen.
• Adaptational Intelligence: While Johnny in the comics is by no means dim, he's usually characterized as more of a party animal and daredevil, leaving a lot of the scientific work to Reed and Sue. In the film, he manages to decode Shalla-Bal's language (or at least enough of it to talk with her) from a few snippets of dialogue, plus transmissions from her home planet, choosing to do the work himself since Reed is occupied with assessing the larger threat of Galactus and trying to devise something to counter him.
• Adaptational Modesty: Johnny is historically one of the most prominent examples of Mr. Fanservice in Marvel, prior film incarnations included. In this version, while Joseph Quinn is certainly an attractive guy and Johnny is described as being a heartthrob in-universe, in the film he’s modestly dressed throughout and has no overt fanservice-y scenes.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Johnny Storm in the comics was generally an irresponsible Manchild who often struggled to read the room and grated on people's nerves with his antics. This Johnny is a lot more self-aware and only makes jokes for the sake of lifting his family's spirits or getting them to open up about something that's troubling them.
• Adaptation Personality Change: Accompanying his upgrade in intelligence, this Johnny is shown to have an enthusiastic love and curiosity for space and all things therein, being heavily invested in studying the snippets of languages Reed keeps receiving from the cosmos even before the Silver Surfer shows up, repeatedly pestering Reed about designing new space suits for further space exploration, and having his attraction to the Silver Surfer be accompanied by a less amorous curiosity about whether her surfboard is part of her body or not.
• Affectionate Nickname: He calls H.E.R.B.I.E. "Herbert."
• Alternate Self: Has a variant on Earth-121698.
• Brother–Sister Team: As in the source material, Johnny is Sue's younger brother, and they both work together to help save the world.
• Casanova Wannabe: Sue sarcastically mentions that ladies love him, but since the only character we see him attracted to is Shalla-Bal, it feels like an Informed Ability here. This version of Johnny comes off less like a ladies' man and more "girl crazy."
• Character Tics: He has a habit to scratching the top of H.E.R.B.I.E.'s head as if he were a dog.
• Chekhov's Skill: He dedicates himself to translating Shalla-Bal's language. This ends up helping out Earth in a big way, as it helps to convince her to help save Earth from Galactus.
• Chivalrous Pervert: After meeting her for the first time, Johnny is quick to admit that he finds Shalla-Bal and her silvery form "sexy" multiple times, to the rest of the Four's annoyance. However, it doesn't stop him from fighting against her physically, nor from trying to honestly communicate and convince her to go against her master.
• Cool Uncle: He is beyond overjoyed to learn Sue is pregnant, and immediately proclaims that he and Ben are going to be "the best uncles ever."
• Cunning Linguist: This may be the smartest cinematic iteration of Johnny to date. Much like how Alan Turing was able to crack the Nazis' supposedly “unbreakable” code by using the compulsory “Heil Hitler” that ended every Third Reich message as a grammatical template for his cogitator-engine to translate, Johnny was able to use the alien-blessing “May you die with your own” that he learned from his one proper conversation with the Silver Surfer as a Rosetta Stone to cross-reference with the transmissions of gratitude for her sacrificing her own humanity to save her entire race from extinction intercepted from her home world, then decipher and learn her native language with enough fluency to hold a respectful and empathetic conversation in just under 10 months. Justified perhaps in that in spite of his football-loving-jock public persona, Johnny would have to be every inch an academic overachiever as Reed Richards to even be interviewed, much less qualify, for being a professional astronaut.
• Elemental Absorption: He can absorb flames as well as generate them, as shown in the prologue montage where he puts out several skyscrapers' worth of fire by just drawing it all into himself.
• Flying Firepower: Not only can he generate flames, but he can also fly while doing so.
• Freudian Excuse: Parodied in relation to Johnny’s crush on the Silver Surfer, as joked by Johnny himself. Since Johnny here is shown to love space exploration, space radio waves, and even space suits, he knows that his attraction to the Surfer seems inevitable since she’s not just a beautiful woman, but also from space.
• The Gadfly: True to the character's usual depictions, Johnny is shown to take joy in teasing his family members, such as taunting Reed and Sue for being late for family dinner, or playfully trying to force Ben into saying his Catchphrase.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Much like his older sister, Johnny has bright blonde hair, and is shown to be a decent young man who loves his family.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He attempts a couple, offering himself to Galactus to become his herald to protect Earth and Franklin in the same way Shalla-Bal did to protect her planet, but is rejected, and is fully ready to push himself and Galactus through Reed's portal to keep him away from his nephew, but is beaten there by Shalla-Bal, who does it for him.
• Hidden Depths: He may be a hot-headed daredevil who loves the ladies but make no mistake, there's a reason why Reed Richards chose him as part of his science team. He's extremely intelligent by his own right, best highlighted when he manages to decode Shalla-Bal's language with one translated sentence and several untranslated recordings of her people's language all by himself.
• Informed Ability: He's supposedly enough of a heartthrob that even his sister teases him about it, but the movie never explicitly shows him flirting with women beyond his failed passes at the Silver Surfer.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's immature, hot-headed, and enjoys being The Gadfly to the other members of the team, but he loves them all unconditionally and is just as dedicated as they are to safeguarding Earth.
• Logical Weakness: He needs oxygen to use his powers. When they pursue Shalla-Bal into space, Reed outfits Johnny's space suit to be flame-retardant and with a sizable oxygen supply, but he can only use his powers for about ten minutes and an extended fight with Shalla-Bal leaves him on the verge of suffocating to death.
• Love at First Sight: Upon making eye-contact with the Silver Surfer, Johnny is absolutely smitten with her. However, she shows no interest in him. At least not romantic.
• Magic Pants: Whenever Johnny covers himself in fire, it conveniently does not burn the clothes he is already wearing, even his casual clothing. This is strange considering Reed has not invented Unstable Molecules and designed clothing out of it for his team yet.
• Manchild: He acts more like a rowdy teenager than a grown man.
• Mundane Utility: With the world under a mandatory blackout to prepare for Reed's attempt to teleport the Earth away from Galactus, Johnny uses his flame powers as a light source while working to decipher Shalla-Bal's language.
• Papa Wolf: Johnny is the first one to take action when Galactus goes after the unborn Franklin and the first one to object to Reed's plan to use Franklin as bait. He even offers to sacrifice himself to save his nephew, and would have done so to push Galactus into the portal if Shalla-Bal hadn't knocked Johnny out of the way to do it herself after being moved by his words.
  Johnny: (while rushing at Galactus) Tell Franklin, Uncle Johnny loves him!
• Playing with Fire: Johnny's abilities primarily produce pyrokinesis powers, allowing him to fly through the air at breakneck speeds and absorb fires from buildings.
• Smarter Than You Look: He has the vibe of a goofball slacker and in some ways he kind of is, but he is still a scientist. Using a short bit of translated speech as a Rosetta stone, he was able to learn Shalla-Bal's language and translate messages sent from her planet, facilitating her Heel–Face Turn. The rest of the team all congratulate him on his work.
• Token Flyer: He's the only one of the Fantastic Four who can fly on his own without the use of their spaceships or the Fantasticar.
• Trademark Favourite Food: He often likes to snack on cereal, which just so happens to be his own Human Torch brand.
• Truer to the Text: Sue and Johnny are blood siblings like in the comics instead of Johnny being Sue's adoptive brother, which was a change made in the 2015 film (in which Johnny was black, also).
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Downplayed. Like usual, Johnny enjoys poking fun at Ben and Reed, but it comes off more as him leaning into being the ‘annoying little brother’ that the others see him as. That said, it’s clear that he loves the rest of the Four and wouldn’t hesitate to put his life on the line for them. And the feeling is mutual.
• Wreathed in Flames: Like every single depiction of the character, his body gets covered in flames whenever he fully activates his fire powers.

Benjamin "Ben" Grimm/The Thing

Species: Enhanced human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Fantastic Four, Future Foundation

Portrayed by: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Charles Crowley (suit actor)

Voiced by: Xavier Fagnon (European French), Frédéric Paquet (Canadian French), Masanori Iwasaki (Japanese), José Gilberto Vilchis (Latin American Spanish)

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (film) | Avengers: Doomsday

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (comic book) | The Fantastic Four First Foes

A surly but loveable space shuttle pilot whose exposure to cosmic rays turned him into a super strong but monstrous looking humanoid rock monster. Reed's best friend.

• Accent Adaptation: Downplayed. Most incarnations of The Thing have a thick Brooklyn Rage New Yorker accent to compliment his burly, rock-like appearance. The MCU's Ben Grimm is shown to speak with New Yorker Ebon Moss-Bachrach's natural voice which, while certainly husky, isn't accented and isn't as deep as some of the other actors that have played him.
• Ace Pilot: Reed describes him as the best pilot in the world. And he's not exaggerating as Ben's piloting skills prove essential for the Fantastic Four to survive the dangers of outer space, especially with the Silver Surfer hot on their tail.
• Actor Allusion: Ben giving some critiques to H.E.R.B.I.E's pasta sauce, much like another character Ebon Moss-Bachrach has played in the past.
• Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Previous live-action incarnations of The Thing have to deal with society seeing him as a freak right from the get-go, adding to his angst about how he looks. First Steps introduces Ben four years into his superhero career, a point in his life where the people of his world mostly love/admire him, having Halloween masks of him to celebrate the guy, and encourages Reed to not be so hard on himself for what's happened to them, though he still isn't entirely pleased with how he looks.
• Adaptational Hairstyle Change: After the power rationing starts, Ben grows out a beard for the third act of the film. While Ben has had a beard in the comics, it takes hundreds of years to grow, while it seems to grow at a normal rate in the movie.
• Adaptational Modesty: Unlike all his previous incarnations, this version of Ben gets a full uniform just like the rest of the team, instead of being shirtless. The only time Ben appears shirtless is when he's helping a ship return to its harbor, which can be justified by Ben not wanting to get his shirt wet.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: He's a lot less gruff, short-tempered, and cantankerous as other versions of Ben Grimm tend to be.
• Ambiguously Jewish: Ben's Jewish heritage is not explicitly told to the audience, but he does go shopping at kosher grocery stores and he visits the local synagogue to see his crush Rachel Rozman and prepare for the inevitable arrival of Galactus. Plus, he's played by a Jewish actor this time around.
• Bemoaning the New Body: He watches a TV clip of him before his transformation joking that he's the "best-looking pilot in the world" with a sad look on his face. It's clear that he misses his original appearance by his facial language alone.
• The Big Guy: Much like every other depiction, he's the powerhouse of the team as he's physically their strongest and toughest member.
• Blessed with Suck: The space mission granted him superhuman strength and durability, but also permanently made him a rock monster that he can't change back from. Despite being adored by the world as a superhero, it's clear that he deeply misses being human.
• Butt-Monkey: A lot of the film's comedy comes at Ben's inconvenience.
• Conspicuous Trenchcoat: One scene in the trailer has Ben wearing his trench coat disguise from the comics while looking at some TV footage of his former human self.
• Delivery Guy: He ends up being the one to deliver Franklin as Reed is occupied holding Sue in place due to their ship being in zero gravity.
• Four-Fingered Hands: In contrast to Jamie Bell's portrayal, this Ben Grimm has the traditional four-fingered hands his comic book counterpart is known for.
• Friend to All Children: In spite of his unhappiness with his rock form, Ben is nonetheless willing to perform small feats for the kids that idolize him, such as picking up a car with his bare hands and even pretending to throw it. Once Franklin is born, Ben is shown holding him almost more than his actual parents are, having studied childcare very earnestly while Sue was pregnant.
• Gentle Giant: Being the first live-action version to not be constantly consumed with angst and rage from his mutation (or at least, has long resolved said issues in the 4 in-universe years leading up to the story), Ben in First Steps is a warm, sweet tempered and jolly fellow, who in spite of his titanic might and girth, is slow to anger & possesses ironically the gentlest disposition in the Richards Family. In fact, Sue is more frightening than he is when fully enraged.
• Genius Bruiser: While he might not be quite as smart as Reed, he's an expert pilot and astronaut, an excellent chef, and can keep up with Reed's scientific explanations, in addition to being the team's physical powerhouse. He was also the first to deduce that Sue was pregnant judging by the way she and Reed were late for Sunday dinner and acting strangely.
• Honorary Uncle: Due to his close friendships with Reed and Sue, he's considered one to their unborn child, with Johnny proclaiming that himself and Ben will be the best uncles ever when said child is born.
• I Was Quite a Looker: He once considered himself the best looking pilot prior to the trip that gave him his rock appearance for life.
• Nice Guy: Don't let his appearance fool you, he's easily the most easygoing and good-natured of the Fantastic Four.
• Phrase Catcher: "It's clobberin' time!" is something created by a cartoon adaptation based off the team's adventures. Ben is reluctant to adopt it for himself, even when Johnny demands that he just embrace it in the heat of battle.
• Rock Monster: Not a monster, but his whole body is covered in orange, rocky armor.
• Super-Strength: He can easily pick up vehicles with his bare hands and pull a massive cargo ship by himself.
• Super-Toughness: He can run through stone pillars, destroy them, and receive no pain or physical damage whatsoever.
• Supreme Chef: Implied, as he's shown taste-testing a pasta sauce H.E.R.B.I.E makes for the family, giving the little robot praise while still giving him some advice (i.e: add more cloves of garlic for "zip").
• Sweet Tooth: He loves black and white cookies from Maisie's Delicatessen since his childhood.
• Truer to the Text: Compared to previous live-action incarnations of The Thing, this Ben is designed to look much more like Jack Kirby's initial illustrations of Ben from the comics, right down to having four fingers instead of five on each of his hands and having his big rock eyebrows.
• Vocal Dissonance: Downplayed, but his voice sounds shockingly normal and less gravely than what you'd expect from a big, burly rock man.
• Weird Beard: His new physiology can grow facial rock hair on his chin, which only be shaven off with a rock sander. During the global mandatory blackouts to conserve power, Ben is unable to completely shave his chin and bemoans the unevenness of his face. This leads to Johnny suggesting that Ben should just grow a beard as a new look, which Ben does take to heart. He still keeps his beard after Galactus is defeated and the team celebrates their fifth anniversary... though he seems to have shaved it off by Avengers: Doomsday, as seen in the Wakandans/Fantastic Four teaser.

H.E.R.B.I.E

Species: Robot

Citizenship: N/A

Voiced by: Matthew Wood

Affiliation(s): Fantastic Four, Future Foundation

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Avengers: Doomsday

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four First Foes

A small robot built by Reed Richards who serves the Fantastic Four.

• Computer Equals Tapedrive: H.E.R.B.I.E has tape reels for eyes that can be swapped out depending on the role he's assigned.
• Cute Machines: He's a little robot who has big spinning eyes and makes small beeping sounds while going about his work.
• Disney Death: When Galactus attacks the tower to get at Franklin, H.E.R.B.I.E. is sent flying and buried in the rubble, with nobody else commenting on whether or not he survived. However, in the final scenes, which take place sometime later, he’s back with the Four looking none the worse for wear. Justified as he is a robot, so he was most likely just repaired.
• Fun with Acronyms: His name stands for Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics.
• Go Through Me: When he sees Galactus outside of the Fantastic Four's home, towering over it, his immediate reaction is to put himself in front of baby Franklin to protect him.
• Intelligible Unintelligible: He's shown communicating with the Fantastic Four using beeps and whirring sounds, but doesn't have any comprehensible speech, though the Four can all understand him.
• Robot Buddy: H.E.R.B.I.E does various things to help out the Four, such as cooking them dinner or babyproofing the Baxter Building.
• Supreme Chef: H.E.R.B.I.E is shown cooking up a nice red pasta sauce. If Ben's reaction is any indication, it's absolutely delicious (albeit lacking in garlic).

Franklin Richards

Species: Enhanced human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Fantastic Four

Portrayed by: Ada Scott (baby), N/A (age 4)

Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Avengers: Doomsday

Reed and Sue's newborn son.

• Affectionate Nickname: Sue calls him "Bunny."
• Alternate Self: Implied to have one on Earth-838, as that universe’s version of Reed references his children in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
• Brainy Baby: Even in the womb, he is self-aware enough to deliberately suppress his cosmic power, seemingly because he recognizes that his parents are worried about having a child with superpowers. He also has at least enough control over them to revive Sue when she dies from straining her powers. And congratulate himself for it. In The Stinger, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species is apparently one of his favorite books^note said book is a collection of scientific studies and notes about evolutionary biology that is more likely to be read by college-age people than by young children (alongside The Very Hungry Caterpillar).
• Children Are Innocent: Despite his incredible power and intelligence, Franklin is still only four years old in The Stinger, and doesn't seem to understand why Doctor Doom's presence in their home is making his mother uneasy.
• Composite Character: Apparently shares some traits with his younger sister Valeria being able to comprehend and enjoy On The Origin of Species at age 4.
• The Cutie: Of course, being a baby.
• Goo-Goo-Godlike: He possesses the Power Cosmic despite only being a baby, which is why Galactus wants him in exchange for Earth's survival. Also, he is shown to revive people while still an infant.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Franklin has inherited his mother's and uncle's bright blonde hair, and is an adorable little kid who loves his family dearly.
• Healing Hands: And how. When his mother is dying, simply touching her is enough to bring her back from the dead.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: He inherited his mother's big blue eyes, which help to emphasize how innocent he is despite the main conflict of First Steps revolving around him.
• MacGuffin Super-Person: Galactus wants him because of his immense potential and is willing to leave Earth alone if the Fantastic Four hand him over.
• Three-Month-Old Newborn: He's slightly larger than average at birth, even though Galactus induces labor in Sue ahead of schedule, and at one month old he's already holding his head up without assistance (in real life it takes an average of four months for babies to develop enough to do this).
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Zigzagged. The Power Cosmic gave him great intelligence, but he's still in the body of a newborn baby. The Silver Surfer reads his mind and tells his parents that he would willingly sacrifice himself to Galactus to save the Earth, but he knows he's too young to make that decision. The Fantastic Four themselves never forget that he's a child, but they talk to him like they know he can understand them.

• Fictional United Nations: They seem to serve as Earth-828's equivalent to the UN, being a peacekeeping and humanitarian organization whose member states include all the nations of the world. They even have a similar blue and white flag and a dedicated headquarters in New York.
• The Federation: They count every single nation on Earth as members, including the Soviet Union and Latveria, but mostly seem to operate as a single political entity, which comes in handy when the need to build Reed's teleport towers across the world arises.

Lynne Nichols

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Sarah Niles

Voiced by: Annie Milon (European French), Marie-Évelyne Lessard (Canadian French)

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (film)

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (comic book)

The acting CEO of the Future Foundation.

• Canon Foreigner: Like Rachel, she was invented for the movie.
• The Confidant: She knows Sue and the rest of the team well enough to act as their go-between when the public becomes too overwhelming.
• Nice Girl: She seems nice enough during her limited screentime.
• Number Two: She's the one who's in charge of the Future Foundation when Sue is preoccupied with superheroics.
• Satellite Character: We don't know anything about her beyond her interactions with the Fantastic Four.

Galactus

Portrayed By: Ralph Ineson

Voiced By: Emmanuel Jacomy (European French), Éric Gaudry (Canadian French), Taiten Kusunoki (Japanese)

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four First Foes Shalla Bal

• Above Good and Evil: It isn't dwelt upon in First Steps, but Galactus does not devour planets out of choice (though he can choose to spare them for greater purpose, or destroy them out of spite). They are the only form of sustenance that can sustain him, and allowing himself to simply starve is indicated to not be an option as he and his herald imply he plays some key part in the universe.
  Shalla-Bal: For he is a universal force, as essential as the stars.
• Achilles' Heel: The ports on his back, which lead directly into his body and are used to feed him with the molten remains of planets. Johnny is able to delay him by melting the tubes attached to him on his ship, and Reed wrenching one open with a long piece of rebar during the New York battle causes him visible pain.
• Adaptational Jerkass: While not without some slight sympathy and pathos, Galactus is colder and more selfish here compared to his typical comic-book counterpart and shows a darker fury than his comic self's usually detached professionalism and occasional assistance to the heroes against worse threats. He's also willing to condemn a child with his eternal hunger, something the comic-book Galactus has never even considered, since he seems completely at peace with his role. While most versions of Galactus tend to be Anti-Villains who don't really enjoy having to snuff out worlds, this incarnation mainly seems to take issue with the fact that the power that lets him do such a thing is also saddled with horrific, torturous hunger, and actively chooses to destroy Earth out of spite despite finally obtaining the means to escape his hunger.
• Adaptational Wimp: Despite being Truer to the Text, this version of Galactus is still notably weaker than his comic-book counterpart. He is entirely dependent on his giant spaceship to feed and to travel across the universe, without which he’ll be effectively stranded and starve, whereas comics Galactus has no such limitations thanks to being able to teleport at will with his Power Cosmic. He also lacks some of his comics self’s technology such as armies of robots, energy converters and (at least for now) the Ultimate Nullifier. Downplayed in that, despite all this, he's still practically unstoppable for all intents and purposes, and having to travel more slowly just makes him come across as even more menacing.
• Alien Blood: To the extent that it can even be considered blood, Galactus is fed by the molten remains of planets through a series of ports on his back. Reed attempts to force the ports open to delay him in the climax, causing their contents to spill out on the street before Galactus grabs him. It's worth noting this is the one action that seems to seriously harm him.
• Aliens of London: Galactus speaks with a southern English accent.
• Asshole Victim: Galactus may be a Tragic Villain afflicted with Horror Hunger, but his desire to consume Earth as petty retribution against the Fantastic Four for not giving up Franklin ensures that nobody truly feels sorry for him when Galactus is banished into the void of space without his big spaceship, condemning him to suffer starvation for the foreseeable future.
• Bad Boss: He causes the Silver Surfer physical pain for showing reservations about their methods, namely attempting to give his Horror Hunger to a baby.
• Big Bad: He is the main threat that the Fantastic Four have to face to save the Earth from destruction in their MCU debut.
• Blessed with Suck: As it turns out, he considers his entire existence to be a curse despite the phenomenal cosmic power he's been gifted with due to the permanent hunger pangs that compel him to devour planets for a greater universal design. He's desperate enough to attempt to force the powers and responsibility onto Franklin, despite him being an infant.
• Complete Immortality: His cosmic hunger is an essential part of the universe. As such, he cannot simply starve himself to death to find rest and will have to consume planets sooner or later to stave off the eternal hunger pains. The only way he could die is transferring his cosmic hunger to another being capable of holding such essence, which he finds in Franklin Richards. The problem is that Reed and Sue do not want to condemn their child to an eternal life of hunger and planet devouring.
• Cool Helmet: He wears his characteristic horned purple helmet from the comics.
• Create Your Own Hero: Galactus forcibly accelerating Sue's pregnancy by infusing a portion of his divine might into Franklin has potentially made the boy, already inheriting cosmic energy from his parents, even stronger, so much so that he was able to pull Sue BACK from crossing death's door at ten months old through touch alone, finally breaking after 17 long years the ironclad All Deaths Final MCU rule set by Producer Kevin Feige.
• Death Seeker: Galactus was once a mortal man, and his current giant state is tied to his ceaseless hunger. He's lived so long that he's come to see that as a curse and wants Franklin because if the boy inherits his powers, then Galactus himself can finally rest after billions of years.
• The Dreaded: His impending arrival sends the entirety of humanity into a rather understandable frenzy, given that even Reed Richards admits he isn't sure if they'll be able to save them from his hunger.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Galactus is amoral and starving moreso than malicious. He kept his word to Shalla-Bal to spare her planet and originally was content to do the same for Earth, even at a terrible price. Even after kidnapping Franklin, he never harms the child himself, but that overlaps with Pragmatic Villainy.
• Evil Is Bigger: Galactus, true to form, is enormous, tall enough for him to enshroud all of New York.
• Evil Sounds Deep: As is expected of his actor, he's got the kind of baritone that could shake mountains, and it serves to make him even more frightening.
• Faux Affably Evil: He seems reasonable enough when the Four first meet him, as he holds a polite conversation with them during which he acknowledges they came a long way to meet him, and he offers to spare Earth in exchange for Reed and Sue's son after he explains why he wants him. When the Four refuse him, though, any sense of civility is discarded, and Galactus decides he'll devour Earth anyway while their son watches.
• Giant Equals Invincible: He is gigantic, and nothing from Earth seemingly can hurt him (the Fantastic Four are the best the planet has to oppose him, and they're clearly outmatched).
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Most of the time, Galactus's eyes are enveloped in a bright glow. He occasionally drops the glow, revealing his pupils also glow purple, just not nearly as bright.
• Hidden Depths: When he lands on Earth, Galactus notably takes a moment to take in the scenery and even pick up and smell a fistful of soil and trees, implying that it's been some time since he actually set foot on a planet and that he wants to enjoy the experience before getting down to business.
• Horns of Villainy: As in the comics, he has horn-like projections on the sides of his helmet, and is a horrifying (if unwilling) planet-eating monstrosity.
• Horror Hunger: He is cursed with a ceaseless hunger that can only be satiated by the consumption of entire planets. Galactus does not enjoy existing in such a state, which is why he's so interested in Franklin Richards; he's so desperate to be free of his hunger that sacrificing an infant to the same state is a worthwhile trade for him.
• Humanoid Abomination: He is a Cosmic Entity, who looks like a giant humanoid in purple armor, who needs to consume entire planets to survive. Interestingly, unlike most versions, he's depicted as having scales on his skin rather than just resembling a huge Human Alien.
• Icy Blue Eyes: His helmet occasionally has Glowing Eyes of Doom, which take the form of bright blue lights. The fact they obscure his pupils serve to make him appear even more alien, distant and cold.
• I Gave My Word: He accepts Shalla-Bal's offer to spare her world in exchange for being his Herald, and the messages from her homeworld Johnny translated were all of her fellow people giving Shalla thanks for saving them, a sign that Galactus honored his end of her bargain and left them alone.
• Invincible Villain: While the Fantastic Four are a powerful group of individuals with incredible abilities, they are absolutely nothing in the face of a being who existed before the universe was born and has the ability to consume entire planets to satiate his hunger. And since there are no other superheroes in the universe he lives in, the Four are forced to resort to trickery and distractions to prevent Galactus from eating their homeworld and taking baby Franklin Richards from them. Even their plan to stop Galactus doesn't actually defeat him: either teleporting the Earth elsewhere in the universe or teleporting Galactus and stranding him in deep space just means it'll keep the big guy from harming anyone else, thanks to being separated from his ship.
• It's All About Me: While he's mostly motivated by his desire to be free of his eternal hunger, doing so at the expense of literally everyone else, and a specific baby, is still a selfish motivation for antagonizing Earth.
• The Juggernaut: Befitting of such a gargantuan Cosmic Entity, he plows through nearly everything the team throws at him during the climax as though they were little else than mildly-inconveniencing insects. It takes Sue straining herself to the point of dying to actually push him into the teleporter, and he still bounces back from its pull until Shalla-Bal charges straight into him as one final shove.
• Kick the Dog:
  • When the Silver Surfer tries to argue against having Franklin take his place, Galactus telekinetically squeezes his herald's body, causing her visible pain.
  • When Reed objects to Galactus stating he will only spare Earth if they give up their unborn child, he immediately declares he will steal their son from them and devour the world anyway. Given that he has Franklin, and thus can finally escape his fate, the choice to devour the planet, despite being finally able to stop, is clearly motivated by nothing but spite for their initial refusal to hand the boy over.
    "I will eat your planet slowly. While your child watches."
  • When Reed manages to cause him some pain during the battle in New York, Galactus grabs him and slowly starts stretching Reed's body nearly to the point of breaking, seemingly curious to see just how far Reed can stretch, while sporting a rather unpleasant smirk.
• Mind Over Matter: He causes Sue's pregnancy to speed up, he angrily lifts and almosts crushes Shalla-Bal along with a Psychic Strangle after she's failed to kidnap baby Franklin, and he telekinetically removes the seatbelts of Franklin's baby seat then lifts Franklin himself in the air, all with his mind.
• Near-Villain Victory: He manages to get his hands on Franklin and almost starts devouring Earth, only stopped by Shalla-Bal pulling a Heroic Sacrifice to transport him away from Earth.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: To say that Galactus is tough would be a massive understatement. None of the Fantastic Four's attacks can truly damage him in any shape or form. Even a combined attack of the Thing and Human Torch only slightly moves him without actually hurting the Devourer. Sue exerting herself to the point of death doesn't hurt Galactus either, just pushes him back.
• No-Sell: Virtually everything the Fantastic Four do to him is annoying at most, if it works at all. Sue has to lethally strain herself to force him into a portal with her powers.
• Not So Invincible After All: Downplayed to the point of subversion. Both Johnny and Reed are able to do damage that makes Galactus metaphorically bleed by tampering with the valves on his armor that feed molten planet into him, but rather than being a sign of hope, they are acts of desperation that amount to little more than buying a dozen seconds tops and making the World Eater mad.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Though not by choice. Galactus is afflicted with an insatiable hunger that he can only satiate by consuming entire planets, and he will continue to do so until his purpose in the universe is fulfilled.
• Outside-Context Problem: For the Fantastic Four, who had previously dealt with lesser-scale and human threats like Mole Man, this eons-old, planet-devouring alien is far beyond the scale they (and their Earth) are experienced in battling.
• Pet the Dog: In a twisted way. Much like his comic counterpart, Galactus sends his herald to warn every planet he's about to devour so the populations have time to reconnect with their loved ones and face their ends together.
• Physical God: He is referred to as a god on several occasions most notably by Sue, given his primordial nature and immense power.
• Pitiful Worms: He sees all beings as beneath him, given his status as a world eater. He even refers to the Fantastic Four as "bugs" when facing them in Times Square.
• Planet Eater: One of the most famous examples in fiction. He sustains himself by devouring whole planets. Unlike the comics, where it's typically depicted as converting a planet's biosphere into energy to consume, or his previous film adaptation which involved directly leeching from a planet's core, here he completely destroys a world with his giant ship. The resulting mass is then processed by his ship into molten material that is piped into his body through several valves on his back.
• Power Armor: Unlike in the comics, where his armor is stylish yet simplistic, it's far more mechanical here.
• Pragmatic Adaptation: He lacks the comic version's square irises, presumably to keep from plunging him straight into the Uncanny Valley.
• Purple Is Powerful: He is a giant alien who consumes planets, and wears a big purple helmet and an armor with shades of purple.
• The Quiet One: Galactus only speaks when he absolutely has to, preferring to have his herald Shalla-Bal speak to people on his behalf. When he decides to come to Earth himself, he only once verbally acknowledges the Four when he remarks on how clever their attempt to trap him was, with the rest of his screentime being spent bellowing and grunting in pain and annoyance.
• Rent-a-Zilla: He is taller than any building in New York, and his arrival and battle with the Fantastic Four do quite some damage to the city.
• Shadow Archetype: To the Four overall, but especially Reed. Galactus built his own ship and technology but eons of starvation and isolation have left him cold-hearted and desperate for an end to his hunger. Reed admits he's had similarly callous ideas about other problems and has a bad habit of self-isolation. He also admits upfront he'd never, ever go so far as to sacrifice an innocent baby, especially his own, and holds the Four close to keep himself grounded. Galactus, meanwhile, who has no such connections to hold onto, has become a ruthless monster who will try to get rid of his hunger by any means necessary.
• Super-Strength: With one hand, he can rip out chunks from the ground and effortlessly catch a crane swung by the Thing, overpowering and throwing the hero all the way into space.
• Time Abyss: He is older than the very universe he resides in. This makes it extremely difficult for Reed Richards to find a way to defeat Galactus as the very matter the Devourer and his machine are composed of is beyond any of Reed's scientific knowledge.
• Tragic Villain: Though he can be contemptuous, his motivation for taking Franklin is to be finally be freed of what he calls the curse of his vast hunger since time immemorial. Though it doesn't justify his actions, it does give him some sympathetic depth in that he never wanted to be a Devourer of Worlds and desperately wants to be free from the position any way he can.
• Truer to the Text: Unlike the formless cosmic storm that appeared in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, this version of Galactus is much more comic accurate, being a gigantic humanoid with a towering purple helmet with two curved horns and a big central crown. He's also got his unique personality back instead of being a roaring monster or a mindless force of nature.
• Trapped in Another World: His final fate. The Four (with Shalla-Bal providing the final shove) successfully strand him in deep space, without his spaceship. While this won't kill him, as he doesn't require air, it will keep him from destroying anything else, as he can't exactly devour planets while he's hopelessly floating in the vastness of the cosmos.
• Villain Ball: Galactus is ultimately defeated because he chooses that devouring Earth out of spite is more important to him than transferring his powers to Franklin.
• Was Once a Man: He claims to have been a mortal man before becoming the Devourer of Worlds, a role that he implies was thrust upon him against his will. Which is in line with his comic book counterpart.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: He has lived for billions of years, even predating the very universe he presides in, and finds his long existence to be tormenting due to his endless hunger, not helped by the fact that he used to be a mortal being. Thus he seeks to transfer his curse to Franklin so that he can finally die.
• Worthy Opponent: He's genuinely impressed when the Four nearly succeed in springing their trap, although he sees through it at the last second.
  Galactus: Clever little bugs.
• Would Hurt a Child: He wants to take Franklin (who has great cosmic power) and force his cursed existence on him, transferring his endless hunger to the baby.

Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer

^{Click here to see her pre-transformation}

Portrayed By: Julia Garner

Voiced by: Marion Gress (European French), Romy Bouchard (Canadian French), Reina Ueda (Japanese)

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four First Foes Shalla Bal

The herald of Galactus, Shalla-Bal comes into contact with the Fantastic Four to inform them that their planet is set to be devoured by her master.

• Adaptation Dye-Job: She has black hair in the comics, but is blond in here (before it gets covered in silver).
• Adaptational Badass: Shalla-Bal is not typically one of Galactus's Heralds in the comics, the title of Silver Surfer going to her husband Norrin Radd, whereas here she becomes the Surfer and is imbued with all the same powers. They were both Silver Surfers in the Earth X series, however.
• Adaptational Villainy: Rather than her husband taking up the job for her, Shalla-Bal becomes the Silver Surfer herself, and with it the role of being Galactus' herald and scout. That said, just like Norrin Radd, she isn't actually villainous and eventually decides to act against Galactus to help prevent him from devouring Earth. Ironically, this is also Adaptational Heroism, since this has spared her from her comic self's eventual fate of Jumping Off the Slippery Slope into a Face–Heel Turn.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Shalla-Bal holds the title of Silver Surfer in First Steps, and presents herself as Galactus's herald. In the comics, Shalla-Bal's husband Norrin Radd is the one who becomes the Silver Surfer, so that Shalla-Bal and her home planet could be spared Galactus's hunger.
• Affably Evil: Despite being The Dragon to Galactus, Silver Surfer still tries to comfort the populations of every planet she travels to, and even gives Johnny a blessing from her homeworld when he tries to stop her.
• Alliterative Name: Silver Surfer.
• Ambiguous Situation: While it's shown that she had a child before becoming a Herald of Galactus, it's not known if she's married to Norrin Radd in this universe, given he isn't seen or mentioned during the events of First Steps.
• Anti-Villain: She can hardly be considered any kind of villain — becoming the herald of Galactus was a decision she made purely so her world could be spared from his endless hunger, and she does not enjoy scouting out other planets for him to consume. Naturally, her speech heralding his arrival on Earth comes across less like a malicious attempt at intimidation and more so an earnest warning for humanity to live out their last days in peace. When Johnny reminds her of all the worlds she's helped him destroy, she nearly breaks down in tears, and even pleads for him and the rest of the Four to at least transport themselves somewhere else so they don't have to witness their people die, before ultimately pulling a Heroic Sacrifice in the climax to transport Galactus away from Earth.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: Her silver form appears naked, but it doesn't provide any detailed sexual anatomy. Reed theorizes that she isn't actually naked, but that her silver "skin" is more akin to a tight-fitting metallic polymer. Her transformation scene seems to support this, as the material of the board covers her body from the toes up while dissolving her clothing as it goes.
• Big Damn Heroes: Vanishes from the film at the beginning of the third act, then shows back up at the climax to prevent Galactus from emerging from Reed's trap.
• Brutal Honesty: She's not one to mince words, always speaking straightforwardly without downplaying or belaboring the point. When first heralding Galactus' impending arrival, she bluntly informs the Earth that a) they and their entire world will be devoured and b) there is absolutely nothing they can do to stop this. This isn't an attempt at intimidation, but rather there simply is no gentle way to inform a planet that they have been marked for death, so she opts to "rip off the band-aid" quick and clean before urging them to make the most of what time they have left.
• Chrome Champion: She is covered in highly reflective silver "skin."
• Color Character: The Silver Surfer.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Shalla-Bal is never referred to as "the Silver Surfer." The closest the movie comes is Johnny making the natural comparison between her board and a surfboard.
• Composite Character: She looks like Shalla-Bal and has her name, but her backstory of becoming a herald of Galactus to save her planet from being devoured is actually Norrin Radd’s in the main continuity comics.
• The Dragon: For Galactus, serving as her master's herald and the enforcer of his will. When Galactus decides that he wants Franklin more than he wants to devour Earth, he sends Shalla-Bal to retrieve the yet-unborn infant, and also has her sabotage the Fantastic Four's attempt to move Earth away from the Devourer's path.
• Earthy Barefoot Character: What was shown of her attire and walking barefoot with her daughter at the beach does imply that her people are ones who walked barefoot on nature with no signs of having any shoes.
• Exposed Extraterrestrials: The full shot of her body resembles what can be described as a fully exposed metal statue with the shape of her body and her feet being more detailed than Norrin Radd's surfer form (unlike most Surfers she has visible toes), but does not include the very personal bits.
• Foil: For all of the Fantastic Four:
  • Like Reed, Shalla-Bal was a scientist who sought a way to save her homeworld and her child from Galactus, and was willing to consider terrible sacrifices to see it done. Unlike Reed, who managed to avoid needing to give up his son or anyone else, Shalla-Bal agreed to become Galactus' herald, sacrificing countless other worlds so that her own could survive.
  • Like Sue, Shalla-Bal is a mother who was faced with the possibility of losing her child to Galactus. Both women prove willing to sacrifice themselves to save their children —- Sue chose to sacrifice her own life to stop Galactus, while Shalla-Bal traded her freedom to spare her world.
  • Like Johnny, Shalla-Bal is a powerful flyer who is more intelligent and empathetic than she seems. Like her, he's also willing to become Galactus' herald to save his loved ones (but for him, it's not an option.
  • Like Ben, Shalla-Bal once looked human before being transformed by cosmic power, giving her incredible abilities, but an inhuman appearance. They're also both incredibly skilled at maneuvering through space (Ben behind the controls of a ship, Shalla-Bal on her board).
• Forced into Evil: The only reason she serves as The Dragon to Galactus is because he offered to spare her world— including her child— if she agreed to be his herald.
• Gender Flip: Subverted. Normally, the Surfer is portrayed as the male Norrin Radd, Shalla-Bal's husband, but as this is explicitly a universe alternate to standard comics canon, Shalla ends up being the one who volunteered to become Galactus' herald, and Norrin is never mentioned.
• Given Name Reveal: She's only referred to as "the herald" by the Fantastic Four until Johnny deciphers enough of her native language to discover that her true name is Shalla-Bal. The Surfer is visibly affected to hear her real name for presumably the first time since she left Zenn-La.
• Green-Skinned Space Babe: Well, more like a Metallic-Skinned Space Babe but she is certainly easy on the eyes, especially according to Johnny.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Twice over. The first time was in the past when she became Galactus' herald to save her beloved daughter and the rest of her people. The second time she does it by smashing Galactus back into the teleportation portal, even though it will trap her on the other side with him. Unlike Galactus, however, she can fly through space on her own.
• Human Aliens: As seen in her flashback she just looked just like Julia Garner with a funky alien dress prior to being en-silvered by Galactus.
• Implacable Woman: Nothing the Fantastic Four do to the Silver Surfer does more than slow her down, as her intangibility and incredible durability make any obstacles in her way a virtual non-issue. Flying faster than light proves useless in escaping from her, with the Fantastic Four's FTL-capable ship even being too slow to effectively outrun her. Even being trapped in the event horizon of a black hole only delays Shalla-Bal long enough for the Fantastic Four to escape her pursuit, and only because of the resulting time dilation.
• Intangibility: There's no wall that can stop her, she'll go through any matter that gets in her way. She even tries reaching into Sue's womb to take Franklin.
• Invincible Villain: There is ultimately nothing the Four can do to stop her; even a black hole only slows her down temporarily. Rather, it's an appeal to her emotions that gets through to her, convincing her to stand down and change sides.
• Knight of Cerebus: The opening half hour of the movie is rather lighthearted, then the Silver Surfer shows up and announces that the Earth is to be consumed by Galactus.
• Kubrick Stare: Her stoic, silvery gaze is quite disturbing.
• Lightning Bruiser: She's so fast that not even an FTL spaceship can escape her, and she survives both being tossed in magma and sucked into a black hole. She could easily have overpowered the Fantastic Four were she the primary threat they were facing.
• Logical Weakness: Despite being intangible at will and virtually indestructible, she is still subject to general relativity. Therefore, the Fantastic Four only manage to escape her pursuit by luring her into getting spaghettified by a neutron star, whose Time Dilation delays her for one month outside of it.
• Mama Bear: She became Galactus' herald in exchange for him sparing her planet, which included her young daughter.
• Monochromatic Eyes: Averted. Unlike the comics, she has more human looking eyes.
• Moral Myopia: Subverted; Shalla-Bal made a deal with Galactus to become his herald in order to save her homeworld of Zenn-La, yet calmly leads the Devourer of Worlds to other inhabited planets to satisfy his hunger. However, that she takes the time to offer words of comfort to the people of Earth implies that she doesn't do this lightly, and when Johnny later plays the screams and pleas of Galactus' (and by extension, Shalla-Bal's) past victims, she breaks down and ultimately helps the Fantastic Four defeat her master.
• More Powered Protégé: She seems to be able to fly faster than Galactus' spaceship. If he gave her her powers, could he not give himself this kind of speed?^note The explanation from the comics is, Galactus has to manage his energy expenditure extremely carefully, because him starving to death would completely throw off the cosmic balance. Having said that, the Power Cosmic is so potent that gifting his Heralds a tiny portion of his full power is enough to make them some of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel universe. It's a lot easier to move something the size of a person than the size of a building.
• Mouth of Sauron: She comes to every world that's been marked for death in the name of Galactus and announces his coming and the doom that comes with it.
• Ms. Fanservice: According to the Fantastic Four, she is a very "sexy alien woman" and a "literally naked woman from space." This impression isn't far off, as she appears to wear nothing except for a thin (but indestructible) covering made of the metallic polymer provided by Galactus, giving her the appearance of a nude figure with Barbie Doll Anatomy.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When Johnny plays the pleading of Galactus' past victims, Shalla-Bal is overwhelmed by guilt and anguish, quickly screaming and flying away in shame. Her remorse over the billions of lives she helped sacrifice to save her own world eventually brings her back to Earth in the nick of time to save Earth and Franklin from Galactus.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: Her intangibility combined with her extreme durability means that there is virtually nothing capable of harming her, certainly beyond anything the Fantastic Four are capable of bringing to bear in First Steps. She simply phases through obstacles, and what few tricks catch her off guard can only briefly knock her off course or stagger her without doing actual harm. Even being spaghettified by a black hole^note Reed actually calls it a neutron star, but it looks like a black hole and Johnny also compares it to one anyway. seems to hurt, but fails to cause lasting damage.
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: While she may herald the end of worlds in Galactus' name, she doesn't do so because of power or malice, but because in doing so she protects her home and her people. In her own way, she always show sympathy for the people she announces are to be destroyed, urging them to not mourn but to celebrate and cherish the time they have before their destruction.
  Johnny: The words you said to me earlier. What do they mean?
  Shalla-Bal: (sincerely) It's a blessing. It means "Die with yours."
• Not So Stoic: Despite her frosty demeanor towards Johnny, Shalla-Bal is visibly affected when the former reveals that he's learned some of her language (which she hadn't heard in who knows how long). And when Johnny replays the screams of Galactus's victims from the many planets the World-Eater has devoured, Shalla-Bal ends up screaming and crying in agony.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Shalla-Bal takes no pleasure in serving as Galactus' herald. She privately expresses reluctance to steal the newborn Franklin, and is horrified when Johnny forces her to hear the cries of the many worlds she's helped her master consume.
• Shipless Faster-Than-Light Travel: She can travel between worlds using only her board, and pursues the Fantastic Four into a wormhole when they flee Galactus. Even being trapped in the gravitational pull of a black hole fails to delay her for long.
• Summon to Hand: If she's separated from her board, she can simply will it back to her.
• Super-Speed: Is able to move at faster-than-light speeds. In the blink of an eye she is able to cross the entire span of Earth to destroy the worldwide Bridge network. Before this, she easily keeps pace with the Excelsior attached to their FTL craft, and eventually overtakes it, breaching the cabin and nearly taking Franklin out of Sue’s womb.
• Super-Strength: Easily overpowers Reed, Johnny, and Ben. All by simply propelling her body or her board into them.
• Super-Toughness: She is seemingly completely impervious to physical harm. While she is knocked off course/off her board a handful of times, she recovers almost instantaneously with not a scratch on her.
• Truer to the Text: Although Shalla-Bal isn't the Herald of Galactus in the comics, her powers as the Silver Surfer are a lot more accurate to the source material than how they were depicted with Norrin Radd in Rise of the Silver Surfer, in that they are contained within her and her board is just a means of transportation, rather than the board being an Achilles' Heel that renders the Surfer weakened when deprived of it.
• Uncertain Doom: She was last seen falling into the portal with Galactus. Whether she survived or not has yet to be confirmed.
• Villainous BSoD: Suffers one when Johnny plays to her recordings of the cries of Galactus' past victims.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Unlike the previous foes whom the Fantastic Four had faced up until the movie, Shalla-Bal is the first who surpasses all of their powers combined and can shrug off anything they hit her with, forcing them to either Run or Die. Not helping is that they first fight Shalla-Bal while Sue is in labor and the Four are out of their homefield.
• Willfully Weak: As unstoppable as she obviously is when pursuing the Fantastic Four, it's shown that she could easily display far greater, and more lethal, power if she was willing to. When she decimates the teleporter network on Earth she travels at incredible speed while casually releasing repeated energy bursts that obliterate everything around her. If she had brought that power to bear against the Four or their shuttle then there'd be nothing they could do to stop her. The reason for her holding back, besides her own moral compunction, is that Galactus needs Franklin unharmed.

Harvey Elder/The Mole Man

Portrayed By: Paul Walter Hauser

Voiced by: Jérôme Wiggins (European French), Olivier Visentin (Canadian French)

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (film)

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (comic book)

The ruler of the underground kingdom of Subterranea and the first enemy the Fantastic Four faced.

• Abled in the Adaptation: In the comics, the Mole Man is extremely nearsighted due to vision damage he suffered from looking at Subterranea crystals, and his eyes are extremely sensitive to bright light, requiring him to wear special glasses. In the prequel comic to the film, it is shown that the Mole Man can see perfectly with his eyes, even when he removes his glasses, though he does ask HERBIE to turn down the lights as he is accustomed to the darkness underground.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: In the original comics, the Mole Man is generally a short, older man with a large nose. But in the prequel comic and film, he has a normal-sized nose and is younger than his original counterpart.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: He was a reclusive scientist seeking revenge on those who mocked his Hollow Earth theories. To do so, he created an army of monsters from the realm he called Subterranea. These included both Kaiju and a race of humanoid moles that Dr. Harvey Elder called the Moloids. Here, however, Elder is a radically different leader. In fact, he is confirmed as a union organizer turned politician. Although he still rules over giant monsters and Moloids, his followers are mostly ordinary humans.
• Adaptational Heroism: In the comics, the Mole Man was a bitter scientist who created an army of monsters so that he could wage war with the surface world to get petty revenge on those who mocked his theories and appearance. Here, he's the officially appointed ruler of a subterranean kingdom trying to get it recognized as an official sovereign nation so that his people will be accepted by the surface world. Once Subterranea is promised recognition by the Fantastic Four in exchange for his help, he becomes their ally.
• Age Lift: In the comics, Harvey Elder is portrayed as an older man (born circa 1904). But in the film, he is younger at 39, played by Hauser.
• Anti-Villain: Ultimately, as Sue finds out, all Harvey wants is for the people of Subterranea to be recognized by the humans of the surface. With help from the Fantastic Four, he gets exactly that and does a Heel–Face Turn as a result.
• Chekhov's Gunman: He's shown as one of the Fantastic Four's iconic rogues that they fought during their first four years, which culminated in him making peace with the surface-dwellers thanks to Sue's diplomatic skills. The Four later turn to his help to keep the citizens of New York safe from Galactus in the climax.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Played with. While the media and Reed himself refer to him as the Mole Man, Harvey himself despises being called this, to the point of blowing up at Reed when he calls him that to his face midway through the film.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Going by how he reacts when Reed calls him Mole Man, Harvey doesn't seem to much care for that name.
• Heel–Face Turn: Due to the Fantastic Four helping his nation being recognized, as well as the impending threat of Galactus, the Mole Man helps the Fantastic Four by protecting civilians in his underground land.
• Jerkass to One: Inverted. He mostly treats the Four with disdain and arrogance, insulting Johnny's manner of clothing and calling out Reed's scientific prowess midway through the film. However, even in the most dire of circumstances, he absolutely trusts and is infallibly polite with Sue, which helps with convincing him to take the people of New York into Subterranea.
• Mole Men: Outside of his moniker, he prefers dim light (being used to living underground and all).
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: Even though he's a reformed villain who agrees to help evacuate New York, he still pettily delights in knowing the Four need his help and milks every second of flattery from them he can get.
• Sad Clown: Trades a few barbs with the Fantastic Four when they ask him to shelter the citizens of New York while they face Galactus, but once one-on-one with Sue, Mole Man confesses he was just using humour to cope with the literally world-shattering situation they're all in.

Giganto

Species: Deviant

Citizenship: Subterranean

Affiliation(s): Mole Man

Live-Action Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Appearances in Other Media: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (comic book)

A monster from Subterranea who is controlled by the Mole Man.

• Green and Mean: He's a giant monster whose entire body is green.
• Rent-a-Zilla: He's a giant green monster from Subterranea.
• Secondary-Color Nemesis: He's a big green monster who terrorizes the city on behalf of Mole Man.
• Starter Villain: He's the first antagonist we see the Fantastic Four fight.
• Supernatural Suffocation: How the Fantastic Four defeats him, courtesy of Sue placing a forcefield around his head while the others hold him down.

Red Ghost

Species: Human

Portrayed by: John Malkovich

Appearance: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (deleted scenes)

A supervillain who commands a group of superpowered apes that the Fantastic Four battle.

• Beard of Evil: According to the Show Within a Show, and seen in one of the early trailers for the film, the sinister Red Ghost has a big, white beard.
• The Ghost: Ironic, given his name. While one of his apes is seen being defeated by Mr. Fantastic during the opening montage, Red Ghost himself does not appear in the film^note  He was planned to appear, played by John Malkovich, however his scene was cut from the final film. The most we see is an animated version of him seen in the Show Within a Show in the post-credit scene, and a brief shot of him in one of the trailers as seen above.
• Killer Gorilla: Or rather, killer orangutan, who is seen fighting Reed Richards atop a pylon before being sent flying into the Hudson River thanks to a stretch-assisted kick.

The Mad Thinker, the Puppet Master, the Wizard, and Diablo

Species: Human

Mentioned in: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Various supervillains that the Fantastic Four have battled during their superhero careers.

• Alternate Self: The Wizard has a Variant residing in Earth-86445 who isn't a supervillain, but is still a Jerkass.
• The Ghost: They're only mentioned in the film, with the destruction caused by the Mad Thinker's scheme getting fixed by the Four in the opening montage and the latter three being arrested by New York's police as part of Reed's "baby-proofing" of the city.
  • Averted with the Mad Thinker as he's later seen in the First Foes tie-in comic, detailing his scheme to sabotage New York.
• It's All About Me: The Thinker is attacking because he feels that Reed has ignored his own contributions to the team's history just to make himself look good.
• Monumental Damage: Part of the Mad Thinker's scheme to sabotage New York involved blowing up the top few levels of One Times Square, the wreckage of which would have flattened civilians below if not for Sue's forcefields.
• Self-Serving Memory: The Mad Thinker has convinced himself that he not only taught Reed everything he knows but that the Thinker alone was responsible for helping the team's original ship land safely. Reed observes that actually the Thinker was just part of a wider team and didn't make that significant a contribution on his own, but he initially let his old teacher think that to make him feel good about himself and never expected things would go this far.

Rachel Rozman

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Portrayed by: Natasha Lyonne

Voiced by: Sandra Valentin (European French), Manon Arsenault (Canadian French)

Appearance: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

A school teacher who works in Ben Grimm/The Thing's old neighborhood. Ben has a crush on her.

• '60s Hair: She has a typical 60s flip hairdo.
• Alliterative Name: Rachel Rozman.
• And Starring: Natasha Lyonne gets a "with" credit at the end of First Steps, despite the character's extremely limited screentime in the film. She's even credited ahead of Ralph Ineson (Galactus, the film's Big Bad).
• Canon Foreigner: She isn't based on any previously existing character, though she's presumably meant to fill the role of Alicia Masters, who in the comics was Ben's girlfriend and eventual wife. The '60s Hair of both characters (in the Jack Kirby era comics for Alicia) certainly match. She might also be loosely inspired by Debbie Green, a teacher at Ben's old grade school who he was involved with in the Mark Millar run.
• Girl Next Door: She's approachable, even if Ben's appearance-induced insecurities hamper him in his attempts at getting close to her.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: By the time of Galactus' arrival, she's dyed her hair blond, she heartily welcomes Ben at the synagogue and she takes a bunch of children with her to safety in Subterranea.
• Hot Teacher: Not in a "fanservice" way but she's a beautiful and kind teacher.
• Informed Judaism: Ashkenazi names aside, the viewer knows for certain that she's Jewish when she comes out of the neighborhood's synagogue, and then when Ben comes to visit her inside of it before the arrival of Galactus.
• Nice Girl: She appears to be a very kind person. She's friendly to Ben, liked by her students, and appears to be very devoted to her religious community and respected/well liked in it judging by how people in it gather around her to talk to her and how she offers spiritual guidance to Ben the second he steps in the synagogue (and compliments him on how distinguished he looks). She's also seen protectively holding a few children she accompanied in Subterranea while Galactus plows through New York above them.
• Redhead in Green: She's a redhead before dyeing her hair blond, and she wears a green coat in her first scene with Ben.
• Redheads Are Ravishing: She's an attractive redhead when she's first seen, and Ben has a big crush on her.
• Satellite Character: To Ben. She really only exists in the film to show this version of Ben making human connections outside of Reed, Sue and Johnny, and emphasize his Lighter and Softer portrayal and storyline.
• Ship Tease: She and Ben take an immediate shine to one another, and the night before the climactic showdown with Galactus, Ben goes to Rachel's synagogue specifically to see her, though whether they start a relationship remains unconfirmed by the film's end.
• When She Smiles: She's not unhappy or unexpressive per se, but her big smile when Ben says he came at the synagogue specifically for her is very telling.

Ted Gilbert

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Portrayed By: Mark Gatiss

Voiced by: Xavier Béja (European French), François-Simon Poirier (Canadian French)

Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The eponymous host of The Ted Gilbert Show in which the Fantastic Four are often invited.

• Innocently Insensitive: After Galactus is warded off, Ted orders a baby onesie for Franklin with the number 5 on it, so that he can introduce him alongside the rest of the Four and rechristen the group as the "Fantastic Five" for television audiences. Given how young Franklin is and everything he and his family have just gone through though, Sue is understandably not impressed.
• Mr. Exposition: He basically serves as this, recapping the origins of the Fantastic Four and their adventures for the benefit of both the in-universe audience of his show and the Real Life viewers.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: He's a fictional stand-in for Ed Sullivan, being the host of a very popular talk show which has his name in the title in The '60s. The set design for the stage the Fantastic Four are introduced on even takes inspiration from the stage The Beatles performed on during their landmark appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
• Shout-Out Theme Naming: As mentioned above, he is intentionally evocative of Ed Sullivan, and his last name happens to be Gilbert, which he shares with the creative partner of a certain other Sullivan.
• Talk Show: He hosts one of these, The Ted Gilbert Show, which the Fantastic Four are frequently interviewed on.

Victor Werner von Doom/Doctor Doom

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Robert Downey Jr.

Appearances: The Fantastic Four: First Steps^note In The Stinger, face unseen | Avengers: Doomsday | Avengers Secret Wars

A cloaked man who appears in the Four's home interacting with young Franklin.

• Adaptational Late Appearance: Due to the rights issues between Disney/Marvel and 20th Century Fox that likewise held back the Fantastic Four's introduction, Doctor Doom (arguably the main villain of Marvel Comics) ends up making his grand appearance into the MCU many years after its conception.
• Ambiguous Situation:
  • While Latveria is confirmed to exist (and, in true Doom fashion, refused to take part in a UN summit regarding the Future Foundation), Doom himself is never mentioned in First Steps, and his cameo in the film's mid-credits scene doesn't make it clear if he's a known figure to the Fantastic Four; Sue naturally readies for a fight when she notices Doom's presence, but it isn't explicit if that's because she knows Doom, or if she's just reacting to an unfamiliar intruder.
  • Has he been visiting Franklin in secret or is this his first time? Notably, the only thing Doom does is remove his mask and freely allow Franklin to touch his face, implying a familiarity with one another.
  • It's currently unknown if he's from Earth-828, or if he's a Doctor Doom from another universe.
• Big Bad: He is set to serve as the main antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, and the overall Final Boss of the Multiverse Saga.
• Evil Is Petty: The movie makes sure to briefly highlight that he refused to attend the UN meeting as a representative of Latveria (or even send anyone else in his place) where Reed and Sue announced the formation of the Future Foundation. Given Doom’s legendary hubris, his refusal to acknowledge his arch-nemesis’s global initiative is entirely in character.
• Green and Mean: His cloak is a vibrant green and he's set to be the Big Bad of the Multiverse Saga.
• In the Hood: He's introduced to the audience wearing a dark green hood with his back to the camera, preventing us from seeing any of his features.
• Nothing Is Scarier: He appears without warning in the time it takes Sue to get a glass of water. Moreover, his face is never seen (except by Franklin).
• Pet the Dog: While his presence understandably puts Sue on her guard, Doom isn't shown threatening or even frightening Franklin, only removing his mask and allowing the child to touch his face.
• Significant Double Casting: Doom, the Big Bad of the Multiverse Saga, is played by Robert Downey Jr. who, of course, also played Tony Stark/Iron Man, the Big Good of the Infinity Saga.
• The Unseen: While his cloak and mask are shown, we (unlike Franklin) don't get a look at his face in the post-credits scene.