Fantastic Four

On October 22, 2005, a sequel was announced, tentatively directed by Tim Story and written by Mark Frost. Bush nominated Samuel Alito for the seat on October 31, 2005 and he was confirmed on January 31, 2006. It stars Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom, with Stan Lee making a cameo appearance as Willie Lumpkin, the mailman. Some commentators suggested the White House's staunch refusal to release documents relating to Miers' White House service provided a pretext for withdrawal. Fantastic Four opened in approximately 3600 Theaters and despite predominantly poor reviews grossed US$156M in North America and a total of $329M worldwide, weighed against a production budget of $100M and an officially undisclosed marketing budget. Although many in Washington and in the media expressed surprise at Miers' decision to withdraw, the move was widely anticipated. Another feature film adaptation of The Fantastic Four was released July 8, 2005 by Sony, and directed by Tim Story. history.

It was only made because the studio who owned the movie rights to the Fantastic Four would have lost them if it had not begun production by a certain deadline date (a tactic known as creating an ashcan copy). Ginsburg in 1987, and the seventh to do so in U.S. It was ultimately revealed by Stan Lee that unbeknownst to the cast and crew, this movie was never intended to be released in the first place. Miers was the first Supreme Court nominee to withdraw since Douglas H. The film was made on a shoestring budget and is largely mocked by fans of the comic book foursome for what they see as poor acting and disappointing special effects (at one point, The Human Torch — played by a human actor — turns into an obvious cartoon upon "flaming-on"). On October 27, 2005, the White House announced that Harriet Miers had asked President Bush to withdraw her nomination, citing fears that the nomination would create a "burden for the White House and its staff and it is not in the best interest of the country." President Bush stated that the Senate's interest in internal White House documents "would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," and he had "reluctantly accepted" her request. While this movie was never released to theaters or video, it has been made available from various bootleg video distributors. On October 19, 2005, Specter and Leahy announced their intent to begin confirmation hearings for Miers on November 7, 2005.

A movie adaptation of The Fantastic Four was completed in 1994 by famed b-movie director/producer Roger Corman. "There are no votes one way or another", he said on CBS' Face the Nation. The Fantastic Four also appeared in the Super NES and Sega Genesis video games based on the 1990's Spider-Man animated series, and inevitably, they starred in their own multi-platform games based on the 2005 movie. He said that most senators were waiting for the hearings before making up their mind. The game was widely panned by critics for having weak storyline and handling of the characters' powers. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) stated shortly afterwards that "I think, if you were to hold the vote today, she would not get a majority, either in the Judiciary Committee or on the floor." However, Specter, the committee chairman rejected the notion that Miers' nomination was shaky. In the game you and a friend could pick among the Fantastic Four characters (along with the She-Hulk), and battle your way through various levels until you faced Doctor Doom. In addition, the Committee repeated its request to review internal White House documents that would illustrate her experience as White House Counsel and the constitutional issues she worked on.

In 1998 a side-scrolling video game was released for the Sony PlayStation home video game system / platform, based on the Fantastic Four characters. Her answers also included an error on constitutional law where she mentioned a constitutional right for proportional representation which the Supreme Court previously ruled that did not exist. The Fantastic Four also guest-starred in the "Secret Wars" story arc of the 1990s Spider-Man animated series. In an unprecedented move, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter and ranking Senator Patrick Leahy also requested that Miers re-do some of her answers to the questionnaire submitted to her by the Committee, noting that her responses were "inadequate", "insufficient", and "insulting" because she failed or refused to adequately answer various questions with acceptable accuracy or with sufficient detail. There have been three Fantastic Four animated TV series and two feature films (though one of the movies went unreleased, and is only available in a widely circulated bootleg). Early one-on-one meetings between Miers and the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were said to have gone poorly, and the White House considered suspending them to focus on preparation for the confirmation hearings. Marvels Comics: Fantastic Four (2000) was a mock-up of what the comic book published in the Marvel Universe might have looked like, and was (within the fictional context of the story) produced with the official approval of "Fantastic Four, Inc.".
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Byrne made use of this comic-within-the-comic notion in his 1990s Senasational She-Hulk run. Many notable conservatives vigorously criticized her nomination, and numerous conservative groups normally considered part of Bush's political base planned to mount an organized opposition campaign. At the end of the issue, Byrne submitted his story. Miers' nomination was criticized from people all over the political spectrum, based on her lack of judicial experience, her close personal ties to Bush, and her lack of a clear record on issues likely to be encountered as a Supreme Court Justice. He was about to make up a story when the Watcher whisked him away to take part in the FF's latest adventure. On October 3, 2005, Bush nominated Miers to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Byrne explained he had been unable to contact the Fantastic Four for the latest story, since they were away. This caused several commentators to draw parallels with the 2000 election, when Dick Cheney, the head of Bush's vice-presidential search committee, was ultimately selected as the running mate (see [[21]]).

1984), which depicted writer-artist John Byrne being asked by editor Michael Higgins for the latest issue, since it was almost late. Bush took the recommendation seriously, factoring into account suggestions by several senators that the nominee should come from outside the appellate court system (see [[20]]). This conceit was again used in #262 (Jan. Meanwhile, Senate minority leader Harry Reid (Democrat - Nevada), recommended Miers as O'Connor's successor (see [[18]],[[19]]). Lee, Kirby, writer Thomas, issue artists George Perez and Joe Sinnott, and Marvel staffers Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Marie Severin, Marv Wolfman, and John Verpoorten all made cameo appearances. The Senate confirmed the nomination on September 29. 1976), "Improbable As It May Seem — The Impossible Man Is Back In Town!" Here he invaded the Marvel offices demanding to have his own comic. Rehnquist died of thyroid cancer on September 3, Bush withdrew this nomination and renominated Roberts for Chief Justice of the United States.

The second story marked the introduction of the impish Impossible Man, who starred in writer Roy Thomas' self-referential update in Fantastic Four #176 (Nov. After William H. 1963). as O'Connor's replacement. This was in "A Visit with the Fantastic Four", the first of two stories in issue #11 (Feb. Roberts, Jr. The following issue reinforced this notion of "real-world superheroes" by having the Fantastic Four, in civilian clothes, stroll to a newstand hopeing to pick up the latest comic book. On July 19, 2005, Bush announced John G.

Sharp-eyed fans would later note that this "real-world" Marvel was even more fictional than it seemed: Not only was penciler Jack Kirby working at a drawing table there, rather than at home per his wont, but the office door was labeled "Lee and Kirby" — suggesting the kind of comradely partnership fans wanted and expected. Bush appointed Miers as head of the search committee for candidates to replace O'Connor. In this issue, Doctor Doom himself came to Marvel's Madison Avenue offices. On July 1, 2005, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her intention to retire upon the confirmation of a successor. 1963) established the conceit that the Fantastic Four (and by extenstion the rest of the Marvel universe) existed in the same world as Marvel Comics; the team-members, it was explained, had licensed their names and likenesses to the company, and the rights to adapt their "real-life" adventures. Miers' last public speech was given to the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce on June 2, 2005. Issue #10 (Jan. Bush is an impossible-to-describe privilege" and noted that Bush's personal qualities "make a brighter future for our nation and people all around the world possible." (see [[17]]).

Franklin Richards(son) Valeria Richards (daughter). She also stated that "serving President Bush and Mrs. For a list including one-shots, miniseries, graphic novels, and trade paperback collections, see Thing Bibliography. According to former Bush speechwriter David Frum, Miers has called Bush the most brilliant man she had ever met (see [[15]]) and says he was the "best Governor ever" (see[[16]]). Another ongoing solo series, also titled The Thing, debuted with a premiere issue cover-dated January 2006. Miers is said to be one of Bush's closest personal friends, and appears given to effusive praise for the President. 1974 - June 1983), with seven summer annuals (1976–1982), and was immediately followed by the solo title The Thing #1-36 (July 1983 – June 1986). In November 2004, Bush named her to succeed Alberto Gonzales, his nominee for Attorney General, to the post of White House Counsel, the chief legal adviser for the Office of the President.

The series ran 100 issues (Jan. In 2003, she was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. The "ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing", as Ben Grimm sometimes refers to himself, appeared in the team-up title Marvel Two-in-One, co-starring with Marvel heroes not only in the present day but occassionally in other time periods (fighting alongside the Liberty Legion in #20 and Doc Savage in #21, for example) and in alternate realities. In that role, she opposed the administration's 2001 decision to stop cooperating with the ABA rating of judicial nominees. "The Human Torch" shared the "split book" Strange Tales with fellow feature "Doctor Strange" for the majority of its run, before finally flaming off with issue #134 (July 1965), replaced the following month by "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.". In January 2001, Miers followed Bush to Washington, D.C., serving as Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary during the first two years of his presidency. 1964). She said her resignation had nothing to do with lagging sales in the system's biggest game, Lotto Texas, but rather that she wanted to allow her successor time to prepare for rebidding the lottery's primary operator contract.

The FF made occasional cameo appearances, and the Thing became a co-star with #123 (Aug. Miers resigned from the lottery commission in early 2000, a year before her term ended. (She was seen again in a 1970s issue of Fantastic Four, having become a heavyset but cheerful wife and mother.) Ayers took over the penciling after 10 issues, later followed by original Golden Age Human Torch creator Carl Burgos and others. According to Texans for Public Justice, GTech paid Littwin $300,000 to settle the suit (see [[14]]). Supporting characters included Johnny's girlfriend, Doris Evans, usually seen only in consternation as Johnny cheerfully flew off to battle bad guys. He brought a lawsuit alleging that he was fired in retaliation for the investigation and to ensure that GTech would keep its contract (see [[13]]). (Decades later, a retcon revealed that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity all along, from Fantastic Four news reports, but had humored him). He stated that Miers ordered him to stop the investigation.

Here Johnny was seen living with his elder sister, Susan, in fictional Glenview, Long Island, New York, where he continued to attend high school and, with youthful naivete, attempted to maintain his "secret identity". Littwin, as director, began an investigation into whether GTech had made illegal campaign contributions and whether GTech owed the commission millions of dollars for breaches of its contract. 1962), in 12- to 14-page stories plotted by Lee and initially scripted by his brother, Larry Lieber, and drawn by penciler Kirby and inker Dick Ayers. At the time, the contract to operate the lottery was held by the politically connected GTech Corporation (see [[11]]), which had obtained the contract with the help of a former Lieutenant Governor of Texas (Democrat Ben Barnes) (see [[12]]). Johnny Storm starred in a early Silver Age solo series beginning in Strange Tales #101 (Oct. In 1997, the commission under Miers hired Lawrence Littwin as executive director, but then fired him five months later. Recent issues have revealed that this is a deliberate move by Reed Richards, who works to keep the team highly visible and well-regarded out of guilt for causing their mutations. Her tenure has also been criticized, however.

Unlike most superheroes, the Fantastic Four's identities are not secret and they maintain a high public profile, enjoying celebrity status for their scientific and heroic contributions to society. Some have credited Miers with reforming the commission after a previous corruption scandal (see [[10]]). The children of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards, are also regulars in the series. Bush, then Texas governor, appointed Miers to chair the Texas Lottery Commission. Although not strictly related, The Thing's role is that of the beloved Dutch uncle, and his relationship with Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch is nonetheless quite sibling-like. In 1995, George W. Three of the four members are directly related, with The Thing being the exception. She served as the first female president of both the Dallas Bar Association and later the State Bar of Texas, and also served one term on the Dallas City Council.

The comic has typically emphasized that the Fantastic Four, unlike most superhero teams, are truly a family. Before joining the Bush administration, Miers was a lawyer in private practice for 27 years, handling business cases, and acting as then-Governor Bush's personal lawyer. In the mid-2000s, an orbiting satellite version of the Baxter Building has been used. Prior to assuming the position of White House Counsel, Miers had served as White House staff secretary, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Pier 4, a warehouse on the New York waterfront, served as a temporary headquarters for the group after Four Freedoms Plaza was condemned, due to the actions of another superhero team, the Thunderbolts. She is a close friend of Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and former Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman. Fantastic) Doctor Doom. After her nomination to the Supreme Court, Hecht was cited as an unofficial spokesperson representing her views.

The Baxter Building was replaced by Four Freedoms Plaza, built at the same location, after the Baxter Building's destruction at the hands of Kristoff Vernard, adopted son of the Fantastic Four's seminal villain (and rumored half-brother of Mr. Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht has been described as Miers's "companion" and "on-again, off-again boyfriend"; he has known her for over 25 years. They have had a number of headquarters, most notably the Baxter Building in New York City. Miers never married and has no children. Propelled mainly by Richards' innate scientific curiosity, the team have explored space, the Negative Zone, the Microverse, other dimensions and nearly every hidden valley, nation and lost civilization on the planet. She also had a sister, Kitty, who is deceased. The team of adventurers have used their fantastic abilities to protect humanity, the Earth and the universe from a number of threats. Miers's mother and two of her brothers still live in Dallas; a third brother lives in Houston, Texas.

They also appear to be inspired by co-creator Kirby's similarly unmasked though non-superpowered DC Comics quartet the Challengers of the Unknown. Ed Gillespie said that she was a "conservative Democrat" at the time. Fantastic). Her last recorded contribution to a Democratic cause or campaign was in 1988. The four characters were modeled after the four classical Greek elements: earth (The Thing), fire (The Human Torch), wind (The Invisible Girl) and water (the pliable and ductile Mr. Her earlier political history shows support for the Democrats during the 1980s, with recorded contributions to Democratic candidates and causes, including the Democratic National Committee, the Senate campaign of Lloyd Bentsen and the 1988 presidential campaign of Al Gore, totaling $3,000. Filled with anger, self-loathing and self-pity over his new existance, he dubbed himself the Thing, the term Susan used in her initial, startled reaction to his transformation. Bush), including Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Phil Gramm, and Pete Sessions, with recorded contributions to Republican candidates and causes totaling nearly $12,000.

and a nearly invulnerable hide. Since September 1994, Miers has contributed to the campaigns of various Republicans (at about the same time she began to work for George W. Finally, pilot Ben Grimm was transformed into a monstrous, craggy, humanoid with orange, rock-like skin, incredible strength. She subsequently became Bush's personal lawyer, and worked as a lawyer in his 2000 presidential campaign. Her younger brother, Johnny Storm, possessed the incendiary powers of the Human Torch, enabling him to control fire, project burning bolts of flame from his body, and fly. Miers subsequently worked as general counsel for Bush's transition team in 1994, when he was first elected Governor of Texas. She later developed the ability to project force fields, create invisible objects, and turn other objects visible or invisible. Nathan Hecht, her escort close friend, made the introduction.

His fiancée, Susan Storm, gained the ability to become invisible at will and named herself the Invisible Girl (later the Invisible Woman). Bush in January 1989 at an Austin dinner, an annual affair held for legislators and other important people. Richards, who took the name Mister Fantastic, was now able to stretch his body into nearly any shape he could imagine (similar to Timely Comics' Thin Man and Quality Comics' celebrated Plastic Man). Miers met George W. Upon crash landing back on Earth, the four impromptu astronauts found themselves transformed and possessed of bizarre new abilities. She did not run for reelection in 1991 after a restructure of the city council converted Miers's at-large seat, elected by voters citywide, into a single-district seat. The Fantastic Four acquired superhuman abilities after an experimental rocket ship designed by scientist Reed Richards passed through a storm of cosmic rays on its test flight to outer space. In 1989, Miers was elected to a two-year term as an at-large member of the Dallas City Council.

Other ongoing-title spinoffs have included the 1970s quarterly title Giant-Size Fantastic Four and the 1990s Fantastic Four Unlimited, and there have been numerous miniseries. Thus, all Texas lawyers who oppose abortion would have been forced, despite those beliefs, to financially support ABA's pro-choice position. Additionally, Marvel launched Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff Fantastic Four series, in April 2004. Second, as a unitary bar state, Texas makes bar membership a licensure requirement. In February 2004, Marvel launched the series Ultimate Fantastic Four, a version of the group in the "Ultimate" alternate universe. First, the State Bar of Texas is statutorily prohibited from taking positions on political issues. Byrne also staked bold directions in the characters' personal lives, having the married Sue and Reed Richards suffer a miscarriage — as well as a separation that seemed headed for divorce. Meirs, who had not been involved in Chicago, supported ABA abortion neutrality in San Francisco on two grounds.

His key contribution was the modernization of the Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman — a self-confident and dynamic character whose newfound control of her abilities made her the most powerful member of the team. By the summer of 1992, at its annual meeting in San Francisco, the issue was again pending before the ABA assembly. Then, with issue #232 (July 1981), the aptly titled "Back to the Basics", Byrne began his triple-threat run as writer, penciller, and (initially under the pseudonym Bjorn Heyn) inker on the celebrated title. The ABA adopted neutrality on abortion in 1990 in Chicago at its annual meeting. 1980) before writer Doug Moench and penciler Bill Sienkiewicz took over for 10 issues. While head of the State Bar of Texas, Miers joined an unsuccessful effort to have the American Bar Association maintain its then-official position of neutrality on abortion. Byrne then scripted two tales as well (#220-221, July-Aug. She has also served as chair of the Board of Editors for the American Bar Association Journal and as the chair of the ABA's Commission on Multi-Jurisdictional Practice.

1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish. In 1992, Miers became the first woman to head the State Bar of Texas. He started on the title with issue #209 (Aug. In 1986, Miers became the first female president of the Dallas Bar Association. In the 1980s, John Byrne created what many critics call the series' best run since Lee & Kirby's. As a commercial litigator, she represented clients including Microsoft and the Walt Disney Company. Jim Steranko contributed a handful of covers. In 2000 the firm settled a lawsuit asserting that "it aided a client in defrauding investors" for $22 million (see [[9]]).

After Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, Fantastic Four continued with Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, and Marv Wolfman as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists including John Romita, Sr., John Buscema, Rich Buckler, and George Perez, with longtime inker Joe Sinnott helping to provide some visual continuity. When the merger that created Locke, Liddell & Sapp took place in 1999, she became the co-managing partner of a legal business with more than 400 lawyers. In the book's most groundbreaking yet utterly natural development, Fantastic Four presented superhero comics' first pregnancy, culminating with the birth of a superhero family's first child, Franklin Benjamin Richards, in Fantastic Four Annual #5 (1968). She was the first female lawyer hired by the firm, and later became its president. As well, the daring duo of Lee & Kirby, who eventually shared credited as co-plotting collaborators, introduced such concepts as the Negative Zone and unstable molecules, two core elements of the Marvel mythos. From 1972 until 2001, Miers worked for the Dallas law firm of Locke, Liddell & Sapp (and predecessor firms prior to mergers). Through its creators' lengthy run, the series produced many acclaimed stories and characters that have become central to Marvel, including Doctor Doom; the Silver Surfer; Galactus; the Watcher; the The Inhumans; the Black Panther; the rival alien Kree and Skrull races; and Him, who would become Adam Warlock. Estes.

Lee's intended swan song became unexpectedly and phenomenally successful; Lee and Kirby stayed together on the book and began launching other titles from which the vaunted "Marvel Universe" of additional interrelated titles and characters grew. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Joe E. To forestall possibly upsetting DC^{[citation needed]} (which, in addition to being a competing publisher, was also the distributor of Marvel's limited line of comics), Lee and Kirby deliberately avoided making the new book look like a competing superhero comic; the new characters appeared on the cover without costumes and had no secret identities. After graduating from law school, from 1970 to 1972, Miers was a law clerk for the Chief Judge of the U.S. And the characters would be the kind of characters i could personally relate to: they'd be flesh and flood, they'd have their faults and foibles, they'd be fallible and feisty, and — most important of all — inside their colorful, costumed booties they'd still have feet of clay".³. In the summer of 1969, between her second and third years of law school, Miers worked as a clerk for Belli, Ashe, Ellison, Choulos & Lieff, the San Francisco law firm founded by "King of Torts", the late eccentric attorney, Melvin Belli (see[[8]]). "For just this once", Lee wrote, "I would do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading... Raggio, who was a mentor to Miers (see [[7]]).

Lee teamed with artist Jack Kirby to produce a groundbreaking series featuring a family of superheroes who were fallible and more naturalistically human than virtually anything seen in superhero comics to that time. In the late 1990s, while Miers was on the advisory board for Southern Methodist University's law school, she helped create and fund a Women's Studies lecture series named after pioneering Texas lawyer, Louise B. ...[H]er little dissertation made me suddenly realize that it was time to start concentrating on what I was doing — to carve a real career for myself in the nowhere world of comic books".². Miers also recently received an honorary degree from Pepperdine University (see[[6]]). She wondered why I didn't put as much effort and creativity into the comics as I seemed to be putting into my other freelance endeavors. Miers graduated from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics (1967) and from its law school with a Juris Doctor degree (1970). "[My wife] Joan was commenting about the fact that after 20 years of producing comics I was still writing television material, advertising copy and newspaper features in my spare time. When a lawyer was able to organize her family's financial situation, Miers was inspired to enter law school (see [[5]]).

Lee, who'd served as editor-in-chief and art director of Marvel and its predecessor companies, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics, for two decades, had by now found the medium restrictive. Then her father had a debilitating stroke. ' If the Justice League is selling ', spake he, ' why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?' "¹. The economic plight of her family was so dire that she almost dropped out in her freshman year, but she was able to find part-time work that put her through college. .. Miers entered Southern Methodist University intending to become a teacher. "It was a book called The [sic] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes. It was inititally reported that she was raised a Roman Catholic before becoming an evangelical Protestant, but these were ultimately debunked.

"Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most", recalled Lee in 1974. Miers, Sr., and his wife, the former Sally Richardson. Whether or not this mythic meeting actually occurred, Goodman, a publishing trend-follower aware of the JLA's strong sales, directed his comics editor, Stan Lee, to begin publishing a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. She describes herself as a "Texan through and through." (see[[4]]) The fourth of five children, she is the daughter of real estate investor Harris W. 1960). to work in the Bush administration. 1960) before going on to its own hit title (premiere cover-date: Nov. Miers was born in Dallas, Texas, and spent most of her life there until 2001, when she moved to Washington, D.C.

Liebowitz, according to the story, bragged about DC's success with the superhero team the Justice League of America, which had debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (Feb. . National Periodical Publications. On October 27 Miers asked the President to withdraw her nomination, and President Bush did so. a.k.a. As the Senate hearing process proceeded, Miers' appointment was widely criticized, with Miers herself being characterized as unqualified and a Presidential crony. Legend has it that in 1961, longtime magazine and comic book publisher Martin Goodman was playing golf with rival publisher Jack Liebowitz of DC Comics. Supreme Court to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

. Bush nominated her on October 3, 2005 for Associate Justice of the U.S. The comic-book series, which famously added the hyperbolic tagline "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" above the title starting with issue #4, dropped the "The" from the cover logo with #15, becoming simply Fantastic Four. Based on the recommendation of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat - Nevada) ([[1]],[[2]],[[3]]), President George W. The Fantastic Four have have remained more or less popular since, and have been adapted into other media, including three animated television series, an aborted 1990s low-budget film, and a major-studio motion picure, Fantastic Four (2005). Harriet Ellan Miers (born August 10, 1945) is an American lawyer, currently serving as White House Counsel. The team launched the revival of Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, giving it a pivotal place in the history of American comic books.

Uniquely at the time, and also breaking convention with comic-book archetypes, its members would squabble and even hold animosities both deep and petty toward one another at times, though ultimately truly caring for and supporting each other. Since its introduction — in which the groundbreaking team did not even hew to the convention of superhero costumes its first two issues — the Fantastic Four has been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional yet loving family. Although the group's membership has occasionally changed temporarily, it almost always consists of these four core friends and family-members, who gained superpowers after being exposed to cosmic rays during an outer space science mission:. 1961).

The Fantastic Four is Marvel Comics' flagship superhero team, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and debuting in The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. In the PBS cartoon Arthur (TV series), a 'daydream' sequence features Buster Baxter, Arthur's best friend, emerging from a space shuttle and exhibiting the powers of the FF (one limb streches, one bursts into flame, one turns invisible, and one turns into orange rock). Since various parts of that future have been referenced since (Gert becoming an Avenger, Victor as the son of Ultron) it may be that the Richards family will continue to grow... In Runaways volume 2 #1, a time-traveller made reference to a future team called the Fantastic Fourteen.

Had the Fantastic Five book lasted longer, the team would have been succeeded by their superpowered offspring. Fantastic(Lyja), Psi-Lord(Franklin Richards), Big Brain(a robot with the mind of Reed Richards), and the Thing(though he may be dead). It's membership consists of the Human Torch, Ms. In the MC2 imprint, a team called the Fantastic Five exists.

In Family Guy, in the episode "Petarded", Peter Griffin refers to Fantastic Four while playing Trivial Pursuit. The name of the comics company that turns out Garfield was placed instead of Marvel Comics, as Paws Comics Group. Fantastic, Nermal was the Human Torch (who was trying to blow out his flaming tail), and Arlene was the Invisible Woman. Garfield was the Thing, Odie was Mr.

The opening of a Garfield Sunday strip parodied the opening of a FF comic book. Ghostmare was later renamed Matriarch, paralleling the Invisible Woman's role in the Fantastic Four family as well. In issues 50-52 of Power Pack, a quartet of Kymellian heroes called Force 4 (Teamleader, Ghostmare, Firemane and Thunderhoof) was based in powers (though Teamleader's power was only his superior intelligence, and not any variation of Mister Fantastic's stretching power) and in name (with the exception of Ghostmare, the real names of these heroes was a Pig Latin version of their Fantastic Four counterparts') on the Fantastic Four. In issues 29-30 of the 1989 Legion of Super-Heroes series, a team of four villains (Elasti-Kid 5, Ghost 6, Flare and Alloy 12) had powers based on those of the Fantastic Four.

Similarly, Duke Nukem's condition was brought about due to radioactive exposure. The animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers featured a villain named Duke Nukem, who had rocky skin similar to that of the Thing. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. They are counterparts to the Fantastic Four in many ways, mostly in their powers and in the relationships between the analogs to Mr.

The Wildstorm comic series Planetary has as its main villains a group called simply The Four. Fantastic, and the Thing, including their traditional colors. An episode of "Atomic Betty", featured three Betty clones possessing the powers of the Torch, Mr. Only the invisibility stone was used, however.

An episode of "The Mask" animated series featured four stones that granted the exact same powers as those of the Fantastic Four. (Another family-member has superspeed.) Marvel Studios chairperson Avi Arad told Entertainment Weekly that, "In the words of Stan Lee, when someone asked him about The Incredibles, he said, ' You know, it feels like I wrote it.'"⁵. The 2004 Disney/Pixar animated feature The Incredibles is built around a family of superheroes whose powers include stretching, super strength, invisibility/force field, and, to a more briefly seen extent, flame. The universe of writer Kurt Busiek's various Astro City comics includes a Fantastic Four-like group called The First Family.

In another episode of The Simpsons entitled "I Am Furious, Yellow" guest-starring Stan Lee, a boy in the comic book shop wants to buy a Batman action figure, but Stan tries to sell the boy an action figure of The Thing instead. In The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror XIV episode, Bart discovers a magic stopwatch; near the end of the episode he gives it to Lisa, who presses the button repeatedly — at one point briefly turning the family into the Fantastic Four. In The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror X episode, Bart and Lisa are exposed to radiation and transformed into 'Stretch Dude' and 'Clobber Girl'. The hit cartoon show The Simpsons has also poked fun at the Fantastic Four.