Marvel’s First Family, the Fantastic Four, are making a grand and long-awaited comeback to cinemas with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the inaugural film in Marvel’s Phase Six lineup. Set in a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic alternate universe, Earth 828 (A nod to original artist and co-creator Jack Kirby's birthday, which falls on 28/8.), and helmed by WandaVision director Matt Shakman, the movie stars Pedro Pascal as the frontman, Reed Richards (aka Mister Fantastic), alongside Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (the Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (the Thing). Julia Garner takes on the role of the enigmatic main villain, the Silver Surfer, who arrives as the main cosmic herald of Galactus, preparing the planet for consumption.
It’s a bold new chapter that marks the beginning of Marvel’s First Family in the MCU, promising cosmic stakes, retro flair, and emotional depth. And for the first time in a very long time, this new Marvel movie doesn’t require any additional homework to understand the plot. Unlike its predecessors, The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows a standalone story. But that doesn’t mean you can’t revisit some of the best Marvel classics beforehand to keep your fandom fired up. From time-twisting epics to space faring showdowns, here are 8 Marvel movies and TV series you should watch before The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
The third film in the Ant-Man series, and the first chapter of Marvel Phase Five, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicks off shortly after the events of Avengers: Endgame, with Scott Lang (Ant-Man) enjoying his life as a semi-celebrity and author and trying hard to reconnect with his rebellious teenage daughter Cassie Lang.
Cassie, along with Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne (the Wasp), has been secretly studying the Quantum Realm, and she builds a device to send signals to it. But during her initial demonstration, the experiment goes horribly wrong, opening the door to all the different quantum realms and sending Ant-Man, his daughter, and the rest of team deep into the Quantum Realm, where they meet Kang, a mystical time-manipulating warlord set on conquering different timelines. A kaleidoscopic dive into retro-futurism and mind-bending science, Ant-Man and the Wasp sets the stage for Marvel’s multiverse future.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Picking up after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees Doctor Strange reeling from the aftershocks of Spidey’s multiverse mess-up. When strange creatures begin chasing a new, teenage, multiverse-hopping superhero, America Chavez, Strange seeks help from an old, trusted friend, only to realise that she’s the one causing all the mayhem.
This sends him and America on a mind-bending, visually stunning journey across the multiverse in hopes of saving reality itself. Interestingly, the film includes a brief but buzz-worthy cameo from John Krasinski (Jim from The Office) as Reed Richards, a member of the Illuminati, offering fans their first glimpse of the character in the MCU, even if it’s an alternate reality version.
Spider-Man No Way Home (2021)
Multiple Spider-Men, multiple universes, and one important lesson: Don’t mess with different realities. Spider-Man: No Way Home wastes no time setting the stakes. Picking up right after the events of Far From Home, Peter Parker is forced to deal with the explosive fallout of the world discovering his secret superhero identity, turning his life (and everyone else’s) upside down.
In an attempt to restore order, he seeks help from Doctor Strange to cast a spell that will make everyone forget who he is. But Peter’s last-minute changes to the spell cause it to backfire, cracking open the multiverse and allowing people from other universes who know Spider-Man to slip into the MCU.
Iron Man (2008)
Billionaire, playboy, genius inventor: Tony Stark, kickstarted the MCU in style with his iron clad armour, revolutionising superhero cinema with high-tech weapons and raw intelligence. Just like the Fantastic Four, his origin is rooted in science, and like them, he never hides who he is, choosing to battle his enemies head on.
But while Reed Richards and the team are fuelled by exploration, family, and righteousness, Iron Man brings a more self-made, rebellious edge, fuelled by personal redemption, ego, and tech-based innovation. If you’re interested in watching a superhero movie with brains, bravado, and heroes that don’t hide behind masks, Iron Man is a good place to start.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Before portals, multiverses, and high-tech weapons, there was Steve Rogers, a scrawny Brooklyn kid who got his dream of becoming a hero when he was selected by the U.S. government for a top-secret mission that injected recruits with a special serum to turn them into indestructible soldiers.
Set during WWII, Captain America: The First Avenger is the perfect pick if you’re looking for a period-piece Marvel film that blends science with superhero storytelling. Not to mention, the movie is headlined by Chris Evans who, fun fact, also played the Human Torch in Tim Story’s Fantastic Four films.
WandaVision (2021)
Before taking on the mantle of directing The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Matt Shakman gave audiences a taste of his retro-futuristic flair with WandaVision, a quirky series that blends classic sitcom nostalgia with signature Marvel magic.
Picking up shortly after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the series follows Wanda Maximus, who is mysteriously living in a seemingly perfect 1950s style suburban sitcom world alongside her supposedly dead partner Vision. But nothing is what it seems. Each episode moves through decades of sitcom styles as the illusion starts to unravel. WandaVision is strange, stylish, and a welcome break from Marvel’s usual formula.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Despite their tonal and stylistic differences, any of The Avengers films is a great pick if you enjoy superhero movies with an ensemble of larger-than-life characters, clashing ideals, and big, world saving stakes. Out of the lot, Avengers: Age of Ultron, in particular, stands out, not for its explosive action or internal conflict, but for its thematic parallels to Fantastic Four as well. Both stories centre around brilliant scientists whose bold experiments go awry, resulting in unintended chaos. Both teams must learn how to work together despite all their internal friction, and both explore the cost of innovation when ego and good intentions collide.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
While you wait for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it’s worth checking out Marvel’s other found family in space. Led by Star-Lord, Guardians of the Galaxy follows a ragtag band of misfits across the cosmos as they bond, bicker, and accidentally save the galaxy, all to the beat of a killer soundtrack. It’s chaotic, heartfelt, and proof that nobody does superhero ensembles quite like Marvel.
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