History Trivia / FantasticFour

* WriterRevolt: At least one version recounting the team's creation explained that it was meant to be Stan Lee's final comic work, filled to the brim with AuthorAppeal as a way to get back at Martin Goodman for pressuring Lee to FollowTheLeader and write stories based on whatever genre was popular at the time. [[ForWantOfANail If the book had been a failure like Lee anticipated, he would've readily retired from comic book writing to pursue writing for Hollywood.]]

* CultClassic: The fantastic Four have never been high sellers since the 1960s. The runs of John Byrne and Jonathan Hickman are no exception, but they are beloved by fans.

* MeaningfulReleaseDate: The fantastic Four have their 60th anniversary in 2021. As a result, Marvel released ''ComicBook/FantasticFourLifeStory'' (the team reimagined in a world without ComicBookTime), the ''Fantastic Four Anniversary #1'' (a giant-size version that replays, scene-by-scene, ''ComicBook/FantasticFourNumber1'' and ''ComicBook/FantasticFourAnnualThree'' but with modern artists making a page each one), and the ongoing comic at the time made a time-travel arc that would revisit all the eras of the team.

* TropeNamer;
** ActuallyADoombot
** TheFantasticFaux
** ReedRichardsIsUseless
*** AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome
** TheWatcher

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Any time [[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom Doctor Doom]] has an OutOfCharacterMoment, [[ActuallyADoombot it's always a Doombot]]. ''Always''.

* MeaningfulReleaseDate: The fantastic Four have their 60th anniversary in 2021. As a result, Marvel released ''ComicBook/FantasticFourLifeStory'' (the team reimagined in a world without ComicBookTime), the ''Fantastic Four Anniversary #1'' (a giant-size version that replays, scene-by-scene, ''ComicBook/FantasticFourNumberOne'' and ''ComicBook/FantasticFourAnnualThree'' but with modern artists making a page each one), and the ongoing comic at the time made a time-travel arc that would revisit all the eras of the team.

* NamesTheSame:
** Nathanial Richards shares a name with Kang the Conqueror. They're different characters, though it's strongly implied the man who would become Kang was not only his direct descendant, but was inspired by the time-traveling ventures of his namesake who created the very utopia he grew disenchanted with, making him something of a LegacyCharacter.
** The group shares its name with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Four_(band) a 60's soul band]]. The coincidence was acknowledged (and joked) in [[spoiler:''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'']], when [[spoiler:MCU Strange]], after being introduced to [[spoiler:Earth-838]] Reed Richards, presented as a member of the Fantastic Four, snarkily refers to the superhero team as if it were the music band.

** The group shares its name with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Four_(band) a 60's soul band]]. The coincidence was acknowledged (and joked) in [[spoiler:''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'']], when [[spoiler:MCU Strange]], after being introduced to [[spoiler:Earth-838]] Reed Richards, presented as a member of the Fantastic Four, snarkily asks the latter if he and his team "charted in the 60s".

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[

* NamesTheSame: Nathanial Richards shares a name with Kang the Conqueror. They're different characters, though it's strongly implied the man who would become Kang was not only his direct descendant, but was inspired by the time-traveling ventures of his namesake who created the very utopia he grew disenchanted with, making him something of a LegacyCharacter.

* ImageSource:
** PoliticallyIncorrectVillain
** TookALevelInBadass

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to Creator/StanLee's [[http://zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel/images/1-5/synopsis1.jpg initial]] [[http://zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel/images/1-5/synopsis2.jpg plot]], published in ''Fantastic Four #358'':
** Reed's stretching powers would've harmed him.
** Sue was originally permanently invisible, and she'd be more or less an InvisibleStreaker. To compensate, Sue would wear a mask to indicate her location.
** Ben would have been a TokenEvilTeammate, pining to steal Sue away from Reed and suffering from ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.
** Johnny's powers were limited, meaning at any point his flame could shut off.
** During Creator/ChrisClaremont's run on the title, he had initially planned for [[Comicbook/XMen Kitty Pryde]] to be a recurring cast member, serving as a live-in nanny for Franklin Richards (this took place shortly after ''Comicbook/{{Excalibur}}'' was cancelled). Then-editor of the X-Men franchise Bob Harras wanted Kitty back in the main X-Men team.
** When the book returned in 1998, Creator/ScottLobdell talked of his big plans for it. He intended to turn C-list baddie Doctor Demonicus into a huge threat and have the Wizard engage in a dark battle of wits with Reed while leading a "Frightful Four that lived up to their name." He also had an idea of the FF discovering the cosmic rays had left long-term new effects. However, just three issues into his run, Lobdell left the book after battling editors and all his plans were scuttled.
** Before making a name for himself with ''Film/PulpFiction'' and ''Film/KillingZoe'', Creator/RogerAvary penned a script on spec in the late 80s. Based on ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' numbers 48-50, but with all references to the super hero team removed. In Avary's words: "Instead of Johnny Storm traveling to the Negative Zone, it's the Surfer. Instead of The Punisher guarding the Ultimate Nullifier in the Negative Zone I had a gold-skinned surfer-like guardian. Alecia Masters has no relationship with Ben Grimm, but is still a blind sculptress — through her I have the Surfer rediscovering the humanity he lost when he transformed from Norrin Radd to the herald of Comicbook/{{Galactus}}. Lastly, my first draft supposed that Galactus wasn't necessarily a sentient entity, but a massive and complex planet eating robot-ship that's operated by millions of creatures — [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Borg]]-like (before there were Borg)."