Western Animation: Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes
The Fantastic Four won't rest until they find whoever tagged The Thing (Pssst: It was Johnny!)
A 2006 animated adaptation of Marvel's First Family: The Fantastic Four, meant to market the team to a new audience who were coming off the 2005 movie and heading into its 2007 sequel (which probably ended up working against the show during its initial broadcast). Produced by French Animation Company "Moonscoop". The name "World's Greatest Heroes" refers to the comics' original tagline, "Worlds Greatest Comic Magazine".The series as a whole was Lighter and Softer, focusing much more on the Fantastic Four as a sitcom family who happened to go on adventures rather than a team of superheroes who were also a family.It was story edited by Christopher Yost.
Tropes that come in play with this series in particular:
Big Sister Instinct: In "Trial By Fire" Johnny gets captured by the Kree and a very angry Susan demands that Reed find him. She refuses to listen to his reason and Techno Babble. She just wants to find her brother and who's ass to kick.
Bluff The Impostor: To a ludicrous extreme when Skrulls impersonate everyone in the Baxter Building; Reed asks questions like "How was it we first met? Five hundred years ago...it was on the moon, wasn't it?"
But for Me, It Was Tuesday: The Kree Accuser is disgraced and exiled thanks to Johnny in the first episode, 14 later when the Super Skull appears it turns out he allied with this Kree to become a Super Skull, Johnny's reaction even while he and the Kree fight, "You'd be surprised how many blue guys we fight." He NEVER recognizes him.
Chest Insignia: Ben is the only one who doesn't have one. So Johnny painted one on his chest.
Cool Car: Johnny has many flame-decaled cars, plus the Fantasticar.
Cuteness Proximity: In "World's Tiniest Heroes" Sue's wrath is completely diffused by the timely appearance of a dog.
Susan: PUPPY!
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Certain supervillians, including Doom, Trapper and the Wizard could be making a lot of money with the technology they created, which includes antigravity, various glues and energy blasts.
Fridge Logic/Expy: Captain Ultra has flight, super strength, and eye beams. He seems like a good replacement for Ben now that he is cured except he has a crippling fear of fire, so much so a single lit thumbs up for Johnny gives him a panic attack. The Expy should be obvious, the Fridge...the Human Torch is the one who set up the auditions. Somehow I doubt that Ultra put his fear of fire on his resume. As for why he auditioned for a team with a guy that sets himself on fire, thats another problem entirerly...
Captain Ultra is a real original Marvel character, who originally tried to get a job with the evil FF, the Fearful Four, back in the late 60's. And yes, he would faint at the sight of fire then too.
Foreshadowing: While the show never got another season, the Impossible Man's hope about what would happen to Earth is an obvious allusion to a big part of the Fantastic Four's Rogues Gallery, what does he say?
Impossible Man: I hope your planet gets eaten!
Gainaxing: In "Worlds Tiniest Heroes", when one of the monsters jump at Susan, if you look close enough, you can see a bit of a bounce.
He's Big in Japan Quoted in-universe by the Human torch in Frightful.
I'm moving to Japan, I'm big in Japan.
Hair of Gold: Interesting example as the French animators had designed Sue with pink hair in an attempt to be "current". The higher ups vetoed it, and are quoted as saying "Sue Storm is an American woman, and American women have blond hair."
Hulk Speak Theres the obvious gamma giant himself but also the Torch, and Thing. Reed also gets one when trying to simplify his Tech Talk to the others.
I Am A Monster: Thing as usual considers himself this. In "Hard Knocks," Bruce Banner says otherwise - calling the Hulk "a force of nature," but the Thing a hero to be looked up to.
Instant A.I., Just Add Water: Bruiser in "Doom's Word Is Law." Reed insists that HERBIE isn't sentient, but it's hard to believe when HERBIE is doing things like going on strike because he feels insulted..
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Johnny to Ben, sure he punks him daily but if anyone dares question Ben isn't a hero The Torch will set you straight...with fireballs.
Johnny believes in going big or going home, from his dialogue to his sports cars.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: In one episode Reed finds a way to turn Ben back to normal, but at the cost of erasing his memories of everything that happened since he became the Thing.
Memorably subverted in one episode. Doom tells them not to obey any orders given to them by anyone, not even him. When Reed is Freaky Friday Flipped into Doom's body, he tells them to self-terminate. They immediately comply because "Doom's word is law".
Mythology Gag: The show's title, and a few other references.
"Strings" has a beautiful one, with a brief gag involving several Skrulls masquerading as cows, homaging the Skrulls' very first appearance where Reed hypnotized them into believing they were cows.
Unmoving Plaid: The Thing's rocky skin is created with this technique.
Wasn't That Fun?: In one episode, Dr. Doom sends the Baxter Building into space. Reed has to fly it like a spaceship, using Doombots as thrusters, before crashing it into the Latverian Embasssy. Most of the building's residents are terrified by all this, but one dotty old lady wants to do it again.
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