History Main / TheFantasticFaux

* ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'' has expies of the Fantastic Four as the main villains of the piece, depicted as selfish technophiles who use fantastic science for their own self-serving purposes and deliberately withold it from the general population.

** Common {{Archenem|y}}ies include send-ups to Reed Richards' [[TheRival rival genius]] and megalomaniac Characters/DoctorDoom, the futuristic Kang the Conqueror, the bug-like alien Annihilus, the CosmicEntity [[Characters/MarvelComicsGalactus Galactus]] or less-popular ones like the Mole Man, the Skrulls or the Impossible Man. The team may also have [[TeethClenchedTeamwork uneasy alliances]] with characters mirroring Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner or ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk.

* The ''ComicBook/MarshalLaw'' one-shot ''Crime and Punishment: Marshal Law Takes Manhattan'' involves an insane asylum with inmates who are expies of Marvel superheroes. They include a pastiche of the Human Torch (who is the only superhero in the comic to survive the story, [[DeathSeeker not that he's happy to stay alive]]) and a stand-in for Mr. Fantastic who talks to an invisible wife who isn't actually there.

** The Bestiary (from 2nd edition's "Crooks!") are a band of American {{Super Soldier}}s gone rogue after their government betrayed them, made up of Behemoth (a disgruntled and embittered giant, disfigured, bruiser with SuperStrength -- picture [[HulkMashUp a purple Hulk]]), Chimera (who can vomit up an endless supply of any chemical he imagines), Manticore (who needs his lion-themed PoweredArmor to [[PowerIncontinence control his]] [[MakeMeWannaShout stone-shredding screams]]), and Undine (a [[MakingASplash water-manipulating]] [[CuteMonsterGirl blue fish-woman]]).

** They are usually led by a ScienceHero {{Expy}} of Mister Fantastic, with whatever IncitingIncident that caused them to become heroes or misfits being [[MyGreatestFailure entirely his fault]]. For this reason, he may act as [[TeamDad a father figure]] to the group -- although again, this can be portrayed both positively and negatively. Often has RubberMan powers to complete the allusion.
** Opposite of the leader will be a girl who substitutes for the Invisible Woman, the TeamMom. Depending on the era that the copy wishes to homage/parody, she will either be a near-useless DamselInDistress with powers based on {{Invisibility}}, {{Intangibility}} or some other form of incorporeality, or she will be an extremely strong-willed ActionGirl with arguably the strongest powerset of the entire group, although they tend to be [[GuysSmashGirlsShoot based on non-physical]] traits like [[BarrierWarrior forcefields]], [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]] and/or PsychicPowers.
** One of the members is the typical [[TheBigGuy Big Guy]], akin to the Thing. Tough and strong, and possibly a BruiserWithASoftCenter. He may also be some sort of [[WasOnceAMan human-turned-monster]] and thus become TheWoobie due to this fate. As TheLancer, he also has shades of TheGadfly and JerkassWoobie due to his tendency to butt heads with the leader or tease his teammates. The Thing was directly the inspiration for the Incredible Hulk, so the character might [[HulkMashUp copy him as well]].
** The fourth member is often the [[HotBlooded hot-head]] of the team (echoing the Human Torch). Their only interest is [[GloryHound fame, glory]], [[OnlyInItForTheMoney money]] or [[TheCasanova the opposite sex]]. They may also be one of the more powerful members, with an emphasis on ElementalPowers or SuperSpeed ([[ElementalSpeed or both]]).

* Alan Moore's Silver Age homage ''ComicBook/NineteenSixtyThree'' features "Mystery Incorporated," a super team that has other powers but otherwise matches the Fantastic Four perfectly. Three of them are {{Elemental Shapeshifter}}s; team-leader Crystal Man can turn into crystal and reshape his body into any shape he images, [[TheSmurfettePrinciple the one girl]] Neon Queen can turn into SuperSmoke, and Kid Dynamo can become a being of [[ShockAndAwe living lightning]]. The last member, The Planet, can [[HulkOut transform into a super-strong but hideously ugly form]] with a [[MyBrainIsBig massive, spherical head that looks like a cartoon moon]].
* ''ComicBook/AmalgamUniverse'': The Challengers of the Fantastic are an [[CompositeCharacter amalgamation]] of the Fantastic Four and the Challengers of the Unknown.
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': The First Family are analogous to the Four ("First Family" is even a moniker occasionally used for the team within the Marvel universe), being a SuperFamilyTeam of space-age-inspired explorers and adventurers. Reportedly, Kurt Busiek didn't want to give them that name, as it made the homage a little ''too'' blatant (there's also some Challengers of the Unknown influence in their DNA), but found that he couldn't come up with a better one.
* ComicBook/BigBangComics, as part of its CastOfExpies, eventually introduced Faust's Four, a villainous team of would-be astronauts who sold their souls to a demon to beat the US and Soviet Union to the moon. They were nearly killed when their rocket crashed and their master Baal-Zabul twisted them into his hellish servants (turns out you can't trust the devil). This is a little recursive as between their origin and powers they're also inspired by other villainous FF expies like the Terrific Trio, U-Foes, and Hank Henshaw.
* ''ComicBook/TheBoys:'' The archetype shows up as Fantastico, whose known members are Reacher Dick, Invisi-lass, and the Doofer (the Human Torch's expy isn't named). First introduced during a huge supers-only orgy, Invisi-lass is permanently invisible but keeps her lingerie on (though enjoys going topless), Doofer (who is either covered in bricks or a moving sentient pile of bricks) dies of a heroin overdose, and Reacher is mentioned to have helped an old lady across the street so he could pickpocket her (his personality is closer to Plastic Man than Reed Richards).
* ''ComicBook/ChallengersOfTheUnknown'' are the UrExample; they actually predate the Fantastic Four by about three years, and were also created by Creator/JackKirby. Kirby in fact used them as the template for creating the Fantastic Four, and DC has often retooled or reinterpreted the characters to be more similar to their more-famous knockoffs.
* The original iteration of the ComicBook/DoomPatrol was a rather obvious homage to the Fantastic Four, with Robotman having super-strength and a freakish orange-skinned appearance, Elasti-Girl having stretching abilities, the Negative Man having energy powers, and the Chief having super-intelligence, and with the exception of the Chief, all their powers came from freak accidents (later retconned as having been caused by the Chief himself.) They also wear shared uniforms, and the Negative Man's origin (he went into space in an experimental machine and was bombarded by radiation) is highly reminiscent of the Fantastic Four. This was taken further in an issue of Creator/GrantMorrison's run, which depicted an out-of-continuity story drawn in a style reminiscent of Jack Kirby where the team was renamed the Legion of the Strange (the name itself referencing the Four's inspirations from the Distinguished Competition called the Challengers of the Unknown), Robotman (under his original codename Automaton) was depicted with a clunkier appearance reminiscent of The Thing and the team wore matching uniforms similar to the ones worn by the Fantastic Four except for being colored green rather than blue and the insignia being a question mark instead of the number four.

** The ''ComicBook/XMen'' were deliberately created to be both similar and {{Foil}}s to the Fantastic Four. For example, Prof. X was a parallel to Mister Fantastic, The Beast was intended to mimic The Thing, Iceman was directly meant to contrast The Human Torch, and Marvel Girl played a similar role to the Invisible Girl.

* The Ultra-Conservative sends the ''The Fanatic Four'' after ''ComicBook/{{Normalman}}'', consisting of Mr Fanatical, Helpless Woman, The Humane Touch and The Lunk.

* ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' comics give Radioactive Man an analogue in the form of the Fossil Fuel Four. They're a team of supervillains based around fossil fuels as a commentary on energy generation believed to be inferior and polluting compared to nuclear power. The most direct counterpart is Old King Coal, who looks like The Thing made out of coals dressed in RequisiteRoyalRegalia.

* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'': Howard Chaykin's ''Squadron Supreme'' series picking up after the ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' crossover in ''Ultimate Power'' has the crew of Icarus One, who gain powers after a journey through space and whose individual members are Jon Mora (who is able to become intangible by turning into a sentient mass of vapor), Kathy Mora (Jon's wife who can duplicate herself and teleport), Peter Boyer (who can fly and produce electrical energy) and Ted Munn (who is permanently transformed into a humanoid plant creature of considerable strength and resilience).
* ''ComicBook/TheTerrifics'', a team consisting of ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}}, a shapechanger in monstrous form who was basically doing Ben Grimm's whole thing a decade before Ben's debut, a shapechanging jokey prankster ComicBook/PlasticMan, ComicBook/MisterTerrific, one of smartest people in the world, and new Phantom Girl (ancestor of one from ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes), with powers of intangibility. Few stories were told about the team's conception, but it is generally believed that Creator/JeffLemire has realized the similarities halfway through and decided to roll with it, possibly recycling his rejected pitch for a ''Fantastic Four'' book. The series has done a lot of homages to classic Lee and Kirby era of Fantastic Four as well, from discovering a corpse of an alien very similar to Galactus to fighting a blatant Doctor Doom parody, Doctor Dread.

* ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'' is probably the most well-known case of a family of heroes that uses the formula of the ''Fantastic Four'', although its creator denies using the comics franchise as a source. Still, the title characters are a family of two parents and their three children, with the powers of SuperStrength, {{Invisibility}} and [[BarrierWarrior Force Fields]], [[RubberMan Elasticity]], and even a GooGooGodlike RealityWarper. Dash is the one that stands out, not having a true FF analogue, although like Johnny Storm, he is the fastest and most [[HotBlooded hot-headed]] of the team.

!! Examples

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* We get an [[AllianceOfAlternates Alliance of Alternate]] [[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead Beavises and Buttheads]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtheadDoTheUniverse''. Given that their base is called the "Citadel Of Beavis and Butthead", they seem to be a parody of the Council Of Rick's from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' who are based on the Council of Reeds from the ''Fantastic Four'' comics.