Fantastic Four Cast – A Look at the Characters

The Fantastic Four Cast

The first family of super heroes returns to the big screen on August 7 with Fantastic Four, based on the popular Marvel Comics characters. The Fantastic Four reboot of the franchise is separate from 2005’s Fantastic Four and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and promises to retell the team’s origin in an all-new way.

Judging from the most recent Fantastic Four trailer, it looks as if the film will closer resemble Marvel’s “Ultimate Fantastic Four” comic book, rather than the original series. Instead of the team being a family of astronauts that gain superpowers in space after exposure to cosmic rays, they are depicted as younger versions of the characters that have just met and who receive their powers after an accident that occurs while they are experimenting with inter-dimensional travel.

While the characters that make up the Fantastic Four cast are based on the classic Stan Lee creations, it is clear from the trailers and everything else that we’ve heard about the film so far, that these will be very different versions of the superheroes than we’ve ever seen on screen before. If you are a fanatic looking forward to the new film, check out ComingSoon.net’s handy guide below to the major Fantastic Four characters appearing in the upcoming movie! 

Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Miles Teller)

In the comics, Reed Richards was a child prodigy and Harvard grad who worked as a military scientist on a project to go to Mars. When the government threatens to cut funding, Reed attempts to go to space himself, along with his fiancee Sue Storm, soon-to-be-brother-in-law Johnny Storm, and college roommate Ben Grimm. When they fly through the Van Allen belt, they are bombarded with cosmic rays that give them super powers. Reed is then transformed into Mr. Fantastic, the leader of the Fantastic Four, who has the ability to stretch and reshape his body at will.

The new film version of the character will be much different than in the original comic books. Reed is still a scientific prodigy, but has yet to meet Sue, Johnny or Ben when the film begins. Dr. Franklin Storm recruits Reed to work on an inter-dimensional travel transporter, and he soon meets the rest of his team, as well as future archenemy Victor Domashev. When the group is transformed, Reed does not exactly gain the ability to stretch, but rather has the power to “warp the space around him, and appear to stretch his body into impossible forms and to incredible lengths.”

Susan Storm/Invisible Woman (Kate Mara)

Invisible Woman was the first female superhero to be published by Marvel Comics in the early ‘60s. Sue Storm was the wife of Reed Richards, the sister of Johnny Storm, close friend of Ben Grimm, and the object of Doctor Doom’s infatuations. She was also on that fateful flight into outer space that granted the Fantastic Four their powers. Sue gained the ability to control light waves, allowing her to become invisible, as well as project powerful fields of invisible psionic energy.

In the upcoming movie, Sue is the adopted daughter of Dr. Franklin Storm and adopted sister of Johnny Storm. She is not yet involved romantically with Reed, as they meet for the first time at the beginning of the film. Sue’s character in the new movie is described as “brilliant, beautiful, independent and sarcastic.” Her power, however, is essentially the same as it was in the comics. She possesses the ability to become invisible and to generate invisible force fields.

Ben Grimm/The Thing (Jamie Bell)

“It’s clobberin’ time!” is the catchphrase that The Thing is most famous for, but don’t necessarily expect Jamie Bell to be reciting that line in the new film. In the original comics, Ben Grimm is Reed Richards’ grumpy but loyal best friend and college roommate, as well as a former college football star. He is also the pilot of the spaceship journey that gives the team their powers. When they are hit with cosmic rays, Ben becomes the monstrous Thing and is the only member of the team transformed permanently. His flesh is changed to stone, giving him super strength and endurance.

With the upcoming Fantastic Four cast, Reed doesn’t meet Ben until they are recruited for Dr. Storm’s project. They soon become close friends, and Ben has a big role in the team’s eventual transformation. The character’s description on the movie’s website describes Ben as similar to what we know from the comics, stating that he is “warm, even sensitive, despite his rough-and-tumble upbringing.” He is also described as being a “loyal and protective friend” and that his “stone body gives him epic strength” making him “virtually indestructible.”

Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Michael B. Jordan)

Originally in the comics, Johnny Storm was raised by his sister Sue and traveled to space when he was just 16 years old. He was depicted as young, irresponsible, and impulsive. After being changed by cosmic rays, Johnny gained the ability to engulf himself in flames, fly, and project fireballs. His superhero name was a tribute to the first Human Torch, a WWII-era hero who fought alongside Captain America in The Invaders.

Johnny Storm’s history has been altered a bit for the new film. With the casting of Michael B. Jordan, Johnny is now African American rather than Caucasian, as he was in the original comic. This also means that Sue Storm is his adopted sister, instead of his biological sibling. His powers, however, seem to have stayed the same, as he still has the ability to fly, shoot fireballs, and to “Flame on!” The movie’s website describes the character as a “trouble maker and a thrill-seeker,” which is definitely in line with his comic book counterpart.

Victor Domashev/Doom (Toby Kebbell)

Victor Domashev definitely seems to be the character that has been changed the most. Originally appearing in the comics as Doctor Victor von Doom, the super villain was the leader of the fictional nation of Latveria. He was both a genius inventor and sorcerer, and had no role in the Fantastic Four’s journey to space. Victor was a classmate of Reed and Ben’s in college, but his superior attitude alienated him from the others. When Victor’s experiment to communicate with the dead results in scarring his face, he becomes the Fantastic Four’s archenemy Doctor Doom.

2005’s Fantastic Four retconned Victor von Doom as Reed’s rival for Sue’s affections, as well as the fifth member of the team that goes into space, granting him his powers along with the rest of the group. In the new film, the character is known as Victor Domashev, and again begins as a member of Reed’s team. He is described as “an anti-social programmer known as ‘Doom’ online.” Screenwriter and producer Simon Kinberg has said that Doom is a very important part of the new film and that we’ll see his arc towards becoming a villain.

Dr. Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey)

A minor character in the comics, Dr. Franklin Storm is a surgeon and father to Sue and Johnny. Blaming himself for a car accident that killed his wife; Franklin gives up his career and begins gambling. After borrowing money from a loan shark that he cannot pay back, the loan shark threatens Franklin and his children. Franklin kills the loan shark in self-defense and is sent to prison for twenty years. Sue raises Johnny herself and tells him that their father is dead. After becoming the Fantastic Four, the Super-Skrull impersonates Franklin, while the real Franklin is teleported to the Skrull home world.  Eventually, Franklin sacrifices himself to save his children, leading Sue and Reed to name their first son Franklin in his memory.

You can tell from the most resent trailer that Dr. Franklin Storm will be a much different character in the new movie. He is not a surgeon, but instead a scientist working on an inter-dimensional teleportation device funded by Harvey Elder. When Franklin meets young scientist Reed Richards, he realizes that Reed “knows answers to questions we don’t even know to ask yet.” Richards joins Franklin’s son Johnny, adopted daughter Sue, Ben Grimm, and Victor Domashev as members of the team working on the teleportation device. But when they go missing, all Franklin wants to know is, “where are my children?”

Harvey Elder (Tim Blake Nelson)

Harvey Elder is best known in the comics as the Fantastic Four’s villain, the Mole Man. Elder was originally an American nuclear engineer and explorer. While exploring the underground world of Subterranea, Elder is transformed into the Mole Man when he gazes upon a highly-reflective deposit of diamonds. Now partially blind, he becomes the ruler of Subterranea and uses its creatures and technology to attack the surface world. 

Very little is known about Elder’s true role in the upcoming film, but according to the trailer, he is a powerful businessman funding Franklin Storm’s experiments. After six years and millions of dollars has led to no results, Elder asks Dr. Franklin Storm, “What’s different now?” To which Franklin replies, “Reed Richards.” It should also be noted that this is not the first time that actor Tim Blake Nelson has portrayed a Marvel comics villain, he also played Dr. Samuel Sterns (A.K.A. The Leader) in The Incredible Hulk.

See the Fantastic Four cast and characters launch into theaters on Friday, August 7.