Debuting in 1961, the Fantastic Four began the Marvel Universe as it's currently understood today, initially wearing civilian clothing before eventually adopting superhero costumes in their third appearance. In that issue, they debuted the iconic blue, black and white (though they were initially designed wearing masks - a detail removed shortly before publication.)
Over the years, the team have stuck with very similar costumes and logos, with brief forays into all-white following the death of Johnny Storm, and a brief tenure in red and black. In their latest incarnation, the team are back in blue, but with one of their most extreme redesigns of all time...
Fantastic Four Designs for New Midnight Continuity Revealed
Marvel recently debuted variant covers for the upcoming Midnight: Fantastic Four #1, showing the team's new look. The team's new logo is made up of a large white triangle meeting a smaller black triangle, creating the image of a four. The logo represents the team's mission in this universe, which is to take the "first steps into darkness" in a new continuity defined by horror.
Marvel's new Midnight imprint launches this October, showcasing a new universe where Marvel's most iconic heroes are twisted into monstrous new forms, taking on far darker forces than in the mainstream comics.
X-Men will see mutants battle vampires, Spider-Man explores people being mutated into animalistic monstrosities, and Fantastic Four appears to be exploring the Cthulhu Mythos. The first issue's summary reads:
FIRST STEPS INTO DARKNESS! An obsessive scientist delves into the secrets of the universe perhaps best left unknown to humankind, leaving himself and three others warped in strange and horrifying ways.What horrible secrets lie in the new dimensions they have discovered? And can humanity survive the discovery?
From the twisted minds of Benjamin Percy (WOLVERINE, PUNISHER) and Kev Walker (INFERNAL HULK, DOCTOR STRANGE) comes a tale of existential dread and secrets best kept...
It's clear that Marvel is putting a grotesque spin on the heroes' designs, and will also depict the team in a harsher light. The angular black cutouts around their waists suggest a more clinical outlook, while the new logo is more focused on the contact point between light and dark than the usual representation of a quartet who consider each other family.
Fantastic Four's Powers Revealed in Midnight Canon
These new variant covers are the first that fans have seen of the Midnight Fantastic Four, and share crucial details. While Invisible Woman and Human Torch's powers appear standard from this first look, it's clear Reed Richards will lean far further towards body horror.
Meanwhile, the Thing has received a drastic overhaul, appearing in a rocky gray form rather than his usual orange. Clayton Crain's cover showing the team in silhouette makes the Thing look closer to X-Men's Colossus than his traditional Fantastic Four appearance, while Leinil Francis Yu's art makes him look uncannily pleased with his monstrous transformation.
While not clear from the variant covers, Kev Walker's main cover art (above) suggests Human Torch will use prosthetic legs. It's a first for the character to be presented with a disability, and it will be interesting to see how this decision meshes with his characterization and the themes of the series.
Midnight: Fantastic Four Has Masterpiece Potential
Out of all the upcoming Midnight books, Fantastic Four is arguably the most intriguing. That's because, despite generally being a family-friendly franchise, FF lends itself to eldritch horror, focusing on four adventurers who are physically transformed after a groundbreaking scientific expedition goes disastrously wrong. In the mainstream, they became superheroic paragons, but it makes sense for Midnight to take them in a far darker direction.
The new images of the team emphasize body horror in an intriguing way, but it will be even more interesting to see the Fantastic Four's adventurer status turned towards Lovecraftian nightmare rather than sci-fi awe.
Midnight: Fantastic Four will reinvent Marvel's First Family, transforming their maiden voyage into a foray into horror that warps them on a physical level, existing at the touchpoint between light and dark - a position reflected by their new logo.
Midnight: Fantastic Four #1 is coming October 7.
Video Game(s)
Fantastic Four (1997), Fantastic Four (2005)
First Film
The Fantastic Four
Cast
Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Created by
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
English (US) ·