Fantastic Stuff...
There’s always been a shortcoming when it comes to reviving the Fantastic Four to the smaller screens. A few cartoon attempts often miss the mark in catching the cosmic mainframe of the comic book series while still finding time to portray the family feeling between the four members of the failed experiment.
Being exposed to comic rays altered their bodies. They achieved great powers and also became celebrities in the modern day media. In some ways, they have become the foremost number one family to set a role model.
Most recently Marvel Co. developed in conjunction with Moonscoop to create a slicker, more modern version of the Fantastic Four adventures. This one may very well come closest to the source material despite many departures including their costumes and the appearance of certain characters.
This cartoon is based on the recent two films. Only the cartoons are actually far better. This 26 episode comes to a 4 disc DVD set with extras and featurs.
Much of it captured the family essence of the four members while maintaining the still cosmic grandeur of the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby days. The four main characters are Reed Richards, Sue Storm (not yet married to Richards), Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. They all have their own distinctive personalities.
Some may feel the Japanese influences may mar the design and look to the characters adapted from the long running comic book series. To some extent, I might agree. There are some bits which may be too stylistic for a cartoon such as this and may belong elsewhere. However, none of it loses track of the central force of the storyline: science fiction fun with a superhero family.
It’s great to see Herbie the robot is given a personality in these cartoons. Not the same bumbling babysitter robot from the comic book days, he is given the duty of being the overall master computer, maintenance and laboratory assistance to scientific genuis Richards.
There are a lot of nice touches to the animation. And you can lose yourself in some of the stories placed within the string of 26 episodes. A few decent short minor story arcs involve the Kree and Skrull enemies back for a good background coloring of a greater story.
Bringing more story arcs such as this one gives the series a more cosmic feeling of the original comics. By giving a little glimpse of what is to come, such as the Kree’s prediction in “Trial by Fire” that they will being vengeance to the foursome, helps give us as the audience an idea of something greater is awaiting out there in the abyss of space. Not all is comfortable in space. There are terrible dangers swimming through the eternal blackness of the universe and space exploration becomes a tempting thing. Almost an addiction.
There’s also the Negative Zone which offers another part of the universe never before explored and harbors some devastating creatures such as Annihilus. Again, giving the audience the glimpse that creates a cosmos somewhat bigger than our imagination. This is very good writing on their part as they keep hinting at things to come.
There is nothing seen of the Silver Surfer and the cosmic force known as Galactus who is a balance of power within the universe. Who knows what stories were underway if this series had been given the green light for a second season? Perhaps we would have seen the eventual marriage of Sue and Reed in a wedding? This is unfortunate as the minor story arcs help paint a greater picture of the universe in which the Fantastic Four exists.
Most of us could only imagine what the second season would be like with many more possible story lines to weave into the already established plots.
Speaking of good writing, the handling of dialogue and content makes this series a far superior one to the earlier incarnations of the Fantastic Four. Some of the stuff is often funny. There is still the great tradeoff of brotherly assault between the Human Torch and the Thing. There is a sense of style within the writing that runs smoothly between the characters.
You get a feeling of love of the characters have for each other. Watching them as an audience almost helps you participate in their antics. In a way, you become part of the family too.
If you’re an older reader of the Fantastic Four, you might be able to go down memory lane with the cartoons. The most blessed eras of the Fantastic Four are mainly Stan Lee/Jack Kirby and John Byrne who took over in the early 1980s. There’s an episode where She-Hulk must replace the Thing when he is momentarily displaced in “The Cure.” That episode acknowledges the story arc involving She-Hulk becoming a full-fledged member for a short time. Other stories such as “Atlantis Attacks” harkens back to the old days of the Fantastic Four legacy. Another John Byrne idea has the Baxter Building, the FF headquarters, being tossed into space to be detonated.
The sharp writing of dialogue makes for some good drama in the cartoon form. And no one could resist the tongue-tied twisters of humor unleashed by the massive, loveable rock guy the Thing when he goes to a fundraiser to help out. “Anything for the kids,” he would say.
It’s an enjoyable romp that was cut short due to unpopular ratings and not being faithful enough to the original source. But, being a departure, it makes for good exploration of the family issues and how people can come close together in times of need. And the Fantastic Four does teach this lesson very well. There’s nothing like a sense of closeness whether you’re with friends or family during a moment of crisis.
Of course, there’s always a delightful moment when hearing the familiar catchphrases such as “It’s clobbering time” or “Flame on.” So when is FF super-villain Doctor Doom going to get one of his own?
Being exposed to comic rays altered their bodies. They achieved great powers and also became celebrities in the modern day media. In some ways, they have become the foremost number one family to set a role model.
Most recently Marvel Co. developed in conjunction with Moonscoop to create a slicker, more modern version of the Fantastic Four adventures. This one may very well come closest to the source material despite many departures including their costumes and the appearance of certain characters.
This cartoon is based on the recent two films. Only the cartoons are actually far better. This 26 episode comes to a 4 disc DVD set with extras and featurs.
Much of it captured the family essence of the four members while maintaining the still cosmic grandeur of the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby days. The four main characters are Reed Richards, Sue Storm (not yet married to Richards), Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. They all have their own distinctive personalities.
Some may feel the Japanese influences may mar the design and look to the characters adapted from the long running comic book series. To some extent, I might agree. There are some bits which may be too stylistic for a cartoon such as this and may belong elsewhere. However, none of it loses track of the central force of the storyline: science fiction fun with a superhero family.
It’s great to see Herbie the robot is given a personality in these cartoons. Not the same bumbling babysitter robot from the comic book days, he is given the duty of being the overall master computer, maintenance and laboratory assistance to scientific genuis Richards.
There are a lot of nice touches to the animation. And you can lose yourself in some of the stories placed within the string of 26 episodes. A few decent short minor story arcs involve the Kree and Skrull enemies back for a good background coloring of a greater story.
Bringing more story arcs such as this one gives the series a more cosmic feeling of the original comics. By giving a little glimpse of what is to come, such as the Kree’s prediction in “Trial by Fire” that they will being vengeance to the foursome, helps give us as the audience an idea of something greater is awaiting out there in the abyss of space. Not all is comfortable in space. There are terrible dangers swimming through the eternal blackness of the universe and space exploration becomes a tempting thing. Almost an addiction.
There’s also the Negative Zone which offers another part of the universe never before explored and harbors some devastating creatures such as Annihilus. Again, giving the audience the glimpse that creates a cosmos somewhat bigger than our imagination. This is very good writing on their part as they keep hinting at things to come.
There is nothing seen of the Silver Surfer and the cosmic force known as Galactus who is a balance of power within the universe. Who knows what stories were underway if this series had been given the green light for a second season? Perhaps we would have seen the eventual marriage of Sue and Reed in a wedding? This is unfortunate as the minor story arcs help paint a greater picture of the universe in which the Fantastic Four exists.
Most of us could only imagine what the second season would be like with many more possible story lines to weave into the already established plots.
Speaking of good writing, the handling of dialogue and content makes this series a far superior one to the earlier incarnations of the Fantastic Four. Some of the stuff is often funny. There is still the great tradeoff of brotherly assault between the Human Torch and the Thing. There is a sense of style within the writing that runs smoothly between the characters.
You get a feeling of love of the characters have for each other. Watching them as an audience almost helps you participate in their antics. In a way, you become part of the family too.
If you’re an older reader of the Fantastic Four, you might be able to go down memory lane with the cartoons. The most blessed eras of the Fantastic Four are mainly Stan Lee/Jack Kirby and John Byrne who took over in the early 1980s. There’s an episode where She-Hulk must replace the Thing when he is momentarily displaced in “The Cure.” That episode acknowledges the story arc involving She-Hulk becoming a full-fledged member for a short time. Other stories such as “Atlantis Attacks” harkens back to the old days of the Fantastic Four legacy. Another John Byrne idea has the Baxter Building, the FF headquarters, being tossed into space to be detonated.
The sharp writing of dialogue makes for some good drama in the cartoon form. And no one could resist the tongue-tied twisters of humor unleashed by the massive, loveable rock guy the Thing when he goes to a fundraiser to help out. “Anything for the kids,” he would say.
It’s an enjoyable romp that was cut short due to unpopular ratings and not being faithful enough to the original source. But, being a departure, it makes for good exploration of the family issues and how people can come close together in times of need. And the Fantastic Four does teach this lesson very well. There’s nothing like a sense of closeness whether you’re with friends or family during a moment of crisis.
Of course, there’s always a delightful moment when hearing the familiar catchphrases such as “It’s clobbering time” or “Flame on.” So when is FF super-villain Doctor Doom going to get one of his own?
posted by K.M. Paters at 12:59 PM
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