In 1961, Marvel Comics began producing superhero comics and the first book was Fantastic Four #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It brought the First Family of Marvel to fans and the company has never looked back. While the FF was an enormous hit, not all their early villains stuck around.
Out of the first ten supervillains they ever fought in comics, three became mainstream names and two minor cult favorites for Fantastic Four fans. However, each of the villains brought something new to the world of comics and helped the Fantastic Four make their name as one of the greatest teams in comic book history.
Mole Man
The first supervillain ever to appear in Marvel Comics was Mole Man in Fantastic Four #1. Mole Man remains an iconic Marvel villain, mostly because he was the first. However, as a villain, he brought little to the Marvel Universe.
The Fantastic Four had to learn how to work as a team to beat him, but once they figured out their places on the team, Mole Man went down fairly easily. He has appeared multiple times in Marvel Comics and even influenced The Underminer in The Incredibles movie, but he mostly remains a minor villain.
The Skrulls
The second issue of Fantastic Four introduced one of the most important alien races in Marvel Comics as the villain. In this book, the team battled the shape-shifting aliens known as the Skrulls. This issue had several important notes.
First, Reed had the Skrulls turn into cows and hypnotized them to forget who they were, banishing them to life on Earth as animals. This made the FF mortal enemies to the alien race. This also put Earth in the crosshairs of the Skrulls, who launched an all-out attack in Secret Invasion.
Miracle Man
The third issue continued the story of how the Fantastic Four tried to mesh as a team while dealing with the dynamic of a the family unit they became thanks to their changes. Simultaneously, they had to beat supervillains like Miracle Man.
Miracle Man’s only power was hypnosis, and he was no match for the Fantastic Four when they worked together as a team. He later became a villain of The Defenders, but only a minor one that only had 21 total comic book appearances.
Namor, The Sub Mariner
The first Marvel superhero to appear in comics was Namor, The Sub Mariner. His first appearance was in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 in 1939 by publisher Timely Comics. In Fantastic Four #4, Marvel brought him into its stable.
This reintroduced Namor to old-school comic fans as an amnesiac who didn’t remember who he was or where he came from. After this, Marvel's King of the Seas, Namor became a major villain and antihero in Marvel Comics as its most powerful underwater hero.
Doctor Doom
While some comics introduced the superhero’s principal antagonists early on, such as the X-Men’s first supervillain being Magneto and The Avengers first fighting Loki, The Fantastic Four didn’t meet their key antagonist until Fantastic Four #5.
This was the first time the FF fought Doctor Doom. From the start, Doom showed his arrogance, and he became a mainstay in Fantastic Four comics for years to come, the team’s most dangerous enemy. To this day, Doctor Doom is the Fantastic Four's most powerful villain.
Kurrgo
The Fantastic Four have always differed from other superhero teams in Marvel Comics. They are as much about science and exploration as they are about fighting supervillains. That made aliens an important part of their history.
While the Skrulls remain an important part of Marvel history, the second aliens they fought were not as memorable. This was Kurrgo, an alien who kidnapped the FF to save his race from extinction. However. he wanted to rule over his people and his greed doomed him.
Puppet Master
While Puppet Master is not a major Marvel Comics villain, he played an important role in the lives of the Fantastic Four. He is Phillip Masters, a man who controls anyone he creates a puppet of, and he attacked the FF in Fantastic Four #8.
While the Fantastic Four have fought Puppet Master many times over the years, it is his step-daughter who tied him to the FF forever. She is Alicia Masters, who comic book fans know married The Thing.
The Impossible Man
The supervillain in Fantastic Four #11 wasn’t really a villain, but more of an antagonistic nuisance. This was the first appearance of The Impossible Man, and it came in the second story of the issue.
The Impossible Man shares many traits with DC’s Mr. Mxyzptlk, who is an imp from another dimension who just likes to cause trouble and pull pranks for attention. Impossible Man is from another planet, not dimension, but shares the same goals and makes mischief more than evil for the Fantastic Four. He ended up as the FF’s comedy antagonist for years after this.
Red Ghost
The Red Ghost first appeared in Fantastic Four #13. As with many FF stories, this was about space travel as Reed wanted to go to the moon and Russian supervillain Red Ghost trained three apes to pilot a rocket to the same spot on the moon, putting the FF at battle with these Super-Apes.
Red Ghost’s superpower was intangibility, and the three apes also gained powers as well. While Red Ghost never became a well-known villain, this issue introduced the Watcher for the first time, although he had complete disdain for Earth’s citizens in this appearance.
The Mad Thinker
The 10th supervillain that the Fantastic Four ever fought was The Mad Thinker. His first appearance came in Fantastic Four #15, along with his Awesome Android. His power was a computer-like mind, where he helped criminals achieve their goals by predicting probabilities.
His genius-level intellect put him at odds with Reed Richards, widely considered the smartest man on Earth. Since that first battle, Mad Thinker has worked with many villains to bring down the Fantastic Four, failing almost every time.