Marvel Comics' upcoming miniseries Fantastic Four: Life Story is making a consequential change to the iconic origin of Marvel's First Family.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four #1 would establish the space-based origin of the team in November of 1961, and it has remained largely unchanged since. Driven scientist Reed Richards gathered a cadre of his closest friends - Sue Storm, her hot-headed brother Johnny, and Reed's college roommate, test pilot Ben Grimm - for an unauthorized spaceflight. The debut issue involved Reed calling upon Ben to pilot his experimental ship. Refusing to listen to Ben's warning about the ship's lack of radiation shielding, Reed and his group ultimately end up paying the price. Now, after decades of that being the official story, writer Mark Russell and artist Sean Izaakse's Fantastic Four: Life Story is taking the team's origin in a drastically new direction, one which greatly complicates the dynamic between The Thing and best friend Reed Richards.
To get fans riled up for the release of the upcoming six-issue Life Story miniseries, Marvel Comics has released preview art highlighting a few of the significant alterations to Fantastic Four lore the books will explore. Similar to the original iteration, Reed Richards is heading to space accompanied by Sue and reluctantly takes along Johnny. But he's in need of a pilot to properly guide the ship. Unlike the established origin, it's Johnny Storm who enlists the aid of Ben Grimm. Though Johnny's personal connection to Grimm is made unclear, Storm and his three companions locate Ben sulking alone in a bar over his current financial hardships. It's here where Ben agrees to come along as the official pilot, forming what would become Marvel's First Family.
Though Russell and Izaakse's standalone miniseries has promised change, it's surprising that Reed and Ben are not associates from the start. Mainstay Marvel writer Dan Slott gave the Fantastic Four an updated origin in his current comic run, but even those changes didn't take away Ben and Reed's early friendship. Upon the Fantastic Four's initial return to Earth, a culpable Reed has been working tirelessly to find a cure for his friends' transformation into the Thing, to no avail.
Though Grimm has experienced short periods where he will remain human once again, the transformation has never been permanent. Now that Johnny is the one responsible for Ben's involvement in this transformative experience, a lot of the burden may fall onto the Human Torch rather than Mr. Fantastic, changing the group's dynamic completely. Ben and Johnny often serve as a sort of comedic relief in the Fantastic Four series, sharing an almost sibling rivalry. It will be interesting to see if that same dynamic will translate to the Life Story series now that certain alterations are being made. Look for Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 May 19.
Source: Marvel.com