Even though Marvel's First Family won't debut in the MCU until Phase 6's Fantastic Four, Marvel Studios might have been dropping hints to the team's formation back in the MCU's Phase 1. The Fantastic Four were confirmed to be joining the MCU after Disney's acquisition of Fox, earning back the rights to Marvel Comics' original superhero team. While details of 2025's Fantastic Four have been scarce, The Office alum John Krasinski brought a variant of Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic, into the MCU during Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, marking the first time a member of the Fantastic Four had been seen in the franchise.

During his recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that the Fantastic Four would be "a big pillar of the MCU going forward," and since perhaps no other project has spurred so many fan-casts and story rumors, it's safe to say the MCU's Fantastic Four is one of the most highly-anticipated MCU projects. Phase 5 could provide some direct teases for the formation of Marvel's First Family, but one theory by Reddit user Silver_Telephone881 suggests these wouldn't be the first. In fact, Marvel Studios might have been teasing the Fantastic Four since the very beginning of the MCU.

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The Negative Zone Was Teased In 2012’s The Avengers

tony stark and bruce banner in the avengers

2012's The Avengers saw the MCU's premiere superhero team come together for the first time, battling Loki and his Chitauri army in the streets of New York City. While the focus of Marvel Studios' first crossover event was put solely on the dynamics of the new Avengers team, the Reddit theory poses that two short lines could have set the stage for the eventual introduction of the Fantastic Four. After being mind-controlled by Loki, Erik Selvig and Clint Barton work to build the portal device, using iridium as a stabilizing agent. Iridium is a rare element that creates anti-protons, which also form the environment of Marvel Comics' Negative Zone.

This wasn't The Avengers' only hint that the Negative Zone exists in the MCU, however, as anti-matter is referenced once again during the first meeting between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner aboard SHIELD's helicarrier. After spending the night researching his fellow teammates, Stark compliments Banner on his unparalleled work in the field of anti-electron collisions. Anti-protons and anti-electrons, otherwise knows as positrons, form anti-matter, which is the basis of the strange realm of the Negative Zone in Marvel Comics, a location that is very important to the Fantastic Four.

The Negative Zone Is Strongly Tied To The Fantastic Four

fantastic four in the negative zone in marvel comics

The Negative Zone was first seen in Marvel Comics during 1966's Fantastic Four #51, and is composed entirely of anti-matter, existing alongside the continuum that Earth occupies. Reed Richards initially discovered the existence of the Negative Zone, and built a portal which would allow him and his Fantastic Four teammates to travel in and out of the pocket-reality with ease. Though he chose to use the Negative Zone mostly as a prison for their real-world enemies, the strange location also houses threats of its own, including Annihilus and Blastaar, two major adversaries to Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four.

Hints at the existence of the Negative Zone in The Avengers could inform some pivotal storylines for the MCU's Fantastic Four in Phase 6 and beyond. Some theories even speculate that the Fantastic Four's absence from the MCU could be explained by trapping them inside the Negative Zone, though this remains to be seen. While Marvel Studios might not have been directly teasing the introduction of the Fantastic Four with mentions of anti-protons and anti-electrons in The Avengers, these hints certainly point to the Negative Zone being an important location.

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Phase 6 Will Make The MCU’s Negative Zone Important Again

reed richards in doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

Though the Negative Zone might have been teased for several years in the MCU, the location has never actually be named, but Phase 6 is set to put the Negative Zone front and center when Fantastic Four releases in 2025. Previous Marvel Studios projects have focused intensely on otherworldly dimensions, such as the Ant-Man franchise's Quantum Realm, Doctor Strange's Mirror Dimension, and Ms. Marvel's Noor Dimension. This makes the introduction of the Negative Zone in Fantastic Four even more likely, which could help to pay off some of those teases in early MCU projects, and set Marvel's First Family off on a very strong footing.

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