10 Best Fantastic Four Eras, Ranked

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Since 1961, the Fantastic Four, Marvel’s first family, has represented the company’s very ethos. The stories of Reed Richards and his team have been influential and exploratory. In turn, Fantastic Four sags are often metaphorical canaries in the comic book industry coal mines, either reflecting or informing six decades of changing industry trends and sensibilities.

With such adventurous storytelling, from the psychedelic Jack Kirby hijinks of the ’60s to the multiversal madness of Jonathan Hickman, the best Fantastic Four iterations often define their era, as much a testament to creative teams as the iconic characters that comprise the team. Now that they’re finally set to take their “first steps” into the MCU, it’s the perfect time to dissect the defining runs for the legendary superhero family, the Fantastic Four.

10

Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate Reboot Injected Youth Into Age-Old Team (2003-2004)

The Reimagining Influenced The Next Marvel Comics Generation

Brian Michael Bendis, alongside Mark Millar and Adam Kubert, boldly reinvented the Fantastic Four as part of Marvel Comics’ sweeping Ultimate initiative in 2003. This brave new take on Marvel’s first family traded decades of continuity for a fresh start, aging down the team into powered-up prodigies. Like many early Ultimate offerings from Marvel Comics, Fantastic Four wasn’t devoid of stumbles. Still, the combined effect of the youth movement and the freedom Bendis had in the alternate Ultimate universe successfully assembled a new, exciting iteration of the team from scratch.

Reed’s hubris and brilliance took on new color once filtered through the POV of teenage social awkwardness and insecurity; likewise for Johnny’s hothead tendencies, amplified by actual teenage impulsiveness. Though the title eventually lost focus under later creative teams, Bendis and the company’s foundation established a solid alternative to the well-trod territory of traditional Fantastic Four comics.

9

Dan Slott Brought Marvel’s First Family Back From Non-MCU Exile (2018-2022)

Rightsholder Politics Kept Fantastic Four Sidelined

Comic books have sometimes been an unfortunate casualty of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s success. In 2015, Marvel went so far as to cancel the ongoing Fantastic Four comic book series. It was a thinly veiled attempt to beleaguer the team’s then-film rightsholders, 20th Century Fox, ahead of the plagued Fant4stic reboot. Three years and one historic merger later, Fantastic Four returned under Dan Slott.

A mixed bag, sure, Slott’s run still delivered a fun, bingeworthy run—a feat in and of itself, considering it carried the burden of reintroducing Marvel’s founding family to an audience that had moved on without them. Slott appealed to a lapsed readership with a combination of overdue fan service and innovation, like Ben and Alicia’s wedding and introducing the Forever Gate. Despite its mixed results, Slott’s fundamental understanding of what makes these characters tick makes for a wonderful reintroduction—or, for new readers, an introduction—to the Fantastic Four.

8

Matt Fraction’s Era Was a Fantastic Four Double Feature (2012-2014)

The Writer Behind The Best Hawkeye Era Delivers Two Awesome Entries

Though best known for his Hawkeye run, Matt Fraction’s stretch with the world of Fantastic Four provided some of the team’s most innovative stories and iterations. Likely the envy of countless Marvel Comics creators, Fraction was given the keys to the eponymous Fantastic Four line and the team concept at large. He used the ownership to produce two distinct books, each elevating the other brilliantly—Fantastic Four and FF.

In the former, Reed kept his cohorts in the dark about a terminal condition at an emotional high point for the era. Meanwhile, Fraction’s FF was a separate, quirky counterpart to the more emotional main series. In what was more comedic, fish-out-of-water fare, FF assembled a squad of unlikely team members—a grief-stricken Ant-Man, the vivacious She-Hulk, the unpredictable Medusa, and pop star Darla Deering sporting a Thing suit.

A Strong 13-Issue Impression

Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz’s Fantastic Four run was a brief but striking departure, spanning issues #219-231 (1980-1981). With Sienkiewicz’s art carrying a moody intensity, Moench’s scripts were tinged with palpable psychological unease. “The Possession of Franklin Richards!” pulled the team into an unsettling battle for Franklin’s soul, sacrificed to Nicholas Scratch in a bit of classic Agatha Harkness witchcraft. The run explored paranoia, vulnerability, and the limits of the team’s scientific understanding, shifting the tone toward something more introspective and atmospheric.

With John Byrne’s already-announced arrival looming, Moench and Sienkiewicz had limited time to revel in the Fantastic Four sandbox. Though not ideal, the ticking clock instilled their stories with inherent urgency. Coming from influential runs on Moon Knight, the pair explored the potential for darker, more experimental Fantastic Four adventures by having the characters confront forces beyond their control and the fragility of their reality. Their tenure was short, but it left its mark, proving how Fantastic Four could withstand stylistic shifts in rapid succession and thrive.

6

Ryan North Brings Sci-Fi Problem-Solving Back to Fantastic Four (2022-Present)

The Best Post-Hickman FF Saga

Some would say it’s recency bias, but Ryan North’s run is proving to be an all-timer. North, alongside artist Iban Coello, brings Marvel’s first family back to scientific roots with vigor and sincerity reminiscent of peak Doctor Who. After a decade of multiverse-ending threats, North’s Fantastic Four stories largely favor intellectual showcases, reestablishing Ben, Johnny, Sue, and Reed’s brilliance over their brawn. North’s FF faces opposition that requires to be outwitted, not out-muscled.

When Reed faces his variants, the conflict calls for his self-reflection—mining of his shortcomings—not stretchy punches. After emotionally attuned aliens invade, Ben’s trademark emotional fortitude saves the day. Sue’s archeology degree makes her lead detective on a mysterious skeleton-centric case. North’s bottle-episode-style puzzle boxes make for an ideal showcase and entry point for folks looking for a new Fantastic Four era to deep-dive into. A spiritual successor to Simonson, Lee, Kirby, and similar FF runs, North’s era refreshes the usual approach, opting for sci-fi brain-teasers to highlight how these characters intellectually operate and show up for one another over physical, multiversal encounters.

5

Chaos In The Cosmos Defined Walt Simonson’s Fantastic Four (1989-1991)

Thor’s Legendary Creator Brings Asgardian Imagination to FF

Walt Simonson’s Fantastic Four run is criminally underrated. Best known for his legendary contributions to Thor, Simonson injected the same joyful adventurousness that made that run so iconic into Fantastic Four. The results were a must-read Fantastic Four era reminiscent of Lee and Kirby’s heyday.

Simonson’s distinct blend of quirky cosmic chaos and genuine character development was evident in this era of Fantastic Four. Story arcs like “Time and Again,” which pitted Reed and Doctor Doom in a battle of wits over millennia, perfectly demonstrate how Simonson’s penchant for bizarre cosmic quandaries is perfectly suited for extrapolating the Fantastic Four dynamic.

4

John Byrne Uplifted Marvel’s First Family Into the Modern Age (1981-1986)

Major Characters Got Huge Upgrades in The Early 80’s Run

When Byrne inherited the Fantastic Four in 1981, they were at risk of becoming an outdated relic. An increased taste for darker fare like the emerging X-Men outshined the floundering FF​​​​​. The stakes were high, the team’s relevance at risk—but it was nothing a five-year helmed by John Byrne, himself an X-Men innovator, couldn’t fix. According to Byrne, Fantastic Four #5 was his first ever comic book purchase, and his reverence shows.

Byrne’s fandom for Lee and Kirby’s inaugural Fantastic Four era let him treat it as source material, a surface-level foundation he could mine beyond. He deepened key Fantastic Four players under his authorship. Sue was renamed “Invisible Woman” and became the most powerful team member; Reed was rounded out with a thoughtful origin story and, for the first time, had his morality challenged. Doctor Doom became a fiercer, genuinely cunning antagonist. Kickstarted with a H.E.R.B.I.E. heel turn in issue one, Byrne immediately made a statement regarding the kitschiness that had bogged the preceding Fantastic Four stories down. From thereon, he resurrected Marvel’s First Family—even inking much of the run, leaving his stamp on every aspect of the era.

3

Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo Focused on Fantastic Four Family Drama (2002)

Franklin and Valeria Take Centerstage

Fantastic Four was, once again, teetering on obsolescence when Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo took the reins. Like Byrne before them, Waid and Wieringo were given the daunting task of regenerating interest in the once-can’t-miss title Landing in 2002; the era’s inaugural issue retailed for only nine cents, a direct appeal to existing fans’ nostalgia for FF’s early days and new readers. Wieringo’s colorful palette injected life into each panel and, by proxy, the characters. Although Wieringo’s style may seem somewhat cartoonish, it made this era of Fantastic Four more approachable.

Waid’s emotional wallops, like Ben Grimm’s shocking death, hit even harder thanks to the comfortable, immersive aesthetic Wieringo established. Waid and Wieringo’s Fantastic Four arc is best remembered for leaning further into the titular team’s family dynamics than ever before, notably rounding out Franklin and Valeria—Reed and Sue’s children—with more fully realized depictions. Though the run only lasted 36 issues, this take on Marvel’s first family successfully revamped them for the aughts and laid the groundwork for future, groundbreaking interpolations.

2

The Marvel Comics Ouevre Came To Be In Lee and Kirby’s Fantastic Four (1961-

Marvel’s First Family Laid Marvel Foundation In Rookie Era

The original Fantastic Four run is hard to match. Lee and Kirby forged a storytelling revolution that reverberates through popular culture today. Their 102-issue run reads like the big bang for superhero comics. Doctor Doom, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Black Panther, and the Inhumans were all introduced in this unprecedented stretch.

More than a revolving door of comic book character icons, Lee and Kirby’s run is a total blast to read (save for some cringe-worthy sidelining of Sue Storm, then titled the diminutive “Invisible Girl”). Kirby’s immersive visuals and the unabashed pulpiness of Lee’s prose brought the cosmic, borderline-godlike characters down to earth amid cosmic chaos. They were a dysfunctional family—bickering in the Baxter Building before tackling “The Coming of Galactus.” The Marvel trademarks appreciated by fans these days sprung to life in this first Fantastic Four era.

The Best Fantastic Four Era Changed The Larger Marvel Comics Landscape

Jonathan Hickman took Fantastic Four stories by storm. Taking the helm in 2009, he immediately established a status-quo-shattering approach, killing Johnny Storm early into his run and replacing him with Spider-Man. It was a harbinger of the bombastic storytelling Hickman would deliver to the series—a Fantastic Four era as much a game-changer for Marvel Comics as its first family.

The Hickman era had a staggering scope, culminating with multiversal incursions in Secret Wars. Yet, even as the Richards family evolved from cosmic explorers to reality-shifting protectors and architects, Hickman kept them emotionally tethered to reality. Arcs like the one featuring the introduction of The Council of Reeds—a multiversal cabal comprised of Reed variants working together to “solve everything”—are among the most emotionally stirring, paradigm-shifting Marvel Comics eras in recent memory.

“}]] Discover the quintessential comic eras of Marvel’s First Family from some of the Fantastic Four’s most iconic creators ahead of the team’s MCU debut.  Read More