The Fantastic Four Movie Needs to Include These Forgotten Marvel Characters

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The Fantastic Four have one of the longest and most beloved histories in all of Marvel Comics. Their position as Marvel’s First Family has made them a core pillar of the comic book world, as well as an icon for pop culture at the time of their original inception. The Fantastic Four have suffered from unfortunately mediocre adaptations in live-action before, but their upcoming debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is giving fans hope.

One of the most important aspects of The Fantastic Four in the comics is their connection to humanity and the people of New York City specifically. While the team is often off in deep space fighting some interdimensional being determined to destroy reality, they are just as often depicted on the ground level of events in the Marvel Universe. Their humble beginnings and roots in the community have led to numerous sects of supporting characters from New York joining the roster of side roles in FF comics. Most notably, Ben Grimm, aka the Thing’s old stomping grounds of Yancy Street, has been home to the notoriously pesky Yancy Street Gang since the Fantastic Four’s early days.

The Pack of Youths Ground The Fantastic Four’s Mindbending Stories

In the early days of Fantastic Four comics, creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were essentially reinventing the superhero team-up book. Their method of creating a team that was, above all else, a family, was something that had never really been done before, and it ushered in a new kind of comic book story. The Fantastic Four and their stories have been instrumental in the shaping of the Marvel Universe that fans know and love today, establishing characters like Black Panther, the Inhumans, Silver Surfer, and Galactus. With so many out-of-this-world characters and concepts being introduced in the book, Fantastic Four also needed to make room for human stories and small-time conflicts.

The thing that makes The Fantastic Four so special is just how beautifully their stories balance science fiction concepts, bombastic action, and wacky misadventures with genuine heart, connection, and interpersonal familial struggles. This was no small feat, and it was the standard of Marvel’s rise in the 1960s. Civilians are often seen as the lifeblood of the Marvel Comics community, as they ground the heroes and connect them to actual stakes and issues happening in the world. From love interests to best friends to casual allies, the civilians of the Marvel Universe are vital, and Fantastic Four knows that.

Growing up originally in one of the more dangerous areas of the city, Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, often found himself wrapped up with the issues and interests of the Yancy Street Gang, a group generally consisting of young adults or children who incite violence or low-level crime on those that cross them (most often Ben Grimm). The gang was originally established as an “off-screen” threat to the Thing, acting as a thorn in the rock-skinned hero’s side more than an actual physical threat.

The Yancy Street Gang saw Ben Grimm as a traitor to his roots—to the place he once called home. Over the course of The Fantastic Four’s long history, the gang would often send Ben Grimm booby-trapped prank packages, crude messages, or hate mail. Though they never really endangered the Thing or the other members of The Fantastic Four, they served as a painful reminder of Ben Grimm’s past and his current rocky predicament.

Stories of The Yancy Street Gang Often Prove They Are More Than Simple Troublemakers

Though their earliest appearances were as nothing more than pranksters targeting the Thing, the Yancy Street Gang has evolved and changed over the decades. Though their grudge against the Thing has generally remained, the group has come out of the shadows and taken on a more out-in-the-open approach to their mischief. Their connection to Ben Grimm originally served as nothing much more than a simple side gag within the pages of a larger Fantastic Four story, but over the years, Grimm’s past on Yancy Street has been slowly developed and uncovered more and more. Originally a member and one-time leader of the gang, Ben Grimm’s leave from the world of Yancy Street was seen by many of its inhabitants as a betrayal—as him “selling out”.

With Ben Grimm’s past on Yancy Street being illuminated more and more over the years, fans began to get a better picture of who the Yancy Street Gang was and how they operated. Originally seen as a more malicious force, their continuously unraveling history revealed so much more lurking underneath. Their disrespect for the Thing was rooted so much more in resentment and betrayal than in any misplaced sense of maliciousness. They are simply a group of children and young adults who have struggled their entire lives to make a place for themselves in a tough world, and one of their most important members has abandoned them. It makes perfect sense that they would be resentful of Ben Grimm, and it recontextualizes their tomfoolery.

Eventually, the Thing and the Yancy Street Gang reconciled when Ben Grimm provided the neighborhood with a brand-new community center named after his late brother, Daniel. Finally seeing the Thing for who he was and seeing how connected and committed he was to his old community, the Yancy Street Gang backed off their mischievous attacks on the hero. The community center acted as a beacon for change and hope in the poor community of Yancy Street, and the gang declared that the center was under their protection from anyone who might want to tarnish its name or legacy. Ben Grimm, along with his constant push for the neighborhood to better itself and embrace change, has continued to dedicate his time away from superheroics to supporting the youths of his community, encouraging them to aim higher and further rather than settle for a life of petty crime.

The Yancy Street Gang Would Keep The MCU’s Fantastic Four Focused On What Matters

An Adaptation Of The Yancy Street Gang In The MCU Would Bring The Team Down To Earth

With The Fantastic Four: First Steps quickly approaching, fans are anxious to see what aspects of The Fantastic Four’s long mythos are adapted and what aspects are left by the wayside. One facet that many fans hope is included is the Yancy Street Gang and their connection to the Thing. This simple addition to the MCU’s Fantastic Four stories would bring so many fans on board with the direction for Marvel’s First Family, and it would be a wonderful homage to the early days of the team. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s original version of the Yancy Street Gang was rooted heavily in their own experiences growing up, so including that personal touch in the first entry of a new major franchise would be a wonderful way to honor them.

The new film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, seems primed to embrace any number of The Fantastic Four’s more goofy concepts from the comic books. Characters like the forgotten Frightful Four, Mole Man, or Red Ghost could all potentially appear, and the fact that the film seems to be embracing the weirdness of the world and its characters is a good sign for what is to come.

The Yancy Street Gang could perfectly complement what has already been established in the world of the MCU’s Fantastic Four, and it would simply serve to further elevate and enhance the characters that exist within. Giving the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Ben Grimm a real connection to the place he once called home is the perfect way of getting the audience to empathize with him quickly. It’s a human connection that he has lost and is trying to find once again.

In the comic books, Yancy Street has actually served as the headquarters of The Fantastic Four on numerous occasions. Though the MCU seems to be adapting their more iconic home, the Baxter Building, there is still plenty of room to grow and expand the influence of this iteration of Marvel’s First Family into the surrounding neighborhoods of New York City. What could start out as harmless gags and pranks enacted against Ben Grimm could subtly and quietly evolve into something more painful, more heartfelt, and more emotionally impactful. The Fantastic Four: First Steps needs to take the FF in a bold new direction from the previous live-action iterations, and embracing the comics that got fans to love these characters in the first place would be a big step in the right direction.

“}]] WIth a new MCU movie on the horizon, the Fantastic Four’s supporting roster of characters needs to be filled in by this often forgotten gang.  Read More