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The first interior page is a title and credits page, with two lines of character headshots paralleling who is who:
Mickey Mouse = Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (both the center of the team)
Minnie Mouse = Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman (both the team’s only girl)
Goofy = Johnny Storm/The Human Torch (the comic relief)
Donald Duck = Ben Grimm/The Thing (the short-tempered one)
The following pages parallel the structure of “Fantastic Four” #1 by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. In that issue, the first pages introduced the Four one-by-one, all of them living in the center of Manhattan and already having their powers. Their origin, being astronauts who were exposed to and altered by cosmic rays on a space flight, was then told in flashback across pages 9-13. The rest of the issue lived up to the cover, showing the Fantastic Four fighting a giant monster controlled by the Mole Man.
The first drawn page shows the flaming symbol of the Four in the sky, echoing how Reed Richards shot up a flare to summon the other three in “Fantastic Four” #1. The citizens of Duckburg look up in the sky in awe.
Like in the original comic, the first hero we meet is the Invisible Woman. Minnie Mouse is watching television with Clarabelle Cow, but when she notices the signal in the sky, she vanishes.
Next comes The Thing. In “Fantastic Four” #1, Ben Grimm is introduced in a clothing store, wearing a thick overcoat to mask his stone skin. When his true appearance is discovered, he goes on a bit of a rampage. Meanwhile, Donald Duck is simply ironing his clothes (which have been torn up since his transformation). However, when he sees the signal, he runs out the door, tearing it off the hinges along the way.
Next, the Human Torch. Goofy says flame on while working on a car with Horace Horsecollar. He doesn’t accidentally melt a car like Johnny Storm did, but he does fly by a barbecue competition and give everyone a helping spark.
That apparently expends The Goofy Torch’s energy, but not to worry, because as he falls, the super-stretchy Mickey is there to catch him. With The Fantastic Four assembled, the comic then teases the origin story yet to come.
While he doesn’t appear in this preview, Mickey’s arch-enemy Pete is apparently going to play the role of Mole Man. Who, then, is this universe’s version of the always envious Doctor Doom, who blames his old schoolmate Reed Richards for his scarred face? Perhaps Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first creation (who was displaced by Mickey).
“Marvel & Disney: What If…? Mickey & Friends Became the Fantastic Four” #1 releases in print and digital on January 8, 2025.
“}]] Our exclusive preview of the new issue of Marvel Comics’ What If…? gives the Fantastic Four a Disney makeover ahead of the First Family’s MCU debut. Read More