This article contains references to suicide, miscarriage, and more mature topics.
TheFantastic Fourremain Marvel’s most wholesome super-team, but readers often forget their journey is plagued with just as much tragedy as triumph. The foursome’s dynamic maintains a family-friendly vibe, meaning it’s easy to forget thetrue horrors of the Fantastic Four.
At the core of these storylines, the Fantastic Four suffer and struggle just as any other hero or, more importantly, any family might. It might arguably be what makes the quartet so relatable, but it also meansthe Fantastic Four have endured some of the most tragic moments in Marvel history.
10The Fantastic Four’s Origin Story is a Horror Show
The Fantastic Four#1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Under the guise of the cheery Golden Age of comic books, the Fantastic Four’s origin story seems colorful and exciting. However, the story of how the ensemble gained their powers is practically a tale of body horror. Reed Richards' limbs suddenly stretch painfully beyond the imagination, while another man’s body is reduced to a compilation of rocks.
Add in another ‘superhero’ whose body can burst into flames. Finally, a woman already metaphorically ‘unseen’ in the male-dominated era of the ’60s becomes literally invisible. In real life, this would be a traumatic event for all parties involved, but for superhero stories, it’s a wondrous phenomenon.
9The Thing Suffers in Silence While Mourning The Human Torch
Fantastic Four#588 by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta
Following Johnny Storm’s sacrifice to stop Annihilus, the events of the comics jump forward one month. No one has anything to say, to the point that the entire issue is silent, with The Thing forced to watch his best friend die before his eyes. This inspires a violent outburst from Ben against Hulk and Thor.
Hulk, surprisingly, is the calmest person in the scene, allowing himself to be Ben’s punching bag until succumbing to tears in his arms. That, alongside Thor’s single teardrop, instantly makes this one ofthe Fantastic Four’s most heartbreaking moments. Not a word is uttered on-panel, but grief is etched in the face and actions of everyone involved.
8The Thing Tells Reed To Either Cure Him, or Kill Him
Ultimate Fantastic Four#27 by Mark Millar and Greg Land
Since the inception of the Fantastic Four, Mister Fantastic has regularly worked to undo his best friend Ben Grimm’s transformation. In Marvel’s main Earth-616 canon, Reed’s experiments often come with varying results, but The Thing is always up for trying every time. He sings a different tune on Earth-1610.
The Ultimate Universe taps intothe Fantastic Four member’s dark side. He’s far more vocal and deep in his depression, and Richards' failed attempts to reverse his condition only worsen his mental health. It gets to the point that The Thing outright tells Reed that if he can’t cure him, then he wants Reed to find a way to kill him instead.
7Reed Richards is Kidnapped And Tortured By The Maker
Ultimates#4 by Deniz Camp and Phil Noto
Somehow, the fate of the Fantastic Four inMarvel’s new Ultimate Universeis far more unrelenting than Earth-1610. The flight that would’ve given them powers is sabotaged by The Maker, leading to the death of Johnny and Sue Storm, and the suicide of Ben Grimm while Reed is imprisoned.
The Fantastic Four leader’s darkest momentis turned pitch black when he’s tortured and reprogrammed by The Maker into becoming The Ultimate Doctor Doom, the very man he hates. Doom’s mere existence is a walking tragedy, as The Maker’s wrongdoings have filled Reed’s once optimistic heart with hatred.
6The Thing Dies, And Is Revived by God, Who Happens to Be Jack Kirby
Fantastic Four#511 by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo
Out of all the tragedies that the Fantastic Four have suffered, this one at least has a happy ending, albeit a strange one. Anytime one of the Fantastic Four dies, it’s excruciating for the remaining members. But when Ben Grimm, the heart of the team falls, they are spiritually broken.
Ben Grimm’s death brings the team to Heaven, where readers learn that Jack Kirby exists inMarvel and DC Comics as God.As such, God brings The Thing back to life and sends the Fantastic Four back to Earth as one big happy family. It turns heartbreak into something more heartwarming, but also leaves a lot of questions.
5The Invisible Woman Loses A Child To Miscarriage
Fantastic Four#267-268 by John Byrne
After suffering a hard bit of radiation poisoning, Sue Storm is at death’s door while bearing her second child. Desperate to save his wife, Reed turns to the leading expert in the radiation field: Doc Ock. Doctor Octopus is surprisingly receptive and moved enough to help, but before work can be done, Mister Fantastic learns that the baby is gone.
It’s shocking moments like these that remind readers that for all their heroics and superpowers, these heroes are still human, and facing human struggles.
4Marvel’s Civil War Breaks The Fantastic Four Family
Fantastic Four#540 by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike McKone
Civil Wardidn’t just divide superheroes between Team Captain America and Team Iron Man, but broke families apart, even Marvel’s first. Reed Richards is put under scrutiny when he takes a pro-government approach to the matter, while his teammates oppose the Superhuman Registration Act.
Watchingthe Fantastic Four’s cornerstone couplehave such an ugly falling out was hard to watch for anyone fans, while Ben’s departing speech is just as devastating. Johnny would express his own doubts about staying on the team in later issues, enduring his own personal trauma leaving the team’s future in jeopardy.
3The Death of Franklin Storm Rocks The Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four#32 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Everyone knows Franklin Richards isthe Fantastic Four’s most powerful member, but it’s often forgotten that he’s named after Sue and Johnny’s father. Franklin Storm was a surgeon who, one issue after making his on-panel debut, loses his life after taking the brunt of a Skrull booby trap meant for his children.
Despite his short-lived appearance in the comics, the moment remains heartwrenching, as Franklin slowly fades with a final monologue to his children, vowing to join Mary Richards in the afterlife. Rather than focus on the deceased, Kirby’s illustration holds on Sue and Johnny’s inconsolable expressions as they watch their father fade away.
2Doctor Doom Would Rather Kill A Universe Than Abandon His Ego
Doctor Doom#10 by Christopher Cantwell and Salvador Larroca
Doctor Doom’s most prominent traits are pettiness and ego. While it’s entertaining to see theFantastic Four’s archrival being a divaat every opportunity, there have been times when it’s just sad to witness how stuck in his ways Victor can be. One of his borderline pathetic moments comes when he meets the perfect version of himself from another reality.
Earth-44131 Doom has been redeemed, ushering in a utopia for Doomstadt, and has managed to forgive Reed Richards. Earth-616 Doom has heard enough, and is willing to sacrifice this world and blow the alternate Doom’s head off rather than allow himself to heal. Doctor Doom’s greatest tragedy is that he can never overcome his worst enemy: himself.
1The Fantastic Four Complete Their Life Story
Fantastic Four: Life Story#1-6 by Mark Russell and Sean Izaakse
Fantastic Four: Life Storyisa recontextualization of The Fantastic Fourinto the context of an entire lifetime. Key points in the team’s existence are chronicled as readers watch them age in real time from the 1960s to the present. Moments like Johnny’s sacrifice and The Thing’s grief over his complexion feel more heartbreaking under such a realistic scope.
Anyone well-versed in Fantastic Four history will have seen these moments upon their original publication, but seeing these same moments reviewed in a new context feels like reliving tragedies all over again, especially alongside new tragedies for this universe, like Reed’s vegetative state.The Fantastic Four’smost gut-wrenching tragedies occur throughout their life story.
