The End Is Four-ever: Marvel Comics Cancelling The Fantastic Four?

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Bleeding Cool is reporting that they indeed have enough evidence to say that Marvel Comics is planning on a cancellation of the first family of the Marvel universe: The Fantastic Four.

While nothing has been officially announced (probably waiting for NYC Comic Con), it appears that sometime in the spring of 2015 with James Robinson and Leonard Kirk’s Fantastic Four: The End is Fourever the Fantastic Four will end their run in print.  A distributor for Marvel books had the following solicitation:

THE END IS FOUREVER! Witness the closing act on the First Family of the Marvel Universe! THE INVADERS meet the FANTASTIC FOUR as the hunt for REED RICHARDS and the missing kids of the FUTURE FOUNDATION continues. Meanwhile the mastermind behind everything unveils his ultimate plan. But how does FRANKLIN RICHARDS factor in? And how does this all lead to…The END?! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR #642-644 and the Triple Sized Final Issue 645

(img via blastr.com)
(img via blastr.com)

The demise of Reed Richards and crew might not be entirely based on sales, which is usually the driving force for a flashy cancellation of a well known title. It appears that tension has built up between parent company Disney (who owns Marvel) and Fox Studios over the movie rights to the Fantastic Four (which is planning on a reboot movie that is currently in production). Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter’s frustration might be so bad that he would rather cancel the comic than give an ounce of support in any way to the movie.  If the timing is right, the book would indeed precede the movie before it’s due in theaters. Bleeding Cool also notes that toy lines and other support materials related to the Fantastic Four are on hiatus as well.

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Not having Marvel’s support in any way would be another blow to an already controversial movie that seems DOOMED (see what I did there?) from the start.  The reboot has drawn the ire of FFour fans the world over as it’s been rumored that the film won’t feature any of the origin or continuity of the comic it’s based on.  The movie then drew more heat when casting was announced and it was revealed that brother and sister combo Sue Storm and Johnny Storm would be played by two people of different ethnicity. The movie has a lot to prove, especially with Fox (and Sony) wanting to emulate the wild success of the Marvel Studios comic book movies.  Not having the full support of Marvel could spell disaster for the movie that’s gonna need all the help they can get if they expect fans and comic enthusiast to throw their money at it.

The Reboot cast (via movieweb.com)
The Reboot cast (via movieweb.com)

So do you think the Fantastic Four comic book movie reboot will make it without it’s own comic support? Is this all truly the end of Reed Richards and family?

For my take, I think this is Marvel hoping that the Fantastic Four becomes so toxic to Fox that they will have little choice but to sell the rights back to Marvel Entertainment so that Marvel can bring in the Fantastic Four to the mix (and Doctor Doom). After all, we’ve seen (or maybe you haven’t and you’re lucky) just how bad a Fantastic Four film can be with Roger Corman’s 1994 version (see below). The Fantastic Four is scheduled to premiere August of 2015 starring Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch; Kate Mara as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm/The Thing; Miles Teller as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic.

[button type=”link” link=”http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/10/05/confirmed-fantastic-four-to-be-cancelled-in-2015-with-a-triple-sized-issue-645-as-january-kicks-off-fantastic-fourever/” variation=”btn-danger” target=”blank”]Source: Bleeding Cool[/button]
Featured image courtesy Marvel.com

Last Updated on November 28, 2018.

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