Season 1 – Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes

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Crystal T @RT48526834 Apr 26 good show, yall are just haters ong See more matthias s @Thescreenasvor 06/29/2024 The "Fantastic Four: World's Greatest" series, with a 68% rating, is a decent but mixed addition to the franchise. Some episodes are great, while others are boring or bland. As a Marvel fan, I had a great time and wished it had a second season. See more 08/10/2022 The one superhero cartoon I watched bits and pieces of back when the genre's ubiquity was mostly limited to television (I also watched an episode of Ben 10 every now and then but I found myself having a weird love/hate relationship with it, for some reason) rather than the "quantity over quality" problem we seem to be suffering from nowadays (the thought that went through my head regarding Marvel's grand return to SDCC was "wait, Phase 4's over already?"), Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes is an underrated entry in Marvel television. Sadly, it seems like the fact that it was very obviously released to tie in with the 2005-2007 film duology might have hurt its chances in the long run (I still have a soft spot for them despite their cheesy nature and feeling like clones of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films; unlike the terrible 2015 film, at least they weren't the death of cinema) because this show honestly isn't that bad. It's more lighthearted than most superhero cartoons at the time and it has its share of flaws: Johnny Storm being an annoying asshole who can't read the room (at least Chris Evans' Human Torch could take some of the bigger threats seriously...though this version of the character has his moments) and the voice acting is inconsistent (Invisible Woman does a pretty good job and the Thing is fine but Mr. Fantastic is subpar; not really terrible but the fact that his tone of voice sounds largely the same throughout most episodes regardless of context makes me wonder what direction the actor was given. And yeah, Human Torch is pretty whiny, though I will admit I thought he had an "Evil is Cool" moment in an episode where he gets possessed by a demon-thing and turns evil with a cool design to match). However, while thought-provoking drama isn't the name of the game here, Marvel's First Family get to shine in this cartoon with entertaining dynamics, good animation, visually appealing character designs, well-done action sequences, episodes where I was legitimately concerned for them (such as when they have to compete in the Contest of Champions and when they travelled through time to find New York turned into a dystopia run by Dr. Doom) and even some legitimately funny moments. It's like Teen Titans Go! but our protagonists actually respect each other, engage in proper crime-fighting and aren't friggin' sociopaths. Also, I think Sue Storm's depiction here was the best take on Invisible Woman in any of the adaptations I've seen of this iconic quartet. I do think the sound design for her powers is a neat touch and, while she has her more goofy moments (she and Human Torch did have the same parents after all, I suppose), she can legitimately kick ass without being OP preventing her from being given the dreaded "Mary Sue (Storm)" label. It's a far cry from her weak '60s characterisation as well as a much better portrayal than Jessica Alba (she wasn't terrible but she didn't really look the part unlike her costars and was there more for her sex appeal seeing how both movies had her in "hilarious" states of undress). The Thing is my favourite member but I have much more respect for the Invisible Woman thanks to this cartoon. So yeah, World's Greatest Heroes is more of an action-packed sitcom rather than a compelling drama like the '90s X-Men cartoon but the likable characters that ate easy to root for and deciding to just be fun make it, in all honestly, an overlooked Marvel cartoon that needs more love. See more Read all reviews

Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes — Season 1

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