The Fantastic Four’s Complete Marvel Comics Costume History Eric Diaz | usagoldmines.com

In The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ first trailer, we finally got a good look at the team’s costumes in their ’60s retro-style world. Although we’ve had several Fantastic Four films before, these new costumes evoke the FF uniforms seen in the pages of Marvel Comics the most.

Although most people probably think the FF didn’t change their looks very often, that’s not really the case. The Fantastic Four have had many costume iterations over the decades. Here, we highlight their comic book costume history, revealing just where the team’s MCU uniform inspirations came from.

Note: We’re only covering the Prime 616 Marvel Universe in this article. We won’t cover the costumes worn by alternate universe Fantastic Four teams, like the ones in the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four. Also, we’re skipping the costumes from the various cartoons and previous live-action films. That also means we’re not really discussing the costumes of most “fill-in” members, like Ant-Man or She-Thing, with a few exceptions. This is the OG Fantastic Four only.

The Fantastic Four’s Original Jack Kirby Uniforms, 1961-1983

When the Fantastic Four debuted in 1961, they were people “just like us” with super powers. So in their first two issues, they had no costumes. Very quickly, Marvel decided they needed costumes for marketing purposes. So co-creator Jack Kirby designed the uniforms they’d wear for the better part of the next 20 years. At first, the costumes looked less like skin-tight spandex, as Kirby drew them with many folds and wrinkles. That aspect seems to have been an inspiration for the First Steps MCU look to a degree. They were cerulean blue with black, although the black higher collars would get smaller rather quickly. The FF wore these costumes from Fantastic Four #3-234, a whopping 22 years.

The ’80s and ’90s: The Blue and White Costume Era

Writer/artist John Byrne designed their next longest-used uniforms in 1983. These FF uniforms kept the standard design, but they traded in the black trim for white, and the cerulean blue went to a darker, more navy tone. The team would keep these uniforms throughout the rest of the ‘80s, and much of the early ’90s, from Fantastic Four issues #256- 407, roughly. Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk, stepped in for the Thing for an extended period during this blue/white era. The addition of white to the costume was definitely a big inspiration for the new MCU version, which utilizes white trim.

We’ve now got to talk about the greatest fashion victim era for the FF. Around 1994/1995, the team got a short-lived “edgy” look. The Thing wore an iron helmet, while Sue Richards decided to wear a sexier, far more revealing version of her outfit. Meanwhile, Reed added several pouches and a brown vest. (It was the ‘90s, folks.) Only Johnny Storm had the good sense to keep his threads the way they were, even if he now had a jacket for some reason. Luckily, these fashion disasters quickly went back in the closet at the Baxter Building. Let’s never speak of them again.

1996-2000: The Fantastic Four Experiment With Different Looks

In 1996, the FF then ditched the round necklines they’d worn for the better part of thirty years and changed to triangular ones. Ben Grimm started wearing shirts and pants regularly for the first time in this era, too. The triangular neckline costumes were another short-lived change, as superstar artist Jim Lee redesigned the FF uniforms again for his Heroes Reborn series that same year. These skin-tight numbers were former S.H.I.E.L.D uniforms that Reed modified with a “4” logo. In typical Jim Lee fashion, there were lots of buckles and patches that were mostly distracting. The muted light blue and gray tones were kind of dull too. These uniforms only lasted 14 issues and vanished once Jim Lee left the title. The longest-lasting addition to the costumes from Lee’s run was that the Thing now had a “4” symbol on his belt, something that’s more or less stuck ever since.

When the Heroes Reborn series was over in 1997, the team went back to costumes evoking their classic ‘60s outfits. The only difference was that the black in the collar connected to the “4” symbol, and were not separated. After three issues of Fantastic Four Vol. 3, the team went back to the white triangular costumes introduced in 1996. These lasted until the turn of the Millennium. And for some time, things went back to being very classic for Marvel’s First Family when it came to their wardrobe.

2001-2008: The Classic FF Costumes Return

In 2001, artist Carlos Pachecho brought back the original costumes from 1961, with perhaps a bit more modern detail. The high-collared black neckline was back after several decades, and these retro costumes would remain in use under many different artists, like Mike Weiringo, Mike McKone, and Michael Turner (so many Mikes!) among others. The next big update to the team’s uniforms wouldn’t happen until 2008.

When Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch took over Fantastic Four in 2008, Hitch redesigned the outfits slightly, bringing in short sleeves to the look for the first time. For some reason, Hitch added biker gloves and track shoes, making these explorers look more like athletes. The new shorter sleeves would stick around through writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Dale Eaglesham’s run. However, Eaglesham would ditch the biker gloves.

2011-2014: The Future Foundation, and the FF Go Black and White

Hickman then transformed the Fantastic Four into the Future Foundation in 2011. The costumes then changed from blue and black to white and black, losing the “4” symbol altogether. (Spider-Man filled in for a thought-to-be-dead Human Torch during this time). This look was a drastic departure for the team. Eventually, they would become the Fantastic Four again when the Torch returned during Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley’s run. During this era, they’d get new black and white costumes. But the “4 “ symbol made a welcome comeback.

2013-2015: Seeing Red and Back in Blue

For a year, under writer James Robinson, the FF made an even bolder switch when they switched to red and black costumes from 2014-2015. Johnny had worn a red costume very briefly in the ‘70s. But this was the first time the entire team all wore red. Somehow, the red just felt wrong. It’s like seeing Superman in yellow. When they switched back to blue and black, it was a new, more angular design, with the “4” symbol and the collar now having sharp lines. This was the costume they wore when Jonathan Hickman’s epic Secret Wars hit the Marvel Universe in 2015.

The Fantastic Four Return to a Classic Look

After Secret Wars, the FF were absent from the mainstream Marvel Universe for the better part of three years. They returned to Earth-616 in 2018 in a new series by Dan Slott, Simone Bianchi, Sara Pichelli, and Skottie Young. And of course they had new uniforms once more. These evoked the classic designs and color scheme, only they switched the body to black, and the trim to blue. They eventually switched to uniforms that looked like the Star Trek: The Next Generation uniforms with the black extending across the shoulders. These days, they are back to the classic black and blue combination, although the “4” symbol has received a 2020s upgrade and is now large.

Will the Fantastic Four get new uniforms at least somewhat resembling their MCU incarnations? We’d bet money on it. One thing’s for certain; after their first two decades in print, Marvel’s First Family never kept one uniform design for very long. When it comes to their wardrobe, they’re always looking toward the future.

The post The Fantastic Four’s Complete Marvel Comics Costume History appeared first on Nerdist.

This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak

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