One day after reports revealed the identity of the MCU’s Silver Surfer, Marvel Studios shared a few hints of its own about The Fantastic Four.
In celebration of the made-up holiday “4-4 Day,” Marvel shared a poster on Twitter with a link to a page on its website. That page appears to feature nothing more than the 404 Page Not Found error (along with a picture of the cute robot sidekick H.E.R.B.I.E.), but if you click on the robot or scan the QR code, you’ll be taken to another secret page.
On the second page, Marvel is giving everyone access to five Fantastic Four comics for free “to prepare for the upcoming meeting” of the Future Foundation:
- Fantastic Four (1961) #1
- Fantastic Four (1961) #48
- Fantastic Four (1961) #49
- Fantastic Four (1961) #50
- Fantastic Four: Life Story (2021) #1
In addition to the first-ever issue of the Fantastic Four comic book, Marvel has also included the three issues in which the planet-eating Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, make their first appearances. The free collection also includes the first issue of 2021’s Fantastic Four: Life Story, which also prominent features Galactus, Devourer of Worlds.
So, what are we supposed to learn from everything Marvel shared on 4-4 Day?
First and foremost, it’s clear that Galactus will be the primary antagonist of The Fantastic Four. If the comics aren’t enough to convince you of that, Deadline’s Justin Kroll reported this week that Galactus will be the main villain, but the role hasn’t been cast yet:
As for the colorful 4-4 Day poster, we see Johnny Storm (aka Human Torch) flying over a rather futuristic-looking city. Based on the first poster that Marvel shared, we assumed the movie would be set in the ’60s, but it’s looking more like an alternate reality now.
Finally, we come to the Future Foundation. In the Fantastic Four comics, Reed Richards founds the Future Foundation after losing faith in Earth’s scientists. The philanthropic organization would go on to play a major role in the Secret Wars comics. So, it is safe to assume they will be around for the MCU’s Avengers: Secret Wars as well.
