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Ep. 82 The Fantastic Four, part 2 review

Y. M. Nelson: On this episode of Nerdy Romantics Podcast, we will continue our review of the movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps. We’re going to talk about villains. We are talking post credits and mid credit scenes. We are talking Sue Storm as Mama Bear and what in the world is the kid really about anyway, and we will wrap this one up with a star rating.

As with our previous episode and with most of the episodes that I do, I’m going to give a spoiler alert for this one because we will spoil Fantastic Four: First Steps. So, spoiler alert!

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Y. M. Nelson: Stay tuned for our discussion.

This is the Nerdy Romantics Podcast and I’m your host, YM Nelson.

Marcie G.: And I did also really like how they used sixties pop culture to tell the story in

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah.

Marcie G.: By doing things like that and

Y. M. Nelson: Yep.

Marcie G.: And looking at, I think it was fun to see like what neighborhood life was like then versus now and, and how news was disseminated then per versus now.

Yeah. So, I think there were, I think I liked the way they used pop culture to, to tell this story.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, and everybody gathering around the TV kind of

Marcie G.: right

Y. M. Nelson: thing, and then everybody being in the

Marcie G.: mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: Audience.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: And that’s how they get things. And then when they’re in Times Square, everybody.

Marcie G.: Right. And everybody’s seeing the same newscast at the same time.

Y. M. Nelson: Seeing the same thing. Exactly.

Marcie G.: And knowing you only gonna see it that one time.

Y. M. Nelson: Right. Exactly. Exactly.

Marcie G.: And everything has to happen at the exact same time. Yeah. I enjoyed how they let it pace the story.

Y. M. Nelson: I like how they let it pace the story.

And two this is a side point because I’m thinking about, the contrast of the tense feeling that I felt when I was watching James Gunn’s Superman.

And in that, it’s very much today, like how the news is disseminated today. And there, there’s, social media bots and there’s hashtags, and there’s all this other kind of stuff going on and people getting the wrong information and using information to, sow fear and all of this kind of stuff.

And you get a total opposite. You realize, wow, in the, in the sixties, this was not like, it’s natural.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: You know, and you get like a totally different feeling and it’s, it’s actually kind of, I don’t wanna say calming, but you know. Calming is the only thing I can think of to say, it’s,

Marcie G.: it’s refreshing.

It was, yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: Yes. Refreshing.

Marcie G.: Yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: You know, it is very much refreshing to kind of like, go back to that time where news wasn’t a commodity like that. It was a way to get information and to stay current where it was going on. And that’s it, you know.

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[00:03:42] Sacrificing too much for the greater good

Y. M. Nelson: But one thing that they brought in as far as conflict is the people having a certain feeling about the kid you know, being sacrificed to

Marcie G.: mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: Galactus like, what did y’all think about that whole plot line? Y’all are famous, so y’all should sacrifice y’all’s kids. And why don’t y’all do it for us? Because y’all are the ones that are, up here trying to save the world or whatever.

What did y’all think about that? Perry, your mic was open.

Perry C.: Yeah. So first off, I’d say that Reed, what were you thinking, man? I mean, you come

Marcie G.: right?

Perry C.: I, every time I watch this movie, and like I said, I’ve seen it a few times now. Every time I watch him go up to that microphone and him saying we tried to negotiate. Galactus wanted too high a price.

Then the reporter asked him, well, what did he ask for?

And then Reed’s, I’m like, don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.

Oh, you said it, you said it. Are you said

Y. M. Nelson: Yes.

Perry C.: But and when I talked about this on my show, we kind of reached the conclusion that, well, it does kind of make sense for Reed that he you know, he is this guy who doesn’t really understand people so well, so he doesn’t realize exactly what the reaction is when he, when he is saying that. So, I, I kind of forgive that a little bit.

But still, every time I’m just like, come on, Reed how’d you think they were gonna react?

Marcie G.: Right.

Perry C.: I thought, it worked though. I thought it made sense for the reveal. I think I would’ve liked it better. I mean, again, I understand why they did it this way, but I think it would’ve worked better if. They had not told, and then it had come out like it had leaked somehow to the press, and then I thought that would’ve made for an interesting dynamic as well.

But yeah, it makes sense, right? That whole idea of the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few type of thing, so, or the needs of the one. Yeah. So that, that idea, I mean, I do

Y. M. Nelson: very Star Trek by the way. Very, yeah.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Perry C.: And I do under, so it does make sense why people would be like, this is the math here isn’t math-Ing.

Right. It’s one versus, yeah. You know?

Marcie G.: Right.

Perry C.: How many, I don’t know how many people are on this world since the 1960s. You know, how, what the population was there. But let’s say 5 billion, 4 billion or something like that. Right? One versus 4 billion. Right?

So, I understand why people be like, well, that math doesn’t, obviously you’re gonna sacrifice one person to save billion to people. So, I understand the reactions, even though, it’s the old trolley problem. Right? Do you, do you intentionally kill one person to say, you know, to save several, yeah. That math. Logically makes sense.

So, I understand why the people would react the way they would, and why the Fantastic Four would refuse that logic, right?

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Perry C.: That makes sense too. That’s not only, you know, just, personally, right? I wouldn’t sacrifice my kids for anyone. But also, that’s, the hero idea that, no, we’re not going to be locked into this binary choice. We’re going to find a third option.

That’s, one of the things that, you know, not to get on too much of the soapbox here, but that’s what annoyed me about Man of Steel. This idea that the villain poses a binary choice, and Superman accepts that binary choice. He doesn’t say, no, screw that. I’m going to find a third option. That’s what, that’s what heroes are supposed to do. So, I really like that aspect of it.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah.

Marcie G.: Yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: Marcie.

Marcie G.: I, agree, and I think they gave it enough time for us as the audience to reckon with that choice ourselves too, right?

So, I think it was interesting and it was powerful to see the view of Sue and Reed and all that this child meant to them.

Y. M. Nelson: Mm-hmm.

Marcie G.: And then to see the world and what was happening in it and everything that is happening there and then to have to wrestle with that choice, because even as an audience member, I’m sitting there thinking, are they gonna give him the baby?

Like, what are we gonna do? Like you know? Right. And so, they gave us enough time in the story to grapple with it, and they didn’t just rush it along. And, and to Perry’s point, they didn’t just say, is this or that? And even when faced with that choice, Reed didn’t say. Knowing that people would’ve voted.

To give up his child. He didn’t say, I’m not going to look for that third option. I’m just gonna let them suffer. And so, I think that, I think it was, again, the way they paced the story, but it did, it gave us, I mean, I was sitting there thinking. What are we gonna do? And I mean, I was invested at this point and and, and you know, talking to my nephew and, and thinking about what that feels like and then to, to see that and then have Sue be the one to go out and say, I get it, but also, I need you to get this

Y. M. Nelson: right.

Marcie G.: And I think that I think that it’s unfortunate that. Superhero movies don’t get more consideration because that scene was flawless. Yeah. And I think as, as you talk about Vanessa Kirby and, and her work, I feel like maybe we have a better chance ’cause the Barbie monologue did some good things for us, but

Y. M. Nelson: yeah.

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[00:08:47] Superhero movies and award worthy performances

Marcie G.: But I feel like it’s another one of those where that. That was flawless. Her delivery, the crowd like that scene deserves

Y. M. Nelson: mm-hmm.

Marcie G.: Probably more than it’s ever going to get in terms of consideration, but it was, yes. I mean, it was chef’s kiss. Perfect. In terms of everything. And I, and I, I hope that A enough people get to see it, but B, that there’s an award, somewhere, there’s a nomination somewhere where someone looks at that scene and says, that scene deserves consideration regardless of the genre of the film. Right. Because of the acting and the writing and the filming and the presentation.

Y. M. Nelson: Mm-hmm.

Marcie G.: And the editing and everything about that scene. Is what movie making is all about. Like it, really pulls you into the story. It really made us all vested in what this alternative is going to be and it really reminded us.

Me of the power of, of speaking your truth and, and saying, this is my truth and this is where I’m moving with it, and I’m hoping you’re moving with me. But yeah, I hope that it gets more consideration than hero movies usually do because I think that it deserves it. And I’m glad it was there. I’m glad that in the midst of a.

A superhero could have leaned into the Jetsons movie. We still get those nuggets of marvel, those nuggets of dialogue that we don’t forget.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah, yeah, exactly. But, add on to that, Sinners, they had to move that into drama. To be to be in contention for I don’t know which award. Golden Globe. No. Academy Award, I’m not sure which award, but they moved it in drama for it to be in contention.

So yeah. Some these, genre movies

Marcie G.: mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: Get slighted so much and they have such wonderful

Marcie G.: mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: Acting and editing and cinematography and Yeah. They’re making you feel things and Right. You know, the pa- but you are right.

The pacing of this. For the viewer. At first, I thought, wow, they’re just going to go into this whole thing. With her actually having the baby on the spaceship and everything, and it’s like, why are we going into this? But we needed that because we needed to wrap our minds around what Galactus just said.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: Is that I want this kid.

Perry C.: Yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: And it’s like. Oh my gosh.

And then of course, before that point, Reed has been looking for anomalies with this kid.

Marcie G.: Oh yeah! Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: He’s been looking for something to be wrong with this kid the whole time before then. So, we did need that whole time to wrap our minds around it. ‘Cause as soon as they get back to earth, Reed spills the beans. Perry said, oh my gosh, why did you say that? You know what?

You know what Perry, I will say this, and this is just my head Canon, my feeling on it. Maybe Reed is just that person that believes in saying the truth.

Perry C.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: And the whole truth. He’s just that person. Yeah. You know, sometimes people with the genius complex, they’re just gonna say what the truth is.

Perry C.: Yep.

Y. M. Nelson: Right. They’re just because they just see it as a set of facts. They do not see it as this is going to cause some kind of emotional upheaval.

Therefore, I need to distort the facts here. I need to kind of assuage my audience a little bit.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: You know, I need to lie a little bit to, make this, you know. Yeah. Or I need to defer the truth. He’s just gonna say the facts of it.

And the facts of it is that this thing wants, our kid. And says that he’s going to spare the world if we give him the kid. So those are just the facts.

You know, I just, I just have this feeling he’s, he’s one of those rare people that we, that we don’t see on TV anymore.

He’s just gonna say the facts, you know?

Marcie G.: Yeah, I was thinking that too. When, when Perry was talking, I was like but I think it’s just part of his makeup. He just, he wasn’t going,

Y. M. Nelson: yeah.

Marcie G.: Lie about it. He was just, you know,

you know, and they kinda ask him point blank too, you know?

 Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: That’s the other thing.

He kinda walked himself into it, unfortunately.

Marcie G.: Yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: But then when they ask him point blank, there’s nowhere for him to go.

Marcie G.: Yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: But to, to say what he feels.

But, Marcie, you are right about, Vanessa Kirby’s speech. Vanessa Kirby in the end.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: When she does what she does.

Marcie G.: Yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: I mean, it, just like her performance is Academy Award nominated performance here.

Marcie G.: Yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: I mean, Mama Bear is in full effect here, and I’m just, I’m loving it.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: I’m loving everything about it. And you’re right.

And then too is it’s good that you’re not a trailer person because I feel like the trailer kind of spoiled because they said that one line about the child and whatever in the trailer, and so I already knew it was gonna be a third option in the trailer.

They spoiled it in the trailer, but actually seeing her doing this whole speech. That was worth it.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: That was worth it. They messed it up in the trailer, but that was worth it. That’s

Marcie G.: why I don’t watch trailers anymore.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah. I

Marcie G.: don’t,

Perry C.: I must have

missed that in the trailer.

I don’t, I don’t remember them mentioning anything about that in the trailer, so I must have missed that.

Y. M. Nelson: Oh yeah, they said that. Well, you know what? It could possibly have been a clip that I saw. You know, like when they do, you know, this is Fantastic Four and it’s coming in theaters, blah, on some entertainment news. Now that’s possible.

But that was a clip unfortunately. So, I remember that part and I remember. I remember her I remember her saying that, but seeing it in the movie

Marcie G.: mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: With the whole context of the speech is totally,

Marcie G.: yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: Totally different. And, and just, and really cool, really cool.

But, I, I totally forgot what else I was gonna say.

Oh, I was gonna actually talk about the third option. It kind of, now that they put this out there, that they are not gonna sacrifice their child, they want everybody to work together.

I love how everybody worked together.

Marcie G.: Yep.

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[00:15:44] City comes together with Mr. Elder (that rhymed!) The Villains

Y. M. Nelson: I mean, everybody really worked together. It was like, it wasn’t this, you know, political anything going on. Everybody actually worked together, including when they had to call on Mr. Elder. Well,

Marcie G.: Moleman,

Y. M. Nelson: the, the Moleman Harvey

Perry C.: Stingray for all the Cobra Kai fans.

Y. M. Nelson: Right. So yeah. He was hilarious though.

Marcie G.: He

Y. M. Nelson: was, he was hilarious in Cobra Kai too. He was a little annoying though in Cobra Kai, but he was hilarious here.

And we only got to see a little bit of him, but he was so funny. But having them all go underground

Marcie G.: mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: After they done vilified this man. And Sue was the only person who actually stuck up for this dude, right?

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: You know? And he’s a comic villain. Did, Sue stick up for him at one point

Perry, ever?

Perry C.: So that was, I think that was kind of a nod to something that happened a lot in the early comics when like every super villain the Fantastic Four Faced was in love with Sue Storm. So, I think that was just kind of like a

Y. M. Nelson: Oh, okay.

Perry C.: That was a little, so to have her be like the peacemaker there and be the diplomatic one and him being like, I’m not gonna.

Like, I don’t trust, I don’t trust Surface worlders, but I trust Sue Storm. I think that was just kind of a nod to that idea of like Sue as the peacemaker of the group, because she’s done that with the Silver Surfer. She’s done that with Namor. She’s done that to an extent with Dr. Doom as well.

Like, you know, Doom hates Reed Richards, but he, he won’t let any harm come to Sue or the kids. That’s his red line in the sand. Reed, Ben or Johnny, you know, they can get f***ed. Sue, Sue and the kids, right? That’s the red line for him.

Y. M. Nelson: Oh God.

Okay. So that’s what it is. Everybody loves Sue. Well, Sue’s the bomb. I’m telling you, I like her myself. I mean, she’s the bomb right now!

But but yeah, I just, I thought that was cool that everybody then, you know, got together on this third solution.

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[00:17:45] How to beat a villain (and get to 616)

Y. M. Nelson: And then when the third solution starts to come apart in the beginning nobody’s saying, oh, Fantastic Four, they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do.

What? They we’re in trouble again. We’re in trouble again. They’re not doing that. Maybe they just don’t have time to show what the crowd’s doing there. But, but but at the same time, at least we’re not seeing that part of, people being disgruntled and being underground and disgruntled and all that kind of stuff.

So, you know, they’re just letting them work it out

Perry C.: actually, on the, solutions too. They actually pulled a, a little bit of a surprise for me because I thought that first plan was going to work and that was gonna be how they end up in the 6 1 6 universe because

Y. M. Nelson: Yes.

Perry C.: What he talks about how moving the earth to the other side of the sun.

Y. M. Nelson: Mm-hmm.

Perry C.: That is a thing in the comic. There’s a, on the other side of the sun is Counter Earth, and it was created by The High Evolutionary, which we saw that in Guardians of the Galaxy volume three, but it was a

Marcie G.: different

Perry C.: Yep. Different galaxy and all that. So, I thought they were gonna do something like that.

Like maybe this is gonna be Counter Earth now, and when they’re coming through, it’s gonna be them coming from the other side of the sun. But so, but then when they, when that didn’t work and then they end up.

They, because like people were saying, when Thunderbolts* came out, they’re complaining that, oh, they spoiled Fantastic Four.

They didn’t! Everybody assumed that that meant GalaLactus was gonna destroy the earth and The Fantastic Four were gonna escape and then come into our the 6 1 6 universe. So, so I’m glad that they played with expectations too, with that.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, wow. Is that really what people were saying?

Because I, knew that there was something going on there, but as far as Thunderbolts* spoiling it or whatever with the little thing at the end, yeah, maybe it’s ’cause I didn’t have, I didn’t have all that. I just watched these in the past couple of months, so it’s kinda outside of the whole talk.

Maybe that’s what it was.

Perry C.: Yeah. In the time period after Fantastic Four came out. I mean, before Fantastic Four came out, but after Thunderbolts*

Marcie G.: mm-hmm.

Perry C.: There were a lot of people on like Reddit and things like that, saying that, oh, Thunderbolts* spoiled the ending of Fantastic Four.

It’s like, no, they didn’t. So just wait and watch the movie before you pass judgments on stuff.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: Right. Because it’s nothing like it, but you know you are right. I was kind of thinking a little bit of the same thing too. I thought that the plan was gonna work and that’s how they were gonna get the 6 1 6 was.

You know, something was gonna happen there. I thought that was what was gonna happen. But what I also thought too was what I also thought too was that the baby was going to destroy Galactus somehow.

Marcie G.: Right. I did. I did wonder

Y. M. Nelson: ’cause the baby had, so I thought that the baby was gonna do something.

Marcie G.: I did too.

Y. M. Nelson: The baby did do something, but not what I thought, you know?

Marcie G.: Right. And I remember, that part from previous versions, but I was thinking that the baby would somehow do more of the saving, but I did enjoy how it, yeah. How it, how it,

Y. M. Nelson: how it ended up,

Marcie G.: how, yeah. And especially how it gave Johnny, a chance to shine a little bit.

So yeah, I did enjoy that, but I thought the baby was going to play more of a role in the destruction of Galactica too, the whole time.

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[00:21:00] The Mid-credit and Post credit scenes

Y. M. Nelson: So, the only thing left that I have to talk about is our, after our post credit. I guess this is really kind of the mid credit because there is a post. After credits credit that shows the cartoon, the Fantastic Four cartoon, which was kind of cool. And and the thing said, guys, I thought that was kind of cool.

But to Perry’s point from earlier, I love all the nods to Jack Kirby here, and having the quote from him and showing the 8, 2 8 from his, from his birthday there and everything, it just, gave me a warm feeling inside.

Also made me think, I’ve actually gone to, and I haven’t really talked about this on the podcast or in my newsletter or anything, but there was a traveling Marvel exhibit. It was going around. It was going around in the US, but then I think Charlotte was the last place in the US. This was 2023. Charlotte was the last place in the US that it was, and then it went overseas. So, I don’t know if they’re still going around with the Marvel exhibit that, but there was a Marvel exhibit that was going around.

It had video, it had interactive things, it had life size things that you could take pictures with.

Marcie G.: 2023.

Y. M. Nelson: Hey, I was just gifted an admission ticket. And I was just, taking it for what it was.

But there are a couple of things in that exhibit that Fantastic Four made me think of, is they have the first Fantastic four comic. They have the first Fantastic four comic in that exhibit.

Marcie G.: Ooh,

Y. M. Nelson: It was 10 cents. It was released in November, 1961.

Marcie G.: Wow.

Y. M. Nelson: They have the first Marvel comic in that exhibit. And that actually featured the Human Torch. And that was-

Perry C.: a different Human Torch, though.

Y. M. Nelson: Different Human Torch. Okay. But that was in November, 1939. So, 10 cents.

But I thought it was really cool that they had a section, ’cause I was kind of concerned, with the whole Stan Lee -Jack Kirby kind of thing. I was kind of concerned if they were gonna have a Jack Kirby section of that exhibit.

And they do. They have a section of where he created a self-portrait and he’s at a desk, drawing. And then all of his characters are around him and they’re doing all kinds of, crazy whatever things that they do. And his portrayal of The Thing is right there beside his signature in that. But anyway, so you know, it gives me a, a little bit of, whatever at the end there with all, with all the Jack Kirby stuff.

But the big thing that we see as MCU fans here is we see Franklin and Doctor Dooomm! What are we thinking? What’s going on here? And were we thinking about any of the previous iterations? Probably not, but what did y’all think? Marcie, your mic is open.

Marcie G.: It was only by accident.

I don’t, I don’t have a lot on this topic.

Y. M. Nelson: Okay. So, you’re just waiting

Marcie G.: for

Y. M. Nelson: Perry. Oh, okay. We’re waiting for Perry. All right. Perry, what did

Perry C.: you think? Alright. I was gonna let Marcie go first, but, all right.

I have two theories about Dr. Doom, and I think the two theories are this. One, he is going to be, because we already know Robert Downey Jr. is going to be playing the character in Doomsday and Secret Wars.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Perry C.: So, my two theories are that: One this is going to be a variant of Tony Stark who becomes Dr. Doom. It’s not going to be Victor von Doom. So,

Y. M. Nelson: okay.

Perry C.: They had, they played with this, this dichotomy a few times in the comics. There was a comic book several years back called Superior Ironman, where Tony’s personality was inverted and he became much more selfish, much more self-centered and basically it was more of a villainous version of Ironman.

Marcie G.: Okay.

Perry C.: There was also another comic a few years ago called Infamous Ironman, and this was when Doom after the Secret Wars comic book crossover. He had basically adopted the Ironman mantle for himself and he was, you know, kind of like trying to redeem himself to an extent.

So, what I think is maybe they’re gonna kind of do like a mix of those where it’s gonna be this darker version of Tony Stark who becomes, who becomes Doom is one theory I have. And that’s a popular theory too.

Marcie G.: Okay.

Perry C.: The other theory I have is that we’re just never gonna see Downey take off the mask because Doom in the comics, he’s always wearing the mask.

If he doesn’t have the mask on his face is hideously scarred anyway, so they never show his face. And I think people have gotten so locked into Downey as Tony Stark, that they forget. He’s actually a very talented actor.

And like if you’ve seen him in Oppenheimer, I almost didn’t recognize him in Oppenheimer.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Perry C.: And I feel like he could pull this off where if he’s doing like an accent or something and we never see his face, he might literally disappear into the Dr. Doom role.

So those are my two theories that either we’re never gonna see Downey’s face, and he’s just gonna play it like it’s a completely different character, or it’s going to be some Tony Stark variant.

I’m not sure which one I’m leaning towards, but those are my two theories about what doom’s gonna be. Okay.

Y. M. Nelson: Interesting. Interesting. Because in this little nugget he is holding the mask.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: And you know, we’re not seeing it, but Franklin’s seeing, and Franklin doesn’t seem to be, you know,

Perry C.: well, I think

Y. M. Nelson: Franklin’s just like, okay.

Perry C.: Yeah. But he’s also, four. Right. So

Y. M. Nelson: that’s true.

Perry C.: And I, I think it’s my own. If

Y. M. Nelson: you dunno, it’s bad. No,

Perry C.: exactly. You, it’s

Y. M. Nelson: bad.

Perry C.: Yeah. I mean, I was,

Y. M. Nelson: yeah.

Perry C.: There, here, here’s a personal story about like a year ago, you know, my son was up in the middle of the night, and this is when he was about like two or three, right? So, he’s three now. This is probably like right before he turned three maybe or something like that.

But he was, he was really fussy, and he wouldn’t go to sleep and he had, I think he had a stuffed nose or something, so I put him in the baby carrier and I had him on my back and I was trying to rock him to sleep.

And before he woke up, I had been watching Fringe, and Fringe is not the most, and so I, and so like I had, that’s why I had him on my back. So he was, and then I noticed, I’m like, oh, he got very quiet and I look over, I glanced over my, I’m like, did he fall asleep?

I glanced over my shoulder and I see him peeking over my shoulder watching Fringe, and he’s,

Y. M. Nelson: oh my gosh!

Perry C.: So, like, okay, let’s turn this off now. So, I say this. To not only as an exhibit of my questionable parenting skills, but also because I don’t think Franklin may not necessarily be freaked out. He may be curious about Doom’s scarred face. So, that was my theory about that.

Y. M. Nelson: Okay. Yeah. And do, yeah, I mean at thi at this point, it’s not like they’re saying, oh my gosh, you know, this is bad. You know? Yeah,

Marcie G.: right. Also though, I think, because I thought that he had some sort of power. Yes. In my mind, I felt like whatever it was, he didn’t sense it as a danger

Y. M. Nelson: Yes.

Marcie G.: To his power. You know what I’m saying?

Like if you, if you’re not stronger than me, I might not be moved by your friends

Y. M. Nelson: Exactly.

Marcie G.: In the same way that I would be if I think, you know what I’m saying? So, in my mind I thought, well, whoever this is, he doesn’t see them as a threat yet.

Y. M. Nelson: Right.

Marcie G.: And point, but I felt like he would’ve been able to sense it though more.

Yes. I he. ’cause he is not a regular 4-year-old, so I felt like he would’ve

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah, he’s reading Darwin

Marcie G.: and all.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah.

Perry C.: Well to that point too, and like I mentioned before in the comics, Doom, you know, he cares for Franklin and his sister Valeri. He’s actually Val’s godfather in the comics.

So, like, he has this sympathy. He cares for these the kids. And in the Secret Wars comic book that we assume that this upcoming movie’s gonna be drawing from when Doom, you know, recreates the universe.

He’s basically taking Reed’s place where he has it’s Reed, it’s it’s Doom. He’s married to Sue, and Franklin and Valeria are his kids in this new reality he’s created. And one of the reasons that Doom gets his powers to recreate the universe in the Secret Wars comic book is he steals the powers from this uber powerful character called the Beyond.

I don’t think we’re gonna get the Beyond in this. Instead, I think he’s gonna get the powers from Franklin.

Y. M. Nelson: Franklin,

Marcie G.: okay.

Perry C.: And I think that’s going, and then maybe he’s going to jump over into this universe and he’s gonna need something from 6 1 6 probably as well , maybe like the Mega Bands from the Marvels or something like that. Like he’s gonna have some reason to get these different artifacts to give him the power he needs to recreate the universe in his image is, I think.

And so that may mean he may not be feeling the powers from Franklin, but maybe he’s converting Franklin over to his side or something like that. Maybe there’s like a, an, maybe there’s a Palpatine Vader type of relationship here, or something along those lines.

Y. M. Nelson: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m kind of sensing that. Yep. That’s a possibility.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: I, I just think there’s a lot of possibilities going on, you know, now that you say that.

So, Doomsday is next, but is Secret Wars right after that or are there gonna be some movies in between that? Do we know?

Perry C.: I’m pretty sure, if I’m not mistaken, I think Spider-Man: Brand New Day comes after Dooms Day. But I’m not 100% certain about that. But it may be, we don’t know exactly what that’s gonna be.

It may be like a Captain Marvel situation where it’s set in the past. It may be like a Antman & The Wasp situation where it’s set like kind of concurrently with Infinity War. And then the ending of the post credit scene of  Antman & The Wasp was the Infinity War blip. So, we we’re not really sure what’s, I’m not sure exactly what the release is.

Marcie G.: Actually, I

Perry C.: double check the release date now.

Marcie G.: It looks like the order is different. Brand New Day is July 20 26 and Doomsday is December, so it looks like Brand New new day is coming first, and then somewhere in the middle we’re also gonna get, and this is projected Wonderman.

Y. M. Nelson: They’ve been showing they’ve been showing Wonderman,

Perry C.: Wonderman gonna is a Disney plus show .

Y. M. Nelson: Tv.

Marcie G.: Yeah. Right. But I’m saying there’s gonna, those are, I’m sure, somehow, but I’m pretty sure that that’s connect in a way that we don’t ever see.

Y. M. Nelson: Oh, you think, you think,

Marcie G.: well, I mean, you know what I’m saying?

Like everything. Yeah. Because you talk about all the time and Staci is forever saying it was from this show or that show.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah.

Marcie G.: Or this show is where she found, and I don’t watch the shows and that’s why I know the least.

But I will say. Yeah. The two big movies of 26 are Brand New Day in July and Avengers Doomsday in December, but there are a couple of other smaller projects also in the lineup.

Perry C.: Yeah, so I think Wonderman will probably be set before Doomsday then. And X-Men 97 is its own thing anyway. It’s not in the MCU.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah, it’s not in, yeah, I was gonna say X-Men 97 is its own thing. Miles Morales, Spider-Man is its own thing. Right? And whenever that’s supposed to come out.

And, I wasn’t sure about Wonderman, if it was its own thing or not, because as I was watching Fantastic Four, they were showing advertisements for it. It was coming up Right? You know, like, or it was already on or something.

Perry C.: They’re having, Ben Kingsley is reprising his role from Ironman three and Shang-Chi [and the 10 rings].

So, so it looks like it, it will be set in the MCU U proper.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah. Which I’m like, okay, so we get Shang-Chi! Okay.

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[00:33:19] Shout out to Herbie

Y. M. Nelson: So, with that, being said shout out to Herbie. I love Herbie here. Yep. Not a lot to say about Herbie, but I love Herbie and

Marcie G.: Herbie and the apron.

Y. M. Nelson: I want her

Marcie G.: cooking dinner.

Adorable.

Y. M. Nelson: Right? Cooking. No, not only cooking. Okay. Cooking dinner. God, Herbie, carving a pumpkin! He was really carving that pumpkin.

And it was awful how he was going and he was baby proofing everything.

Marcie G.: Yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: And then Ben was coming right after him, like breaking everything.

Marcie G.: Yep.

Y. M. Nelson: And I just keep, I just keep thinking; I was like, if Samuel L. Jackson did that character, it would be a totally different movie.

Marcie G.: Right.

Y. M. Nelson: Think that,

Marcie G.: yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: I found that about Superman too. Oh gosh.

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[00:34:11] We rate The Fantastic Four

Y. M. Nelson: But we say all this to say, Hey, we gotta give this one a rating, y’all. So, let’s give this one a star rating to remind everybody what our star ratings are.

Our star ratings are taken from the Goodreads star ratings as this is supposed to be a book podcast. But hey, you know, Fantastic Four was, and still is a comic book series. So, there we go.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: So, the star ratings are one star. We did not like it. Two stars, it was Okay. Three stars. We liked it. Four stars, we really liked it. And five stars, it was amazing. And y’all can rate in between those as well.

So, Marcie you’re on my screen. What is your rating for the Fantastic Four?

Marcie G.: I would go with a 4.75.

Y. M. Nelson: All right.

Marcie G.: If there had been more Ben romance, it would’ve been a five.

Y. M. Nelson: Okay. All right.

Got it. Got it. And so that’s your reasoning for the rating or anything else that we didn’t mention?

Marcie G.: No, I mean, it was a, great story. We were able to be fully immersed in the story. The acting was great. The ensemble cast was fantastic. The I like the videography, I like the imagery.

I like the nostalgia of it, but my nephew who doesn’t know anything about the sixties or the seventies or the eighties also had a great time watching it. And anytime it can span a generation and my mom got to be nostalgic to when she was that age. So anytime my whole family can enjoy it. It automatically bumps it up.

But just for me and my own personal viewing, I really enjoyed it and I was glad that I had seen it in the theater, and that I didn’t let my fear of what it was gonna be keep me from seeing what it really was.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah. Yeah. Perry, what about you? What’s your rating?

Perry C.: Yeah, I’m gonna agree with Marcie. You know, 4.75 definitely sounds like the rating it deserves.

I mean, I guess it’s fitting that it took us four different tries of rebooting the Fantastic Four to finally get it right. But it, they did it.

They, finally did it and I say that someone who is actually not a big fan of the Fantastic Four in the comics, it’s one of my Marvel blind spots. It’s still most of the Fantastic four comics. There have been a few runs I’ve enjoyed that I’ve dug, but overall, I’ve not been, I’m not as big into the Fantastic Four as I am with like The Avengers or X-Men or, or anything like that.

So, but yeah, I loved it. I thought they did a really great job of capturing the, the family dynamics.

They really kind of zeroed in on that aspect. They, they leaned into the wacky sci-fi stuff. I mean, one of the things I, that annoyed me when I talked about Rise of the Silver Surfer, there’s a scene there when Sue comes into Reed’s lab and she tells him, oh, the city is trying to bill us for this armored car robbery because of the damage we caused.

And I’m just like. No, that’s not, that’s not what the Fantastic Four is supposed to be about. They’re not typical crime fighters. They’re, adventurers, they’re explorers, they’re scientists. I think they, this movie

Y. M. Nelson: mm-hmm.

Perry C.: Finally captured that aspect of

Marcie G.: Yeah,

Perry C.: the characters. Right? They’re this team of, yeah, they saved the world.

Yes. They, they stopped super villages, but it’s not. Their primary thing that they do, right. It’s

Y. M. Nelson: right.

Perry C.: The the primary thing they do is they are explorers, they’re scientists. That’s what their primary purpose is. So, I think that this movie really leaned into that aspect of it, and I’m really glad for that.

And again, I wasn’t sold on the sixties aspect going into it, but they, they did it. They, they completely nailed that aspect. They, they, it, yeah. Definitely 4.75. Gotta agree with that.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah. Yeah, I’m gonna say the same rating as well. 4.75.

Marcie G.: Wow.

Y. M. Nelson: Yes, I, I did want a little more Ben, like a Ben’s personal side, like Marcie and also like Perry.

I wasn’t sure about the sixties aspect going in, but I loved it. You know, I will say this too, is that fantastic Four is also one of those superhero groups that I don’t know a lot about, and I didn’t even know that they had a animated show until

Perry C.: they had a few, actually.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah. See, didn’t even know that. They just weren’t a group that was on my radar. I would say the extent of my interaction with Fantastic Four is basically the movies.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: And I did not see the Michael B. Jordan movie. So–

Perry C.: you’re better off.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah, Michael

Perry C.: B. Jordan was

Y. M. Nelson: for that.

Perry C.: I’ll say Michael B. Jordan was great in it, but the movie was garbage.

Marcie G.: It wasn’t great. It

Y. M. Nelson: wasn’t Oh, okay. So that, that’s what it was. Okay. So, the, the movie itself wasn’t great. Yeah, it wasn’t great. Okay.

But yeah, for some reason, I just wasn’t excited for this one and I, because, well, not for some reason, because of that experience with the other Fantastic Four movies. I wasn’t excited for this one.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: But I was totally wrong about that. Right? I should have been excited because this was a really good movie. It was. This was done really well.

The pacing was great. The story was great. We got this big ugly villain that’s all over a place and eating up worlds and stuff. So, you know, I get my spacey Star Trek sci-fi feel. I get my superhero feel.

Marcie G.: Mm-hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: I get my funny family feel with with this dynamic. It is. It just works. It just works. It does.

Marcie G.: I agree.

Y. M. Nelson: And so, 4.75 all around for this one. Thank you so much for coming on with me and talking with me about this.

Marcie G.: Thank

Perry C.: you.

Marcie G.: Thank you.

Y. M. Nelson: Hi, want to get show notes from this and future episodes in your inbox? Then subscribe to Nerdy Romantics Newsletter. At Nerdy Romantics podcast.com/subscribe, Nerdy Romantics Newsletter not only has show notes, but nerdy and romantic recs and sneak peeks and exclusives of my spicy, nerdy romances and love stories.

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