‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’: Searching For God In Marvel’s Latest Superhero Movie
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
(REVIEW) “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” continues the Marvel trend of having a strained relationship with God that reflects trends within our culture. And while this new version of the Fantastic Four is more optimistic in many ways, its view of God is increasingly terrifying.
Marvel has long had a complicated relationship with God. While they mostly ignore Him, the movies have, over time, featured and discussed the Almighty more and more. They started off by portraying Him primarily negatively, as a metaphor for the evil of authority figures running our unjust society (since most Marvel movies were about rebelling against authority).
Then the movies became more complex and nuanced as Marvel heroes and antiheroes (like Loki) became the new authority figures themselves. Likewise, characters like Ms. Marvel and Daredevil’s religion became explicitly portrayed and discussed in their various spinoff shows and movies.
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“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and its portrayal of God combines all the elements of a complicated relationship with God. But in this case, it’s pulling a lot from 1960s sci-fi and cosmic horror like “Star Trek.” These movies and shows typically focused on science as being the primary lens for understanding the universe, with god-like beings being expressions of either judgment against humanity (such as “The Day the Earth Stood Still”) or a metaphor for the power of belief and man’s progress beyond that (“Who Mourns for Adonais?” From “Star Trek”).
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” like this summer’s new “Superman,” movie exists in a self-consciously fantastical world. The Fantastic Four exist in a retro-futuristic 1960s with no apparent racism or sexism, with so much institutional trust that when Reed Richards tells everyone in the world to turn off all their lights regularly for a long period of time, they do so. The film follows the titular family of superheroes as they fight off the cosmic horror “Galactus” from destroying Earth.
Many of their references to God or the gods in this film are explicit. When Reed Richards describes Galactus as someone older than the universe, his teammates suggest he’s describing him as a god. Reed isn’t willing to go that far, but says that he’s beyond our understanding. Despite this, characters throughout the rest of the film refer to Galactus as a god.
The film acknowledges that religious belief is normal for most people. Once or twice, we see and hear people talk about God with the sort of casualness one often heard in the ’60s in a society where belief in God is assumed. Ben Grimm’s Jewish identity is highlighted, as when Galactus is coming to Earth and he thinks the world might end, he goes to a synagogue. But when the girl he likes is there and she asks him if he’s there for spiritual guidance, he says no. He’s there to see her.
Much of this was also true of the original “Fantastic Four” comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Lee, who was Jewish, would often have his characters refer to God casually, as if it was a cultural assumption. But when they explored the actual cosmos, it was a realm of benevolent and horrifying alien wonders and monsters, none of which gave the impression that the Judeo-Christian God was involved in any of them.
This is fittingly reflective of the evolution of religious discourse today in America. Increasingly, there is less consensus on the doctrines of Christianity and fewer people embracing organized religion. And yet, this hasn’t caused the country to become holistically more atheist. For example, there are more people today who believe in life after death than did in the 1970s. But because religion is less common, what exists “beyond our understanding” does so in mystery. And what is mysterious is often terrifying. What is beyond is something to be feared rather than loved and be loved by — as is the case with the Christian God.
At the same time, more and more evidence is coming out about the need and necessity of organized religion. Whether it’s the work of Ryan Burge, Jonathan Haidt or Jordan Peterson, sociology and popular consensus are seeing its value — particularly as a necessity for social bonding in humans.
This works alongside the more positive depictions of religious people like Matt Murdock and Yusuf Khan, while still portraying any power beyond us as much more ambiguous and terrifying. Even Ben, when he goes to synagogue, affirms this by saying he’s there for a human relationship — not a divine one.
This dichotomy is most explicit in the portrayal of Galactus versus the values of The Fantastic Four. Galactus promises to spare the Earth if they will give him the life of their child. Funnily enough, this is a return to the ways of the pre-Christian gods, who demanded child sacrifice.
Meanwhile, The Fantastic Four see this option as unthinkable — but, as Tom Holland pointed out in “Dominion,” that only became so in the West with the introduction of Christianity. The Fantastic Four seem to resemble Christian demographics in America, as religious people are the main ones now having families and prioritizing them.
Marvel’s view of God has evolved from irrelevant, to evil, to terrifying — all while their portrayal of religion has become more visible and more friendly. It’s a fascinating evolution, and one can only wonder where their next steps will go.
“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is playing now in theaters.
Joseph Holmes is an award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic living in New York. He is co-host of the podcast “The Overthinkers” and its companion website theoverthinkersjournal.world, where he discusses art, culture and faith with his fellow overthinkers. His other work and contact info can be found at josephholmesstudios.com.