The Fantastic Four may be Marvel Comics' most beloved family and team of superheroes. They were the first team to usher in the silver age of comics and the first to show how science could be a perfect foundation for creating superheroes. But rather than showcasing these characters as superheroes alone, their stories were more about adventure and exploring the unknown as a family. As a result, they've represented something totally new in the superhero genre because they are the physical embodiment of achieving the impossible. With that, there's been an everlasting purity and a true north tied to their presence in the Marvel Universe. But thanks to the Multiverse, not all iterations share such positive parallels.

When Jonathan Hickman began work on Fantastic Four, he introduced concepts that would impact the Marvel Universe for years to come. However, his additions also introduced an even wider level of understanding of how important the team has been to the universe as a whole. But with every version of the team in different realities, there are some that are far less noble than Earth-616. A great example of this was in Fantastic Four #605.1 (by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Choi), where the classic team was introduced in an era where Hitler had won World War II and taken over the world.

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Fantastic Four 605.1 Twisted the Classic Origin of Marvel's First Family

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The origin of The Fantastic Four is etched into comic book history as a group of four individuals travel to space and are bombarded by cosmic rays. But in this alternate reality, Reed Richards is a scientist appointed by Hitler to build a team to travel to space, inspiring his empire. Reed and Sue are both loyal followers of Hitler who literally fought a room of other contenders to be worthy of the trip, while Ben Grimm was taken from a concentration camp to be a pilot. To make matters worse, Reed, admiring the intelligence of Viktor Von Doom, took a piece of his mind to put in his own. Their origins alone showed that this version of the team was more ruthless and angry than any other iteration, making them incredibly dangerous.

There's also a degree of selfishness in their trip as Reed traveled on Earth-616 because of a scientific desire to discover. In this reality, Reed did it because he was told it would inspire his people. Each of their powers, rather than focusing on their personality traits, instead focused on their desires and emotions. After hitting the cosmic rays, Ben changed into a new iteration of The Thing while Sue turned to flame and Johnny to ice.

On the other hand, Reed had his mind expanded, leading him to turn his team against one another, kill Hitler, and expand the Reich with the Infinity Stones. But rather than have Reed travel in a void after destroying the planet, he was introduced to the Council of Reed and inspired to solve the world's problems with like-minded individuals. As a result of this revelation, it became clear why Reed Richards was so uneasy about how cold and calculating the council was, as they had all eliminated their connection to the rest of the Four. That said, exploring this dark iteration of the team led to an undisputable fact about the original Earth-616 team.

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Why is Marvel's Mainstream Fantastic Four so Important?

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The beauty of alternate realities is mainly that the chance for creators to show how one classic story could be skewed for better or worse. Or, even more interesting, how one minute detail could mean a world of difference in the grand scheme. That said, an unintended yet essential aspect of alternate realities is how it can put the main universe on an unbeaten pedestal. But with a team like The Fantastic Four, this is shown best as no matter the version that Earth-616 is the reality with the best and most important iteration of them all.

The darkest version of the FF proved that one wrong move could make Reed and his team something truly dangerous, but it also reaffirmed what makes the 616 team the best. From their intense love for one another to the loyalty they have through thick and thin, it's clear that the team is nothing without each member looking out for one another. If Reed was away from Sue, his mind could lead to dark choices. Conversely, if Sue doesn't ground Ben or Johnny from time to time, they could become something unpredictable. As various realities have proven, The Fantastic Four aren't fantastic if they don't rely on one another unconditionally.