After 65 Years, Marvel Is Changing The Fantastic Four’s Foundation With Bold New Universe

Published Aug 25, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Even if you think you know nothing about Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four, you still probably know that they’re a family. Unlike the Avengers, a team arbitrarily cobbled together with a bunch of Marvel’s most iconic and colorful characters, the Fantastic Four’s authentic family dynamic has always been uniquely cherishable. Well, in Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker’s Midnight Fantastic Four, the Fantastic Four are a family no more. In fact, considering that Midnight Fantastic Four is embracing Marvel’s brand-new horror-forward publishing line wholeheartedly with “cosmic, Lovecraftian terror,” this series may be one of the most novel interpretations of the Fantastic Four ever. Midnight Fantastic Four Is Breaking Up Marvel’s First Family Interestingly, Midnight Fantastic Four begins without Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm having much of a relationship. As per the AIPT Comics Podcast, Percy says of the family: “At the start of the story, none of these people, they aren’t together,” and “Reed Richards has no idea who Sue is, who Ben is, who Johnny is.” Moreover, the solicitation for Midnight Fantastic Four #2 teases that Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben may only be grouped together as colleagues who have shared the same horrific experience: Reed Richards — haunted by a past he can barely recall and a scientific breakthrough he can barely understand — begins his tenuous working relationship with Sue, Johnny, and Ben at Storm Systems. They’re about to test out one of his theories — a theory that will revisit and redefine the perils of the atomic age. “Tenuous” being the operative word, it’ll be interesting to see if the friction in their relationships extends beyond the obvious tension that would arise from them all being “warped in strange and horrifying ways.” In many ways, Midnight Fantastic Four is a rare opportunity to explore these characters a lot more thoroughly as individuals before they come together as a proper family, assuming they do, and their dynamic hopefully won’t be so familiar as to not warrant four refreshing and rejuvenating origin stories. Throw Marvel supervillain Doctor Doom into the mix somehow, and it should be tremendously thrilling. ‘Fantastic Four’ May No Longer Refer To Reed, Susan, Johnny, And Ben Percy describes Midnight Fantastic Four’s pacing as being “patient,” which would surely benefit the book’s worldbuilding and allow it to earn whatever semblance of a relationship these characters all have with one another, and yet it seems as if their terrifying transformations will occur within the first issue. The solicitation for Midnight Fantastic Four #1 reads as follows: FIRST STEPS INTO DARKNESS! An obsessive scientist delves into the secrets of the universe perhaps best left unknown to humankind, leaving himself and three others warped in strange and horrifying ways. What horrible secrets lie in the new dimensions they have discovered? And can humanity survive the discovery? From the twisted minds of Benjamin Percy (WOLVERINE, PUNISHER) and Kev Walker (INFERNAL HULK, DOCTOR STRANGE) comes a tale of existential dread and secrets best kept... According to Walker’s Midnight Fantastic Four concept art, unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, we’ve been provided a bit of insight regarding what the ‘4’ on these new Fantastic Four costumes will represent, and it’s not these characters themselves—not explicitly, at least. Instead, the “symbol triangles represent the intersection of universes.” How unified Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben will be in their work, however, is another question entirely. Midnight Fantastic Four #1 is scheduled to be released on October 7, 2026. TV Show(s) The Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes Video Game(s) Fantastic Four (1997), Fantastic Four (2005) First Film The Fantastic Four First TV Show The Fantastic Four Cast Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby The Fantastic Four is a superhero franchise centered on Marvel Comics' first family of superheroes. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the team made its comic book debut in 1961 and quickly became a cornerstone of Marvel's success. The franchise follows four astronauts—Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm—who gain superpowers after being exposed to cosmic radiation. Over the years, Fantastic Four has been adapted into several live-action films, animated series, and video games. The films have seen multiple reboots, with varying levels of success, and are now set to be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with a new film slated for release in 2025.