One of my favorite Marvel titles. Interestingly, my first introduction to the Fantastic Four was not the comic book but rather the Hanna Barbera cartoon on ABC circa 1967. Marvel was still a somewhat fledgeling company at the time, and I'm convinced it was this FF cartoon along with Krantz's "SPIDERMAN" (no hyphen) and THE MARVEL SUPER HEROS (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The Sub-Mariner, and The Incredible Hulk) that got a lot of kids like me interested in Marvel Comics.
For those not familiar with the Fantastic Four, they are a super hero team. Unlike the X-Men, the Fantastic Four were not born with their powers but rather attained them by a blast of cosmic radiation (whatever that is) while taking a spin around the solar system. Individually, they are....
Mr. Fantastic - Reed Richards. Scientific genius and leader of the Fantastic Four. Able to stretch or elasticize his body or any part of it. In the comics Reed bore a mild resemblance to J Jonah Jameson with a patch of white hair above each ear.
The Invisible Girl - Susan Storm Richards. As her name suggests, Susan can become invisible, but she also has another power that many are unaware of. She can create and project an invisible "force field" of considerable strength an inpenatratability. Also, she's hot. Or at least Reed thinks so. He marries her at some point in the series.
The Human Torch - Johnny Storm. Able to set his entire body on fire. Because heat rises, Johnny is able to fly. Don't ask me how he steers or changes direction, I haven't figured that out yet. Johnny is also able to generate a burst of "super nova" heat, but as you can imagine, that takes a lot out of him. Johnny is the younger brother of The Invisible Girl and is the rash impetuous member of the group.
The Thing - Ben Grimm. Out of the four, Ben's transformation took the greatest toll on any social life he might have hoped for. His appearance altered dramatically as he grew larger and developed orange rock-like scales from head to toe. Though not nearly as strong as The Hulk or Thor, Ben is stronger than say Spider-Man or the She-Hulk. His natural body armor lends a certain level of invulnerability. Ben's other talents include piloting. He's been known to brag that he can pilote anything that flies. Ben harbors some level of resentment toward the others because they retained their good looks while he became a monster.
As for the villains? First and foremost there is Doctor Doom. Monarch of Latveria, Victor Von Doom is resplendant in grey metal body armor with a green cape and hood. His scientific genius is equal to or perhaps surpassing that of Mr. Fantastic. I've not read or seen anything regarding the plot of the upcoming movie (I couldn't view the trailer as I'm on dial-up) but good money says that Dr Doom will be involved.
Other villains include Galactus, The Mole Man, and the Super Skrull.
The FF Headquarters is The Baxter Building in Manhattan. You'll dig it.
