I’m a little disappointed Reed didn’t put his brain on top of a purple bear and use that as a body, I mean his brain is already kind of purple, they would totally match… but then again I’m a huge Evil Con Carne fan lol
5:04 I recall her using this to absolutely wreck a brainwashed Wolverine at one point, when he tries to kill her son. She blinds him by turning his eyeballs invisible (thus unable to process light) and suffocates him by placing tiny forcefields in his lungs. She also implies she could expand said forcefields to make his chest explode. It's freakin' terrifying. Don't threaten Sue's kids.
@@22espec | Honestly, if there's one member of the group who could use a powers-update, it'd be Ben Grimm. I saw someone suggest the idea of letting him move the rocks that make up his external shell, and I think that'd be really interesting. It'd create an interesting dynamic where The Thing could shift his rocky shell to focus on defending specific parts of his body (while leaving other parts vulnerable) or throw additional mass behind a punch.
Elasticity I connected it to Reed's hustle: from being raised almost by himself, getting the rocket, working with nasa, his trumped college carreer, working to give Sue a good future married life and partially raising Johnny, His curiosity, how with his mind working in dlfferent things at the same time makes him distant. The poor man stretch to thin. That's why I love tge comics that put the light on Sue, Ben, Johnny and The FF inc Staff with their different jobs and responsabilities that keep the FF as heroes, researchers, Open Science Hub alive, how the family cooperates so is not a One Person Job anymore
Also Reed was a part of the OSS in WW2, working behind the lines in Italy, as he spoke the language fluently. Forget which issue that was revealed in. Sgt Fury's comic maybe? Ben was a fighter pilot at the same time.
@@davidmcmahon4633 the man cannot take a break, even his time serving in WW2 gave him so much stress that he prematurely developed his silver sides temples
I'm mainly a DC guy, but I remember that great What If about the FF all getting the same power. Four stories in one issue, and the one where they all became Things was quite grim...
One of my favourites from the circa early 90’s run. The bit where they all get Reed’s powers was unintentionally hilarious with Sue and Ben “Nope”-ing out.
I really am having trouble wrapping my mind around the buff watcher. He is so buff but that doesn’t explain the head being so thermos like. I loved this recap. Seeing this version of the FF made my mind wander into a rabbit hole of swapping powers that I am having trouble clawing my way out of.
I think I already talked about this issue in the past, so I'll try not to repeat myself. But I still love this idea, maybe some slight changes, like making Johnny more like Upgrade from Ben 10. I also like how Big Brain actually came back in MC2, It three me off when I first saw the new version of the FF. Sue is just Elastigirl lol
I've personally dreamed of them getting an upgrade for years. Personally I wouldn't have kept their same powers but focused more on the Cosmic Energy that caused them. Over the years the Cosmic energy they were imbued with would continue to grow and become more powerful becoming an energy source that not only enhanced their powers but something they could actively manipulate. Is the same concept as Ki/Chi you'd see in Anime & Manga like Dragonball, Naruto, or One Piece. Enhancing all of their physical stats. I would call it something like the "Four Force". Thematically it would be a symbol of their bond as a family and was greatly enhanced when they were all together. It also grows more powerful over time the more their Family Bond increases. I would make Reeds powers more closer to Plastic Man and make him comparable to guys like Superman in terms of Combat Potential since he'd be able to alter his size and strength at will. For Ben I would emphasize Defense and manipulation of the earth. Able to increase his density and weight at will as well as create mountains like and earth bender. Johnny's good where he's at Except I'd focus on styling his combat more like Escanor from Nanatsu no Taizai. Sue is also already good. She just needs to focus on Martial Arts and use her powers more like a Green Lantern. Possibly even like Kizaru or Monica Rambeau.
Wow, I haven't thought of that issue in literally 45 years. I had just turned 13 when this issue came out. Back then I had to go 20 miles to a city and go around to all the different drug stores to get various titles as their distribution route matched certain titles, I noticed. There were no comic-book stores. Thanks for the memory and the story of what became of those characters.
@@luigiboi4244 I think faster than Wolverine’s so he can fight longer If he lost his body and was left with just a head then in a few seconds his body would be restored
And oddly enough going by mythology their personalities actually would fit the 4 elements... Except 2 are switched. Going by mythos Air is linked to inquisitiveness, logical thought, and strategy, it is active but often changing in focus or poor at social skills. Meanwhile water is the emotionally intelligent and spiritual element, socially necessary to hold groups together, but often passive and blending into the background. So yeah... Sue and Reed fit each other's element better than they fit their own. Also similarly Ben and Johny also fit each other's elements somewhat (earth is materialistic while fire is agressive and short sighted.) but they do fit their own pretty well too anyway. But Reed and Sue are kind of like the core stereotype of each other's element down to a T, and really aren't that good a fit for their own. Then again arguably it's the greeks that got it wrong. I mean, sure water and air are both invisible and maleable, but water is more visible than air innit. But they needed water to be the spiritual one due to all their other mythos. (Rivers were often associated with the underworld, while going upwards, into the air, was the way to gain knowledge from various entities.)
From reading early Fantastic Four, Sue is certainly often responsible for de-escalating team squabbles, but she doesn't come off as a doormat at all. I think she actually had a pretty strong personality right off the bat. And I think it's obvious early on that her powers are extremely useful. Especially compared to early Jean Grey, she's often critical to solving the problem at hand.
if I gave them new powers they would be: Reed: Telepathy/telekinesis Sue: Healing along with the ability to weld objects together Johnny: the ability to turn himself into fire along with creating fire constructs and duplicates. Ben: Give him a kind of hypbrid mandragon appearance with the powers you would expect from a dragon.
One thing that it took me forever to realize what a fantastic four is that the powers are the old concept of elements… Earth (Ben), Air (Sue), Fire (Johnny) and Water (Richard). There’s an interview with Kirby when he breaks down…
In her daily life as a mom, she's mild-mannered Sasha Wood. But when trouble rears its ugly head, and comics need to be put in their place, she becomes... Salty Shade!
Cross team power switch is still too small, we need cross company power switch. I wanna see Bruce Banner with Poison Ivy's pheromone powers and poison kiss.
I dont know. Ivy does it she is a femme fatale. Bruce does it and The Incredible Sexual Predator will be the new Marvel title. Keep in mind Marvel already has a man that has pheromone powers and he is a cringe supervillain who was so bad Jessica Jones had to snap his neck.
Mentioning how the F4's powers stem from their subconscious personality traits reminds me of Mythos by Paul Jenkins and Paolo Rivera, origin story re-tellings of various Marvel superheroes. The F4 chapter revealed exactly what the four's thoughts were at the moment of their changing and the chaos of the crashing rocket: Reed feared losing Sue wanted to *reach out* to her, Sue was scared and wanted to *disappear* , Ben was angry and didn't want to die *like this* , and Johnny kept thinking about how *hot* it was.
swapping the powers around is always fun Reed gaining Ben's power because of his rigid personality and it leading him to hide himself in his work more. Ben gaining johnny's power cause he's just as much a hot head show boat but I think adding the idea that his girlfriend still being alicia as she still the only one that loves him for his heart. Sue being pliable is so easy like that so yeah the emotional one bending over backwards to get the group together makes sense. Johnny getting his sister power well airhead jokes a plenty, mischief made invisible and him being an unconventional type who's efforts are unseen and gets ruled out as a layabout do nothing.
It feels like a better explanation for the type of powers Sue manifests would've been her desire to protect others, seeing as she can create forcefields.
I've always appreciated reed and Susan's relationship. It's the only relationship in comics that hasn't been ruined/temporary Then any other relationship in comics. They were considered the 1st marriage in comics And they're really the only ones that have stayed together even after all these years. Where the separation and melodrama other romantic feelings is always played as a gimmick to return to the status quo not the other way around Is terrifyingly rare.
I'd love to see a 'what if' where the Fantastic Four were mutants. Susan Storm with Storms power set. Ben Grimm with Wolverine's power set Johnny Storm with Longshots power set Read Richards with Shadow cats power set Johnny Storm was always a risk taker and thrilled seeker so luck powers would just make him even more so. Ben Grimm would look totally human but still have to deal with that animal rage wolverine has. Susan storm would be incredible with weather powers, fantastic powerhouse. Read Richard's power is always that he's smart so getting a primarily defensive movement power is just fine. Maybe it makes people accept mutants faster? Maybe the Fantastic four just go underground.
•Reed: got telepathy if he had telekinesis it could’ve been an upgrade to Sue’s power •Ben: got Johnny’s flying ability but without the offensive or defensive power, and his wings could be damaged making him more vulnerable then Johnny. •Sue: got Reed’s powers direct conversion •Johnny: got Ben’s strength plus being a technopath so he’s the only one to get a power upgrade, although he’s seemingly less durable then Ben
Okay this is fun. Let me come up with some powers for them. Reed - Basically his physical body turns into digital information where he can only exist inside computers but can hop from machine to machine of his own power in a limited range. Part of his capabilities are limited by the machine he's in, but his intelligence is vastly enhanced and focused in this digital form while also granting him limited technopathy of machines hooked up to his host. Obviously this strains his relationship with the team and makes it hard to cling onto a sense of humanity. Ben - Gets a sweeter deal this time around where he can absorb matter by converting it into energy and it temporarily transforms him into a slightly larger, denser version of himself. He can continue absorbing matter and it will turn him stronger and heavier, but it will also eventually phase out and he'll return to his normal self. Sue - Intangibility which can lead to invisibility if she phases through light specifically. Johnny - Human.... flashlight.
“What If” was a very well written comic book. It was like a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode. Great ideas and stories which had us talking for hours about the issues (nerding out in the 80s.). A Fantastic Four variation issue was What if the Beatles had the FF powers. It was cute. You asked about new powers for the FF here you go: Johnny: Karma Lad-Who would pass along bad luck to anyone because he always had bad luck with the ladies. Ben: Because he was big and powerful the cosmic rays put him in the body of a 1 year old retaining his adult mind with super strength. Think Diaper Man of the Mighty Heroes but no diapers. He would become Onzees. Reed: can still be the Atomic Brain and has electro kinesis. Uses it to control his Fantasti-Bots which he uses from time to time. Sue won’t have body issues with him then. Sue: Ultra Woman-fight baddies with cosmic rays and can pass through objects. *How about a episode on when Sue Storm became Malice Queen of Hate*
So when Karma Lad gives others bad luck, an equal and opposite luck accumulates for him, until he has enough good luck that someone will actually date him.
It's fun to think of more advanced versions of these characters as their story unfolds; -Ben: some measure of enhanced strength and endurance, perhaps fire-breath, even a temporary transformation into a full dragon form? -Johnny; full control of metal, plastic and glass, allowing him to instantly create custom mechanical devices at his whim (battle armor, shields, shelters, transports, power cannons, etc) from nearby raw materials. The ability to create AI's to infect target systems to his advantage, from antagonist robots to security systems now at his command. -Sue: maybe turn into liquid (shape of...a bucket of water!) and gaseous forms, or even 'more' solid, super strong 'rock-like' form. She could attack like an enormous fog bank that can manifest powerful fists that vanish just as quick, then trap her opponent in a liquid sphere until they fall unconscious. Perhaps gain mimicry abilities like Mystique. -Reed; (in either form) increase his intellect and telepathic abilities, rivaling those of Prof. X. Even access the whole psionic cataloge of powers in time (telekinesis, clairsentience, teleportation, precognition, postcognition, empathy). Perhaps becoming so alien eventually that he can't relate to his mere human teammates anymore...so Doom will have to reemerge to save the world from the alien-god-being that Reed becomes!
I've actually thought about this a fair bit, and know exactly what powers I'd give them all. Reed, Mr Fantastic: Logic based reality warping. Think something along the lines of Dr Manhattan and you'd be on the right track. Reed's mind is on such a higher level that he can just intuit the secrets of the universe, yet he's so wrapped up in logic that he's emotionally repressed to an almost frightening degree. I'm just taking that to the logical extreme; this version of Reed can do pretty much anything he can imagine, so long as he's able to figure out the science behind it. The catch is he'd grow more and more emotionally dethatched and loose his "humanity." This Reed would rapidly loose interest in Sue, and see no point in curing Ben. Sue, She-Hulk: Predating the Jen Walters version of the character would free Sue to take the moniker in tribute to her old friend and colleague Bruce Banner. Sue has traditionally been something of a background character, and came about in the time when a "woman's place" was to be quiet and out of the way. In short; woman's carrying around a lot of repressed baggage. So this version of Sue would become more physically powerful based on her emotions. Not just rage, but all of them including joy or pleasure. Chief among them however would be confidence. Seeking out Banner to learn the ins and outs of the power set, Sue would quickly realize the more assertive and expressive she becomes, the more overtly powerful. And the more unstoppable she becomes, the more confident and fulfilled. This creates a self esteem feedback loop that led to her becoming among the world's most powerful heroes, and the unquestioned leader of the Fantastic Four. Invisible no longer, and never again. Of course with unlimited confidence and "unstoppable power" naturally comes reckless disregard. Dopamine is a hell of a drug, dopamine with a side of super strength even more so. Johnny Storm, Wiz Kid: Johnny has always been a bit reckless, and in some comics a bit of an adrenaline junkie. So we're ramping this up to extremes; Johnny has super speed, as well as speed relative healing. That is the faster he's going, the faster his body recovers from injuries. But there is a catch, as there always is. Johnny's healing powers counter the effects of aging, leaving him perpetually stunted into the body of a teenager. Even decades later he's still seen as the same dumb kid he always was, because he sort of still is. While this obviously complicates relationships, you could still argue its a small price to pay for biological immortality...until you realize it means he's been stuck going through puberty for the last sixty years. Ben Grimm, Hysterical: Ben's also been defined by, more than anything else, his emotional core. He's the man inside the monster, the soft heart encased in stone, a joyous soul trapped in a cold exterior. So we're ramping this up too; Grimm's new powers are emotion based psychokinesis. Functioning more as an empath than a telepath, he can intensify or repress the emotions of anyone he wishes, inspiring extreme confidence or reducing the toughest foe to a complete quivering mess. In addition to this he can project psychic force fields that's strength is directly proportional to his own willpower and self control; his "emotional walls." The catch is that being such a naturally empathic and emotional person means he can't easily suppress his powers, and is constantly being assaulted by the emotions of strangers and his own teammates. Being near Sue and Johnny can actually be painful, while sticking close to Reed is the closest thing he can manage to "peace and quiet." Bonus character Victor Von Doom, The Sorcerer King: Doom's backstory doesn't change...much. The big alteration comes after his first run in with the FF4. In Reed he sees what a "cold unfeeling engine of logic" actually looks like, and notice that while Reed is technically the most powerful being in the universe, his more impulsive and emotional teammates run circles around him. In response to this Doom ditches the armor that cuts him off from such things, and commits to his own intuition and creativity as to "out maneuver" his foe. Likewise due to a fluke of his powers Reed can't comprehend magic, and Doom is not only a scientific genius, but one of the world's most powerful sorcerers. Reed's mind being hard-locked into science and logic can't predict or even comprehend an emotional and spontaneous Doom, and his reality warping powers can't touch Doom or his arcane conjurations. A problem that gets even more exasperated when Doom eventually tracks down and allies with his long lost half-sister; Wanda Maximoff. (Both are Romani, and the comics go back and forth on Wanda's family tree constantly, so...the plot, as they say, thickens.)
Fitting powers I see. Reed: Same brain, technopath... he can mentally control technological items, the more advanced, the more he just makes them warp to his will. He doesn't even need tools for most advanced technology. He understands how things work just by being near them. Susan: Polymorphic and metamorphic. She can adapt to any situation physically, make her body do anything relative to its mass from altering its form to its very substance. Johnny: Pretty much like The Flash but he flies too. His hot-headed speed thing isn't really speeding but a form of travel through both time and space. His "flying" manifests by him just running and jumping, even if he has no ground under his feet. Ben: Something like a cross between Juggernaught and Cannonball looking like a normal-colored hulking version of his pre-altered version. His body is hardened as if he's animated granite, he's as strong as such a golem would be, but he also has the ability to just take off at his target to become an indestructible unstoppable missile for the straight-line charge until he either misses or impacts. Marvel made the Fantastic Four the way they did not because they could not see them more awesome but because they didn't want to overpower them... make them akin to a team of DC Kryptonians. The hardest part of making fictional superheroes is making them both powerful and not boring because of that.
If no one has said it already, I'd like to point out that the explanation of Reed's powers as related to his willingness to go any lengths in pursuit of truth seems a bit of a stretch.
It’s a fun way to easily switch things up, I guess you can say this fantastic trope. (I know this is repeat from last time fantastic four vid now. It just work so well…
I was lucky enough to read this via reprints, and this version of the FF always stuck with me. There were enough cool concepts at play here that I would have loved to see further adventures of this team. What If? always was one of the more interesting books Marvel published. New Powers for the Fantastic Four: Reed Richards regretted the idea that his life long search for knowledge might finally be coming to and end as everything went wrong aboard the experimental rocket. His subconscious mind shaped his cosmic radiation granted abilities accordingly. He was granted total recall of all knowledge acquired after the accident. If Reed can learn it, he can remember it down to the smallest detail. His other ability was adaptive auto recall. If Reed possesses the knowledge appropriate to the situation at hand, he is able to recover and apply the knowledge at an instinctual level. To keep Reed competitive on the battlefield, he studies a variety of martial arts. In addition, he learns to be prolific with a variety of weapons(melee and projectile). Thus, he becomes the super science soldier known as Memory Bank. Sue Storm had always desired to be more than just Reed's supportive fiance(in this version of the story, they are already engaged). She wanted to be seen as pillar of strength, someone whom others could rely upon in times of danger or need. Her subconscious mind granted her enhanced strength and durability. As Sue had never really felt seen, she also grew to stand at about 9ft tall. Sue would come to hone her combat abilities by competing in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, where she adopted a grappling style that has served her well on various adventures. The press would come to dub her The Empowered Woman(a moniker she despises, but has resigned her self to being unable to shake). Ben Grimm's final thoughts as he struggled to keep the experimental rocket from a fatal crash was that there was no way he was going to let himself or his friends die due to his lack of skill. Due to this, the cosmic radiation enhanced his ability to pilot just about any vehicle he ever encountered. If it can roll, fly, or dive Ben can pilot it at expert levels just by seeing it. Ben's extraordinary piloting skills have allowed him(and anyone lucky enough to be in a vehicle he is operating) to walk away from crashes the would have killed a lesser pilot. Between adventures with the Fantastic Four, Ben would go on to find great fortune and success by introducing several innovations in the field of transportation science. It is this vast fortune that allows the Fantastic Four to continue on as the worlds foremost super heroic scientists. Ben's uncanny ability to survive an impossible accident eventually earned him the nickname The Unbreakable Man. Johnny Storm, being something of a hot head, secretly wished that he had more control over his emotions. As the experimental rocket started to shake apart, he felt a mix of emotions that made him all the more determined that he would not allow him self to be ruled by any of them. He took a deep breath, and did his best to remain calm. The cosmic radiation granted his subconscious desire to control his own emotions completely. Never again would anger, panic, or fear decide his course of action. Additionally, the cosmic rays granted him a limited ability to control the emotions of others around him within a certain radius. If someone is angry at Johnny, he only has to think peaceful thoughts and soon they too will be at peace. In order to more effectively employ this ability, Johnny began to study espionage, computer hacking, and stealth tactics. Soon there was not a place Johnny could not sneak into, no piece of information he could not obtain, or a situation he could not talk his way out of. Johnny has gone by many aliases in the ensuing years, but is known in international espionage circles as The Quiet Voice. There you have it, a new Fantastic Four that more or less plays by the rules of deciding the powers of that group as set forth by Stan Lee all those years ago. TL: DNR? 'Nuff Said True Believers! Excelsior!
AWESOME job on this video dear Sister!!!! The burns/puns/wit-isms,....SUPERB, the copper/rainbow wig, and ensemble,.....FANTASTIC!!! (is that wig a custom job or what?) O.K. the story, you seem to make anything a bit greater than its reality of "try-it-out" stories, it really seems like a throw away tale, a "What if" totally. (and you don't want to write comics, a shame.) It would so easy to flesh out this group's universe because of the F.F.'s looooonnnngggg history; like what would this group do with Galactus, or the microverse, or even the negative zone characters.....so much to tell/write. Oh well they killed 'em off real quick hunh? Thank you for sharing your hard work and tireless efforts, and Casual passion with us. PEACE and God bless.
I recall the first time I encountered the FF (not sure if it was the cartoon or a comic, because I only read DC in the 60's), they were recounting their origin for the umpteenth time, but the way I remember it, it had to do with the last thing they ate. Johhny had spicy food, Ben ate some rock candy, Reed had taffy (or maybe Spaghetti?), and Sue had... nothing. Hence, their powers. I wish I could recall where that was from. Also, its a good thing Sue didn't go with Elastigirl... otherwise she would have become the victim of countless butt fan-fics and pics.
The FF are cool but I truly never got them, their powers are a physical manifestation of their personality. Reed, pursuit of science = stretching Sue, keeps the team together = Invisibility Ben, pilot = rock man Johnny, reckless young brother = a real life human torch🤔 it all doesn't make sense but maybe that's just how they were thinking back then so they found a way to eventually make it work 🤔👍🤔
basically: ben is tough= Strong rock johnny is hot headed and brash: fire powers sue is shy but protective= invisibility/force fields and for reed, idk. Maybe he just read to much one piece as a kid and had a stretch armstrong toy.
I'd give Sue Storm X-23-type powers + an adamantium unicorn horn. Reed Richards gets multi-verse self-channeling at will (like in "everything, everywhere, all at once"). Ben gets Phasing powers like ShadowCat. Johnny gets Water Bending, with a water-shield like Iceman's ice coating
Oh please - do a video for Marvel Assistant Editors Month (the first)! I was reminded of this, as the "What-If" issue was one of my favorites. (A collection of quick fun stories including Mary Jo Duffy's “What if the watchers in all the realities got together and watched watchers watching watchers watching watchers watching…”. Art by Terry Austin.)(One familiar looking watcher says “Be vewy vewy quiet! I’m watching wabbits! Heh heh heh.”)(Whoops - I may be getting my timeline/stories confused. The Watchers story was What if #34 from 1977) As always thank you so very much for the video. (I also liked Marvel Team-Up #137 with Aunt May and Franklin Richards taking on Galactus. And The Thing #7 which has his battle with "Goody Two-shoes." Not so much for the main story, but the back-up story where Ben Grimm visits the Marvel Offices and talks to John Byrne about "making it interesting.")
It would be interesting if they got powers that weren't useful... Reed suddenly can't see other people (just everything else). Johnny can move super fast, but can't think fast enough to keep up with his body... There are lots of interesting things that can be done.
In a similar vein to this idea, I love stories where the question is asked what if other people got the fantastic four origin. Like there’s a story where the marvel comic creators got the FF powers, there’s also the red ghost and a what if comic were a Russian FF.
I used to play Heroclix. I have a huge collection of old school figures including the Giant Galactus figure. As far as the What If Fantastic Four storylines go my favs were always What If the New Fantastic Four (Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man, and Ghost Rider) and What If Doom was the Sorcerer Supreme. As far as what you covered, this Power swap lineup was awesome. It's a shame they didn't do more with it.
I may be misremembering but I have a vague memory of the Reed Richards from MC2 ending up as Big Brain on the Fantastic Five. If that's the case, Tom Defalco must be a big What If? fan...
One of the best power-swap stories was the JLA one-shot Foreign Bodies, which involves minds changing body. The highlights were Steel ending up in Kyle Rayner's body and Kyle ending up in Martian Manhunter's body.
DIG the hair! I didn't know about this FF What If, boy is it weird. But I remember the one where they all got the same power, and the monster one being very melancholy. The one thing about switching FF powers that I don't like losing is they represent the four elements (creatively, in Reed's case). I think that's a fun conceit and the team loses something without it.
My favorite of the first What If? Lots of interesting questions concerning the Reed/Doom fusion. Does Reed retain Doom's mystical and scientific knowledge? Does Reed take over as the ruler of Doomstadt? Does Johnny ever get his lube job? All the questions.
Also for What If power ideas: I'd want Reed to become a giant head to make it all about his smarts as he slowly transforms into a MODOK (mobile organism designed only for knowledge). Johnny's mastery of speedy machines would make him a speedster (easily can be overpowered as plot needs). Sue's wanting to be there for everyone would give her mutliwoman powers (can also be tweeked to OP as well). Benn being one of the voices of reason in the Superhero community would have him turn into a psychic-empath (still acts like a brawler but usually handles enemies by knowing what their plan is, and can talk-fu any of the really dangerous foes).
I LOVE WHAT IF...? Specifically the X-Men and Fantastic Four ones, and this is actually one of my favorites! And you mentioned What If vol. 2 #11, which is another delightful set of stories. The Watcher's look is so inconsistent throughout the series though and that always irked me, especially ones like this swole one. I'm surprised you didn't acknowledge your pun about the reasoning for Reed's powers being a stretch, which, unintentional or not, was stellar. Please keep doing the What If reviews, maybe even look at some of those 90s ones like issues 12 and 13 for some enjoyable X-Men ones!
My favourite What If? involved Conan the Barbarian ending up in modern 616 and becoming a criminal kingpin. He ends up fighting -- and kicking the snot out of -- Captain America. At the end of the comic, Conan is so impressed with the honour of Captain America that he wonders whether he might be fighting for the wrong side, with the implication that he might one day become an Avenger. That was my favourite What If? of all time, and I've always thought that this should make mainstream continuity. Marvel lost the rights to Conan, but with Disney's infinitely deep pockets, it wouldn't be hard to get them back. Can you imagine Conan the Barbarian in the MCU?
Reed: be able to transform into any object or living being, as long as you understand it at the quantum level. Sue: subsonic superspeed with timely biologics/phisic adaptations's relatables Johnny: mental projections in physical space, but being able to project parts of its body, which when in projection, the host part does not function physiologically Ben: superforce, but not superresilience at all (super resilience just during a linear momentum )
Reed: able to bore anyone to tears when speaking Sue: able to keep her blonde hair color well into middle age and beyond. Johnny: the best pod racer in the Galaxy Ben Grimm, the Fumin’ Cigar
While these early what ifs are among the best My favorite is the cap story that was later deemed canon. How patriot then spirit of 76 assumed the mantle going forward while cap was on ice
this was my absolute favorite What IF... FF tale! Their early adventures, while working out in different ways *because* their powers are different, were intriguing (though encapsulated). I've often said that when FF is getting published again, one of the titles should focus on this version on their Earth, from #1, telling their storyline but embracing the differences involved because of the different powers, without "clever" winks but simplay doing really good adventure storytelling.
My alternate FF powers would be as follows. Reed would have telekinesis, intangibly and microscopic vision. Susan would have invulnerability and control over electricity. Johnny would have control over inorganic matter. He could alter and control any non living matter around him and give himself a powerful exoskeleton. Lastly Ben would be able to turn into a large version of Iceman. He would have control over water and could make it rain. He wouldn't have freezing cold powers though, but he could cause normal humans to stop moving by controlling the water in their body.
I was waiting for Sasha to say, “Aye. Get it? Because he’s stretchy,” when she said, “Reed’s seems most like a stretch,” when she was reading the descriptions of how their powers relate to their personalities. That would have been perfect. 🤣
Thank you again for refinancing the 2000s F4 cartoon. We were truly blessed with that gem. This maybe a broad and unrelated topic but could would please muse over Geoff John's Green Lantern run? That'd be FANTASTIC! See. I brought that back to topic. 🤣
Excellent video as always. First time comment btw. Love your vids! This is a comic that could be a great source for where the FF4 goes into the MCU when it comes to further inner emotional insecurities and characterization. Despite its obvious flaws due to time and the time it was written, this storyline shows the power of the FF4 series and it’s influences. I would have given Sue the brain power along with the elongation, Reed would have been The Thing (trapped in a inhuman body and unable to tap into brain power solutioning), Johnny would have assumed Dr Doom’s suit but assumed his magical powers, Ben would have been depowered all together, and Dr Doom would have been revealed to be a Doombot created by Sue using Victor’s brain after an accident she caused prior to the FF4 transformation.
Sue with elastic powers felt more imaginative to me, I always felt she was one who needed to be the most flexible with the other 3. I also think Ben Grimm needs all the breaks he could get for some aspects of normalcy lol
i like sue's power of elasticity, i think johnny could be a bit more interesting as something a bit more robotic. maybe instead of the wings, ben can project himself outside of his body and kind of fly that way. maybe give reed a helmet to boost his mind powers. maybe they view surviving the cosmic rays then the crash as some kind of miracle, and they see they're living on borrowed time. something like that could be interesting i think. maybe instead of fantastic 4 they can call themselves the four challengers of doom or something
I think Reeds head should just triple in size to house his brain. I’d imagine him with a power set like from the movie Lucy with Scarlet Johansson Johnny is a ladies man and always wants the attention and what better what to get attention then by being a tall guy. So Johnny would have the power to grow to extreme heights but would use it to be around 7 foot in his regular life. Ben played baseball so his powers would reflect that maybe he’d have super speed and super strength Sue had everyone swooning over her so I’d make that a controlled power. She makes a pheromone like Jessica drew and she can also mind control people
I think the best powers to suit them would begin with Reed’s brain thing, it makes sense, he’s smart & having a power to reflect that is good. Also a split personality would be really interesting. The Thing reflects Ben’s personality a lot better than dragon fly, but also is also a great parallel to make him a rock monster pilot. Johnny should just keep his fire power. And the Sue’s stretching to represent her emotional adaptation sounds a lot more flattering than being invisible & in the background. Although, the invisibility does sound good for someone who helps in the shadows & acts as the back bone to their team.
7:24 On this alt-Reed: Recall taht even the original issues first running, Ben constantly referred to Redd as "big brain," recognizing while making it a diss. OOh! Burn!
I’m a little disappointed Reed didn’t put his brain on top of a purple bear and use that as a body, I mean his brain is already kind of purple, they would totally match… but then again I’m a huge Evil Con Carne fan lol
You still would be missing the stomach for the full reference
Same but then again I also wanted to see ghost rider meet billy & Mandy then ride away in fear.
Ah, a man of culture, I see.
This is great, thanks for reminding me of it
The memories...
5:04
I recall her using this to absolutely wreck a brainwashed Wolverine at one point, when he tries to kill her son.
She blinds him by turning his eyeballs invisible (thus unable to process light) and suffocates him by placing tiny forcefields in his lungs. She also implies she could expand said forcefields to make his chest explode. It's freakin' terrifying. Don't threaten Sue's kids.
Her powers keep changing with every writer, to make her more 'useful'.
@@22espec | Honestly, if there's one member of the group who could use a powers-update, it'd be Ben Grimm. I saw someone suggest the idea of letting him move the rocks that make up his external shell, and I think that'd be really interesting.
It'd create an interesting dynamic where The Thing could shift his rocky shell to focus on defending specific parts of his body (while leaving other parts vulnerable) or throw additional mass behind a punch.
Reeds powers seem like most of a “stretch” lol I see what you did there
What if Sasha could keep track of all of her books? Would she fight evil with her new found powers of bibliomancy?
If Sasha is having trouble now , she better get prepared for when Her Girls get more into Reading Comics 🖖🏾
Sasha already has a superpower - her ever-changing hair! Medusa, eat your heart out!
Reed’s original power reasoning and Sue’s new power reasoning seem like the biggest stretches, figuratively and literally.
Elasticity I connected it to Reed's hustle: from being raised almost by himself, getting the rocket, working with nasa, his trumped college carreer, working to give Sue a good future married life and partially raising Johnny, His curiosity, how with his mind working in dlfferent things at the same time makes him distant. The poor man stretch to thin. That's why I love tge comics that put the light on Sue, Ben, Johnny and The FF inc Staff with their different jobs and responsabilities that keep the FF as heroes, researchers, Open Science Hub alive, how the family cooperates so is not a One Person Job anymore
Also Reed was a part of the OSS in WW2, working behind the lines in Italy, as he spoke the language fluently. Forget which issue that was revealed in. Sgt Fury's comic maybe? Ben was a fighter pilot at the same time.
@@davidmcmahon4633 the man cannot take a break, even his time serving in WW2 gave him so much stress that he prematurely developed his silver sides temples
"Reed's seemed like more of a stretch" and it looks like you didn't notice your own pun.
"'The Living Brain' kind of sounds like a villain name" well, we are talking about Reed Richards, so...
Oof
I'm mainly a DC guy, but I remember that great What If about the FF all getting the same power. Four stories in one issue, and the one where they all became Things was quite grim...
I saw what you did there.
But would Sue still 'hold a torch' for Namor? 😉
Poor sue .
@@marktaylor6553 That's ' Stretching ' it
One of my favourites from the circa early 90’s run. The bit where they all get Reed’s powers was unintentionally hilarious with Sue and Ben “Nope”-ing out.
I really am having trouble wrapping my mind around the buff watcher. He is so buff but that doesn’t explain the head being so thermos like. I loved this recap. Seeing this version of the FF made my mind wander into a rabbit hole of swapping powers that I am having trouble clawing my way out of.
Roids. He didn't get those guns honestly.
I almost feel like thats a 'What If?' Watcher from the same universe that FF team is from.
thermos 😂😂
I think I already talked about this issue in the past, so I'll try not to repeat myself.
But I still love this idea, maybe some slight changes, like making Johnny more like Upgrade from Ben 10.
I also like how Big Brain actually came back in MC2, It three me off when I first saw the new version of the FF.
Sue is just Elastigirl lol
nah, Elastigirl is *thiccer*
On the other hand, with Sue's stretchability, there may have been a much more interesting way they could have defeated Galactus.....
Reed Richards can withstand artillery shells. Helen Parr's suit can protect her from surface to air missiles.
I've personally dreamed of them getting an upgrade for years. Personally I wouldn't have kept their same powers but focused more on the Cosmic Energy that caused them. Over the years the Cosmic energy they were imbued with would continue to grow and become more powerful becoming an energy source that not only enhanced their powers but something they could actively manipulate. Is the same concept as Ki/Chi you'd see in Anime & Manga like Dragonball, Naruto, or One Piece. Enhancing all of their physical stats. I would call it something like the "Four Force". Thematically it would be a symbol of their bond as a family and was greatly enhanced when they were all together. It also grows more powerful over time the more their Family Bond increases. I would make Reeds powers more closer to Plastic Man and make him comparable to guys like Superman in terms of Combat Potential since he'd be able to alter his size and strength at will. For Ben I would emphasize Defense and manipulation of the earth. Able to increase his density and weight at will as well as create mountains like and earth bender. Johnny's good where he's at Except I'd focus on styling his combat more like Escanor from Nanatsu no Taizai. Sue is also already good. She just needs to focus on Martial Arts and use her powers more like a Green Lantern. Possibly even like Kizaru or Monica Rambeau.
@@heyarnold7256 the idea of johnny throwing a sun at someone makes me happy.
Wow, I haven't thought of that issue in literally 45 years. I had just turned 13 when this issue came out. Back then I had to go 20 miles to a city and go around to all the different drug stores to get various titles as their distribution route matched certain titles, I noticed. There were no comic-book stores. Thanks for the memory and the story of what became of those characters.
I think the fly part of Ben's wings is referring the line details going across the pink parts similar to an actual fly's wings.
If I had to give them new powers I would give them these
Reed: technopathy
Sue: visions of past and future
Johnny: super speed
Ben: healing factor
But how OP would Ben’s healing factor be?
@@luigiboi4244
I think faster than Wolverine’s so he can fight longer
If he lost his body and was left with just a head then in a few seconds his body would be restored
@@ultimate_lance …So super OP.
@@ultimate_lance so you're fusing the hulk and wolverine?
Wow, Johnny would have super speed? That's Incredibles.
Their powers are also based on the 4 classic Elements:
Ben: Earth
Johnny: Fire
Reed: Water
Sue: Air
Was loooking for this comment 😃
All four nations lived in harmony until the fire nation attacked…
And oddly enough going by mythology their personalities actually would fit the 4 elements... Except 2 are switched.
Going by mythos Air is linked to inquisitiveness, logical thought, and strategy, it is active but often changing in focus or poor at social skills. Meanwhile water is the emotionally intelligent and spiritual element, socially necessary to hold groups together, but often passive and blending into the background.
So yeah... Sue and Reed fit each other's element better than they fit their own. Also similarly Ben and Johny also fit each other's elements somewhat (earth is materialistic while fire is agressive and short sighted.) but they do fit their own pretty well too anyway. But Reed and Sue are kind of like the core stereotype of each other's element down to a T, and really aren't that good a fit for their own.
Then again arguably it's the greeks that got it wrong. I mean, sure water and air are both invisible and maleable, but water is more visible than air innit. But they needed water to be the spiritual one due to all their other mythos. (Rivers were often associated with the underworld, while going upwards, into the air, was the way to gain knowledge from various entities.)
From reading early Fantastic Four, Sue is certainly often responsible for de-escalating team squabbles, but she doesn't come off as a doormat at all. I think she actually had a pretty strong personality right off the bat. And I think it's obvious early on that her powers are extremely useful. Especially compared to early Jean Grey, she's often critical to solving the problem at hand.
if I gave them new powers they would be:
Reed: Telepathy/telekinesis
Sue: Healing along with the ability to weld objects together
Johnny: the ability to turn himself into fire along with creating fire constructs and duplicates.
Ben: Give him a kind of hypbrid mandragon appearance with the powers you would expect from a dragon.
One thing that it took me forever to realize what a fantastic four is that the powers are the old concept of elements… Earth (Ben), Air (Sue), Fire (Johnny) and Water (Richard). There’s an interview with Kirby when he breaks down…
When Dr Doom spoke about putting Big Brain in an anthropomorphic suit, all I could imagine was Krang's android body from TMNT.
"It's a rarity for Reed..Cherish it." Ahh that salty shade on Reed is why I love when the FF are covered!
In her daily life as a mom, she's mild-mannered Sasha Wood. But when trouble rears its ugly head, and comics need to be put in their place, she becomes... Salty Shade!
Cross team power switch is still too small, we need cross company power switch. I wanna see Bruce Banner with Poison Ivy's pheromone powers and poison kiss.
A sexy menace so powerful that Batman and General Ross have to team up to stop him... the Green Thumb.
@@CrisisComics Bruce didn't need to put on Ivy's Arkham Asylum/City costume, he just wanted to.
I dont know. Ivy does it she is a femme fatale. Bruce does it and The Incredible Sexual Predator will be the new Marvel title. Keep in mind Marvel already has a man that has pheromone powers and he is a cringe supervillain who was so bad Jessica Jones had to snap his neck.
@@rodericperez4204 and also Thanos' baby brother, that swinging Starfox
Finally, something to appeal to the male fantasy. Specifically, looking at hot, buff and scantily-clad men
Mentioning how the F4's powers stem from their subconscious personality traits reminds me of Mythos by Paul Jenkins and Paolo Rivera, origin story re-tellings of various Marvel superheroes.
The F4 chapter revealed exactly what the four's thoughts were at the moment of their changing and the chaos of the crashing rocket: Reed feared losing Sue wanted to *reach out* to her, Sue was scared and wanted to *disappear* , Ben was angry and didn't want to die *like this* , and Johnny kept thinking about how *hot* it was.
If Doom was upset about Reed taking his face before, how would he feel about him taking his body?
swapping the powers around is always fun
Reed gaining Ben's power because of his rigid personality and it leading him to hide himself in his work more.
Ben gaining johnny's power cause he's just as much a hot head show boat but I think adding the idea that his girlfriend still being alicia as she still the only one that loves him for his heart.
Sue being pliable is so easy like that so yeah the emotional one bending over backwards to get the group together makes sense.
Johnny getting his sister power well airhead jokes a plenty, mischief made invisible and him being an unconventional type who's efforts are unseen and gets ruled out as a layabout do nothing.
It feels like a better explanation for the type of powers Sue manifests would've been her desire to protect others, seeing as she can create forcefields.
"Although from those descriptions, Reed's seemed like the most of a stretch."
I see what you did there.
I've always appreciated reed and Susan's relationship. It's the only relationship in comics that hasn't been ruined/temporary Then any other relationship in comics.
They were considered the 1st marriage in comics And they're really the only ones that have stayed together even after all these years.
Where the separation and melodrama other romantic feelings is always played as a gimmick to return to the status quo not the other way around Is terrifyingly rare.
Sue cheated on Reed with Alex "Havok" Summers.
@@remc0s in what issue?
@@remc0s I don't think that even happened but stuff like that is non-canon imo.
Oh yes, this one was one of my FAVORITE issues from the first What If? series. Always wanted this version of the FF to make some sort of comeback.
"Think Tank" would have been a good alterative to Big Brain
I'd love to see a 'what if' where the Fantastic Four were mutants.
Susan Storm with Storms power set.
Ben Grimm with Wolverine's power set
Johnny Storm with Longshots power set
Read Richards with Shadow cats power set
Johnny Storm was always a risk taker and thrilled seeker so luck powers would just make him even more so.
Ben Grimm would look totally human but still have to deal with that animal rage wolverine has.
Susan storm would be incredible with weather powers, fantastic powerhouse.
Read Richard's power is always that he's smart so getting a primarily defensive movement power is just fine.
Maybe it makes people accept mutants faster? Maybe the Fantastic four just go underground.
Poor Sue,in that What If # 11.The one where they all become “Things” she irreversibly became a mindless Man-thing type creature.
Johnny is probably also an android because the original Human Torch was an android.
•Reed: got telepathy if he had telekinesis it could’ve been an upgrade to Sue’s power
•Ben: got Johnny’s flying ability but without the offensive or defensive power, and his wings could be damaged making him more vulnerable then Johnny.
•Sue: got Reed’s powers direct conversion
•Johnny: got Ben’s strength plus being a technopath so he’s the only one to get a power upgrade, although he’s seemingly less durable then Ben
“Although form those descriptions Reed’s seems most of a *stretch* ” YOU DID NOT 😆
You know what would be a great name for this Susan Storm?
Elastigirl.
"Reeds powers seemed the most of a stretch" I see what you did there 🙂
Okay this is fun. Let me come up with some powers for them.
Reed - Basically his physical body turns into digital information where he can only exist inside computers but can hop from machine to machine of his own power in a limited range. Part of his capabilities are limited by the machine he's in, but his intelligence is vastly enhanced and focused in this digital form while also granting him limited technopathy of machines hooked up to his host. Obviously this strains his relationship with the team and makes it hard to cling onto a sense of humanity.
Ben - Gets a sweeter deal this time around where he can absorb matter by converting it into energy and it temporarily transforms him into a slightly larger, denser version of himself. He can continue absorbing matter and it will turn him stronger and heavier, but it will also eventually phase out and he'll return to his normal self.
Sue - Intangibility which can lead to invisibility if she phases through light specifically.
Johnny - Human.... flashlight.
Ah! I should have known this would be a What If adventure. The FF do lead some interesting lives even for comics.
Good point, there's no reason this couldn't be a normal arc in the main series.
“What If” was a very well written comic book. It was like a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode. Great ideas and stories which had us talking for hours about the issues (nerding out in the 80s.).
A Fantastic Four variation issue was What if the Beatles had the FF powers. It was cute. You asked about new powers for the FF here you go:
Johnny: Karma Lad-Who would pass along bad luck to anyone because he always had bad luck with the ladies.
Ben: Because he was big and powerful the cosmic rays put him in the body of a 1 year old retaining his adult mind with super strength. Think Diaper Man of the Mighty Heroes but no diapers. He would become Onzees.
Reed: can still be the Atomic Brain and has electro kinesis. Uses it to control his Fantasti-Bots which he uses from time to time. Sue won’t have body issues with him then.
Sue: Ultra Woman-fight baddies with cosmic rays and can pass through objects.
*How about a episode on when Sue Storm became Malice Queen of Hate*
So when Karma Lad gives others bad luck, an equal and opposite luck accumulates for him, until he has enough good luck that someone will actually date him.
It's fun to think of more advanced versions of these characters as their story unfolds;
-Ben: some measure of enhanced strength and endurance, perhaps fire-breath, even a temporary transformation into a full dragon form?
-Johnny; full control of metal, plastic and glass, allowing him to instantly create custom mechanical devices at his whim (battle armor, shields, shelters, transports, power cannons, etc) from nearby raw materials. The ability to create AI's to infect target systems to his advantage, from antagonist robots to security systems now at his command.
-Sue: maybe turn into liquid (shape of...a bucket of water!) and gaseous forms, or even 'more' solid, super strong 'rock-like' form. She could attack like an enormous fog bank that can manifest powerful fists that vanish just as quick, then trap her opponent in a liquid sphere until they fall unconscious. Perhaps gain mimicry abilities like Mystique.
-Reed; (in either form) increase his intellect and telepathic abilities, rivaling those of Prof. X. Even access the whole psionic cataloge of powers in time (telekinesis, clairsentience, teleportation, precognition, postcognition, empathy). Perhaps becoming so alien eventually that he can't relate to his mere human teammates anymore...so Doom will have to reemerge to save the world from the alien-god-being that Reed becomes!
Reed's seemed like the most of a stretch you say? Wink wink lol 😂
I've actually thought about this a fair bit, and know exactly what powers I'd give them all.
Reed, Mr Fantastic: Logic based reality warping. Think something along the lines of Dr Manhattan and you'd be on the right track. Reed's mind is on such a higher level that he can just intuit the secrets of the universe, yet he's so wrapped up in logic that he's emotionally repressed to an almost frightening degree. I'm just taking that to the logical extreme; this version of Reed can do pretty much anything he can imagine, so long as he's able to figure out the science behind it. The catch is he'd grow more and more emotionally dethatched and loose his "humanity." This Reed would rapidly loose interest in Sue, and see no point in curing Ben.
Sue, She-Hulk: Predating the Jen Walters version of the character would free Sue to take the moniker in tribute to her old friend and colleague Bruce Banner. Sue has traditionally been something of a background character, and came about in the time when a "woman's place" was to be quiet and out of the way. In short; woman's carrying around a lot of repressed baggage. So this version of Sue would become more physically powerful based on her emotions. Not just rage, but all of them including joy or pleasure. Chief among them however would be confidence. Seeking out Banner to learn the ins and outs of the power set, Sue would quickly realize the more assertive and expressive she becomes, the more overtly powerful. And the more unstoppable she becomes, the more confident and fulfilled. This creates a self esteem feedback loop that led to her becoming among the world's most powerful heroes, and the unquestioned leader of the Fantastic Four. Invisible no longer, and never again. Of course with unlimited confidence and "unstoppable power" naturally comes reckless disregard. Dopamine is a hell of a drug, dopamine with a side of super strength even more so.
Johnny Storm, Wiz Kid: Johnny has always been a bit reckless, and in some comics a bit of an adrenaline junkie. So we're ramping this up to extremes; Johnny has super speed, as well as speed relative healing. That is the faster he's going, the faster his body recovers from injuries. But there is a catch, as there always is. Johnny's healing powers counter the effects of aging, leaving him perpetually stunted into the body of a teenager. Even decades later he's still seen as the same dumb kid he always was, because he sort of still is. While this obviously complicates relationships, you could still argue its a small price to pay for biological immortality...until you realize it means he's been stuck going through puberty for the last sixty years.
Ben Grimm, Hysterical: Ben's also been defined by, more than anything else, his emotional core. He's the man inside the monster, the soft heart encased in stone, a joyous soul trapped in a cold exterior. So we're ramping this up too; Grimm's new powers are emotion based psychokinesis. Functioning more as an empath than a telepath, he can intensify or repress the emotions of anyone he wishes, inspiring extreme confidence or reducing the toughest foe to a complete quivering mess. In addition to this he can project psychic force fields that's strength is directly proportional to his own willpower and self control; his "emotional walls." The catch is that being such a naturally empathic and emotional person means he can't easily suppress his powers, and is constantly being assaulted by the emotions of strangers and his own teammates. Being near Sue and Johnny can actually be painful, while sticking close to Reed is the closest thing he can manage to "peace and quiet."
Bonus character
Victor Von Doom, The Sorcerer King: Doom's backstory doesn't change...much. The big alteration comes after his first run in with the FF4. In Reed he sees what a "cold unfeeling engine of logic" actually looks like, and notice that while Reed is technically the most powerful being in the universe, his more impulsive and emotional teammates run circles around him. In response to this Doom ditches the armor that cuts him off from such things, and commits to his own intuition and creativity as to "out maneuver" his foe. Likewise due to a fluke of his powers Reed can't comprehend magic, and Doom is not only a scientific genius, but one of the world's most powerful sorcerers. Reed's mind being hard-locked into science and logic can't predict or even comprehend an emotional and spontaneous Doom, and his reality warping powers can't touch Doom or his arcane conjurations. A problem that gets even more exasperated when Doom eventually tracks down and allies with his long lost half-sister; Wanda Maximoff. (Both are Romani, and the comics go back and forth on Wanda's family tree constantly, so...the plot, as they say, thickens.)
Fitting powers I see.
Reed: Same brain, technopath... he can mentally control technological items, the more advanced, the more he just makes them warp to his will. He doesn't even need tools for most advanced technology. He understands how things work just by being near them.
Susan: Polymorphic and metamorphic. She can adapt to any situation physically, make her body do anything relative to its mass from altering its form to its very substance.
Johnny: Pretty much like The Flash but he flies too. His hot-headed speed thing isn't really speeding but a form of travel through both time and space. His "flying" manifests by him just running and jumping, even if he has no ground under his feet.
Ben: Something like a cross between Juggernaught and Cannonball looking like a normal-colored hulking version of his pre-altered version. His body is hardened as if he's animated granite, he's as strong as such a golem would be, but he also has the ability to just take off at his target to become an indestructible unstoppable missile for the straight-line charge until he either misses or impacts.
Marvel made the Fantastic Four the way they did not because they could not see them more awesome but because they didn't want to overpower them... make them akin to a team of DC Kryptonians. The hardest part of making fictional superheroes is making them both powerful and not boring because of that.
If no one has said it already, I'd like to point out that the explanation of Reed's powers as related to his willingness to go any lengths in pursuit of truth seems a bit of a stretch.
5:35 I can't stop chuckling at that Watcher. He looks like someone took the limbs off of a He-Man toy and put them on a very serious looking baby
It’s a fun way to easily switch things up, I guess you can say this fantastic trope.
(I know this is repeat from last time fantastic four vid now. It just work so well…
I was lucky enough to read this via reprints, and this version of the FF always stuck with me. There were enough cool concepts at play here that I would have loved to see further adventures of this team. What If? always was one of the more interesting books Marvel published.
New Powers for the Fantastic Four:
Reed Richards regretted the idea that his life long search for knowledge might finally be coming to and end as everything went wrong aboard the experimental rocket. His subconscious mind shaped his cosmic radiation granted abilities accordingly. He was granted total recall of all knowledge acquired after the accident. If Reed can learn it, he can remember it down to the smallest detail. His other ability was adaptive auto recall. If Reed possesses the knowledge appropriate to the situation at hand, he is able to recover and apply the knowledge at an instinctual level. To keep Reed competitive on the battlefield, he studies a variety of martial arts. In addition, he learns to be prolific with a variety of weapons(melee and projectile). Thus, he becomes the super science soldier known as Memory Bank.
Sue Storm had always desired to be more than just Reed's supportive fiance(in this version of the story, they are already engaged). She wanted to be seen as pillar of strength, someone whom others could rely upon in times of danger or need. Her subconscious mind granted her enhanced strength and durability. As Sue had never really felt seen, she also grew to stand at about 9ft tall. Sue would come to hone her combat abilities by competing in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, where she adopted a grappling style that has served her well on various adventures. The press would come to dub her The Empowered Woman(a moniker she despises, but has resigned her self to being unable to shake).
Ben Grimm's final thoughts as he struggled to keep the experimental rocket from a fatal crash was that there was no way he was going to let himself or his friends die due to his lack of skill. Due to this, the cosmic radiation enhanced his ability to pilot just about any vehicle he ever encountered. If it can roll, fly, or dive Ben can pilot it at expert levels just by seeing it. Ben's extraordinary piloting skills have allowed him(and anyone lucky enough to be in a vehicle he is operating) to walk away from crashes the would have killed a lesser pilot. Between adventures with the Fantastic Four, Ben would go on to find great fortune and success by introducing several innovations in the field of transportation science. It is this vast fortune that allows the Fantastic Four to continue on as the worlds foremost super heroic scientists. Ben's uncanny ability to survive an impossible accident eventually earned him the nickname The Unbreakable Man.
Johnny Storm, being something of a hot head, secretly wished that he had more control over his emotions. As the experimental rocket started to shake apart, he felt a mix of emotions that made him all the more determined that he would not allow him self to be ruled by any of them. He took a deep breath, and did his best to remain calm. The cosmic radiation granted his subconscious desire to control his own emotions completely. Never again would anger, panic, or fear decide his course of action. Additionally, the cosmic rays granted him a limited ability to control the emotions of others around him within a certain radius. If someone is angry at Johnny, he only has to think peaceful thoughts and soon they too will be at peace. In order to more effectively employ this ability, Johnny began to study espionage, computer hacking, and stealth tactics. Soon there was not a place Johnny could not sneak into, no piece of information he could not obtain, or a situation he could not talk his way out of. Johnny has gone by many aliases in the ensuing years, but is known in international espionage circles as The Quiet Voice.
There you have it, a new Fantastic Four that more or less plays by the rules of deciding the powers of that group as set forth by Stan Lee all those years ago.
TL: DNR? 'Nuff Said True Believers! Excelsior!
@9:45 man, that would've sucked if the cosmic rays had turned her into a literal, sentient doormat 😁
"Reed's seemed like the most of a stretch."
I see what you did there.
7:10 "Reed's seemed like a *stretch*". I see what you did t here.
AWESOME job on this video dear Sister!!!! The burns/puns/wit-isms,....SUPERB, the copper/rainbow wig, and ensemble,.....FANTASTIC!!! (is that wig a custom job or what?) O.K. the story, you seem to make anything a bit greater than its reality of "try-it-out" stories, it really seems like a throw away tale, a "What if" totally. (and you don't want to write comics, a shame.) It would so easy to flesh out this group's universe because of the F.F.'s looooonnnngggg history; like what would this group do with Galactus, or the microverse, or even the negative zone characters.....so much to tell/write. Oh well they killed 'em off real quick hunh? Thank you for sharing your hard work and tireless efforts, and Casual passion with us. PEACE and God bless.
I recall the first time I encountered the FF (not sure if it was the cartoon or a comic, because I only read DC in the 60's), they were recounting their origin for the umpteenth time, but the way I remember it, it had to do with the last thing they ate. Johhny had spicy food, Ben ate some rock candy, Reed had taffy (or maybe Spaghetti?), and Sue had... nothing. Hence, their powers. I wish I could recall where that was from. Also, its a good thing Sue didn't go with Elastigirl... otherwise she would have become the victim of countless butt fan-fics and pics.
Love this! Thank you. This was one of my favorite What Ifs when I was a kid. 🙂
Reed's powers do indeed seem like a bit of a stretch.
The FF are cool but I truly never got them, their powers are a physical manifestation of their personality.
Reed, pursuit of science = stretching
Sue, keeps the team together = Invisibility
Ben, pilot = rock man
Johnny, reckless young brother = a real life human torch🤔 it all doesn't make sense but maybe that's just how they were thinking back then so they found a way to eventually make it work 🤔👍🤔
basically:
ben is tough= Strong rock
johnny is hot headed and brash: fire powers
sue is shy but protective= invisibility/force fields
and for reed, idk. Maybe he just read to much one piece as a kid and had a stretch armstrong toy.
@@ProjektTaku It's because he can stretch his imagination to any limits
@@blackphoenix77 and his marriage.
I'd give Sue Storm X-23-type powers + an adamantium unicorn horn. Reed Richards gets multi-verse self-channeling at will (like in "everything, everywhere, all at once"). Ben gets Phasing powers like ShadowCat. Johnny gets Water Bending, with a water-shield like Iceman's ice coating
Oh please - do a video for Marvel Assistant Editors Month (the first)! I was reminded of this, as the "What-If" issue was one of my favorites. (A collection of quick fun stories including Mary Jo Duffy's “What if the watchers in all the realities got together and watched watchers watching watchers watching watchers watching…”. Art by Terry Austin.)(One familiar looking watcher says “Be vewy vewy quiet! I’m watching wabbits! Heh heh heh.”)(Whoops - I may be getting my timeline/stories confused. The Watchers story was What if #34 from 1977)
As always thank you so very much for the video.
(I also liked Marvel Team-Up #137 with Aunt May and Franklin Richards taking on Galactus. And The Thing #7 which has his battle with "Goody Two-shoes." Not so much for the main story, but the back-up story where Ben Grimm visits the Marvel Offices and talks to John Byrne about "making it interesting.")
It would be interesting if they got powers that weren't useful...
Reed suddenly can't see other people (just everything else). Johnny can move super fast, but can't think fast enough to keep up with his body...
There are lots of interesting things that can be done.
In a similar vein to this idea, I love stories where the question is asked what if other people got the fantastic four origin. Like there’s a story where the marvel comic creators got the FF powers, there’s also the red ghost and a what if comic were a Russian FF.
Reed's brain flushing around in tubes makes me think of New Vegas.
7:12... I see what you did there, Sasha.
I used to play Heroclix. I have a huge collection of old school figures including the Giant Galactus figure.
As far as the What If Fantastic Four storylines go my favs were always What If the New Fantastic Four (Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man, and Ghost Rider) and What If Doom was the Sorcerer Supreme.
As far as what you covered, this Power swap lineup was awesome. It's a shame they didn't do more with it.
I may be misremembering but I have a vague memory of the Reed Richards from MC2 ending up as Big Brain on the Fantastic Five. If that's the case, Tom Defalco must be a big What If? fan...
I still have my old heroclix from before they had cards, back in the 90s and early 2000s, man that ad spot brought back memories
One of the best power-swap stories was the JLA one-shot Foreign Bodies, which involves minds changing body. The highlights were Steel ending up in Kyle Rayner's body and Kyle ending up in Martian Manhunter's body.
It would have been nice if they came back, love the idea of Doom/Reed being dual/triple personalities
This version of the FF reminds me of both the Doom Patrol and the X-Men. Reed=Xavier, Johnny=Robotman, Sue=Elastigirl, Ben=Angel.
DIG the hair!
I didn't know about this FF What If, boy is it weird. But I remember the one where they all got the same power, and the monster one being very melancholy.
The one thing about switching FF powers that I don't like losing is they represent the four elements (creatively, in Reed's case). I think that's a fun conceit and the team loses something without it.
My favorite of the first What If? Lots of interesting questions concerning the Reed/Doom fusion. Does Reed retain Doom's mystical and scientific knowledge? Does Reed take over as the ruler of Doomstadt? Does Johnny ever get his lube job? All the questions.
The "invisible" idea is intriguing. The squeaky wheel may get the attention, but the silent wheel is not even seen.
Also for What If power ideas: I'd want Reed to become a giant head to make it all about his smarts as he slowly transforms into a MODOK (mobile organism designed only for knowledge). Johnny's mastery of speedy machines would make him a speedster (easily can be overpowered as plot needs). Sue's wanting to be there for everyone would give her mutliwoman powers (can also be tweeked to OP as well). Benn being one of the voices of reason in the Superhero community would have him turn into a psychic-empath (still acts like a brawler but usually handles enemies by knowing what their plan is, and can talk-fu any of the really dangerous foes).
I LOVE WHAT IF...? Specifically the X-Men and Fantastic Four ones, and this is actually one of my favorites! And you mentioned What If vol. 2 #11, which is another delightful set of stories. The Watcher's look is so inconsistent throughout the series though and that always irked me, especially ones like this swole one. I'm surprised you didn't acknowledge your pun about the reasoning for Reed's powers being a stretch, which, unintentional or not, was stellar. Please keep doing the What If reviews, maybe even look at some of those 90s ones like issues 12 and 13 for some enjoyable X-Men ones!
You've got the best comics channel. Plus love your new look each video.
"Seems like a stretch" - I see what you did there!
My favourite What If? involved Conan the Barbarian ending up in modern 616 and becoming a criminal kingpin. He ends up fighting -- and kicking the snot out of -- Captain America. At the end of the comic, Conan is so impressed with the honour of Captain America that he wonders whether he might be fighting for the wrong side, with the implication that he might one day become an Avenger.
That was my favourite What If? of all time, and I've always thought that this should make mainstream continuity. Marvel lost the rights to Conan, but with Disney's infinitely deep pockets, it wouldn't be hard to get them back. Can you imagine Conan the Barbarian in the MCU?
Please do a retrospective on DCAU's Volcana.
I had this!! One of my favorite early "What If"s. I'd have loved seeing more adventures with this group!
Honestly the only one who’s power is change is Johnny. Make him a cloud. ‘Cause he’s an airhead.
“Although, from those descriptions, Reed’s seemed like the most of a stretch.” Niiice.
Reed Richards - The Towering Intellect
Reed: be able to transform into any object or living being, as long as you understand it at the quantum level.
Sue: subsonic superspeed with timely biologics/phisic adaptations's relatables
Johnny: mental projections in physical space, but being able to project parts of its body, which when in projection, the host part does not function physiologically
Ben: superforce, but not superresilience at all (super resilience just during a linear momentum )
Reed: able to bore anyone to tears when speaking
Sue: able to keep her blonde hair color well into middle age and beyond.
Johnny: the best pod racer in the Galaxy
Ben Grimm, the Fumin’ Cigar
@@russellharrell2747 rsrsrs
Namor liked Sue's invisibility powers because he likes seeing himself in the mirror and not have someone blocking his view. 👀
While these early what ifs are among the best
My favorite is the cap story that was later deemed canon.
How patriot then spirit of 76 assumed the mantle going forward while cap was on ice
Doom Patrol seems to have been an inspiration for this What If
this was my absolute favorite What IF... FF tale! Their early adventures, while working out in different ways *because* their powers are different, were intriguing (though encapsulated). I've often said that when FF is getting published again, one of the titles should focus on this version on their Earth, from #1, telling their storyline but embracing the differences involved because of the different powers, without "clever" winks but simplay doing really good adventure storytelling.
My alternate FF powers would be as follows. Reed would have telekinesis, intangibly and microscopic vision. Susan would have invulnerability and control over electricity. Johnny would have control over inorganic matter. He could alter and control any non living matter around him and give himself a powerful exoskeleton. Lastly Ben would be able to turn into a large version of Iceman. He would have control over water and could make it rain. He wouldn't have freezing cold powers though, but he could cause normal humans to stop moving by controlling the water in their body.
Reed's was a stretch! I get it!
The voices e tones was awesome Casually rssr l love the role playing you ever use in your shows rsr .... ps: sorry for my english kk
I was waiting for Sasha to say, “Aye. Get it? Because he’s stretchy,” when she said, “Reed’s seems most like a stretch,” when she was reading the descriptions of how their powers relate to their personalities. That would have been perfect. 🤣
"Johnny going full Colossus." Only if he did the yell.
OOOOAAAAAAGGGHHH!
;)
Thank you again for refinancing the 2000s F4 cartoon. We were truly blessed with that gem.
This maybe a broad and unrelated topic but could would please muse over Geoff John's Green Lantern run? That'd be FANTASTIC!
See. I brought that back to topic. 🤣
Excellent video as always. First time comment btw. Love your vids! This is a comic that could be a great source for where the FF4 goes into the MCU when it comes to further inner emotional insecurities and characterization. Despite its obvious flaws due to time and the time it was written, this storyline shows the power of the FF4 series and it’s influences. I would have given Sue the brain power along with the elongation, Reed would have been The Thing (trapped in a inhuman body and unable to tap into brain power solutioning), Johnny would have assumed Dr Doom’s suit but assumed his magical powers, Ben would have been depowered all together, and Dr Doom would have been revealed to be a Doombot created by Sue using Victor’s brain after an accident she caused prior to the FF4 transformation.
7:11 Ha, a stretch. Cause the stretching powers
Sue with elastic powers felt more imaginative to me, I always felt she was one who needed to be the most flexible with the other 3. I also think Ben Grimm needs all the breaks he could get for some aspects of normalcy lol
I'd love to see more What If videos. It was one of my favorite titles, and it deserves some of your insight.
i like sue's power of elasticity, i think johnny could be a bit more interesting as something a bit more robotic. maybe instead of the wings, ben can project himself outside of his body and kind of fly that way. maybe give reed a helmet to boost his mind powers. maybe they view surviving the cosmic rays then the crash as some kind of miracle, and they see they're living on borrowed time. something like that could be interesting i think. maybe instead of fantastic 4 they can call themselves the four challengers of doom or something
I think Reeds head should just triple in size to house his brain. I’d imagine him with a power set like from the movie Lucy with Scarlet Johansson
Johnny is a ladies man and always wants the attention and what better what to get attention then by being a tall guy. So Johnny would have the power to grow to extreme heights but would use it to be around 7 foot in his regular life.
Ben played baseball so his powers would reflect that maybe he’d have super speed and super strength
Sue had everyone swooning over her so I’d make that a controlled power. She makes a pheromone like Jessica drew and she can also mind control people
I think the best powers to suit them would begin with Reed’s brain thing, it makes sense, he’s smart & having a power to reflect that is good. Also a split personality would be really interesting. The Thing reflects Ben’s personality a lot better than dragon fly, but also is also a great parallel to make him a rock monster pilot. Johnny should just keep his fire power. And the Sue’s stretching to represent her emotional adaptation sounds a lot more flattering than being invisible & in the background. Although, the invisibility does sound good for someone who helps in the shadows & acts as the back bone to their team.
7:24 On this alt-Reed: Recall taht even the original issues first running, Ben constantly referred to Redd as "big brain," recognizing while making it a diss. OOh! Burn!
Lovin' your comics -reading voices...