Summary
- The Fantastic Four's unique approach as celebrities in the MCU contrasts with public doubt faced by the Avengers, marking them as pioneers.
- The film references its 1994 adaptation, honoring Marvel's legacy, expanding the universe, and acknowledging a chapter cherished by fans.
- With easter eggs and deep references, the film ties to the MCU's history, creator tributes, DC Comics, WandaVision, Future Foundation, and potential X-Men ties.
Fantastic Four: First Steps not only introduces the new superhero team to the MCU but also leaves a series of clues for future Marvel projects. With its iconic characters and stylized setting, the film’s details invite Marvel fans to find connections inside a universe so rich, and given the schedule, the feature marks only the beginning of a vast and epic expansion.
The best easter eggs in Fantastic Four: First Steps deliver possibilities for the future while adding depth to the project, where small details help build and expand the universe, presenting characters and concepts that may appear in other films or even elevate the completed project’s scale, guarding Marvel’s high status.
Fantastic Four: 10 Comics Every Fan Should Read Before The New Movie, Ranked
These Fantastic Four comics prepare fans for Marvel’s First Steps, diving into cosmic villains, origin stories, and key emotional arcs.
9 The Ted Gilbert Show
The Film Innovates By Presenting Its Heroes With A Unique Approach
A visual nod to the Beatles and to the Ed Sullivan Show establishes star status for the superhero team, unlike the Avengers, who faced public doubt and disapproval, the Fantastic Four receive acclaim precisely because they are superheroes. Thus, the team becomes a group of pioneers in the MCU, celebrities who have a positive impact on society.
The stage with arrows pointing toward each member references the legendary band’s debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, which also introduced other iconic artists such as Elvis Presley. In this way, the feature balances the spectacle of its space action sequences with the Fantastic Four’s cultural impact inside their universe.
8 Fantastic Four 1994
The MCU Embraces Its History With One Of The Film’s Best Easter Eggs
By referencing the first cinematic adaptation of the Fantastic Four, this ranks among the MCU film’s best easter eggs. Early in the feature, the cast of the 1994 Marvel hero team film appears within the crowd to thank the Fantastic Four: Alex Hyde‑White (Reed Richards), Rebecca Staab (Sue Storm), Jay Underwood (Johnny Storm), and Michael Bailey Smith (Ben Grimm).
Despite franchise reboots, the MCU honors its projects, embraces its legacy, and shows the influence the 1994 film exerts on a universe that keeps expanding. Therefore, the easter egg hits hard by acknowledging an obscure chapter that won a legion of fans who cherish the 1990s hero team adaptation.
7 Oog Lives Again
The Hero Team’s Creator Receives Touching Tributes In The MCU
Earth‑828’s New York functions as a living museum to Jack Kirby’s memory, where his visual and narrative references guide the creation of the universe in Fantastic Four: First Steps. One of the most notable references appears on a Times Square movie poster that advertises the film Oog Lives Again, honoring the shadowy monster imagined by the Marvel legend.
Oog therefore registers as an expert‑level reference, since the creature first appeared in Tales of Suspense #17 in 1961 and proved pivotal to Kirby’s artistic evolution that led to the creation of the Fantastic Four. HERBIE counts among the artist’s final inventions, and his birthday, 28 August 1917, receives direct acknowledgment in the numbering of Eath‑828.
6 Superman’s Car
The Thing’s Strength Forms A Direct Link To DC Comics’ Superman
In a memorable scene from Fantastic Four: First Steps shown in the trailers, Ben Grimm faces a challenge from a curious group of children who ask him to demonstrate his strength. Echoing Action Comics #1, where Superman hoists a car, the Thing recreates the iconic tableau by raising a green Volkswagen Beetle, crafting a flawless visual tribute to one of comic history’s most famous images.
All Cameos In The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The MCU’s latest family-centered film packs in rich cameos from Marvel comics lore and beyond. Here’s a breakdown of each appearance.
By transcending the Marvel‑DC rivalry, the scene offers not provocation but a respectful homage that helped make both the Fantastic Four and the MCU possible. The film positions itself as an explicit love letter to the Golden and Silver Ages of superhero comics, and the moment stands as a powerful manifestation of that philosophy, ranking among cinema’s finest cameos.
5 WandaVision
Marvel’s Series Gains Deeper Layers In The Fantastic Four Film
Director of WandaVision, veteran filmmaker Matt Shakman, slips a sly nod to the series into one of the best easter eggs featured in Fantastic Four: First Steps, rewarding attentive MCU fans with an inside joke. During a bustling street sequence set in Eath‑828’s New York, the camera lingers to reveal a storefront sign labeled “Westview Appliance”, linking the moment to the town Wanda Maximoff once placed under her spell.
More than a simple wink at the director’s previous project, the New Jersey reference holds wider significance across the MCU when viewed against the multiverse saga’s expanding context. The cameo reinforces how family themes, power, and altered reality sit at the core of Shakman’s work, foreshadowing his future Marvel endeavors and setting thematic foundations for coming chapters in the cinematic universe.
4 Future Foundation
The Fantastic Four’s Institution Gains More Layers In The MCU Film
In the film, the Future Foundation operates as a philanthropic institute led by Sue Storm, tasked with advancing global peace and full demilitarization. Its presence on screen cements the team’s ambition for optimism and worldwide responsibility, underscoring that the Fantastic Four stand first as scientists and explorers before they ever earn the label of superheroes.
The moment registers as one of the film’s best easter egg hints, signaling Jonathan Hickman’s concept of exploring the multiverse and looming incursions that will steer future MCU stories while showcasing the franchise’s renewed devotion to science fiction. Such focus suits a superhero team led by a brilliant scientist and his astronaut crew, framing their next chapter around discovery rather than mere spectacle.
3 Franklin Richards
The Character’s Presence Raises Expectations For The MCU’s Future
Sue Storm’s pregnancy and the birth of Franklin Richards form central events that directly shape the narrative, as Galactus targets the infant’s latent power. Although that extraordinary ability briefly surfaces when Franklin resurrects Sue during the climax, the post‑credits scenes reveal the child’s far greater significance, startling audiences with the scope of his potential within the wider saga.
Franklin stands not simply as the Fantastic Four’s child but as a pivotal piece on the MCU chessboard, his very existence recalibrating cosmic stakes. Comics identify him as a mutant, heightening the prospect of ushering in the X‑Men while linking him to the events of Secret Wars, given his role as a being uniquely attuned to the cosmos and operating on an almost immeasurable scale of power.
2 The Bridge
Reed’s Invention Intensifies The Multiverse’s Influence On The Narrative
Reed Richards’ blackboard recurs throughout Fantastic Four: First Steps, spotlighting the scientist’s development of a critical multiversal traversal mechanism and serving as one of the MCU film’s standout hidden references. Initially intended to facilitate an escape from Galactus, the plan collapses under Shalla‑Bal’s intervention, though the device still proves vital at the decisive battle’s conclusion.
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If perfected, the Bridge could grant the Fantastic Four entry into the primary MCU timeline, providing a science‑born solution that links the team to other narrative hubs. This prospect intensifies after the post‑credits tease, where Doctor Doom appears poised to act as the catalyst that compels the family to flee, determined to shield Franklin from looming threats.
1 Doctor Doom
The Villain’s Presence Stands As The Film’s Greatest Hidden Reference
Introducing the phase‑six supervillain, Doctor Doom emerges as Fantastic Four: First Steps’ most significant hidden reference, bridging the film’s focused storyline with the epicenter of the Multiverse Saga. Following a four‑year time jump, Doom materializes beside Franklin Richards, displaying an intense fascination with the child’s boundless potential and the unseen horizons such power truly promises.
Subtle groundwork prepares this moment: news broadcasts mention the nation of Latveria, yet the country remains absent from Future Foundation maps, implying Doom has not risen to global prominence. Galactus’s defeat creates a power vacuum that may inspire the monarch to emerge from the shadows, and his interest in Franklin magnifies the likelihood of a decisive intervention across the multiverse.
- Release Date
- July 25, 2025
- Runtime
- 115 minutes
- Director
- Matt Shakman
Cast
-
Pedro PascalReed Richards / Mister Fantastic -
Vanessa KirbySue Storm / Invisible Woman
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio(s)
- Marvel Studios
