An unseen moment from the Fantastic Four's origin story in the MCU has finally been revealed. The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduced Marvel's first family into the MCU in 2025, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach starring as the core four. However, rather than an origin story, the movie picked up with the superhero team after they were well established.
Now, a new Marvel prequel comic has officially revealed the origin scene of the Fantastic Four's superpowers. The comic officially ties into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, depicting the heroes of Earth-828 and their first exploits as a superhero team. Released in March 2026, Fantastic Four: First Foes #1 takes things right back to the beginning with the superhero team, revealing, in detail, the maiden flight of The Excelsior - the voyage on which the team received their powers.
The comic reveals that Reed Richards appointed his college professor, Doctor Renè Rodin, to help oversee the mission. Rodin says the calculations for the mission are "so complex only two men alive could computate them."
Mission Control on Earth then receives a mayday from the Excelsior, reporting the team is having an unexpected problem.
Reed reveals to Mission Control that the Excelsior has encountered a "freak cosmic storm" and that the storm's rays are breaking through the ship's shields. Rodin is stunned at this turn of events, revealing the chances of running into such a storm were "a billion to one."
Nevertheless, Rodin reassures the quarter that he is prepared to help them through it. However, the visuals reveal a different story as the Fantastic Four astronauts are seen experiencing bizarre events on the ship. Flames erupt from Johnny Storm's suit, Ben Grimm's human face twists into a stony texture, while the skin on Sue Storm's face appears to disappear.
Also on the voyage is the team's loyal robot companion HERBIE, who is commanded by Rodin to input a series of coordinates.
Thanks to Rodin's quick thinking, the Excelsior makes it back to Earth, where it crash-lands in the ocean. A helicopter arrives to rescue the team.
But when rescue crews arrive at the Excelsior's door, they find the astronauts alive, well, and forever changed.
The Fantastic Four are then revealed in all their super-powered glory. Reed returns with long-limbed stretching powers; Sue can turn her body invisible; Johnny can set his body on fire; and Ben has transitioned into a super-strong rock creature.
In the opening of Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps, an in-universe television special establishes the quartet's story, revealing "four brave astronauts head up into space, encounter a bit of cosmic turbulence, and return forever changed." The "unforeseen event" that causes the Fantastic Four's powers was never seen on-screen, but has now been detailed almost a year later in Marvel's new comic Fantastic Four: First Foes #1.
While The Fantastic Four: First Steps was the official introduction of these characters into the MCU, it wasn't a typical origin story. Instead, it chose to skip over much of the team's early exploits and focus on a different time in their careers.
The Untold Story of the MCU's Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four's origin story has been told in two previous film adaptations, 2005's Fantastic Four and 2015's Fantastic Four. Therefore, when it came to the MCU, Marvel Studios opted not to repeat the same origin story and focused on the team once they were established and beloved heroes. The MCU did a similar thing for Spider-Man and opted not to retread Peter Parker's well-known origins and focus on different stories for him.
However, Fantastic Four: First Foes reveals that the Fantastic Four's origin story is tied closely to one of the group's major villains. Doctor Rene Rodin, who partnered on the Excelsior mission with Reed Richards, is mentioned in the flashback as "the Great Thinker." However, in comic lore, Rodin becomes known by another name: the Mad Thinker.
The Excelsior Mission sets up Rodin's villainous turn, as he is confirmed to be Reed Richards' mentor, whose ego drives him to evil after he fears that Richards is overtaking him as the smartest mind. In Marvel Comics, the Mad Thinker is obsessed with probability and calculation, using them to predict and manipulate future events.
While Mad Thinker isn't explicitly included in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, this prequel comic confirms he is one of the team's first adversaries and cements him as a key part of the Fantastic Four's lore.
