Opinions are the author’s alone and not endorsed by 2 NEWS and/or Nexstar Media Group. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The Fantastic Four have officially debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, opening the door to more cosmic adventures and a saga against Marvel Studios next big bad Dr.

First Steps had a solid hold on Monday with a fantastic $10.4 million haul, and that bodes well for the coming week. Matt Shakman, meanwhile, has weighed in on Thunderbolts*'s stinger.

First Steps is coming in lighter than projections in its first box office weekend with $117.6 million. Still records were broken.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios' THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2025 MARVEL

Through news headlines, mug shots, and reels, we see flashes of classic Fantastic Four comic book villains like Red Ghost (John Malkovich) and his team of Super-Apes (who once played a larger role in the film before being cut for time), Mad Thinker, and Puppet Master.

After a number of false starts, the Fantastic Four have another feature adaptation in the retro-pastiche Fantastic Four: First Steps. This isn’t the first time Mr. Fantastic and co. have appeared onscreen; They were last seen in Josh Trank’s Fantastic 4 (stylized as Fant4stic) and Tim Story’s Fantastic Four films for Fox.

Given how much attention is on the Richards & Co, I thought I would revisit director Tim Story’s Fantastic Four for the first time since I was about 12 years old, and I can cert