In 2006, Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes began airing on television. Hindered by an erratic broadcast schedule, the cartoon would ultimately run for just one season comprising 26 episodes.
Do you remember it? Maybe not, but over a series of posts I am revisiting Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes, to remind ya’ll about it.
The aim is to reconnect with the show, talk a bit about the episodes, and discuss what I believe worked and what didn’t. I’ve previously looked at the first seven episodes in Part One, and in this post I’m focusing on the next six episodes.
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Imperius Rex
First up is Imperius Rex, and if you’re a comic book fan you’ll instantly know which Marvel character features in this episode.
*Presses start*
2mins – Prince Namor!
2mins 30secs – So, Namor the Prince of Atlantis has surfaced in New York and is as grumpy as ever. Got to say, I’ve never been a fan of this character, as Namor is always a grouch and far from endearing. Anyway, he’s here to warn the surface-dwellers to keep away from Atlantis. Or else!
4mins 45sec – Henry Gyrich is requesting help from the Fantastic Four. Fans of the X-Men will know Gyrich is usually connected to the Sentinels.
8mins – Johnny and Sue are being taken to Atlantis…
9mins 30secs – …Reed and the Thing follow and get attacked by sea monsters. This all feels very ‘Jonny Quest’ right now. I’m fine with that.
10mins 30secs – “It’s clobberin’ time!”
16mins – Sue is attempting to be diplomatic and negotiate a way for the Atlanteans and the humans to co-exist… but it looks like she might have to remain in Atlantis to broker the deal.
17mins – “Flame on!”
19mins 30secs – Negotiations with the FF and Namor have broken down, but Sue has convinced Namor to stop being such a d*ck, making her the MVP of the team.
*Presses stop*
Still not a fan of Namor or Namor episodes, but great to see Sue saving the day.
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Puppet Master
Onto another episode where the title gives away the villain. So no surprises which FF villain looms large this time around.
*Presses start*
2mins – This episode opens with disgruntled sculptor, Philip Masters a bit miffed about various things, including the fact he is not being recognised for his art. He’s on the beach, digging for clay, muttering to himself.
3mins – To make matters worse, the clay he uses for his sculptures is now off limits. Cosmically irradiated parts of a space station – the same space station that was involved in the FF’s origin – has landed on the beach, and has contaminated the sand and clay.
7mins – After discovering the clay has strange new properties, Masters is able to use it to control the FF. Shaping the clay into statues of the team, he can make them do things at his will.
14mins – Ben is under the control of Masters.
18mins – Masters has revealed himself as the Puppet Master and has control of both the Thing and Johnny, turning these two members of the FF against Reed and Sue.
20mins – The FF gain control, Masters is sent to prison, with a tease suggesting this isn’t the last we will see of him! And… it isn’t.
*Presses stop*
A fun episode, with a good villain in Masters/Puppet Master. He’ll appear once more before the end of the series, in the episode ‘Strings’.
I should also point out ‘Puppet Master’ appears out of order in the series chronology. Originally it was intended to come much earlier in the season, which is why it features cosmic debris from the space station arriving on Earth.
The episode should take place not too long after the FF transformed. Here it appears later, meaning that debris has been drifting around space for a while.
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Impossible
*Presses start*
3mins – Reed brings one of his space probes back to Earth, but upon its return it isn’t alone. The probe has attracted an alien life form. A hyperactive alien life form.
5mins – The alien has the ability to shapeshift, create things out of thin air, multiply, and pretty much do anything that is seemingly impossible.
7mins 20secs – Reed refers to the alien as the ‘Impossible Man’ and suggests he could be the most powerful creature the FF have ever encountered.
11mins – The Impossible Man is causing chaos across New York City.
14mins – “Flame on!”
14mins 20secs – Sue uses her powers on the Impossible Man. “I’m sorry, he’s just really annoying.”
14mins 45secs – Things are escalating fast. The Impossible Man is having so much fun on Earth he’s sending out a signal to all his fellow imps, to bring them to the planet.
19mins – The FF attempt to trick the Impossible Man, but when that fails, they do the next best thing – they ignore him! Once ignored, the fun stops and the problem is resolved.
*Presses stop*
‘Impossible’ is an enjoyable episode with a fun villain. The Impossible Man is essentially Marvel’s answer to DC’s Mister Mxyzptlk, so it’s all games and nonsense, but with a dangerous undercurrent because he’s incredibly powerful.
This episode and ‘Puppet Master’ are my favourites so far.
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Bait and Switch
*Presses start*
2mins – As the episode begins, Reed is attempting to create artificial cosmic rays in order to turn the Thing back into Ben Grimm.
2mins 45secs – Things have gone wrong, all due to an unexpected energy spike, and everyone has switched powers. Johnny is invisible, Sue is on fire, Ben can stretch his body, and Reed is covered in orange rocks.
7mins 15secs – “It’s clobberin time!”
8mins – And the person responsible for the energy spike is… Doctor Doom!
9mins 40secs – “Flame on!”
10mins – The power switch plot line between the FF also features in the 2007 movie, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which would have been in production around the time World’s Greatest Heroes was in production, so presumably the shared plot is a coincidence. I’d argue it is used to better effect here than it is in the movie, although I do enjoy Rise of the Silver Surfer.
16mins – “Flame on!” …again.
17mins – The FF vs. Doombots!
17mins 40secs – “It’s clobberin’ time!” …again.
19mins – Reed is attempting to switch Johnny and Sue’s powers back, but has chosen to keep Ben’s. He knows how much the Thing misses being human, so is happy to give up his stretching abilities for Ben to look ‘normal’.
21mins 30secs – “Flame… on?”
22mins – Everyone is back to their original powers. This includes Ben and Reed, although Reed vows to help Ben.
22mins 30secs – As the episode concludes there is a suggestion Doom was working on something important, leaving the door open for this plot to be picked up later.
*Presses stop*
Another great episode. Having the team switch powers is always a fun thing, as it allows the characters to experience what it is like dealing with alternate abilities.
The Doom aspect of the episode is not all that effective, but this is because Doom hasn’t made as much of an impact in the series as he needs to. However, as I say, this is a great episode.
—
Annihilation
*Presses start*
3mins – The FF are transported into the Negative Zone or as Sue refers to it: “The place with the giant bugs.”
3mins 45secs – Being in the Negative Zone is having a significant impact on the FF’s powers, to the point they are increasing at a significant level. Johny can’t turn off his flame, the Thing is even rockier than usual, etc.
7mins – Enter: Annihilus!
8mins – The animation in this episode is great. With the team’s powers continuing to increase, the FFare effectively mutating, leading to some almost creepy elements of body-horror.
8mins 30secs –
Annihilus: “Bwahhhhhhh!!!”
The Thing: “I think that’s crazy bug-speak for shut your face.”
10mins – Doom is back! He’s working with Annihilus. Well, he’s manipulating Annihilus… but as far as Doom’s concerned, that’s kind of the same thing, right?
15mins – The FF have managed to convince Annihilus that Doom is not to be trusted.
16mins – The Negative Zone isn’t responsible for the FF’s power overload. Annihilus’ cosmic rod is behind the problem!
20mins – Doom attempts to wield Annihilus’ rod (there’s a double-entendre in there somewhere), but he fails.
*Presses stop*
Another solid episode, with strong animation and a good story. The show is having a marvellous run here.
—
De-Mole-Ition
Onto the final episode for today, which is ‘De-Mole-Ition’, which features the Mole Man (if you hadn’t already guessed).
*Presses start*
2mins – The FF are in New York City, dressed in their civilian clothes no less, having some family time… which of course quickly descends into bickering between Johnny and the Thing. Classic.
2mins 25secs – “Flame on!”*
*We’re ‘flaming on’ early in this episode.
4mins – A monstrous creature has emerged in the city, and after a brief encounter with the FF it is heading for the Baxter Building.
6mins 30secs –
Reed: “It would appear this incredible creature was deliberately attacking the Baxter Building. We need to find out why.”
The Thing: “Or we move on and accept it.”
7mins 50secs – “Flame on!” …again.
8mins 30secs – Enter: The Mole Man!
9mins – The Mole Man is a bit rubbish. He’s fine as a kooky villain, but still a bit rubbish. However, he is the FF’s oldest villain, having appeared in Fantastic Four issue #1 back in 1961, so credit where credit is due.
13mins – The plot of this episode involves a baby monster hatching from an egg. Nothing exciting, but feels on brand with the pulpy/sci-fi nature of the FF.
15mins 30secs – The highlight of this episode is Sue being the MVP again, and using Johnny’s new car to move the baby creature around… much to Johnny’s frustration.
*Presses stop*
Not a bad episode, and it has some funny lines, but nothing amazing. However, the show in general has found its groove.
The sticking point at the moment is the lack of a story arc. A number of episodes have ended with suggestions that we’ll see the main villain again (Ronan, Doom, Puppet Master, etc) but there is no big storyline connecting everything, and this feels a bit like a missed opportunity.
However, this is a fun show. The characterisation of the main four is spot on.
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OK, that’s it for another batch of episodes. I’ll pick things up shortly with the next seven episodes in another post.
In the meantime, if you’re a fan of Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes, be sure to sound off in the comments. What did you like about the show?
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes. For more Marvel posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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