Into the Fantastic

The Greatest Fantastic Four Runs of All Time

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 

Fantastic Four (vol. 1) #1 – 102, Annual #1- 6 (1961-1970)

When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Fantastic Four # 1 back in 1961 they set off the Big Bang that launched the whole Marvel Comics Universe. In that first issue, Lee and Kirby would introduce the world to Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Girl, The Human Torch and the Ever-Loving Blue- Eyed Thing. The issue starts at the very beginning of the FF’s career in which we see Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), a brilliant scientist recruits his college buddy and pilot, Benjamin J Grimm (The Thing), Love interest Susan Storm (Invisible Girl) and her Younger Brother Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) on an exploratory trip to outer space. At first it’s seems like the mission was a complete failure, but during that trip the team is exposed to cosmic rays granting each one unique powers and abilities and thus, The Fantastic Four was born! 

The Fantastic Four wasn’t just a team they were Marvel’s First Family. The team has had different members and configurations, but it always comes back to the original four, which has lived on for more than 60 years. 

Stan and Jack introduced Marvel readers to a slew of characters, some of whom are the most popular comics characters to this very day. 

In the 102 issue run Lee and Kirby created Dr. Doom, The Mole Man, The Skrulls, The Puppet Master, Alicia Masters, The Impossible Man, Black Panther, The Red Ghost, Uatu The Watcher, The Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android, The Super-Skrull, Rama- Tut, The Molecule Man, Diablo, The Inhumans, The Frightful Four, Galactus, The Silver Surfer and many more. 

They also introduced concepts, devices and places like The Negative Zone, The Baxter Building, The Fantasticar, Unstable molecules, Monster Isle, The Ultimate Nullifier, Wakanda, Latveria, Attilan, the list goes on and on. 

Of all the famous stories Lee and Kirby collaborated on, none of which are more famous than The Coming of Galactus Trilogy. A truly timeless piece of comic book history. 

John Byrne 

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) # 232-294, Annual 17-19 (1981-1986)

Hot off his legendary Uncanny X-Men run with Chris Claremont, John Byrne took over Writing and Artist duties for the title the started it all. With his first issue, Fantastic Four # 232 aptly titled Back to Basics,  Byrne focuses on the family aspects which made this book so great in the first place. Centered around the big personalities of each member, the team would go on some of its wildest adventures and face off against the deadest villains. 

Byrne would set up the FF against Galactus, Dr. Doom, Diablo, The Puppet Master, Ego the Living Planet and many more villains. They traveled to the far reaches of the galaxy and back, the stories were big, but the characterizations made it personal. 

In issues # 241-244 Galactus comes to earth in perusing his former herald Terrax. Terrax has a plan to use earth’s heroes to help defeat Galactus and free himself from his grip. Galactus ends up consuming Terrax, but the energy isn’t enough to sustain him. He is weak but, still powerful enough to destroy the World, the FF have to fight to save Manhattan and Earth from becoming devoured. With the help of many guest stars the Fantastic Four do the unthinkable, and defeat Galactus. Galactus falls…

Galactus lies dying, and are heroes are left with a dilemma let Galctus parish or save him, and hope he doesn’t destroy the world. 

Walt Simonson w/ Art Adams 

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) # 334-350, 352-354 Annual 23 (1989-1991) 

A short but memorable run Walt Simonson’s fun and energetic style splashed the Fantastic Four across the time stream. With tales of being lost in the far dystopian future, the FF are still joined by guest starts like Thor, Iron Man, Death’s Head and Gladiator. The team goes up against villains like the council of Kangs, the Celestials and The Time Variance Authority (TVA). Saving the future and freeing themselves from the TVA, the FF return to home but things aren’t quite the same. 

In the most polarizing issues of this run #347-349, Walt is joined by superstar artist Art Adams for the NEW Fantastic four storyline. The FF are missing and Spider-Man, Wolverine, Ghost Rider and Joe Fixit Hulk form a new team to replace them. They battle the Mole Man and his monsters reviling that the Original team was replaced by Skrulls. 

This run isn’t complete without a classic throw down with the one and only Dr. Doom. Mr. Fantastic and Doom literally fight in time in-between the seconds of each minute. Walt’s run ends with Ben scarfing himself in becoming The Thing once again and defeating Doom in a classic Lee/Kirby manor. 

Tom DeFalco and Paul Ryan w/ Carlos Pacheco

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #356-416 Annual 25-26 (1991-1996)

You might think I’m crazy for adding this run to my list, but it IS the ultimate 90s run for those of us who love 90s comics. It’s the run that ends the 1st volume of Fantastic Four and they go out in an insane 90s fashion. 

DeFalco and Ryan put the FF through some crazy changes and unbelievable challenges from the very beginning. With the first few issue of the Run they revealed that Human Torch was not really married to the Things long term girlfriend Alicia Master, but really a shape changing Skrull that had took her place! Lyja was the name of the female Skrull that was tasked to infiltrate the FF and take them down from within. It would be later revealed that she was carrying Human Torch’s baby, well that actually turned out to be a bomb. The craziness would continue, even having Lyja and Human Torch actually fall in love with each other. 

DeFalco and Ryan would navigate complicated tie in issues to the Infinity War crossover, they would disfigure the Thing’s face, change all the uniforms especially a risqué version of the Invisible Woman’s costume, they would kill Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom, add Scott Lang Ant Man to the team, send a young Franklyn Richards into the future with him to return as a powerful teenager, and much more wild changes to the team. 

By the end of the run the core four team members were back together in full force. The team would sacrifice themselves to defeat Onslaught, seemingly sending them all to their death and closing out the 416 issues of the Volume 1 series. 

Mark Waid & Mike Weiringo w/ Karl Kesel 

Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) # 60-70, #500-524 (2002-2005)

Waid and Weiringo’s imagnuats era of The FF was a fun, energetic, emotional and character driven experience that the team needed at the time. They had a nice balance of humor, drama and action throughout the whole series. 

Waid’s story along with Weiringo’s art really makes you care about these beloved characters and the story is full of heart. It makes you feel like this is exactly what a family should be. It’s not them happy and them always getting along the whole time. It’s about them struggling, coming apart, suffering loss and still coming back together, stronger than ever. 

In the “Unthinkable” storyline the Fantastic Four go up against their arch enemy Dr. Doom. This time it isn’t Doom with an elaborate scheme with cutting edge technology to defeat the FF. No, this time he fights the FF, and more specifically Mr. Fantastic with his greatness weakness, sorcery and magic. Doom tares the team apart, kidnaps Valeria and sends Franklin to hell. The FF eventually defeat Doom, but it is a great cost as all the members suffer from the encounter. 

Waid and Weringo take the Fantastic Four to the depths of Hell all the way to the heights Heaven and the team comes out stronger and more resilient than ever. 

Johnathan Hickman & Dale Eaglesham, Neil Edwards, Steve Epting, Nick Dragotta, Barry Kitson.

Fantastic Four (Vol.3) #570-588, FF (Vol.1). # 1-23. Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #600-611 (2009- 2012)

Hickman’s run on the FF actually begins with Fantastic Four Dark Reign which introduces The Councils of Reeds which is a key element in the main series. Once his official Fantastic Four ongoing duties start with issue # 570 it’s a Reed centric story titled “Solve Everything” calling back to more recent pervious runs of the title. Hickman balances a lot of characters, and I mean a lot in this run. He does a great job giving the main characters their moments and the book doesn’t feel too overcrowded. 

The run is on a huge epic scale, but the quiet personal moments are still there in the series. Moments like when The Thing can turn back into human form, he can be Ben for one week a year but cannot choose when. The random transformation happens at the worst time, Thing becomes Ben a few days before an invasion from the negative zone. Ben and Johnny are trying to hold back the Annihilation wave from coming through from the Negative Zone portal, Johnny locks Ben outside the portal wall to save him and the future foundation kids. In a dramatic fashion as the Annihilation wave comes for the Human Torch, Ben transforms back into the Thing, but leaving him helpless from saving The Torch . It’s one epic and heroic sacrifice and a heartbreaking scene. 
Hickman would end the series and relaunch a new title simply named FF. Which could stand for Fantastic Four or Future Foundation. Spider-Man would take the place as the fourth member of the team, as those were the wishes of the late Human Torch. The team would get new uniforms too, these ones would be white and black primarily. Made out of third generation unstable molecules they could change color and markings, as well as being able to access the Omega Drive. Sometimes titles ending, relaunching as a new title then going back to the old title with legacy numbering only to have the new title continue as well can be a little confusing, but that’s what happened here. FF would go 11 issues and then Fantastic Four would start up again with issue # 600. FF didn’t stop though, and would continue as long as Hickman’s Fantastic Four run lasted. 
Hickman would bring back the Human Torch as a little older, more mature and someone that’s been through hell and back. Hickman’s run would end about a year later, but he wasn’t done with the characters as he would use them heavily in the 2015 Secret Wars event.

James Robinson & Leonard Kirk

Fantastic Four (Vol. 5) #1-14, # 642- 645 Annual 1 (2014) (2014-2015) 

A run that was cut short over movie rights at the time, James Robinson and Leonard Kirk still managed to make a memorable run, that had heart, and a real sense of danger. Of course they did have those red uniforms?? I not sure why they went with that other than the fact that in Hickman’s run they had white uniforms with black that could change for whatever purpose they needed. So maybe it’s like go back to blue or do something completely different. 

The run starts off with them pulling the team apart due to a breach in the FF’s security. A portal from the Heroes Reborn dimension rips open in the Baxter Building letting out millions of creatures. These creatures fly through the city, creating mass destruction and getting all the other NYC heroes involved. In the end of this conflict, Reed manages to stop the attack, but in doing so he inadvertently stripes the Human Torch of his powers. 

The FF win the day but are served paper to appear in court and the authorities lock them out of the Baxter building and relocate the children from their custody, pulling the team apart even more. 

Just when you think things can’t get any worse, a Watcher dies and sins from the past are revealed. The Thing witnesses a lie that Reed and Johnny kept from him and it tears their friendship apart. Later on The Thing is caught with a dead Puppet Master and is arrested for murder. 

The last stories of the run include “East of Eden” which introduces a New Frightful Four, and in “The End is Fourever” we see the team pull back together Johnny getting his powers back and finally defeat the Quiet Man.

This is the last run of the Fantastic Four series for a few years. They would later show up in Hickman’s Secret Wars, which sends Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Women off exploring the multiverse and raising their kids ended the team. 

The FF would return as a team and a monthly comic in 2018 and then relaunched in 2022 and yet again relaunched in 2025 as the legacy continues to this very day.