Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
A potentially big issue withThe Fantastic Four: First StepsafterThunderboltswas, thankfully, avoided by Marvel Studios. Thanks toupcoming Marvel movieslikeAvengers: Doomsday, the storylines ofThunderboltsandThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsare somewhat linked. Both include MCU characters that were confirmed inAvengers: Doomsday’s cast list, explaining how they will eventually tie together.
Thepost-credit scene ofThe Fantastic Four: First Stepswas proof of this.Fantastic Four: First Steps’ending saw the titular team defeat the villainous Galactus, yet Marvel risked revealing exactly how two months before the film’s release via the interconnectivity between it andThunderbolts*.Gratefully, though, Marvel Studios avoided this issue in a big way.
Thunderbolts*' Post-Credit Scene Risked Spoiling The Fantastic Four: First Steps
We Found Out A Big Fantastic Four Fact In Thunderbolts*
The risk Marvel took in potentially spoilingThe Fantastic Four: First Stepscame inThunderbolts*’post-credit scene. This scene saw the titular team operating under their new name, the New Avengers, by investigating several space-based anomalies. One such anomaly was a ship entering the dimension, revealed to be The Fantastic Four aboard the Excelsior.
This was a neat tease for thestory ofAvengers: Doomsday, but many worried it was premature. After all, this scene was shown two months beforeThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, with audiences assuming that thisThunderbolts*tease had spoiled the former. The assumption was thatThe Fantastic Four: First Stepswould end with the team in the MCU’s Earth-616.
This was, naturally, a big worry for people going intoThe Fantastic Four: First Steps.No one wants to go and see a movie where the ending has already been spoiled, which is what many assumedThunderbolts*did forFirst Stepsvia its post-credit scene. Fortunately, though, Marvel Studios anticipated these concerns and addressed them ahead of time.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Ending Still Leaves Thunderbolts*' Questions Unanswered
The Big Mysteries Remain Intact
As already alluded to,The Fantastic Four: First Stepsends withThunderbolts*' big questions still unanswered. The film culminates with the team defeating Galactus and transporting him, without his ship, to the edge of the universe, saving Earth from his hunger. This marks the end of the story, with evenThe Fantastic Four: First Steps’post-credit scene avoiding the connections toThunderbolts*.
The appearance of Doctor Doom and his seeming desire to use Franklin Richards' powers will undoubtedly tie toAvengers: Doomsday, but even that scene ends with The Fantastic Four still in their universe of Earth-828, which is a neatFantastic Four: First StepsEaster egg to creator Jack Kirby. Therefore, it is still unclear how Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny end up in Earth-616.
In all likelihood,Avengers: Doomsday’s opening moments will further explainThe Fantastic Four: First Steps’end-credit scene. Whatever happens between Doom, Franklin, and the Four will kickstart the 2026 film’s story. Only then will we find out exactly how The Fantastic Four end up being discovered by the New Avengers, proving Marvel avoided a big worry about their film.
Marvel Studios Played With Audience Expectations In The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Film Could Have Answered Thunderbolts*' Questions
After watchingThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, it seems as though Marvel understood that audiences will be searching for answers afterThunderbolts*. When discussing how to defeat Galactus,Reed Richards' initial plan is to use his teleportation technology on a massive scale, so that the Earth can be transported to another location, thus fleeing Galactus' hunger.
When I heard this plan in the theater, I immediately thought ofThunderbolts*. I assumed that Reed would succeed in his plan and teleport the Earth, but that something would go wrong, and it would be sent through dimensions. This would have been as good an explanation as any as to why The Fantastic Four were in the 616 universe inThunderbolts*.
However, the film proved me wrong. The third act ofThe Fantastic Four: First Stepssaw the Silver Surfer destroy Reed’s teleporters, prompting a different plan to defeat Galactus. This allowed the conclusion of the film to still be surprising, all while leaving the mysteries that linkThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First StepsforAvengers: Doomsdayto answer.
