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Fantastic 4: First Foes (2026) #1
FROM THE WORLD OF THE CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE! Return to the universe of the legendary film in the first of a series of specials!! On Earth-828, a cosmic mishap has transformed four brave astronauts into the world's champions and protectors. They are the Fantastic Four - but one person isn't happy about things. He's known as the Mad Thinker, and he's determined to get his proper due by turning the city of tomorrow against its heroic patrons!
Kindle Edition
Published March 25, 2026
About the author
Dan Slott
2,094 books465 followersDan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 31, 2026
"He discovered that there were universes stacked on top of his own..."
August 13, 2026
It was disheartening to read lately that Kevin Feige had referred to The Fantastic Four: First Steps as ‘only’ making $521 million worldwide. Whilst its Box Office performance was far from impressive, it still wasn’t a Box Office flop by any definition. I greatly enjoyed the film’s retro-futuristic aesthetic, which is why I am glad that the Fantastic Four: First Steps has gone on to lead a healthy life within the pages of Marvel Comics. Following The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ in-universe prequel comic, Marvel have continued the MCU Fantastic Four’s comic book ventures with The Fantastic Four: First Foes.
The first of these is entitled “I Think Therefore You Die”. It follows Reed’s former colleague, Rene, as he becomes disgruntled after helping the Fantastic Four’s re-entry back to Earth, and receives no credit for his part at Mission Control. His resentful attitude towards Reed leads to him exacting revenge against Reed as the Great Thinker. I Think Therefore You Die is an action-packed exploration of an early superhero battle for Reed and his family, and it’s a pleasure to spend more time with this version of the Fantastic Four.
Rene’s motivation is wholly understandable. He’s not evil for the sake of being evil, he genuinely believes he has been wronged by Reed Richards, as he is ignored for his part in the Fantastic Four’s origins whilst Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny are celebrated as celebrity astronauts. The story superbly sets out why Rene is so upset, showing the Excelsior’s clash with cosmic rays from Rene’s perspective at Mission Control, and how he devised some calculations to help them reenter Earth’s atmosphere safely. At the same time, Rene is an unreliable narrator. He claims to be the originator of the ‘smart city’ idea which Reed implements in the issue, but in the third act, we learn that Rene stole files about the smart city from Reed, so that he could claim it as his idea and steal the spotlight from Reed. He starts off a sympathetic figure, until the conclusion, where the tragedy of it all is that he is a bitter man with a chip on his shoulder, who refuses Reed’s hand of friendship as he has convinced himself that the smart city concept was his.
The smart city itself is an extremely clever idea. Rene hijacks the smart city, which links every device in New York to be controlled remotely, and uses it to turn the entire city against the Fantastic Four. Flying cars, including the Fantasticar, are sent hurling towards Reed and company, making the city itself like a character within the story. It also feels very timely, as a contemporary story. We live in times with driverless cars, automation, and AI, which have drawn controversy because of how they remove the human element. I Think Therefore You Die could be seen as a warning on the dangers of relying entirely on computer systems, and removing humanity, as technology can be hacked, as so happens with Rene.
I Think Therefore You Die gives Herbie a starring role. Herbie is the only robotic appliance who isn’t hacked by Rene, and swaps his small body for the body of Rene’s gigantic android. Seeing Herbie engage in the superhero action is a genuine thrill, having emerged as a standout of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It also serves to show Reed’s ingenuity, being that he places Herbie’s chip inside Rene’s android to turn the android against the Great Thinker.
It is a little disappointing that this story doesn’t have as much in-universe material as the last entry. The prequel comic had in-universe adverts, which was a neat way to immerse you into the world of the Fantastic Four. Even though this comic still claims to be ‘Authorised by the Future Foundation’, none of these in-universe adverts play a part here, and the only in-universe material is a letter from the Future Foundation. There are still some neat callbacks to the film’s setting, though. The Ted Gilbert Show plays a part in proceedings, inviting Rene as a guest onto Ted’s show, and the Fantastic Four cartoon from the post-credits appears during the conclusion, sending Rene mad as the cartoon refers to him as the name of his comic book counterpart, the Mad Thinker.
Alongside the main story, there is a fun little diversion with a comic strip presentation of the in-universe show, Fantastic Science With Reed Richards. It’s a richly humorous piece that shows Reed’s attempts to explain the science behind flying car backfire when Johnny declares it to be to dull, and instructs the flying car to hover via voice commands instead. Of course, Johnny being Johnny, he accidentally causes the flying car to crash into the studio roof and the studio erupts into flames. It’s a perfect showpiece of these characters, which feels true to Reed and Johnny’s individual personalities.
Overall, I Think Before You Die is an action-packed caper within the MCU Fantastic Four universe. The Great Thinker is a relatable villain with understandable motivations, and the smart city turning against the superhero team is a concept that works extremely well within the comic book medium. It’s a shame that this comic issue dials back the in-universe content, but there is still a fun Fantastic Science strip to enjoy.
The first of these is entitled “I Think Therefore You Die”. It follows Reed’s former colleague, Rene, as he becomes disgruntled after helping the Fantastic Four’s re-entry back to Earth, and receives no credit for his part at Mission Control. His resentful attitude towards Reed leads to him exacting revenge against Reed as the Great Thinker. I Think Therefore You Die is an action-packed exploration of an early superhero battle for Reed and his family, and it’s a pleasure to spend more time with this version of the Fantastic Four.
Rene’s motivation is wholly understandable. He’s not evil for the sake of being evil, he genuinely believes he has been wronged by Reed Richards, as he is ignored for his part in the Fantastic Four’s origins whilst Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny are celebrated as celebrity astronauts. The story superbly sets out why Rene is so upset, showing the Excelsior’s clash with cosmic rays from Rene’s perspective at Mission Control, and how he devised some calculations to help them reenter Earth’s atmosphere safely. At the same time, Rene is an unreliable narrator. He claims to be the originator of the ‘smart city’ idea which Reed implements in the issue, but in the third act, we learn that Rene stole files about the smart city from Reed, so that he could claim it as his idea and steal the spotlight from Reed. He starts off a sympathetic figure, until the conclusion, where the tragedy of it all is that he is a bitter man with a chip on his shoulder, who refuses Reed’s hand of friendship as he has convinced himself that the smart city concept was his.
The smart city itself is an extremely clever idea. Rene hijacks the smart city, which links every device in New York to be controlled remotely, and uses it to turn the entire city against the Fantastic Four. Flying cars, including the Fantasticar, are sent hurling towards Reed and company, making the city itself like a character within the story. It also feels very timely, as a contemporary story. We live in times with driverless cars, automation, and AI, which have drawn controversy because of how they remove the human element. I Think Therefore You Die could be seen as a warning on the dangers of relying entirely on computer systems, and removing humanity, as technology can be hacked, as so happens with Rene.
I Think Therefore You Die gives Herbie a starring role. Herbie is the only robotic appliance who isn’t hacked by Rene, and swaps his small body for the body of Rene’s gigantic android. Seeing Herbie engage in the superhero action is a genuine thrill, having emerged as a standout of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It also serves to show Reed’s ingenuity, being that he places Herbie’s chip inside Rene’s android to turn the android against the Great Thinker.
It is a little disappointing that this story doesn’t have as much in-universe material as the last entry. The prequel comic had in-universe adverts, which was a neat way to immerse you into the world of the Fantastic Four. Even though this comic still claims to be ‘Authorised by the Future Foundation’, none of these in-universe adverts play a part here, and the only in-universe material is a letter from the Future Foundation. There are still some neat callbacks to the film’s setting, though. The Ted Gilbert Show plays a part in proceedings, inviting Rene as a guest onto Ted’s show, and the Fantastic Four cartoon from the post-credits appears during the conclusion, sending Rene mad as the cartoon refers to him as the name of his comic book counterpart, the Mad Thinker.
Alongside the main story, there is a fun little diversion with a comic strip presentation of the in-universe show, Fantastic Science With Reed Richards. It’s a richly humorous piece that shows Reed’s attempts to explain the science behind flying car backfire when Johnny declares it to be to dull, and instructs the flying car to hover via voice commands instead. Of course, Johnny being Johnny, he accidentally causes the flying car to crash into the studio roof and the studio erupts into flames. It’s a perfect showpiece of these characters, which feels true to Reed and Johnny’s individual personalities.
Overall, I Think Before You Die is an action-packed caper within the MCU Fantastic Four universe. The Great Thinker is a relatable villain with understandable motivations, and the smart city turning against the superhero team is a concept that works extremely well within the comic book medium. It’s a shame that this comic issue dials back the in-universe content, but there is still a fun Fantastic Science strip to enjoy.
May 17, 2026
I enjoy getting more content with this version of the FF! I appreciated that this one felt more like a story than the first one, but I missed the in-universe advertisements and magazine excerpts. All in all though, this was a fun one-off that gave some more backstory to the MCU’s FF, and I definitely appreciated that.
March 25, 2026
This was a better use of the Mad Thinker that I’ve seen in a long time.
March 26, 2026
This was a fun tie-in issue.
April 12, 2026
It's always nice to see more of this world
June 19, 2026
It was an alright issue portraying the MCU's Fantastic Four and gave them another villain. Nothing too crazy. Lastly, the art isn't my favorite style but does give it an old school feel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2026
i hope there's do more of these for the f4 & others in the mcu (i'd love to see the new avengers have one!) they're so fun!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews