With a drawn image announcing the cast of the Marvel StudiosFantastic Fourmovie, the wait is now over. The world finally got a glimpse of what the MCU incarnation of Marvel’s first family will look like. With this casting announcement, long-rumored choices for key characters in thissuperhero team were confirmed.Pedro Pascalwill star as Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm will be played byVanessa Kirby,Stranger Things’Joseph Quinnis set to take over Johnny Storm, and everyone’s favorite cousin,Ebon Moss-Bachrach, will turn into The Thing. Accompanying the four expected members of the Fantastic Four in the image, though, is a figure that may have been a total surprise to some. Handing Ben Grimm/The Thing a beverage in this doodle is none other than H.E.R.B.I.E., the robotic companion of the Fantastic Four.
For some viewers of this image, that creation may be a puzzling addition that inspires more befuddlement than excitement. Even the biggest fans of this adorable mechanical being would freely admit H.E.R.B.I.E. isn’t as instantly recognizable as other Fantastic Four supporting characters like The Mole Man orDoctor Doom. However, that doesn’t mean H.E.R.B.I.E. Is devoid of a rich history inFantastic Fourmedia. In fact, he’s been such a prominent fixture in the series that his inclusion in the first-ever Marvel Studios movie about these characters isn’t too surprising.That’s an especially impressive achievement given that H.E.R.B.I.E. originated not in the pages of a 1960s comic, but in a Saturday morning cartoon.
Fantastic Four
One of Marvel’s most iconic families makes it back to the big screen, the Fantastic Four.
Where Did Fantastic Four’s H.E.R.B.I.E. Even Come From?
Like many famous figures in the history of superhero media, H.E.R.B.I.E. was created out of necessity, not inspiration. In 1978, perInverse, the character of Johnny Storm/The Human Torch was already licensed to show up in a live-action Universal TV show when the Saturday morning cartoonThe New Fantastic Fourwas getting off the ground. This presented a problem since you can’t just have three superheroes make up a team named The Fantastic Four. A fourth member was needed to play as a foil to the rest of the team…which is where H.E.R.B.I.E. comes into the picture. This robot served as Storm’s replacement for every single installment of thisFantastic Fourcartoon. Helpful robots had just secured a surge in popularity in this era thanks to the originalStar Warsmovies, which likely made this new character especially enticing to executives.
Interestingly,Stan Leehimself wrote many episodes ofThe New Fantastic Four, meaning he’s technically responsible for creating H.E.R.B.I.E. Despite emanating from the mind of a Marvel Comics legend,The New Fantastic Fourlasted only 13 episodes. In hindsight, it would seem that H.E.R.B.I.E. was destined to become an obscure footnote in the history of the Fantastic Four. However, the character got introduced into the world ofFantastic Fourcomics in 1979, with writersMarv WolfmanandJohn Byrnetaking a swing at adapting this figure into the Marvel Comics mythos.
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“Reed Richards is elastic, Sue can fade from sight, Johnny’s the Human Torch, and the Thing just loves to fight.”
Suddenly, H.E.R.B.I.E. got a new lease on life, with the character’s comics debut further confirming that his name stood for Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics.From here, H.E.R.B.I.E. has had a sporadic, but widespread presence across various Marvel Comics storylines. This is especially impressive given that the initial version of H.E.R.B.I.E. in the comics opted to engage in heroic self-sacrifice that seemingly brought an end to his comic book exploits. you’re able to’t keep a good robot down, though, and throughout the years, new versions of H.E.R.B.I.E. have emerged to help out the Fantastic Four in their various cosmic adventures. Multiple iterations of this robot even made it into other incarnations of this super-team in the comics, such as theUltimate Fantastic Fourrun.
H.E.R.B.I.E’s Presence Suggests Excitingly Wacky Things For ‘The Fantastic Four’
H.E.R.B.I.E. proved to be such a prominent fixture in the original Fantastic Four comics that the various 21st-century movie adaptations of these characters had assorted plans to feature this robot at one point in time. The 2005Fantastic Fourfeature went as far as to shoot a brief motionless cameo from H.E.R.B.I.E., though this footage would only appear in the extended cut of the movie on its home video release. Meanwhile, a month after the2015Fantastic Fourboondoggle movie premiered,concept art from artistFausto De Martinoemerged onlinethat showed early versions of H.E.R.B.I.E. that were once proposed for this movie. Amusingly, versions of this robot had the organism not only built heavily out of LEGO but also moving around on what looked like a kind of volleyball.That latter detail means that this incarnation of H.E.R.B.I.E.is shockingly reminiscent of BB-8,a droid that did make it onto movie theater screens in 2015.
Both of these earlierFantastic Fourmovies were very cognizant of H.E.R.B.I.E. but weren’t committed enough to the character to bring him to the silver screen. This is an unfortunate reality emblematic of how many vintage comic book movies opted for “realism” in adapting these characters to the silver screen. In the process, these projects erased all the enjoyably goofy parts of the comics that people loved. Just remember howFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferfeaturedGalactusas a cloudor how the 2015Fantastic Fourprimarily depictedits lead characters moping around grey-tinged buildings. No wonder H.E.R.B.I.E. was considered a bridge too far for these productions.
In contrast, placing H.E.R.B.I.E. right alongside the other Fantastic Four members on an illustration announcing the primary cast of this movie (with a design practically ripped right out of the comics) indicates that this Marvel Studios production is keen to preserve the kookierelements of theFantastic Fourmythos.If H.E.R.B.I.E. can appear in this feature, who knows what other aspects ofFantastic Fourlore will be deemed suitable for a theatrical motion picture?The mind reels at the possibilities in that regard, all of which would’ve been deemed off-limits for previousFantastic Fourmovies.
Before one gets lost in all those hypothetical scenarios, though, it’s best to appreciate what one has in the here and now, like confirmation H.E.R.B.I.E. is going to play some kind of role in the 2025Fantastic Fourmovie.It’s a triumphant turn of events for a character whose often been a punchline online and came into existence just because of legal issues surrounding a 1970s Saturday morning cartoon.Many audience members may be unfamiliar with H.E.R.B.I.E. now, but this casting announcement for Fantastic Four indicates everyone will soon know about the underdog robot companion to this superhero team.
