The new Fantastic Four film is, in a word, fantastic.
Its 1950s futuristic aesthetic was charming, with a dash of campiness, courtesy of characters like Mole Man and his underground haven, “Subterranea.” The score was fitting, the characters well-developed, the plot easy to follow, and the dialogue believable. The jokes landed for not trying too hard, with relatable dynamics between spouses, best friends, siblings, and colleagues. If you can get past Pedro Pascal’s off-screen antics, his portrayal of the quirky Mr. Fantastic lives up to the name.
But more than all these other factors, easily the most outstanding aspect of the film is its overtly pro-life message. It’s the entire point of the plot.
(Warning: spoilers!)
In the opening moments of the film, astronauts-turned-superheroes Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) and her husband Reed Richards (Pascal) — imbued with extrahuman powers after encountering cosmic rays in outer space that leave their DNA radically altered — react with glee to a positive pregnancy test. After having written off the possibility following two years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive, they welcome the news that their lives are about to be turned upside down by the new life growing inside her womb — despite the many unknowns.
And they have more of those than most people. Will the child of two mutated parents be deformed? Will he be a monster? A superhero? An ordinary child in a family of extraordinaries?
Yet Sue’s brother, Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and family friend and soon-to-be surrogate uncle Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) respond with as much delight. Despite the fears and questions, everybody is thrilled at the news, and Reed and his robot assistant, H.E.R.B.I.E., immediately set to work, baby-proofing the Baxter Building and tracking villainous threats. Duty, love, and protection define the family’s posture toward the developing child from day one.
Little do they know how much protecting they’ll have to do.
As Sue’s pregnancy progresses, an otherworldly herald, Silver Surfer, visits the family’s beloved New York City to announce to Earth’s inhabitants that their planet has been marked for destruction. An intergalactic god-like being known as Galactus will soon devour it. Employing his scientific prowess, Mr. Fantastic tracks down Galactus’ location, and the band of astronauts embarks on a plot to negotiate with the being in space before he descends upon the Earth. After the crew is captured, Galactus agrees not to decimate their planet — in exchange for Sue and Reed’s yet-unborn son, whom Galactus identifies as an all-powerful being that will succeed him.
Sue and Reed refuse, narrowly escaping with Ben, Johnny, and H.E.R.B.I.E., and Sue gives birth to Franklin, a beautiful baby boy, on the treacherous journey home.
Upon returning, the crew’s fellow New Yorkers are excited to see that the Fantastic Four have become five. That is, until they learn of Galactus’ terms and condemn the parents for not sacrificing their child. Trading one life for the world is the obvious choice for the watching public. For the parents, not so much.
After an attempt to teleport the Earth to a new galaxy far away from Galactus is thwarted by Silver Surfer, Mr. Fantastic decides to lure Galactus to Earth and teleport him instead. When Galactus outsmarts the team and captures Franklin, Sue concentrates all her power into a force field to save her son from Galactus and falls lifeless to the ground. Her husband tries desperately to revive her, but she’s gone.
Luckily, Galactus got something right: Franklin is powerful indeed. The child’s touch brings his mother back to life.
Children have a way of doing that, don’t they?
Theme of Life
The value of life permeates every action and reaction in the film. In the beginning, Reed and Sue don’t seem to have been “trying” anymore for a baby, yet they welcome the surprise news with delight and resolve. Multiple times, characters refer to the unborn son not as an impersonal fetus or a “potential life,” but as a “child.” Using Sue’s invisibility power during an ultrasound, the film even goes so far as to show Franklin in all his humanity in utero.
At the end, without any expectation that her life would be miraculously saved, Sue doesn’t prioritize the “life of the mother” when two lives are in conflict. Instead, she hurls herself into danger and assumes ultimate risk for a chance at protecting her son.
Throughout the film’s whole meaty middle, the Fantastic Four are motivated not only by a desire to save their planet, but more fundamentally by a desire to save the child. And while Galactus’ terms posed something of a “trolley problem,” the parents responded with a right understanding of what Augustine called the ordo amoris, or the order of loves. One’s responsibility is first to God and then to his family before the rest of the world. J.D. Vance got blasted by the left when he articulated this idea just months ago, and now a major Hollywood blockbuster is accidentally promoting it.
Vibe Shift
This seems to be just the next installment in our ongoing cultural vibe shift. From Nike promoting fatherhood as a greater “win” than athletic achievement; to formerly canceled, anti-woke comedian Shane Gillis hosting Disney-owned ESPN’s award show; to blatantly pro-family, pro-life ads from companies like Apple and Volvo; to massively popular artists like Lana Del Rey and Jon Bellion producing music that celebrates traditional marriage, fidelity, and parenthood over fame and fortune; to the subdued nature of pride month this year and the slow retreat of DEI dogmas; to the popularity of podcasts that feature theologically rich discussions with God-fearing guests like Wes Huff; to the surge in homeschooling and Christian schooling; to the failure of garbage entertainment like the new Snow White and the success of country-loving films like Top Gun: Maverick; to the rejection of abortion radicals like Kamala Harris and the embrace of Donald Trump — the winds, they are a’changing.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the most pro-life Hollywood blockbuster in a long time, and maybe ever. It blows the pro-life Dune: Part Two out of the water, and that’s saying something. Its Marvel creators likely didn’t set out to make a powerful case for the sanctity of life, but that’s the thing about reality: Good stories reflect it.
The movie is unmistakably conservative, not because it tries to be, but because it shows what’s good, true, and beautiful for just how good, true, and beautiful it is.
