By Dan Conlin
Fantastic Four has had a rough go of it as a franchise, but maybe all it needs is a Powerpuff Girls-style makeover to shake things up.
Highlights
- The Fantastic Four fan art imagines the iconic superhero team in the chaotic style of The Powerpuff Girls.
- New Zealand artist Charlie Faulks brings the sapphire-hued heroes to life with a nostalgic Cartoon Network vibe.
- Despite past movies' mixed reactions, Fantastic Four fan art excites fans for a potential colorful cartoon adaptation.
The Fantastic Four fan art asks what if Marvel's First Family got their own cartoon in the delightfully chaotic style of The Powerpuff Girls.
With Fantastic Four still on its way as Marvel Studios' next big new fodder for uninspired YouTubers, it's only natural that fan creators would flock to the franchise. This team of sapphire-hued heroes has had a rough go of things over the decades. From movies with mixed reactions to a movie with no reactions to Roger Corman, it seems like it's become a rite of passage in Hollywood for everyone to, at some point, try to make their own Fantastic Four movie. Luckily, this talented fan chose to target the television audience instead, and it looks like it would work.
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New Zealand artist Charlie Faulks decided that the wait for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie wasn't good enough and took to Instagram with an idea that's genuinely pleasing to the eyes. At least, it's pleasing for those who grew up in a specific era of Cartoon Network. Specializing in works reminiscent of classic cartoons from throughout the decades, Faulks evoked the unmistakable vibe of The Powerpuff Girls and its contemporaries with this latest work. Naturally, other fans had some thoughts.
The piece genuinely looks like it would fit right in with Cartoon Network's early-to-mid-2000s output like Powerpuff Girls (which had its drama with a failed live-action Powerpuff Girls series) and other shows like Danny Phantom and Dexter's Laboratory. The characteristically thick lines and overstated angles are on full display, driving home the striking variance among the Fantastic Four team members. The Thing is bulky and rotund, Mr. Fantastic is angular and properly elongated, The Human Torch is sleek and evokes a feeling of fiery fluidity, and The Invisible Woman looks, as one Reddit commenter so eloquently put it, like "peak goblin Sue" with her scrappy fighting stance and face of a chaotic wildcard.
"Sue looks ready to start some sh*t"
"This is great lol.
Reed with that 'I'm smarter than Doom' smirk lol."
Despite Sue's design changing things up (even though it would be amazing to see her tear things up with a little anarchy), it seems like it could be a refreshing change of pace for the usually ill-fated hero team. Other fans pointed out that, in the hypothetical scenario that such a series was created, it wouldn't be the first time the masterpiece comic book heroes Fantastic Four got their own solo cartoon. Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes was an anime-inspired series that ran for 1 season in the mid-2000s, though its initial run on Cartoon Network only aired a few episodes. So, hopefully, a new one would get a bit more of a fair shake. However, the loyal fans still haven't forgotten it.
"So we're just pretending fantastic four worlds greatest heroes didn't happen?"
Frankly, it's pretty in character for the last cartoon version of the Fantastic Four to be just as ramshackle as the reputation its movies have garnered. But maybe their problem is that they just took themselves too seriously. This is a franchise with a stretchy man and a dude made of rocks. If anything deserves the Teen Titans GO treatment, it's this band of weirdos.
Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four are Marvel's original team of superheroes. After being bombarded by cosmic rays, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm gained amazing superpowers, taking on the mantles of Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing. Their main adversary, Doctor Doom, has become one of Marvel's all-time great villains.
- Created by
- Jack Kirby , Stan Lee
- First Film
- Fantastic Four
- Latest Film
- Fantastic Four (2025)
- Upcoming Films
- Fantastic Four (2025)
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Source: faulksie/Instagram, Marvel/Reddit
