With the release of the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer this week, Marvel briefly transported viewers back to the roaring 1960s. Marvel’s First Family will finally be introduced to the 17-year-old franchise in this upcoming MCU edition. Although the preview caused some fans to become divided, there was still a lot to enjoy. One major takeaway, other from Galactus’s comic book-accurate appearance, was the Fantastic Four’s homage to The Beatles, often known as The Fab Four, through some outstanding set design.
One picture showed the titular team standing together on a TV show set with arrows pointing at them from all directions after the silhouettes of the Devourer of Worlds and The Thing appeared to be distraught over his rocky new appearance. The Beatles’ 1965 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, just four years after the Fantastic Four’s comic book debut, is a clear reference to the fact that this band of heroes was not the first to walk on such a stage.
It’s a fitting wink to an equally iconic group who appeared in Marvel comics themselves. Besides getting their own comic book in 1978, The Beatles had plenty of run-ins with the Fantastic Four throughout the years. Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross’ Marvels comic run had Ben Grimm/The Thing and Johnny Storm/The Human Torch stop a robbery and cross paths with the band. The wedding of Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman and Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic was also attended by a band that looked like the Beatles. It may have been them, though, since it was later discovered that Skrulls had taken over The Beatles’ Earth-616 and carried on the band’s career while hiding their extraterrestrial origins.
