Fantastic Four (1994 TV series)


Fantastic Four, also known as Fantastic Four: The Animated Series, is the third animated television series based on Marvel's comic book series of the same name. Airing began on September 24, 1994, until ending on February 24, 1996. The series ran for two seasons, with 13 episodes per season, making 26 episodes in total.

Overview

In the early-to-mid-1990s, Genesis Entertainment and New World Entertainment syndicated a new Fantastic Four animated series as part of the Marvel Action Hour weekend block, later renamed Marvel Action Universe, with the addition of another show. The first half of the hour was an episode of Iron Man; the second half an episode of Fantastic Four. During the first season, Stan Lee was featured speaking before each show about characters in the following episode and what had inspired him to create them.
The show has also aired on Fox Kids, and Disney XD in the United States.

Season 1

Most episodes in the first season consisted of fairly accurate re-tellings and re-interpretations of classic 1960s FF comic book stories by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. For instance, this series stayed true to the original comic book story that recounted the Silver Surfer and Galactus' coming to Earth in a two-part episode as well as Doctor Doom's theft of the Surfer's powers. However, the season's cost-effective animation and attempts to add humor through the inclusion of a fussy British landlady for the FF were generally met with displeasure by fans - to say nothing of then-current FF comic book writer Tom DeFalco, who got in trouble for penning a scene in issue #396 of the series that featured Ant-Man watching and lambasting an episode of the cartoon.
In "The Origin of the Fantastic Four", Puppet Master took control of the Thing and used him to capture Invisible Woman. Mister Fantastic freed the Thing from his control and defeated the Puppet Master. Upon returning to his apartment to reclaim his final doll, he ended up in a fight with Alicia Masters, and then he apparently fell to his death from the apartment window. The Fantastic Four weren't able to find his body and claimed that he "vanished from Earth."
In "The Silver Surfer & the Coming of Galactus", the Silver Surfer, Firelord, and Terrax fight the Fantastic Four while Galactus attempts to feed on Earth. By season 2 however, all but the presence of Silver Surfer in that battle is ignored as Terrax is seen again and referred to as being the replacement for the Silver Surfer. In the episode "When Calls Galactus", Terrax is killed/turned into a worm and Nova becomes the new herald of Galatcus.
In "Mask of Doom", Doctor Doom captures the Fantastic Four and forces Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, and the Thing to go back in time and obtain an object for him. In the aforementioned episode "Silver Surfer and the Return of Galactus", Doom steals the Silver Surfer's powers and tries to steal Galactus' powers, only to be thwarted by the planet devourer himself.

Season 2

Both the Fantastic Four and Iron Man series were radically retooled for the second seasons, sporting new opening sequences, improved animation, and more mature writing, though noticeably having fewer introductions by Stan Lee, with several of the new shorter intros being used more than once. Not only that, Four Freedoms Plaza replaced the Baxter Building as the Fantastic Four's home base in season 2. The season 2 episodes also drew upon John Byrne’s 1980s run on the Fantastic Four comic, in addition to further Lee and Kirby adventures.
In the season premiere episode "And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them", Doctor Doom strikes at a powerless FF and has his hand crushed by the Thing. Doom next appears in "Nightmare in Green" where he directs Hulk to attack the team.
Wizard appears in the episode "And the Wind Cries Medusa". In his appearance, he assembles Medusa, Hydro-Man, and Trapster to form the Frightful Four. On a related note, this episode aired one week from Hydro-Man's debut appearance in Spider-Man. Wizard also used a device to control the Thing. Meanwhile, Crystal, along with the other Inhumans Black Bolt, Gorgon, Karnak, and Lockjaw, also make their debut in the three-part "Inhumans Saga" episode. After escaping the Negative Barrier, Crystal goes on to become the girlfriend of the Human Torch. Seeker appears in the episode "Inhumans Saga: Beware the Hidden Land". He is sent by Maximus the Mad to retrieve the Inhuman Royal Family. After saving the Fantastic Four from the explosion, Seeker briefly shares the history of the Inhumans to them.
Susan Richards as Malice appears in the episode "Worlds Within Worlds". Malice's appearance is the result of Psycho-Man using his powers to make Susan turn against her Fantastic Four teammates. Eventually, Susan is freed of Psycho-Man's influence and defeats him.
The Black Panther appears in the "Prey of the Black Panther". He lures the Fantastic Four to Wakanda to see if they are worthy enough to help fight Klaw. As in the comics, Klaw's history of killing T'Chaka is included as well as T'Challa using Klaw's own weapon on his right hand.
In "To Battle the Living Planet," the Fantastic Four ask Galactus' help in confronting Ego the Living Planet. Thor meanwhile guest stars in two episodes. In "To Battle the Living Planet," the Fantastic Four help him fight Ego the Living Planet even when they enlist Galactus' help. In "When Calls Galactus," he and Ghost Rider both help the Fantastic Four fight Galactus. Also in "When Calls Galactus", Nova volunteers to replace the treacherous Terrax as Galactus' herald. As in the comics, Frankie Raye ends up getting her powers when she is accidentally doused in the chemicals that gave the android Human Torch his powers.
Franklin Storm appears in the episode "Behold, A Distant Star". Just like in the comics, Franklin Storm lost his wife in an accident, and an altercation with a loan shark led to an accidental murder. When Invisible Woman has shrapnel in the lower part of her brain after a recent Skrull attack, he has to come out of hiding to perform the surgery. He turns himself over to the arriving police. After being freed from his volcanic prison, Super-Skrull replaces him in prison and takes on the guise of the Invincible Man, who breaks out of prison, goes on a rampage on the city, and runs afoul of the Fantastic Four. They soon realize that Franklin Storm is Super-Skrull in disguise. Warlord Morrat has a concussive energy beam projector attached to Dr. Storm's chest. The projector is set to go off the moment he sees the Fantastic Four. When Storm appears, he warns the Fantastic Four to stay away and rolls over on the floor, taking the full force of the deadly concussive blast.
In "Hopelessly Impossible", Lockjaw helps the Human Torch get the Impossible Man to The Great Refuge and away from the Super-Skrull.
In what turned out to be the series finale, "Doomsday", Doctor Doom acquires the Power Cosmic. He once again tries to go after Galactus only to hit the barrier that prevents the Silver Surfer from leaving Earth.

''The Incredible Hulk'' (1996 TV series) crossover

reprised his role of Doctor Doom for guest appearances in two episodes, in which Doom held Washington, D.C. captive, only to be defeated by She-Hulk, whom he later attempted to claim revenge upon. With his appearance on this show, it can be assumed that Doom survived the fate he met on the Fantastic Four series, if both shows are to be considered within the same continuity.
Following Doctor Doom's first appearance, comes the episode "Fantastic Fortitude" featuring his nemesis, the Fantastic Four. The episode seems to place this show in the same continuity with the Fantastic Four cartoon of the same decade, as this episode plays off the Hulk's appearance in the other show. More to the point, Beau Weaver and Chuck McCann reprise their roles from the Fantastic Four series. In the episode, Mister Fantastic and the other Fantastic Four take their vacation prior to Hulk, She-Hulk, and Thing fighting Leader's Gamma Soldiers. Meanwhile, She-Hulk flirts with Thing, but Ben chooses to rekindle his relationship with Alicia Masters. While the Yancy Street Gang never appear in the solo Fantastic Four cartoon itself, they appear in "Fantastic Fortitude", where they pull a prank on the Thing. After being defeated by the villain Ogress, the Gang, always off camera, distributes leaflets marked "THING WHUPPED BY A WOMAN!", much to Thing's chagrin.

Proposed season 3

According to season 2 supervising producer Tom Tataranowicz, had there had been a third season of Fantastic Four, he would have wanted to go into the whole Sue Storm pregnancy story arc. In Tataranowicz's eyes, this would have given the production crew a chance to do their own take on the Sub-Mariner, as he played into the arc in FF issues leading up to and around issue #100. Tataranowicz also wanted to bring Medusa and She-Hulk into the mix as part of the Fantastic Four.

Cast

Main

Season 1 (1994)

Season 2 (1995–1996)

''The Incredible Hulk'' crossover

and Beau Weaver reprised their roles on The Incredible Hulk.
#TitleWriterOriginal AirDate

''Spider-Man'' crossover

Only Quinton Flynn came back for Spider-Man. Beau Weaver, Lori Alan, and Chuck McCann were replaced by Cam Clarke, Gail Matthius, and Patrick Pinney as Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, and the Thing respectively, and Doctor Doom was voiced by veteran voice actor Tom Kane for parts 2 and 3.
#TitleWriterOriginal AirDate

Broadcast and release

Despite the fact that the show ended in 1996, the success of the live-action Fantastic Four film have sparked more interest in new fans, allowing the series to air in reruns on Jetix block on Toon Disney due to its new owners: The Walt Disney Company.
In February 2012, Marvel.com uploaded every episode for streaming purposes, although they have now been removed.
The entire series is available for instant streaming on Canadian Netflix as of July 28, 2016. The entire series is available on iTunes, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and Vudu.
The series is shown on Disney's streaming service Disney+ since its launch on November 12, 2019.

Home media

VHS

During the series' run, some episodes were released on VHS. These were from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
VHS NameEpisode TitlesRelease DatePublisherStock NumberNotes
The Origin of the Fantastic Four"The Origin of the Fantastic Four" Parts 1 & 2July 2, 199720th Century Fox Home Entertainment4193Trailers:
FOX Kids Video Promo

FOX Toons Interactive CD-ROM Promo

In the late 1990s, another selection of VHS compilations were released by Marvel Films/New World Entertainment. These releases featured episodes edited into 40 minute movies based on the particular story arc.
VHS NameEpisode TitlesRelease DatePublisherStock NumberNotes
The Origin"The Origin of the Fantastic Four" Parts 1 & 2May 19, 1998Marvel Films/New World Entertainment03033This Tape Is In SP Mode.
Contains 40 Minutes Of A Feature Length Movie.
And Contains Various Commercials At The End Of The Movie:
Spider-Man: Web Flyers: Sneak Attack Action Figures Advertisement
Spider-Man: Web Blaster Refills and Web Fluids Advertisement

DVD

Following the release of the 2005 live-action film, The Walt Disney Company released the series on Region 1 DVD on July 5. The DVD set now featured new introductions by Stan Lee for all 26 episodes. Additionally, pieces of footage from the episodes themselves had also been removed for network broadcast, and it is these cut episodes that comprise the DVD set.
The first Region 2 release received only a DVD comprising the first two episodes and the trilogy of the first appearance of Doctor Doom. The second release, now by Liberation Entertainment, features a double DVD set with the complete first season with remastered video and audio footage. Due to Liberation's closure within the UK, the rights to all Marvel cartoons were brought by the company Lace International, but has since changed again to Clear Vision LTD.
Clear Vision LTD released Season 1 in two parts. Part one was released on May 4, 2009, with part two released on May 13, 2009. Season 2 was also released in two parts, with part one released on June 10, 2009, and part two released on June 17, 2009.
In April 2009, a DVD box that collects both Seasons 1 and 2 was released in European countries with Dutch subtitles under the Liberation Entertainment label.

Comics

An 8 issues comic-book series based on the show was published by Marvel:
An action figure line based on the TV show was produced by Toy Biz, and ran for four series. The line included the main characters and many of the various guest-stars, as well as characters that never even appeared on the show, such as Dragon Man and Thanos.