The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the 612th episode of the Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert and Lon Harris. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 2025 superhero film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It was published on September 30, 2025. It is 6 minutes and 59 seconds long. It has been viewed over 100,000 times.
Script[]
From the boyfriend who's trying to win you back after the breakup (Marvel Studios), and the director (Matt Shakman) who didn't just adapt the sitcom -- he was born into it (shows Shakman as Graham "J.R." Lubbock Jr. on Just the Ten of Us) -- comes a brand-new take on the Fantastic Four: "What if it wasn't terrible?"
Reed (Fantastic Four (2015)): (to Ben) Say that again?
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
You've seen the zany cartoon versions, the one that made Josh Trank disappear, and that Roger Corman bootleg you skimmed for the memes; now, strap in for an adaptation, that's totally passable....
Elder: (to Reed) --regardless... why don't you butter me up?
...because the bar for success is, "don't make me embarrassed for ever liking these characters". Hooray! Low expectations!
Shake up a retro visual cocktail, that feels like a Mad Men watch party at Jackie Treehorn's, where you'll meet Reed Richards, who's like Tony Stark with the quips toggled off.
Reed: I have nothing. I... I have nothing.
He's married to Sue Storm, who may have had a personality trait or two before getting pregnant.
Thing: Are you pregnant?
Sue: (chuckles) Yeah, we're pregnant.
Thing: Yes...
Reed: There'll be a time dilation.
Johnny: How much of a dilation?
Sue: Is it more than mine?
(shows Galactus scanning Franklin inside Sue)
They're joined by Ben Grimm, sadder than Eeyore with a kidney stone, till he meets a woman who thinks orange is the new snack.
Rachel: (to the Thing) --you're looking... very distinguished.
And since no universe is safe from nepotism, Sue's brother Johnny is tagging along...
Johnny: Johnny loves space. Johnny loves women.
...who breaks ground as the MCU's first openly horny character.
Johnny: DON'T TELL ME HOW TO KILL SEXY ALIENS!
Thing: Stop calling her sexy!
Okay, second.
Deadpool: I'm touching myself tonight.
Also, there's H.E.R.B.I.E., their slave!
Reed: All right, H.E.R.B.I.E., let's start the baby prep. / H.E.R.B.I.E., record.
Thing: H.E.R.B.I.E., try to stabilize the engines!
Sue: (to Reed) --H.E.R.B.I.E.'s building the crib. Which I kinda thought was a "you" deal.
That's why they didn't give him a mouth: so he can't scream. (shows H.E.R.B.I.E. panicking as Galactus looks inside the Baxter Building)
Thrill at their diverse range of powers, that span from helpful (shows Johnny assisting firefighters by absorbing a large fire), to godlike (?) (shows Sue using her force fields to push Galactus backwards), to being a big, strong rock guy (shows the Thing running through multiple concrete pillars), to still being flexible in your fifties (shows Reed stretching as he climbs the side of a building), though their real ultimate power is draining the world of all cynicism towards scientists, celebrities, and law enforcement.
Thing: (to Reed) You babyproofed the world.
They got every country to disarm and turn off their power?! I won't even close my fridge when it's hot.
Galactus is here, but this time, he's more Transformers villain than cloud -- Oh, thank God... (shows Galactus depicted as a giant space cloud in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, followed by Galactus disconnecting from tubes as he stands up from his chair in this film) -- who sends his assistant to give his food a little teaser trailer before meal time.
Silver Surfer: I herald your end. I herald... Galactus.
She's Shalla-Bal, a lady who got her dome chromed to save her planet, cursed to shred for eternity, because surfing was big in 1966.
Johnny: (to the Silver Surfer) So the surfboard, right? Is that part of your body? Or is that...?
Silver Surfer: (sighs and leaves)
Watch her and Galactus make an offer not seen since Labyrinth...
Galactus: I will spare your world. In exchange for the boy.
Sarah Williams (Labyrinth): I want my brother back, please...
Jareth: Forget about the baby.
...or Austin Powers 2...
Fat Bastard (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me): (to Dr. Evil) You get the mojo, you keep your money... and I'll get your baby. (smacks his lips)
...because everyone in the MCU wants to see a new generation of heroes, fast; Robert Downey Jr. isn't walking through that door. (shows Robert Downey Jr. in a teaser for Avengers: Doomsday) Oh, right; he is, isn't he?
Witness the battle of surfboard versus blackboard... (shows Reed getting smacked by the Silver Surfer's board)
Reed: L is the load, r is the lever arm connected to the load. Archimedes. The Law of Levers.
...with one awesome chase sequence through a lava zone full of aliens and geniuses fighting over a baby -- It's weird that that's happened twice this year, right? (shows Superman fighting off Raptors while carrying Joey down an antiproton river in Lex Luthor's pocket dimension in Superman (2025)) -- and one third act finale where Team Science workshops a very questionable plan...
Reed: --it's not my plan. It's our plan. It's the only plan.
Johnny: It's not my plan. I hate that plan.
Thing: It's a bad plan.
...lure a cosmic being to Manhattan with the world's most obvious bait...
Max Rockatansky (Mad Max: Fury Road): That's bait.
...hide all the small squishy people under his feet (shows the citizens of New York cowering as Galactus walks above them), and trust the strongest force in Marvel to take it from there: mom rage. (shows Sue growling as she pushes Galactus back) Man, if Thanos ever comes back, just tell Sue and Wanda their kids are trapped up his butt; movie over.
So enjoy another new comic book movie, that zooms through the origins and gets straight to the good stuff...
Gilbert: They defeated Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. (shows Reed pushing one of Red Ghost's orangutans off a tower)
...with plenty of fanservice to please the diehards...
Reed: --the Puppet Master in the Bowery, the Wizard in Gramercy Park, and Diablo in Washington Heights.
...and an aesthetic more pleasing and unique than their usual slop, that may not be enough to bring the MCU back to its former glory, but might get a few lapsed Disney subscribers to crawl back. "Hey, sorry about the whole Kimmel thing; in this mouse, we believe in science, right? Or if you're the other kind of mad, i-it's about how immigrants mean trouble. Please? (whispering) We need your money..."
Starring: The Bendalorian (Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic); White Storm (Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman); What The Rock is Actually Cooking (Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing); Next of Kindle (Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch); Wittle MacGuffin (Ada Scott as Franklin Richards); Shalla Back Girl (Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer); Haus Moleman (Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder/Mole Man); Natasha Likestonne (Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman); Maid in Manhattan (Matthew Wood as H.E.R.B.I.E.); King Ralph (Ralph Ineson as Galactus); and Galactus Eats Entire Planets, But What Comes Out the Other End? Does He Sh*t Literal Bricks?
Sue: --just because I'm not talking about it doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it.
The Atoms Family
The honest title for The Fantastic Four: First Steps was ‘The Atoms Family’. Titles designed by Robert Holtby.
Newscaster: -- Galactus has just passed Jupiter.
I mean, sure, Jupiter's a lot bigger than Earth, but Galactus can't eat that one; makes him gassy. (shows Galactus groaning in pain)
Viewer's Comments[]
PLZ say "It's all in the reflexes." In your badass voice. Big Trouble in Little China is the GOAT. - jaynoir8937
Hey, could you guys please say "Wheee! Look mom, no hands! Where are my hands?!" - KRSM_YT
It would be Marvelous to hear you say: EXCELSIOR, True Believers! - Starwebs
Ok, based on this week's comments, next week please say "I never said I was a golden god!" - CaptHayfever
Trivia[]
Reception[]
Production Credits[]
Voice Narration: Jon Bailey aka Epic Voice Guy
Title Design: Robert Holtby
Written by: Spencer Gilbert, Lon Harris
Produced by: Spencer Gilbert
Edited by: Kevin Williamsen
Post-Production Manager: Emin Bassavand
Manager, Content Operations: Tiffany Tse
Post-Production Specialist: Rebecca Castaneda
VP Content: Max Dionne
