The MCU Can Finally Kill Off Its Worst Fantastic Four, Just Like They Did in Comics

Rumors and reports have made it clear that every actor, from every past Marvel film, is potentially back in the mix for a cameo come Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. But if there’s truly a chance Marvel Studios is going to bring back characters just so Doctor Doom can kill them, then there’s finally a chance for the movies to adapt the most infamous, and funniest Fantastic Four death of all time. And letting the cast of the doomed movie play themselves, at long last.

The Cast of Fantastic Four Were Blown Up in Marvel Comics

Punisher Vol. 10 #12 by Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads

It’s likely that every modern superhero movie fans knows 2015’s Fantastic 4 (also marketed as FANT4STIC) was a uniquely troubled and disappointing production. With drama behind the scenes, a poor critical reception, and catastrophic box office, the movie from director Josh Trank couldn’t be swept under the rug fast enough. But in the months prior to the film’s release, reports were already swirling that the film would result in yet another troubled, contested, and cobbled-together product.

So it was fortuitous that Punisher #10 opened its action with a familiar group of celebrities gathered in a high rise, overlooking Los Angeles. What is clearly the cast of Fantastic Four (2015) are depicted, with Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, and Kate Mara awaiting the arrival of Michael (“Mike”) B. Jordan. Wearing a Fantastic 4 t-shirt and discussing the movie’s sequel, the trio’s conversation is cut short by a nearby explosion. But before they can react to the chaos, Mara’s sentence is cut short, as more explosions are shown detonating across the skyline.

Fantastic Four Movie Cast Killed in Explosion in Punisher Comic

While the actual explosion consuming the cast isn’t shown on the page, readers immediately grasped the implications. The movie’s doomed reception months later would lead to some revisionist history, framing this scene (like Marvel’s shift away from Fantastic Four comics in line with Fox’s movie production) as openly hostile. But it was first and foremost a joke, breaking the wall between comics, movies, and fans. And its potential for adaptation has only grown more powerful in the years since.

This Fantastic Four Death is Perfect For Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom

Multiple Cameos & Kills Rumored For Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars

Doctor Doom in his dark cloak in Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer

There should be no argument needed for this scene to be adapted into live-action, for either Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars. Given Doctor Doom’s hatred for the Fantastic 4 in the past, and the need to promote the new rebooted Fantastic 4 cast in the MCU, a lethal attack seems unlikely. Which leaves this alternate universe version of the team, loathed by almost the entire audience, as the perfect sacrifice.

And considering the FANT4STIC stars themselves are joking about the disaster over a decade later, the return could offer catharsis, if not a more substantial role in any future Council of Reeds. After all, the overwhelmingly positive reception to Jennifer Garner’s Elektra return for Deadpool & Wolverine proves no box office bomb is immune to nostalgia for moviegoers of a certain age.

Since a cameo of this nature would require a single day’s worth of Teller, Mara, Bell, and even Jordan’s time, and likely send fans into a fury over the FANT4STIC‘s return, it’s the kind of comic book nod Marvel can’t afford to pass up.