Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in the past, sort of.
Director Mark Shankman had confirmed at the 2024 Comic-Con at the time, “We’re not just doing the 60s, we’re doing retro-future 60s.”
Retro-future 1960s is probably the best way to describe Fantastic Four: First Steps as the inspiration of the time is seen in everything from bulky TV sets to period clothes and cars, as well as Ed Sullivan-esque talk show host introducing the four heroes. But this movie takes place on a different earth where a genius with unlimited money has designed spaceships that can blast them light years away and fight the gravity of a black hole, yet still uses analog tapes.
The movie doesn’t have to take place on Earth 828 in retro 1964; modern day New York would have sufficed. This brings up a pattern with comic book movies in which the setting is not present day, but a past filled with nostalgia where the story could align more with the time period in which the comic book was created and technology was limited.
{% module_block module "widget_4c2a2a95-f7ef-4698-982b-d81450cbf918" %}{% module_attribute "child_css" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}{}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "css" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}{}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "definition_id" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}null{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "field_types" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}{"default_text":"group","slides":"group","slideshow_settings":"group","styles":"group"}{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "label" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}null{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "module_id" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}98459521332{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "path" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}"@hubspot/image_slider_gallery"{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "schema_version" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}2{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "slides" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}[{"caption":"Billy Campbell in 'The Rocketeer'","img":{"alt":"Billy Campbell in The Rocketeer","height":475,"src":"https://200838.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/200838/Billy%20Campbell%20in%20The%20Rocketeer.png","width":840},"link_url":{"no_follow":false,"open_in_new_tab":true,"rel":"noopener","sponsored":false,"url":{"content_id":null,"href":"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102803/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_in_0_q_the%2520rocket","href_with_scheme":"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102803/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_in_0_q_the%2520rocket","type":"EXTERNAL"},"user_generated_content":false}}]{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "smart_objects" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}[]{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "smart_type" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}"NOT_SMART"{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "tag" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}"module"{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "type" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}"module"{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% module_attribute "wrap_field_tag" is_json="true" %}{% raw %}"div"{% endraw %}{% end_module_attribute %}{% end_module_block %}Comic Book Movies in the early 1990s
In the 1990s, comic book movies didn’t have the same luster as they do today. They weren’t box office guarantees, unless they were geared toward kids. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Batman were the big draws, while obscure deep dives like Darkman and The Shadow were duds, likely because they were seen as Batman-light with its noir vibes and brooding protagonists (Batman 1989 made more in its opening weekend than both did in their entire run).
What was intriguing about many of the comic book movies at this time was that they weren’t present day stories. The Shadow, arriving in theaters in 1994 and starring Alec Baldwin, takes place in the 1930s, the same time period Walter B. Gibson created the character. The Shadow has psychic abilities and must go toe-to-toe against a villain set on world domination. While the intent may have been to stay true to Gibson’s time period, it’s likely audiences were satisfied with a wealthy playboy/superhero named Bruce Wayne than Baldwin’s Lamont Cranston.
The Rocketeer wasn’t a major hit at the theaters, yet most late-Gen Xers and early Millennials will fondly remember this Disney movie about a stunt pilot who straps a rocket on his back. With its plot surrounding the FBI, Howard Hughes and the Nazis, all of whom want this contraption to aid in the upcoming global conflict, The Rocketeer made sense for the late 1930s where there were Disney-defined heroes and villains, and technology wasn’t as prevalent. Jet packs in the 1990s would have been cool, but the story truly belonged in 1938.
Finally, Dick Tracy was a movie that only Warren Beatty could put together. Beatty directed the movie and brought on stars Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Sorvino, Dick Van Dyke and James Caan, most of whom were known for serious, dramatic work in the 1970s and were in-or-nearing their 50s at the time (Van Dyke is the exception). The main female role went to Madonna, who was at the height of her popularity at the time.
Beatty wanted a comic book feel to Dick Tracy with scene transitions akin to moving from panel to panel, a bright color palette and make-up-heavy characters embodying the villainous style of the serials. At its core, and why the likes of Pacino, Sorvino and Caan worked, is that this is a gangster picture taking place in the 1930s (Chester Gould created the comic book in 1931). There isn’t technology beyond Tracy’s wristwatch/phone, but old-fashioned detective work. It has its place in time when bootleggers and mobsters were the villains amid the Great Depression and Prohibition.
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Superheroes are great at saving the world, which begs the question: where were they during the world’s two most devastating wars?
There are a few movies in the modern comic book universes that take place during these tumultuous times. These movies aren’t about changing what had happened, but take an approach that the superhero prevents something even more devastating from happening, such as stopping Nazis from creating super soldiers or designing a deadlier type of weapon.
Wonder Woman is the origin story of the DC heroine and takes place in 1918 as Europe was at the height of the Great War. But Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) isn’t aware of this until a pilot crash lands on the secluded island she inhabits. Being chased by German soldiers, it’s revealed he has stolen an evil chemist’s notebook who intends to create a weapon deadlier than mustard gas. This causes Wonder Woman and the pilot to embark on a journey to help save the world from the Germans and the Central Powers.
World War I was the “war to end all wars,” which sounded nice but was succeeded 20 years later by World War II, an even deadlier and more widespread conflict. Unlike the first World War, this one came with more patriotism and eagerness to fight, with willing soldiers enlisting on their 18th birthday. One of those eager to do their part is the scrawny Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), who is immediately rejected by the military.
With the help of an experimental program though, he becomes the Captain America we all know and love, ready and capable of fighting for his country. The villain in Captain America: The First Avenger is the Red Skull, a Nazi scientist who has the ability to create super soldiers.
Why did Captain America: The First Avenger take place in the 1940s? The world was discovering incredible powers and new technologies at the time, plus the idea of creating a super soldier seems in line with the Nazi playbook. Captain America was created in 1940 so his origin story aligns with the time period as well. At a time of sky-high patriotism, the invention of wholesome, handsome super soldiers filled with Americana seems right for the time period. Released in 2011 with the United States mired in two unpopular conflicts, having Captain America step into the world in modern day may not have been as easily accepted.
The Joker’s Origins
A story that takes place in the 1970s about a struggling party clown who lives with his mom and ultimately goes on to become a homicidal maniac doesn’t seem like a blockbuster. But if that party clown is the Joker and Todd Phillips is the filmmaker, it becomes the 2nd highest grossing R rated movie of all time (it was number 1 until Deadpool & Wolverine took that top spot).
Joker could have found its place in the 2019 world (when it was released), but would it have been as good? Or relevant? Likely not.
There was something about the grittiness of Gotham City of 1970 which mimics New York of the same time. Setting the film in the 1970s allowed for differing views of mental health, decency and crime; it’s no wonder Joker has been compared to Taxi Driver. In some ways, it feels like Joker could be made in a post-COVID era and not have to take place in the 70s. Oh, what a difference 6 years makes.
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Perhaps people have seen today’s cities destroyed by too many super-villains that there needs to be a shake up in how stories are told. In the superhero world, what’s the difference between 1960s on Earth 828 or the Quantum Realms or the galaxies that Star-Lord must guard? It’s all simply somewhere else, a new place for the heroes and the audience to explore. On top of that, period pieces like these comic book movies can also offer a splash of nostalgia, like the soundtrack and Blockbuster Video in Captain Marvel.
Fantastic Four: First Steps provides both nostalgia and a new place. It’s obvious the movie takes place in New York and the billboards, cars and clothes make it a compelling viewing experience. Because it’s a different universe, the filmmakers can get away with enhanced technology in a period piece and make the world believable. When it comes to comic book period pieces, the debate will continue on whether placing superheroes and comic book characters in the past is merely a gimmick/spectacle, or serves a larger purpose. As with all elements of a screenplay, if it’s in service of the story, it can only be a good thing.