Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps

James Gunn’s Superman and the MCU’s Fantastic Four: First Steps have some fun (and surprising) elements in common. Both were released in July, and have already become two of the biggest movie releases in 2025, respectively. However, there are more significant parallels between the two films.

Naturally, both Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps are superhero films, albeit from separate franchises and cinematic universes. That means superpowers, villains, and world-ending threats abound in both movies. However, there are more specific pieces of shared DNA between Superman and Fantastic Four that are quite notable and worth pointing out.

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Mister “Insert-Adjective” Super-Genius

In James Gunn’s Superman, Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific is introduced as a member of the Justice Gang, a team of metahumans funded by LordTech CEO Maxwell Lord. Considered to be one of the world’s smartest men, Mister Terrific’s primary source of power is his impressive intellect and technology.

As such, Mister Terrific is a key ally to his fellow teammates as well as the Man of Steel, especially after he successfully undid the rift in time and space created by Lex Luthor’s unstable pocket universe.

Conversely, Fantastic Four: First Steps has Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic, another “Mister Adjective” super-genius whose primary source of power is also his mind. However, he does have his impressive powers of elasticity as well. Regardless, the Mister Terrific/Mister Fantastic connection is one of the best things the new DCU and MCU have in common.

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Super Babies

Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps both have super-babies. In Superman, the Man of Steel encounters Baby Joey, the infant child of Rex Mason’s Metamorpho whose life is being threatened by Lex Luthor to force Rex’s cooperation, keeping Superman incapacitated in his cell by continually producing kryptonite via his powers.

Thankfully, Superman saves both Joey and Rex, which leads Metamorpho to help the Justice Gang as seen in Superman’s ending. In the comics, Joey is a very powerful DC character with the ability to turn any object into different elements (a notable difference from his father’s power, who can turn his own body into various elements).

Likewise, the MCU debuts Baby Franklin in Fantastic Four: First Steps. The son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, Franklin is a literal cosmic god with infinite power, now one of the most powerful beings in the entire MCU (which mirrors the original Marvel Comics universe).

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Third Person Jokes

Hilariously, both Superman and Fantastic Four share a very similar joke about speaking in the third person.

During Lois Lane and Clark Kent’s interview, Clark comments that “Superman doesn’t have time for selfies.” Lois then makes fun of his third-person use. Similarly, Johnny Storm uses the third-person in Fantastic Four, which Ben Grimm’s Thing similarly makes fun of: “Johnny loves space, Johnny loves women. Johnny meets a literal space-woman…and Johnny thinks they had a moment.“

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Prominent Super Teams With Four Heroes

Both superhero movies feature four-person teams. Obviously, Fantastic Four: First Steps has the First Family: Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm. Likewise, Superman features the trio known as the Justice Gang, who come to Superman’s aid. By the movie’s end, Metamorpho is recruited by Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, making four members of the DCU team.

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Classic Arch-Foes In Superman and Fantastic Four

Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps also feature arch-foes. In Superman, Lex Luthor is the primary antagonist, orchestrating a multi-layered plan to kill Superman with the world’s approval, as he’s unwilling to allow the public to adore the Man of Steel any longer. Played by Nicholas Hoult, the DCU’s new iteration of Lex Luthor is quite impressive and incredibly dynamic.

While Galactus is the primary antagonist of Fantastic Four: First Steps, the movie does feature the family’s classic arch-nemesis in Fantastic Four’s post-credits scene. Kneeling to face young Franklin, Doctor Doom makes his MCU debut, presumably played by Robert Downey Jr., albeit hooded and facing away from the scene as a key tease for next year’s Avengers: Doomsday.

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Skipping Classic Superhero Origins

Both new superhero movies also skip the classic origins of their titular characters.

James Gunn’s Superman does not begin with Kal-El as a baby being sent from a dying Krypton by his parents. Instead, Superman has already been a superhero in Metropolis for three years by the movie’s opening. Given the superhero’s widespread popularity, Superman’s story is already quite familiar, so it was nice to see the movie jump right into the action.

Similarly, Fantastic Four: First Steps largely glosses over the First Family’s origins as well. Showing brief bits of footage and audio from the launch that gave them their powers from a cosmic storm, the movie’s opening montage shows key moments from The Fantastic Four’s first four years as heroes, leading up to their present on Earth-828.

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Beloved Animated Sidekicks (HERBIE/Krypto)

Naturally, both Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps feature adorable animated sidekicks (who are both massively marketable). James Gunn’s Superman has Krypto the Superdog, a superpowered canine from Krypton temporarily fostered by Superman and owned by his cousin Supergirl. Despite not being very house-trained, Krypto is still very loyal and a good boy where it counts the most.

Fantastic Four: First Steps has HERBIE, a cute little robot helper to the First Family. Voiced by Matt Wood, HERBIE perfectly represents the retro-futuristic aesthetic of Earth-828, and is always ready to help out with cooking, baby-proofing the Baxter Building, collecting alien samples, and helping The Fantastic Four evade the Silver Surfer as they approach a collapsing neutron star.

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Colossal Citywide Threats/Evacuations

Both movies also feature colossal citywide threats and evacuations. In James Gunn’s Superman, a giant fire-breathing kaiju monster is unleashed by Lex Luthor as a means of distracting Superman while he breaks into the Fortress of Solitude. Later on, the entire city of Metropolis had to be evacuated due to the incoming rift caused by Luthor’s pocket universe.

Similarly, Galactus’ imminent arrival saw Sue Storm convincing Harvey Elder’s Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser) to offer sanctuary to the citizens of New York, evacuating the entire population to the underground realm of Subterranea before the towering World Devourer came seeking Franklin and his infinite power.

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Brand-New Universes

Both James Gunn’s Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps introduce brand-new universes to the screen.

Superman is the first live-action movie in the new DCU, a largely rebooted cinematic universe allowing DC Studios to start fresh after the DCEU, while keeping a few past projects part of the established canon, primarily Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.

Additionally, Fantastic Four: First Steps is completely set on Earth-828, a retro-futuristic world still in the 60s apart from the main MCU reality and timeline, which takes place on Earth-616.

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Fresh Takes on Existing Cinematic Heroes

Another key shared element between Superman and Fantastic Four is that neither film is the first we’ve seen these characters on screen.

There have been multiple live-action versions of Superman, and the same goes for Marvel’s First Family. However, one can certainly argue that these newest iterations are some of the best yet to hit the big screen. Additionally, it’s very exciting that these new versions have confirmed futures in their respective universes going forward.

Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps are both currently playing in theaters.