The New Fantastic Four

The New Fantastic Four (on-screen title: The Fantastic Four) is an animated series produced by

The 1978 series replaced the character of the Human Torch with a robot named H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics) because the 1978 television rights to use that character were tied up by a proposed television pilot movie in development by Universal Studios that ended up never being produced.^[3][4]

Ownership of the series passed to

After getting exposed to cosmic radiation, Reed Richards, Susan Storm and Ben Grimm, alongside their robot H.E.R.B.I.E., fight crime as the Fantastic Four.

Production

DePatie–Freleng Enterprises had initially been slated to produce the Godzilla series while Hanna-Barbera was to produce The New Fantastic Four, but when DePatie–Freleng acquired the rights to the Fantastic Four NBC brokered a deal between the studios wherein DePatie–Freleng would produce The New Fantastic Four while Hanna-Barbera would produce Godzilla.^[8]

When the series was initially set up at Hanna-Barbera, Mark Evanier who wrote for the Hanna-Barbera line of Gold Key Comics heard the company wanted a Jack Kirby look and feel for the series which lead to Evanier contacting the animation director to say Kirby was available to work on the show.^[8] Kirby was allowed to work on the show with Marvel Comics agreeing Kirby's work on the series would count towards the requirements of his contract with Marvel.^[8] During their time working on the series, Marvel Comics then under the stewardship of President James Galtan decided they should become an animation company so they could deal with networks and not have to sell the rights to their properties leading to the company partnering with DePatie–Freleng and forming Marvel Productions.^[8]

Episode list

Cast

• Ted Cassidy - Thing / Benjamin J. "Ben" Grimm, Sandman (in "The Frightful Four")
• Mike Road - Mister Fantastic / Reed Richards
• Dick Tufeld - Narrator
• Ginny Tyler - Invisible Girl / Susan "Sue" Richards
• Frank Welker - H.E.R.B.I.E., Impossible Man (in "The Impossible Man")

Additional voices

• Jack Angel (uncredited) - Eddie (in "The Impossible Man"), Joey (in "The Impossible Man")
• William Boyett (uncredited) - Grogan (in "The Impossible Man")
• Joan Gerber - Medusa
• Don Messick - Wizard (in "The Frightful Four"), Gorgon (in "Medusa and the Inhumans"), J.J. Colossal (in "The Phantom of Film City")
• Marvin Miller (uncredited) - Blastaar (in "Blastaar, the Living Bomb Burst")
• Gene Moss - Trapster (in "The Frightful Four"), Dean Johnson (in "Calamity on the Campus")
• Vic Perrin - Inhuman Guard (in "Medusa and the Inhumans")
• Hal Smith - Karnak (in "Medusa and the Inhumans"), Mole Man (in "The Mole Man")
• John Stephenson - Doctor Doom, Magneto (in "The Menace of Magneto"), Professor Gregson Gilbert (in "Calamity on the Campus"), Presenter at Science Convention (in "The Final Victory of Doctor Doom")
• Nancy Wible - Crystal (in "Medusa and the Inhumans")

Marvel Mash-Up

In July 2012, scenes from Fantastic Four were re-cut, edited, and re-dubbed into comical shorts as part of Disney XD's comedic Marvel Mash-Up series of shorts for their "Marvel Universe on Disney XD" block of programming that included Ultimate Spider-Man and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.^[9]

Home media

Region 1

Episodes of the series were included on

Morningstar Entertainment has released 2 episodes on Region 1 DVD in Canada, however both The Impossible Man and Meet Dr. Doom are reissues of Volumes 2 and 7 of the 1980s Prism Entertainment Marvel Comics Video Library. Both DVDs were mastered from VHS copies of those old releases, and therefore contain the Spider-Man episodes that were added on as bonus episodes to the VHS releases.[10] Meet Doctor Doom is only available in the Villains Gift Set by Morningstar.

Region 2

In April 2008, Liberation Entertainment secured the home media rights to select Marvel shows from Jetix Europe in select European territories, including The New Fantastic Four.^[11][12] The company had plans to release the series on DVD, but in October, the company closed their UK branch; leaving the DVD release cancelled.^[13]

In 2009, Clear Vision took over the home media rights and released the complete series in a 2-disc set titled The Fantastic Four: The Complete Series on March 1, 2010 in the United Kingdom.^[14]

References