There’s a nagging question about the upcoming Marvel movie The Fantastic Four that has inspired more than a few juicy rumors. The question is, “Where the heck have the Fantastic Four been this whole time?” We recently ran through 7 possible explanations regarding the location of the team, spanning from “Trapped in Time” to “Lost in the Multiverse.” We know that The Infinity Saga in the MCU has given way to The Multiverse Saga, and have taken several steps to explain that concept for people trying to catch up at home. Well, more clues now have appeared on this beautiful concept art for Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, and it’s implying there’s a Multiverse for Marvel’s First Family.
Above is the Human Torch concept art that Marvel Studios shared on April 4. In my write up regarding the image, I celebrated the subtle lines included on Johnny’s costume, the facial design, and the “4” that’s centered on his chest. These are all elements that have not been seen on a live-action Human Torch, so seeing them in the art and assuming that Marvel was going to be as authentic as possible made me very excited.
And then, people started to point out Torch’s location, which can be seen at the bottom of the poster. Does that look like a New York City that you are familiar with?
There are skyscrapers, but they have curves and points that don’t look like Earth. There are domes, and spires, and what looks like an elevated rail system. There’s an alien suggestion to the design… or an Art Deco influence that also was evident in the cast photo that we put at the top of this story. Many, at that time, jumped to the conclusion that Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four was set in the 1960s.
But maybe it’s set in an alternate universe where New York City looks like that?
The Fantastic Four, as a team, are NYC staples. You can’t really set an FF story anywhere else but New York City. It’d be like taking Spider-Man out of New York… well, wait. They actually did that. But still, Spidey’s roots are in Manhattan (or Queens) and the MCU version of the hero has to use Manhattan as a character.
You can’t put The Fantastic Four in the New York City on Earth-616 (the current MCU universe) without explaining where they have been during all of the MCU. But you can put them in an alternate NYC that looks like the one showcased on the Human Torch poster. It would expand on the Multiverse Saga, which we stepped deeper into at the end of The Marvels, and creates some creative freedom for Shakman to tell a story without disrupting existing MCU continuity.
So, what city is that? New York? An alternate New York? That confirms The Fantastic Four taking place in an alternate universe, so now we’re excited to learn more about how it will expand on that, and eventually bridge over to Earth-616. The movie apparently starts filming in London in the summer, so stay tuned for more.
