Polygon.com / 26.07.25

Why The Incredibles still stands as the best Fantastic Four movie

Its been more than 20 years since Brad Birds animated superhero movie The Incredibles hit theaters  plenty of time for wave after wave of fans to hit the internet and renew the claim that its an off-license Fantastic Four film with the roles swapped around. The comparisons (and fan-created competitions) between Birds super-team and the foursome created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1961 have been a hot topic online since the movie came out, with The Incredibles often hailed as the best screen version of the Fantastic Four.  Since The Incredibles debuted, there have been three separate attempts to reboot Earths First Family as blockbuster cinema stars: Tim Storys profitable but widely disliked 2005 Fantastic Four (which spawned the 2007 Rise of the Silver Surfer sequel), Josh Tranks critically derided (and personally disavowed) 2015 Fantastic Four, and now First Steps. But all three have lived in The Incredibles shadow, to the point where its so widely understood that Birds movie is ...
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