Marvel Studios’ ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ has quickly become one of the most anticipated entries in the next wave of the MCU. The third and final trailer has dropped and it delivers something far more subtle and chilling. A single moment has added a new, darker meaning to the film’s subtitle: ‘First Steps’ may not just be about heroic beginnings, it may mark the start of a disaster they themselves unleash.
Until now, ‘First Steps’ was widely interpreted as a clever nod to both the Fantastic Four’s entry into the MCU and the literal birth of Franklin Richards. However, with the final trailer’s release, the seemingly optimistic title has taken a turn that reframes the film’s central conflict in a much more haunting light.
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Might Be Foreshadowing Reed’s Literal First Steps
In a moment that might otherwise feel triumphant or even awe-inspiring, the trailer shows Reed Richards stepping foot onto what appears to be Galactus’ ship. The camera framed the moment like a lunar landing, dust rising beneath his boot, the number “4” etched into his suit and stamped into the ground behind him. In another context, this might symbolize the arrival of heroes boldly going where no one has gone before. However, here, it’s something else entirely.
Because if theories are correct then this moment doesn’t mark a new beginning. It marks a colossal mistake. According to comic lore and now hinted at heavily in the trailer, Galactus slumbers aboard his ship until disturbed. The MCU appears to be following a similar path, suggesting that Reed Richards’ exploratory mission might be the very thing that awakens the Devourer of Worlds. The title ‘First Steps’, then, isn’t just a metaphor. It becomes a warning.
What was once viewed as the Fantastic Four’s entrance into a universe of possibility now feels more like the opening act of a cosmic horror story. Reed’s physical step onto Galactus’ vessel may set off a chain reaction that brings annihilation to Earth. Moreover, the MCU has never really had a moment like that. And if ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ delivers on this idea, it may give the franchise a lot of depth.
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Could Emphasize The Message That Every Step Has Consequences
The layering of the ‘First Steps’ subtitle grows deeper the more you consider its implications. It not only refers to the Fantastic Four’s origin, their MCU debut, and the literal steps Reed takes but also potentially to Galactus’ own first steps toward Earth. It’s poetic and terrifying. The theory goes like this: Reed and his team, unknowingly or otherwise, step aboard Galactus’ ship, perhaps believing it to be abandoned or simply inert.
In case you missed it: The Real Reason Why Doctor Doom Is Missing From ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’
In doing so, they awaken the cosmic force within. As Silver Surfer proclaims in the trailer, “I herald his beginning,” viewers are left to wonder: Whose beginning is this really? The Fantastic Four’s? Galactus’? Or Earth’s final chapter? If their arrival is what sets Galactus on his path toward Earth, then their “first steps” are not only a metaphor for heroism but a catalyst for disaster. The irony is obvious.
This reframing challenges the MCU’s typical tone of celebration. It paints Reed Richards not just as a genius leader, but as a man whose choices, though well-intentioned, could unleash unspeakable destruction. Additionally, this layered storytelling is exactly what the MCU needs right now. The Fantastic Four have always been Marvel’s most human heroes And now, as they take their first steps into the MCU, we may finally be witnessing the franchise take its own first steps into a more emotional territory.
