Is Marvel Cancelling Fantastic Four?
Rumors are flying that Marvel is planning on cancelling their two ongoing Fantastic Four titles to snub Fox. Bleeding Cool reported that sources from inside Marvel have said that the team’s self-titled books in both the Marvel and Ultimate Universes are the ones on the chopping block. The characters will still appear in other titles as guest stars, but the Fantastic Four title will be put on hiatus. Suspicion mounted about Marvel’s motives when they revealed their 75th anniversary magazine cover and the Fantastic Four were conspicuously absent. That is not the case for the “100th Anniversary” art by Alexander Lozano that Marvel released this week where the entire team is present and accounted for. It is also notable that Marvel Executive Editor and Senior Vice President of Publishing, Tom Brevoort took to social media and basically said that the whole thing is rumor mongering and sensationalism.
Alexander Lozano’s “100th Anniversary” art
The Fantastic Four have been the cornerstone of Marvel for years; as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s first super team dating back to 1961, they are the longest running Marvel title. So would Marvel cancel the historic title just to burn Fox? The rumor is that Marvel’s higher ups feel like they are supporting Fox at their own expense, and it’s come to the point where they are taking Fantastic Four art off the wall. Fox picked up the rights when Marvel was in bankruptcy, as well as the rights to X-Men and can maintain possession as long as they continue making movies. Fox has recently begun filming the reboot of the franchise, which prohibits Marvel from using any of the affiliated characters (including Silver Surfer, Galactus, and the Skrulls) in their own version of the cinematic universe. So how much truth is there in these stories? Only time will tell. For now, enjoy the Fantastic Four’s new title; in case you missed it, you can find my review of the first issue here.
