Marvel Comics nearly shut its doors until Stan Lee gambled everything on a revolutionary idea. Instead of another team of perfect heroes, he created a group who lived publicly, squabbled constantly, and treated saving the universe like a family business. Which team earned the title of Marvel's "First Family" and helped launch the entire Marvel Universe?

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The answer is: The Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four revolutionized comics in 1961 by showing up on the first page of their debut issue without masks, secret identities, or any pretense of being typical superheroes. Reed Richards and Sue Storm were engaged, her brother Johnny was still in high school, and Reed's best friend Ben Grimm reluctantly completed the team.

Stan Lee created them during Marvel's darkest hour, when his publisher demanded something to compete with DC's Justice League. What Lee delivered was unprecedented. After a cosmic accident gave them powers, the team moved into a Manhattan skyscraper and became celebrities. Reed could stretch his body into impossible shapes as Mr. Fantastic. Sue became the Invisible Woman, Johnny flew on fire as the Human Torch, and Ben transformed permanently into the super-strong Thing.

Their stories broke every superhero convention and saved Marvel Comics, establishing the template for every Marvel hero that followed. They predated the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the X-Men, pioneering the idea that superheroes could have real problems and complex relationships.

Ironically, Marvel's most important team has struggled mightily on screen. A 1994 movie was made solely to keep rights and was never released. The 2005 and 2015 films flopped with audiences and critics. Now Marvel Studios is taking their shot with a new movie in 2025, hoping to finally do justice to the characters that literally saved their company decades ago.

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