July 2025 - The Importance of Character Designs: The Fantastic Four
- Jul 4, 2025
- 3 min read
In 1939, Marvel Comics published its first comic, Marvel Comics #1, which featured several heroes still widely known today including the Human Torch and Namor. This issue was the first of tens of thousands of comics, and gave rise to the creation of superheroes and teams such as Captain America and the Fantastic Four. Stan Lee’s superheroes redefined what comic heroes and teams could be–flawed and human. However, their costume designs and names are still very important and contribute to their success and popularity today.
A character’s design and name should be unique and correspond with their powers or role; that’s what makes them memorable. If Spider-Man’s iconic red and blue suit were to be all black, then he’d look almost identical to Daredevil in his origin story. Imagine if Silver Surfer was gold rather than silver, or if Captain America’s suit was decorated with the Canadian flag–that would make no sense! Most Marvel heroes are created carefully with thought, and their designs must be reasonable.
Let’s take a look at the Fantastic Four. What makes them so recognizable, not only as a team, but individually as well?
The Fantastic Four consists of four people called Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), Invisible Woman (Sue Storm), Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and The Thing (Ben Grimm). The Human Torch should be easily identified as the man on fire, hence the “torch” in his name. Invisible Woman is the woman whose leg is turning invisible. Only one of the remaining two looks like their name could be “The Thing”. And by process of elimination, Mister Fantastic is the man who can stretch his body. His alias doesn’t match his powers, but his role is the leader of the team.
Stan Lee also stated that he and Jack Kirby based each member on one of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. The Thing is very grounded and looks like a rock, Invisible Woman is adaptable, Human Torch is hot headed and covered in flames, and Mister Fantastic is flowing and stretchy. Creating characters inspired by or based off of objects such as those can be a very creative way to design a character, especially if you’ve hit an art block or if you’re lacking inspiration.
Despite the uniqueness of all their powers, their designs still manage to look cohesive. They are a team, hence their matching blue uniforms with big “4” logos. Their similar designs illustrate how they value teamwork and practicality, and how they were created as a family, not individual heroes. This was a major shift from earlier superheroes who wore flamboyant and flashy costumes. The Fantastic Four’s designs were distinct and emphasized the idea that their bond was their superpower.
Marvel’s character designs consisted of bold colors, including the vibrant blue of the Fantastic Four suits. Colors in a character’s design are also important, as they are often used as symbolism. Blue, the main color of the Fantastic Four uniforms, is associated with intelligence. All the team members are scientists, especially Reed Richards who’s known as the smartest man on Earth. The Fantastic Four are explorers and problem solvers, not just superheroes.
Comic accurate suits in live-action adaptations are finally becoming more mainstream, with Wolverine’s classic yellow suit in Deadpool & Wolverine, and the blue and white suits in the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps. They’re important for making characters distinct and memorable. Marvel characters like the Fantastic Four aren’t popular and iconic just because of their powers and stories, but their designs as well. They tell you more about a character–who they are, how they differ from others, and their purpose. Being careful and deliberate about a character’s appearance can elevate them to another level.
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