The Fantastic Four‘s next MCU appearance has been confirmed ahead of Avengers: Doomsday. They will return in a new comic, which features one of their classic foes.
Marvel to release Fantastic Four: First Foes: Dragon Man MCU comic
The Fantastic Four, already confirmed for pivotal roles in Avengers: Doomsday, will return in First Foes: Dragon Man, releasing in September (via ScreenRant). Greg Pak wrote the comic while Mark Buckingham did the illustration.
This comic, set in Earth-828, will see the eponymous team come into conflict with Dragon Man. “FROM THE WORLD OF THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE! As the Fantastic Four take the world by storm, Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin’ Thing, struggles in the spotlight in his rocky, monstrous form,” the comic’s official description reads. “But could there be a cure for his condition? And what does all of this have to do with the terrifying android known as DRAGON MAN?”
Below is Phil Noto’s cover, which shows the team attempting to subdue the villain.
The villain first appeared in Fantastic Four #35. Professor Gregson Gilbert of State University created him out of motivation from two things. One was to fill the void in his life caused by his family’s demise. And the other was the Cosmic Automation, a self-replicating program that sought out intelligent worlds to imprint itself in an artificial construct created by the dominant species.
While Gilbert managed to complete the physical body, he failed to breathe life into it. However, his luck changed one day when alchemist and Fantastic Four foe, Diablo, visited him at the university. Through a combination of science and alchemy, the villain brought the creature to life.
Diablo later manipulated the creature into fighting the Fantastic Four. During the fight, it became attracted to Invisible Woman, prompting it to take her and flee to Dead Man’s Lake. However, the group tracked her down and fought Dragon Man and Diablo to a standstill.
The pair later attempted to escape, with Diablo freezing the lake to cross it. Unfortunately, Dragon Man’s added weight caused both of them to plunge through the ice. Consequently, they were swept into the underwater caverns deep below the surface. Although the Fantastic Four assumed both were dead, they returned in the future.
