List of characters in the Fantastic Four film series

The following is an overview of the characters depicted in both the low-budget, ashcan copy Fantastic Four film from 1994 and the two Tim Story directed films from 2005 and 2007.
Fantastic Four
Ben Grimm/The Thing
The Thing is featured in the 2005 film released by 20th Century Fox, in which he is portrayed by Golden Globe-winner Michael Chiklis. In this film, a small explanation is given for why his physical alterations are the most severe, as he is exposed to the cosmic cloud with the least amount of protection.
One difference in the film and the comic is Ben's military service. In the comic he was once an Air Force pilot, whereas in the film the Human Torch refers to him as a former SEAL. Another more notable difference is that he got his catch phrase ("It's clobberin' time!") from an action figure the Human Torch had made.
Chiklis reprises his role as The Thing in the sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. In the film, Grimm serves as the best man at the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm.
Johnny Storm/The Human Torch
Jay Underwood played Johnny Storm in the unreleased Fantastic Four film produced by Roger Corman.
The Human Torch/Johnny Storm is played by Chris Evans in the big budget 2005 movie Fantastic Four.
In the film, he is an intelligent (although not nearly as much as Reed, or even his own sister), arrogant young man in his early twenties who loves extreme sports, living on the edge, and is the brother of the beautiful Susan Storm, who works within Von Doom Industries as Victor von Doom's chief of the Science Department.
Chris Evans reprises his role as Johnny Storm in the sequel to , 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. When his sister's wedding is interrupted by the Silver Surfer, Johnny pursues the Surfer and loses the subsequent confrontation. Due to his contact with the Surfer, Johnny is thereafter able to switch powers with any of his teammates through physical contact.
Susan Storm/The Invisible Woman
Sue is portrayed by Jessica Alba in the 2005 film The Fantastic Four. Sue, a brilliant scientist, leads Victor Von Doom's Department of Genetic Research. She is dating Von Doom at the beginning of the film. Immediately prior to the arrival of the cosmic storm which grants her the ability to manipulate light (allowing her to disappear and generate semi-visible force fields), Victor proposes to her: she turns him down. Unlike in other media, Sue was not able to render her normal clothes invisible which resulted in an embarrassing moment when Sue tried to disrobe to sneak through a crowd, only to reappear while still in her underwear. Although her powers are influenced by her emotions, she manages to control her abilities during the team's climactic battle with Von Doom. Sue accepts Richards' proposal of marriage at the end of the film.
In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Sue Storm's wedding to Mister Fantastic is interrupted by the arrival of the Silver Surfer. When her powers are temporarily switched with Johnny's, Sue burns all of her clothes off and, upon switching powers back, is left laying completely naked on the sidewalk outside her building, photographed by the crowd, muttering "Why does this always happen to me?". Sue reminds the Silver Surfer of the woman he loved back on his homeworld. This association, and the friendship with Sue which follows, leads the Surfer to turn against his master, Galactus.
While attempting to shield the Silver Surfer with a force field, Sue is stabbed through the chest by a spear created by a cosmic-powered Doctor Doom, and she dies in Reed's arms. However, Silver Surfer uses his cosmic powers to heal Sue, tarnishing himself in the process. Before leaving to confront Galactus, Silver Surfer tells Reed to treasure every moment with Sue.
Reed and a kimono-clad Sue are married in a ceremony in Japan at the end of the film, moments before jetting off with Ben and Johnny to save Venice from sinking.
Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic
Most recently, Mr. Fantastic has been played by actor Ioan Gruffudd in the 2005 film and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, alongside Jessica Alba as Invisible Woman, Michael Chiklis as the Thing, Chris Evans as the Human Torch, and Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom. Both movies were directed by Tim Story. In the film continuity, Reed Richards is, initially, a brilliant but timid and pedantic scientist who, despite his genius-level understanding of the sciences and being (as he is described in the second film) "one of the greatest minds of the 21st century", is fiscally incompetent and nearing bankruptcy, forcing him to seek investment from Victor von Doom (in the film continuity a rival scientist and successful businessman) to further his projects.
By the events of Rise of the Silver Surfer, Richards is, along with his teammates, an internationally recognized superhero and celebrity. Reed and Sue are now engaged, although Reed has trouble keeping himself from being distracted from his imminent wedding (which is established as the fifth attempt they have made).
Supporting characters
General Hager
According to the audio commentary of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, director Tim Story said the script originally contained Nick Fury, but the role eventually became that of General Hager (played by Andre Braugher).
H.E.R.B.I.E.
A deactivated H.E.R.B.I.E. makes a cameo in the extended cut of the 2005 film.
Willie Lumpkin
Willie Lumpkin appears in the 2005 Fantastic Four film adaptation portrayed by his own creator, Stan Lee. He greets the Fantastic Four at the elevator.
Alicia Masters
In the unreleased 1994 film The Fantastic Four, Masters was played by Kat Green.
She also appeared in the 2005 film Fantastic Four, where she was played by Kerry Washington and was once again the love interest of the Thing after Ben's previous girlfriend left him because she couldn't cope with his new appearance. In a scene in Alicia's studio, Ben notes a number of puppets on the wall, which she says belong to her "stepfather". Washington reprised the role in the 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which gives the character a larger role than in the previous film. In contrast with Alicia's important role in the story of the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four #49, the two characters do not interact in the film (In Rise of the Silver Surfer, it is Susan Storm who successfully convinces the Surfer to rebel against Galactus).
Alicia is depicted as African-American in the official films, instead of her Caucasian appearance in the comics.
Frankie Raye
Frankie Raye appears in the movie Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, portrayed by Beau Garrett. In this version, she is depicted as a Captain currently commissioned in the U.S. Army under command of General Hager.
Raye and Hager inform the Fantastic Four about strange occurrences happening worldwide, due to the arrival of a distinct Cosmic-entity, the Silver Surfer on Earth. Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, becomes romantically interested in her, but his feelings are not reciprocated, with Raye rebuffing him after their first meeting, and later chastising him for making mistakes during an encounter with the Surfer that nearly results in his teammates being killed.
By the end of the film, however, Frankie is shown attending the wedding ceremony of Reed Richards and Susan Storm. When Susan throws the bouquet Frankie nearly catches it (the wedding tradition being that whoever catches the bouquet thrown by a bride will be the next to marry), but Johnny, who is still scared about commitment, torches the flowers.
Garrett has expressed interest in reprising the role and portraying Raye as Nova.
Franklin Richards
In the film X2, Franklin Richards' name briefly appears on a computer monitor among government files relating to mutants. Actress Jessica Alba, who plays the Invisible Woman in the Fantastic Four film series, has expressed interest in introducing Franklin for a possible .
Shalla-Bal
Shalla-Bal is alluded to in the 2007 movie Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, albeit not by name. It is here implied that she bears a resemblance to Susan Storm (played by Jessica Alba).
Silver Surfer
A Silver Surfer film had been long in development since the 1980s. The Silver Surfer made his film debut in 20th Century Fox's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Doug Jones played the Surfer on set, and a computer simulation enhanced the reflective look of his prosthetics. Laurence Fishburne provided the character's voice. Assured of the film's commercial success, 20th Century Fox hired J. Michael Straczynski to write the screenplay for a . Straczynski said his script is a sequel, but will also delve into the Surfer's origins. Recently, he said it may not happen.
In this continuity, the Surfer's origins are highly similar to that of his comic-book incarnation, in that he agreed to become Galactus' herald in return for the safety of his homeworld and the woman he loved. The movie incarnation differs from his comics counterpart in that instead of having innate power (the Power Cosmic), his power comes from the surfboard itself, which also serves as a beacon for Galactus. After Doctor Doom renders him unconscious, he steals the board. The Fantastic Four free the Surfer from imprisonment to help them defeat Doom. Doom throws a cosmic spear at the Surfer to kill him, but Sue Storm steps in and saves him. She tries to use her force fields to block the spear, but it passes through the field and impales Sue. The Surfer then decides to follow his heart and turn on Galactus after he witnesses Sue dying in Reed's arms. Upon reuniting with the board, the Surfer brings Sue back to life and then goes off to destroy Galactus, appearing to implode when he does. At the end of the film, Surfer is floating aimlessly through space, with his board in the background. As he drifts off screen, his eyes open and his board flies towards him.
In promotion for the film, the Franklin Mint, a collectibles marketer, altered 40,000 California quarters by putting the Silver Surfer on the reverse. The United States Mint, upon discovering this, informed the studio and the Franklin Mint that it is illegal to turn a coin into advertising media, and violators can face a fine.
Franklin Storm
Though Franklin Storm never appeared in any live Fantastic Four films, he was mentioned in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer; Johnny, after admiring his sister's bridal dress said that "Dad would have been proud."
Villains
Doctor Doom
Doom also was the main villain of a film based on the Fantastic Four, which was produced by Roger Corman in 1994, though never publicly released. In it, Doom (portrayed by Joseph Culp) was a college classmate of Reed Richards, who was nearly killed in an accident when both he and Reed try to capture the power of a comet called Colossus.
In the 2005 film version of the Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom seems to be more based on his Ultimate counterpart. In the film he is a billionaire industrialist, an old college rival of Reed Richards, and suitor of Reed's ex-girlfriend Susan. In addition to funding Richards' trip to space, he also accompanies the future Fantastic Four on the ship. In this newer film, Doctor Doom is played by Julian McMahon (Charmed, Nip/Tuck). Dr. Doom accelerates the process to completion by exposing himself to a duplicated version of the cosmic rays. However, this process deforms his face, so Doom angrily dons his familiar mask to hide his face (which is portrayed as a mask given to him by the people of Latveria as shown on a plaque on display in his office/boardroom). In the climax, Dr. Doom's metal body is super-heated by the Human Torch and then immediately cooled with water from a fire hydrant by the Thing and Mr. Fantastic, which turns him into an immobile statue. He is later transported back to Latveria via a cargo ship.
In Rise of the Silver Surfer, we see Dr. Doom in a coffin, still solidified after his fiery defeat from the first film. After the Silver Surfer flies by on a quick patrol around the Earth, disrupting the energy waves all around him, it inadvertently awakens him. He begins to study the Silver Surfer in an attempt to steal the extraterrestrial's vast array of cosmic power.
He dons a new mask and full-on body armor, along with a dark green leather cloak.
We last see Dr. Doom sinking to the seabed, though his ultimate fate remains open (although Julian McMahon has signed on for another film, possibly indicating a return).
Dr. Doom's appearance is clad in body armor with mystical figures carved into the pieces, and his chest armor has a giant dragon carved into it. He also replaced his cloth green trenchcoat that he lost in the first film with a much darker green leather cape. After taking the Silver Surfer's board, his steel-colored armor turns silver, which seems to be an effect of the board.
Galactus
The character appears in the feature film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), the storyline loosely based on the debut comic appearance and the Ultimate incarnation. The official novelization of the film names the character as "Gah Lak Tus".
20th Century Fox's rationale for having the character as a cloud was to "keep him discreet". Director Tim Story claimed he made Galactus a cloud so that the future Silver Surfer spin-off film would have a chance to be unique and introduce the character as he normally appears. J. Michael Straczynski, the spin-off's writer, confirmed Galactus is in his script and that "You don't want to sort of blow out something that big and massive for one quick shot in the first movie."
Mole Man
A sewer-dwelling character named "the Jeweler" duly similar to the Mole Man appeared in the unreleased produced by Roger Corman, played by Ian Trigger.
Puppet Master
In the extended edition of the Fantastic Four DVD, the Thing notices puppets in a scene with Alicia Masters at her art gallery. She says they belong to her step dad. Don Payne has also expressed interest in making the Puppet Master, a villain in further, future installments if any of the Fantastic Four film franchise.

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