The Fantastic Four Received A Perfect Musical Parody On This Acclaimed Sitcom

For roughly three decades, Marvel's first family, the Fantastic Four, has not had the best track record when it came to their big-screen adaptations. The unreleased 1994 film ended up being a disaster by design, regardless of the hard work of the film's cast and crew. Director Tim Story was at the helm of two entries that were released in 2005 and 2007, which had their share of highs and lows. 20th Century Studios opted to reboot the series again, with Josh Trank at the helm of a darker and grittier reimagining of the superhero team, but the 2015 adaptation became one of the most notorious flops in the modern comic book movie era.

Thankfully, Marvel Studios, along with director Matt Shakman, finally brought audiences a solid film featuring Marvel's first family with "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." You can read /Film's review for the film here. Not too dissimilar to how James Gunn's "Superman" had the pressure of restoring the brand reputation of the Man of Steel to the general public, Shakman's "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" had to dispel the negative reputation that the previous film adaptations had of the characters had brought to the beloved team. Their previous lack of success had been lampooned in popular culture, including a not-so-flattering depiction on one of the most acclaimed sitcoms of the 21st century.

In 2013, Netflix released the long-awaited fourth season of "Arrested Development." The series, which was a critical darling when its first three seasons aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006, failed to achieve the ratings it deserved, much of which can be attributed to the series' running gags and layered writing, lending itself best to the binge-watching model that DVDs and of course, streaming services would serve as the stronger avenue for, compared to weekly network telecasts. Despite failing to garner a larger audience while on the air, strong DVD sales helped give the series a cult following, and Netflix eventually gave it a revival. The experimental season 4 was very polarizing amongst fans, given that the series separated the Bluth family into their own individual episodes. Show creator Mitch Hurwitz would recut the season into 22 episodes, which were released in 2018, much to the chagrin of the series' cast.

Although the "Arrested Development" revival may not receive the same level of acclaim that the original three seasons continue to bask in, there were a few highlights to be found. In particular, the episodes involving Tobias Fünke (David Cross) stood out. In season 4, Tobias is at the center of the fifth episode, "A New Start," and the ninth episode, "Smashed." In "A New Start," Tobias meets and falls in love with a woman named Debrie Bardeaux (Maria Bamford), believing that she's an actress also taking an acting class with him (when in reality, she's a recovering drug addict in a methadone clinic, which Tobias misreads as "Method One"). The two attempt to make money as Fantastic Four-themed street performers, with Tobias as Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Debrie as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. Tobias decides to produce an original musical based on the Fantastic Four, in an attempt to get close to Debrie again. He attempts and fails to get the rights to produce the musical from Ron Howard, so he lies to his cast for the show to still go on.

Decades of poor film adaptations and parodies on sitcoms such as "Arrested Development" are proof as to why "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" was a necessary rehabilitation of the titular superhero team's brand reputation amongst mainstream audiences. While comic book readers are aware of the team's history and quality stories, most viewers' awareness stems from their representation through the films. Now part of the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe, and clearly playing an important role in the upcoming "Avengers: Doomsday," moviegoers are now invested in what these beloved characters will bring to future stories.

It is funny revisiting the "Arrested Development" episodes mentioned above, because they were produced between both the Tim Story "Fantastic Four" films and the Josh Trank 2015 reboot. Thanks to the hindsight of time, it is easier to get a good laugh at where the tanked reputation of Marvel's first family was during this era, and how audiences have now been given a proper representation of who Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing truly are, both individually and collectively.

"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" is now playing in theaters.