‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Review & Discussing ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ | The Cosmic Circle Podcast

In this new episode of The Cosmic Circle, Uday and Wiktor have a spoilery chat about the latest Marvel Studios film The Fantastic Four: First Steps, along with some discussion of what it might mean for Avengers: Doomsday. They compare this new Fantastic Four to previous live-action incarnations, including the comics, who their favorite character was in the film, and where they had issues with the story. They compare First Steps to DC’s Superman (2025) and discuss how each film hit them this summer. In addition, they talk about cuts and changes to the movie, the implications of Franklin Richards powers for Avengers: Doomsday, along with *that* post credit scene.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps was directed by Matt Shakman, and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, and Ralph Ineson. Now in theaters. We advise you to watch the movie before listening to this podcast because there are spoilers within! Listen to the podcast here or find us as Cosmic Circus Podcasts on Podbean, Apple, Spotify, or most places podcasts are available. Please remember to follow for more, check out the rest of our podcasts, and share to help our following grow!
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Timestamps for The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- 00:00 – Intro
- 01:00 – Is this the best live-action Fantastic Four movie to date?
- 02:00 – Feelings about the 60s aesthetic of the film
- 05:30 – Favorite characters in The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- 08:33 – Superman (2025) and First Steps comparisons
- 11:30 – The POV of a CBM lover who is not a comics fan.
- 13:00 – Cuts and changes to the movie, reasons being possibly linked to Avengers: Doomsday
- 14:40 – Is Franklin the most powerful being in the multiverse now? Discussing his place in the story and going forward
- 18:20 – MCU movies under 2 hours
- 19:30 – Shalla-Bal, aka The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner)
- 25:49 – Galactus
- 28:35 – New F4 suits vs. MCU suits
- 29:39 – Doctor Doom and Doomsday
- 35:00 – Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) in the movie
- 39:00 – Ben Grimm, aka The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach)
- 40:15 – Was that post-credit scene a last-minute add-on?
- 42:40 – Discussing leaked images from Avengers: Doomsday and do Franklin’s powers erase the stakes for dangers in Doomsday? Is he too powerful?
- 46:50 – Johnny Storm’s powers (Joseph Quinn), Reed’s powers (Pedro Pascal). Differences from the comics.
- 49:00 – The balance of a more serious story that is still fairly comic-booky.
- 49:50 – The need for more Galactus to be featured
- 53:53 – Reed’s plan to defeat Galactus/save Earth
- 55:45 – More on Ralph Ineson as Galactus
- 59:35 – Final thoughts and how we’re feeling about Avengers: Doomsday now
- 01:05:49 – Why Uday says Michael Waldron needs to stay away from Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen)
- 01:06:00 – Outros
Also check out: The Fantastic Four: First Steps Delivers Emotional Story and Message