The first trailer for Fantastic Four: The First Steps has arrived, and it really seems like Marvel Studios is capturing the retro-futuristic Silver Age vibes it's been aiming for with the reboot movie. In fact, the film's Silver Age bona fides may run so deep that the film is actually pulling in one of the Fantastic Four's strangest and most obscure villains - Ivan Kragoff, the Red Ghost.
While it's just shy of having actually been confirmed, leaving a sliver of daylight for a big surprise on Marvel's part, it seems a lot like the mystery role played by John Malkovich, who is glimpsed just briefly in the trailer, is very likely the super-powered cosmonaut Ivan Kragoff.
Now, for most MCU fans, there's a solid chance you're scratching your heads and saying "Who the heck is Ivan Kragoff?" But me, insufferable Marvel know-it-all that I am, I'm jumping for joy, as the delightfully strange Kragoff was my top choice for who Malkovich could be playing way back when his casting was reported, because of the potential twist that may come with Red Ghost's inclusion in the film.
Created all the way back in 1963's Fantastic Four #13 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Kragoff is actually one of four cosmonauts embroiled in the Space Race of the '60s who gained super powers after exposure to Cosmic Rays, just like their American counterparts Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm.
But that's not the twist.
The twist is, the other three cosmonauts who gained powers alongside Kragoff are actually great apes, collectively known as the Super-Apes. Yes, that's right - the original comic book concept of an anti-FF was a weird old ghost man and his three monkey pals.
In terms of the Super-Apes, there's Mikhlo the gorilla who gains the powers of super-strength and toughness, Igor the baboon who gains the ability to shapeshift, and of course Peotr the orangutan who gains the power of simple telekinesis.
Though the Super-Apes have often clashed with Kragoff over his cruel treatment of them, even once forming a special bond with the Invisible Woman while hiding out on the moon, they almost always appear together as a foursome.
You can see why I'm excited. There's no more hilariously, loveably absurd trope in comics than the idea of super-intelligent apes with super powers, and we may be one step closer to actually seeing the Super-Apes come to life in the MCU, as ridiculous as that may sound.
Yes, it may be far-fetched. But it's not impossible, and that's what the Fantastic Four are all about - breaking the boundaries of possibility. Such as giving an old goofball nerd hope that I may indeed get to see the Super-Apes realized onscreen.
Oh yeah, and Red Ghost of course. Malkovich is the perfect casting to play a mad scientist cosmonaut who has glimpsed sights beyond what the human mind can bear, and who hangs around with three apes on the moon.
I can dream, right? We'll likely find out more about whether Malkovich is actually playing Ivan Kragoff or not in the months leading up to the July release of Fantastic Four: The First Steps, and in the meantime, I'll be dreaming of Super-Apes.
Fantastic Four arrives in theaters on July 25. While we wait, check out our guides to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way and our breakdown of how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
