There are some pretty special first steps to The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The newest Marvel Cinematic Universe adventure seems poised for box office success, with Entertainment Weekly‘s critic comparing it to Pixar’s The Incredibles more so than some other recent superhero fare. A lot of its appeal depends on the quality of the ensemble. In addition to the titular four, that includes the villains and side characters sprinkled into Matt Shakman’s retro-future comic book tale.
Pedro Pascal leads Marvel’s “First Family” as Reed Richards, the scientific genius who never has to worry if he drops something back behind the couch. It’s fair to say that the Chilean-born actor is the Hollywood star of the moment, wrapping up his tenure on The Last of Us, appearing in films like Materialists and Eddington, and returning to the Star Wars universe in The Mandalorian and Grogu next summer.
HBO
All eyes were on Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell on ‘Game of Thrones’… until he got his eyes gouged out
Pascal’s seeming overnight success popped off in season 4 of Game of Thrones, in which he played the Dornish Prince Oberyn Martell, the “Red Viper,” who meets a particularly gruesome demise, even by Westerosian standards.
But the man turned to mush by “The Mountain” is far from the only GoT alum in the new film.
The London-born Joseph Quinn, who plays the hot-headed Johnny Storm (also known as The Human Torch) in First Steps, has enjoyed a slew of high-profile credits recently, including the Navy SEAL drama Warfare, the Roman action picture of dubious historical accuracy Gladiator II (which, naturally, costarred Pascal), A Quiet Place: Day One, and, perhaps what he’s best known for, Stranger Things. However! The young Mr. Quinn did score an early, quick gig in Game of Thrones‘ seventh season.
Quinn’s character played one of two “not havin’ it” guards at Winterfell who think that the returning Arya Stark is an imposter. (She is believed, at that time, to be dead.) It’s a bit of frustration humor during the series’ big windup, and Quinn has the amusing line, “Look, it’s cold and we’re busy, so y’know, best f— off.” Of course, Maisie Williams’ Arya easily slips past the two sentries while they bicker about how best to handle the nuisance. While we have no evidence to support this, it would not be a surprise to learn that the sequence was in some way inspired by Eric Idle and Graham Chapman’s castle guards in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
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Joseph Quinn with Danny Kirrane, earning zero stars on Yelp as fortress guards on ‘Game of Thrones’
But wait, there’s more! The primary villain in First Steps is the insatiable planet-gobbler Galactus, a weird interdimensional being who brings destruction to all around him one meal at a time. The film’s depiction of the Four’s fearsome foe is pretty true to the original comic book, but for additional chills, we get to hear him speak in a booming, somewhat metallic voice with a threatening English accent.
Those malevolent tones come to us via Ralph Ineson, who played Amycus Carrow in the final three Harry Potter films, was the titular Greek Knight in The Green Knight, led the military cleanup crew on Chernobyl, and whose voice is heard in several popular video games like Diablo IV and Assassin’s Creed IV.
And he was also on Game of Thrones. Indeed, the future Galactus played the awesomely appalled Dagmer Cleftjaw, a rogue from the Iron Islands who urges Theon Greyjoy to attack Winterfell (bad idea) and then ultimately betrays him. Not a particularly good friend!
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Galactus, as seen from behind, in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’
We’ve got one more. First Steps introduces a new character to the Marvel canon in Ted Gilbert, an Ed Sullivan-esque talk show host. His explanatory presentation to his viewing audience acts as a kind of speed-of-sound introduction to the comic book family’s lore, and there’s a nice bookending bit at the conclusion, too.
Gilbert is played by Mark Gatiss, a British actor, writer, and producer. He played Mycroft Holmes on Sherlock, a series he co-created with Steven Moffat. He also wrote several episodes of Doctor Who (and appeared in them, too), and played Bishop Stephen Gardiner on Wolf Hall.
HBO
Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris on ‘Game of Thrones’
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Naturally, a fella like this also appeared on Game of Thrones. His character, Tycho Nestoris, was a representative from the Iron Bank of Braavos, and was known for his calm demeanor and businesslike manner, even when those in quest of the Iron Throne occasionally treated him like a human ATM.
If it’s been a while since you’ve seen it, here’s the big fight between the Red Viper and The Mountain… before things get too disgusting.
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