Fantastic Four Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in "The Fantastic Four" #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium. The Fantastic Four was the first superhero team created by editor/co-plotter Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, who developed a collaborative approach to creating comics with this title that they would use from then on. The four individuals traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission
Superhero comics World War II and the end of the Great Depression. In comics format, superpowered and costumed heroes like Popeye and The Phantom had appeared in newspaper comic strips for several years prior to Superman. The masked detective The Clock first appeared in the comic book Funny Pages #6 (Nov. 1936). In the Great Depression and World War II era the first Superhero Comics appeared, the most popular being Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman and Captain America. After World War II superhero comic books gradually declined in popularity, their sales hindered in part by the publication of "Seduction of the