Marvel’s First Family: A Long History of Adaptation

Marvel’s First Family, consisting of Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben, has had a nearly as long history of adaptation as they have in the comics themselves. As one of the vanguards of the Silver Age of Comics, like Spider-Man, they were often at the forefront of Marvel’s expansion beyond the page and into TV and eventually film. Now, with the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, they will be the latest in that long line. However, this film is also bringing in another part of that adaptive history with it in the form of the team’s teeny robot pal, HERBIE.

HERBIE: A Brief Introduction

We only briefly see HERBIE, which stands for "Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics," in this week’s trailer for First Steps cooking a meal with the Thing in the team’s residence at the Baxter Building. However, HERBIE has been part of our earliest looks at the film from the very beginning, from the moment the cast was first confirmed. Which story straddling both Fantastic Four comics and the team’s adaptations, HERBIE has continued to thrive outside the pages of Marvel’s books too. He appeared in several Marvel animated series beyond New Fantastic Four, and although First Steps will mark his first major cinematic appearance, he briefly appears deactivated during a deleted scene from the 2005 Fantastic Four movie.

HERBIE’s Expanded Universe

Right now, you can even see HERBIE starring in Netease’s popular hero shooter Marvel Rivals—not as a playable character, alas, but an escortable objective on the game’s New York map, introduced alongside Sue and Reed’s addition to the roster in January 2025.

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