The Fantastic Fourare among the most iconic names in Marvel Comics, alongside the likes of Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men. Yet when it comes to adaptations, Mister Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing have had a rough go of it.Until the recent release ofThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, the team had never had a positively received feature film. Due to the complex nature of the characters' powers, they could not be properly adapted into live-action television like Spider-Man or the Hulk.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Yet, the Fantastic Four have been featured in multiple animated series, either as leads in a series or as supporting characters to other Marvel heroes. Looking to experience more adventures of the Fantastic Four before (or after) seeing their MCU feature film debut? Here is a list of every television appearance by the Fantastic Four, along with where you can stream some of the titles and which ones are currently unavailable to stream.
8’The Fantastic Four' (1967 - 1968)
Fantastic Four
Just six years afterthe Fantastic Four debuted and kicked off the Marvel Universe, the characters were adapted into a 20-episode Hanna-Barbera animated series.Fantastic Fouraired on Saturday mornings on ABC for one year, from 1967 to 1968, with reruns airing for approximately three years afterward. The series featured many classic Fantastic Four villains, including Doctor Doom, Galactus, the Mole Man, the Super-Skrull, and the Red Ghost.
Due to the ownership rights to the series being split between Marvel Comics and Hanna-Barbera, licensing reruns of the series has been difficult. Following Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009 and Hanna-Barbera’s ownership by Time Warner Media (now Warner Bros. Discovery), the series was pulled from syndication.
Despite Hanna-Barbera’s rights to the series having expired, the series remains unavailable to stream on Disney+.
7’The New Fantastic Four' (1978)
The Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four returned to animation in 1978 withThe New Fantastic Four(though on screen it was simply titledThe Fantastic Four), featuring some significant changes. The most notable is that this is the series that featuredH.E.R.B.I.E., who replaced The Human Torchon the team’s roster. While the urban legend spread that The Human Torch was excluded due to fears that kids would light themselves on fire to emulate the hero, the real reason the character was replaced was because the rights to use Johnny Storm were tied up by a proposed television pilot movie in development by Universal Studios that never materialized.The New Fantastic Fouraired 13 episodes and ran on NBC.
The New Fantastic Fouris unavailable to stream.
6’Fred and Barney Meet the Thing' (1979)
Fred and Barney Meet The Thing
While not a Fantastic Four show in the strictest sense,Fred and Barney Meet the Thingis worth mentioning for how weird it is. The Thing has always been the most popular member of The Fantastic Four, so they attempted to spin him off, but the finished result didn’t resemble anything that fans loved about the character. As the title suggests, it is a television series centered on Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble fromThe Flintstones, as well as The Thing; however, the series isn’t a traditional crossover.
Fred and Barney Meet the Thinginstead features two separate segments, one focused on theFlintstonescharacters and another about The Thing, who here is reimagined as a scrawny, red-haired teenager named Benjy Grimm who transforms into The Thing by touching two magic rings together, accompanied by the catchphrase “Thing Ring, do your thing!” As with the 1967Fantastic Fouranimated series, the shared rights between Marvel (Disney) and Hanna-Barbera (Warner Bros. Discovery) complicate the ownership rights.
Fred and Barney Meet the Thingis unavailable to stream.
How ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Will Be Different From the Previous Film Versions
The MCU’s Fantastic Four looks to stand out from the previous live-action films to win over audiences who might be hesitant to see their new film.
5’Fantastic Four: The Animated Series' (1994 - 1996)
Fantastic Four: The Animated Series
The 1990s saw a big boom in Marvel Comics adaptations, kicked off byX-Men: The Animated Series. This led toSpider-Man,The Incredible Hulk, and, of course,The Fantastic Fourgetting their own animated series thatbecame part of an interconnected universe filled with crossovers.The Fantastic Fouraired as part of the Marvel Action Hour, alongsideIron Man,with introductions by Stan Lee. Season 1 of the series often adapted iconic storylines from the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby run. Season 2 saw the series undergo a dramatic overhaul, with the characters receiving new costumes, smoother animation, and more mature stories than those that came before.
These versions of the Fantastic Four also crossed over withThe Incredible Hulkseries in the jade giant’s Season 1 episode “Fantastic Fortitude,” where the Hulk and She-Hulk team up with The Thing while the Fantastic Four are on vacation. The four members of the Fantastic Four and their archenemy Doctor Doom appear in two episodes of the “Secret Wars” arc fromSpider-Man: The Animated Series.
Fantastic Four,The Incredible Hulk, andSpider-Manare all streaming on Disney+.
4’Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes' (2006 - 2007)
Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes
Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroeswas a French animation production that looked to give the iconic Marvel team an early 2000s extreme edge. It aired as part of apromotional effortfor the 2005Fantastic Fourfilmand was broadcast on Cartoon Network between the film’s release and its 2007 sequel,Rise of the Silver Surfer.
The series, which drew its name from the iconic subtitle of the Fantastic Four being “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine,” is the last Fantastic Four-led TV project, airing nearly 20 years ago.Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroesran for 26 episodes. While drawing elements from the comics, it featured largely original stories.
Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroesis streaming on Disney+.
The Super Hero Squad Show
The Super Hero Squad Showwas based on the popular child-skewing toy line of the same name, featuring cartoonish parody depictions of classic Marvel heroes and villains. Despite The Fantastic Four not being the main focus of the series, Doctor Doom was the series' primary villain, with the Silver Surfer one of the key heroes. The Fantastic Four appear as recurring characters, having a brief role in the pilot episode before getting an episode centered around them in the Season 1 episode “If This Be My Thanos!”
The Super Hero Squad Showis streaming on Disney+.
2’Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes' (2010 - 2012)
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
Following Disney’s purchase of Marvel Comics in 2009, the studio quickly canceled animated series airing on other platforms, includingThe Spectacular Spider-Man(Kids WB!) andWolverine and the X-Men(Nicktoons) while looking to create an animated series centered aroundThe Avengers, the team that Disney had a lot invested in with a feature film adaptation set for 2012 and solo projects hitting theaters in 2011. They releasedAvengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which drew heavily from Avengers comics. Despite being an Avengers series, the show incorporated other Marvel characters, particularly the Fantastic Four.
The Human Torch and The Thing made non-speaking cameos in Season 1, with the full Fantastic Four starring in the Season 2 premiere, “The Private War of Doctor Doom.” Then, in Season 2 episode 10 “Prisoner of War,” Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman teams up with othercaptured characters who the Skrulls have replaced. In “New Avengers,” The Thing teams up with Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and War Machine when the Avengers go missing. The Fantastic Four team up with The Avengers and every other hero featured in the show for the final episode, “Avengers Assemble!” to stop Galactus.Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroesis one of the best Marvel series ever, and also the last great appearance for the Fantastic Four on television.
Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroesis streaming on Disney+.
1’Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.' (2013 to 2015)
Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
The Fantastic Four appeared in a guest role in the short-livedHulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.Season 1 episode “Monsters No More.“Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.featured the Hulk leading his team, which included Skaar, Rick Jones as A-Bomb, the Red Hulk, and honorary Fantastic Four member She-Hulk. This episode wouldn’t be notable if not for the fact that this was the last time the Fantastic Four appeared in animation or on television at all.
The episode aired on July 30, 2025, at a time when theFantastic Four’s role in the Marvel Universe was being downplayeddue to Disney not having the film rights to the characters. There were no longer any video games, toys, or cartoons featuring the Fantastic Four, as the comic that launched the Marvel Universe was canceled in 2015, shortly before the release of the critically pannedFantastic Fourreboot. With Disney acquiring the rights to the Fantastic Four in 2019 through the purchase of 20th Century Fox, and the new feature film,The Fantastic Four: First Steps, performing well in theaters, one can hope that a new animated series will follow soon.
Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.is available to stream on Disney+.
