We’re going all the way back to 1983’s Fantastic Four #256, written and illustrated by John Byrne. In the issue, Byrne executes a remarkable creative maneuver: flipping the Fantastic Four’s color scheme in a totally organic way, and making the change stick.
What’s wild is that the Four’s costumes change by accident in Fantastic Four #256, but the new look ultimately stuck around for 150+ issues.
How Marvel Switched Up The Fantastic Four’s Costumes In The Early 1980s, Explained
Fantastic Four #256; Written And Illustrated By John Byrne
The Fantastic Four debuted their signature team uniform in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four #3: blue with black accents, notably their boots, belts, and collars. Though the costume was occasionally tweaked over the next 22 years, it wasn’t until 1983 that the team actually got their first major redesign.
In John Byrne’s Fantastic Four #256, the Four enter the Negative Zone wearing their traditional outfits. When they emerge later in the issue, they look noticeably different. The black in their costumes has turned to white. “Our costumes,” Sue Storm exclaims, “they’ve changed…” But in the moment, the team has bigger things to worry about, and the issue quickly moves on.
A costume change is often marketed as a big event for Marvel characters, and rightfully so. Byrne’s introduction of the blue-and-white colors for the Four is fascinating because it happens so quickly, so matter-of-factly. And because it’s a byproduct of the issue’s plot, rather than a conscious change on the characters’ parts.
How Long The Fantastic Four’s “Classy” ’80s Update Lasted
The Blue-And-White Look Proved To Have Staying Power
Fantastic Four #257 followed up on the team’s costume change, in a scene where Johnny Storm explains his outfit’s new colors to his girlfriend Julie. As Johnny puts it:
The process we used to get back had a weird, supposedly harmless effect on the unstable molecules in our costumes, and the colors sort of…reversed.
This answer is superhero science, sure, but there’s enough logic to it for Fantastic Four readers to appreciate. In the same scene, the issue suggests the look was there to stay.
Julie tells Johnny the blue-and-white is “real classy,” and Marvel clearly agreed. The design stuck. The inverted color scheme remained the Fantastic Four’s primary look, with a few limited exceptions, for the next fifteen years. And when Marvel did introduce new costumes for the Four after that, they notably retained John Byrne’s blue-and-white.
Marvel Could Have Reverted The Fantastic Four’s Colors Back; Why It Matters That It Didn’t
Sticking With The Updated Color Scheme Defined The Four For Decades To Come
Fast-forward 40+ years. Marvel Comics readers are accustomed to costume changes these days. What they’re not used to is these costumes having any longevity. Marvel is happy to switch up a hero’s look for a few issues, or even a few years, but these changes are all but inevitably dialed back to the most recognizable version of the character before too long.
The costume change in Fantastic Four #256 wasn’t forever, but it was permanent. It was an evolution of the team’s look that wasn’t followed by a de-evolution. At least, not until recent years, when Marvel retrofitted its First Family with an updated take on their OG black-and-blue colors. And of course, MCU fans should recognize John Byrne’s influence on the latest version of the Four to hit the big screen.
Jonathan Hickman is perhaps as close to an authoritative source on comic book continuity readers can get, & his explanation is predictably insightful.
The costume switcheroo in Fantastic Four #256 is an overlooked milestone in Marvel history. It’s also a key to understanding the difference between Marvel 40 years ago and Marvel now. That is, Marvel might pull the same move in an issue of Fantastic Four today, but would it let the change last long enough to become iconic?
Marvel Let The Fantastic Four’s Look Naturally Evolve In The ’80s; Would It Do The Same Today?
Marvel Comics Might Suffer From A Little Arrested Development
Think of it in terms of a Marvel “What If?” What if Marvel had told John Byrne to revert the Fantastic Four to their original colors after five issues? Or ten? Or twenty? Even if the blue-and-white costumes had lasted a couple of years in the 1980s, would they still have the same lasting influence on the franchise?
The blue-and-white Four uniforms are closely associated with She-Hulk’s extended tenure with the team in the ’80s, during a time when the Thing took a hiatus from the superhero squad. Another significant change Marvel let play out longer back in the day than fans would expect now.
In other words: would the MCU’s Fantastic Four be wearing blue-and-white, instead of blue-and-black, if Marvel hadn’t committed to Byrne’s redesign? It’s debatable, of course, but there’s a strong chance the answer would be no. And unfortunately, that seems to be one of modern Marvel Comics’ big problems: commitment issues.
Notably, the Fantastic Four’s blue-and-white look did appear on screen way before the MCU, in the Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four movie from the early 1990s that infamously never made it to theaters.
Especially over the last several years, Marvel has developed a reputation for not investing in comic series’ long-term. But it goes beyond that. Marvel doesn’t stick with costume designs like it used to. Or character arcs. Or major plot developments. For better or worse, this impacts the staying power of Marvel’s creative output.
The MCU’s Fantastic Four Owe A Deep Debt To Their Pivotal ’80s Costume Change
John Byrne’s Design Has A Strong Legacy, 43 Years Later
The great thing about the Fantastic Four’s designs in their MCU debut, First Steps, is the way the movie personalizes each member’s version of their team outfit. The Thing sports a full bodysuit, for example, when in the comics he usually just sticks to trunks. Or how Mr. Fantastic sports a blue turtleneck, while everyone else has white shoulder pads.
It’s a dynamic amalgamation of the best looks the Fantastic Four have had over the years. The prominent inclusion of white in their aesthetic traces back to John Byrne, and owes a debt to Marvel for allowing the team’s costumes to organically change over time. It’s a testament to what actually goes into making a superhero’s look iconic. Something that in itself has become a lost art in the business of making Marvel Comics in the 2020s.
John Byrne’s white-and-blue Fantastic Four uniform stands as the second-longest lasting of the team’s outfits, and part of that is because Marvel has become increasingly less inclined to let a redesign last over the past 20 years. Even if it was controversial with some fans at the time, the look has since aged into an integral part of the Four franchise’s history. And that makes it worth knowing the deep-cut history of, whether you’re a fan of the Fantastic Four on screen, on the page, or both.
Let’s hear it, Marvel readers. Do you wish Marvel still stuck with costume changes like the Fantastic Four’s ’80s upgrade?
- First Film
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The Fantastic Four
- First Episode Air Date
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September 9, 1967