We’ve seen some weird moves from Marvel, not the least of which is the unforgivable crap that Joe Quesada pulled with Spider-Man a couple of years back, but this is a whole new level of craziness.
It’s now being reported by several sites that the reported upcoming cancellation of the Fantastic Four comic book right before the release of the Josh Trank helmed FF movie is not a plan to re-launch the license so that it matches the cinematic universe as much as it is a petulant child taking his ball and going home.
As stupid as it sounds, media reports places the decision to cancel Marvel’s original super hero team was spear-headed by the company’s largest individual shareholder, Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter.
It is now being reported that he’s so pissed off with FOX over negotiations with the company (according to the rumors, it has to do with Fox’s refusal to keep Daredevil in exchange for giving Marvel/Disney Galactus and The Silver Surfer… throwing a major monkey wrench into any Thanos and Infinity Gauntlet Storyline.) That he’d rather just cancel the series and any licensing than give any support to their upcoming Fantastic Four reboot.
Along with the sources that sites claim to have, there is some evidence of merchandise support already being pulled. Poster manufacturer, Mondo has been forbidden from creating and FF based posters and Diamond Select Toys is now banned from making any Fantastic Four action figures.
As it currently stands, The Fantastic Four’s comic book series is set to end in April of 2015 with the release of James Robinson and Leonard Kirk’s Fantastic Four: The End Is Fourever.