Fantastic Four Officially Introduces Marvel's Most Powerful Alien Species Of All Time

Published Oct 24, 2026, 8:19 PM EDT

Since 2019, Kevin Erdmann has been one of Screen Rant's Senior Staff Writers, covering all kinds of Superhero and Star Wars media with Easter egg breakdowns, theory pieces, breaking news, and more. A huge Star Wars & MCU fan, Kevin also loves Batman (because he's Batman), but could talk for hours about why Nightwing is DC's greatest hero. 

With 8 years of total experience covering entertainment and pop culture, Kevin has gotten the chance to interview top creatives and talent, and has also attended major media events like Disney's D23 convention.

Majoring in Cinema Studies with a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife, adorable dog, and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

Although The Fantastic Four are some of the greatest Marvel superheroes of all time, they're also scientists and cosmic explorers. That's given them plenty of experience with all sorts of alien races and other realities, though it seems their next adventure will push them way out of their league thanks to a powerful new alien species they've seemingly never encountered before.

New details have emerged for Fantastic Four #20 and #21, releasing from Marvel Comics in December and January, respectively. According to both of the very exciting synopses, it's being teased that the First Family will soon face one of the most powerful alien races ever heard of in the Marvel Universe, putting them on par with the Beyonders themselves.

As a result, it seems pretty clear that December is going to be a much bigger deal for The Fantastic Four beyond their upcoming MCU appearance in Avengers: Doomsday.

The Fantastic Four Will Soon Face A Powerful New Alien Species

Written by Ryan North with art by Ramon Rosanas, Fantastic Four #20 and #21 will be a new two-part adventure, one that promises to become one of the team's most bizarre and dangerous missions yet. According to the synopsis for Fantastic Four #20, the family will be attacked by aliens they'll struggle to fight, or even communicate with:

The Fantastic Four have been attacked by aliens that are intent on their extermination... and these creatures are so powerful that our heroes can't fight back with any hope of victory. Their only chance is to try to communicate with them, to plead for mercy. But with both language and dimensional barriers, there may not be any hope... unless Johnny Storm can find a way to save everyone. The Fantastic Four face their most mind-bending challenge yet — and it's one that nobody else in the universe has been able to crack!

Johnny Storm taking the leading role as the FF's only hope sounds very exciting, as is the intriguing challenge of communication and language barriers. As such, one has to wonder if Johnny will be the one who figures out how to talk to these new aliens, mirroring how the MCU's Human Torch successfully translated the language of Shalla-Bal's Silver Surfer in 2025's Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Moving beyond this first issue, the synopsis for Fantastic Four #21 (releasing in January) is the real kicker:

The Fantastic Four have encountered extremely powerful extradimensional aliens who can see all of our universe at once and who have been making brutal changes to it to ensure their survival. But even these mighty creatures have things they fear — things that can destroy them with a thought... and they sent the Fantastic Four straight to them. Lost in higher dimensions, encountering things their brains never evolved to process, it’ll take everything the FF has to survive — but things only get stranger when these creatures are discovered to be something no one in the family expected. The Fantastic Four’s dimension-hopping adventure concludes with an ending that spans the universe itself!

The idea that these extradimensional aliens can see the entire universe at once and have been making changes to it is darkly fascinating, as is the notion that they're basically unstoppable aside from something else that can destroy them with a thought (not to mention the FF being taken to higher dimensions to experience things their brains will struggle to process).

All in all, these new aliens definitely sound like Marvel's Beyonders, who are also immensely powerful extradimensional beings capable of influencing entire realities. Perhaps these new aliens are the Beyonders, and the FF just doesn't know it yet. In any event, the pieces are all there for an exciting new Fantastic Four story that definitely promises some major cosmic stakes all around.

December Will Be Huge For The Fantastic Four (Besides Avengers: Doomsday)

Overall, this coming December is shaping up to be a major month for Marvel's First Family. After all, Avengers: Doomsday is releasing on December 18th. The Fantastic Four of Earth-828 are set to join forces with the Avengers of Earth-616 and encounter the X-Men of another Earth for a major multiversal event of epic proportions centered around Robert Downey Jr.'s new MCU role as Doctor Doom. That said, it's now been confirmed that the team's adventures on the page the same week will also offer an exciting cosmic spectacle, just two days before Doomsday hits theaters.

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Whether these aliens really are the Beyonders or an entirely new threat, as these new solicitations suggest, The Fantastic Four will no doubt encounter something that challenges their understanding of reality itself, the implications of which are bound to be incredibly exciting going forward.

Fantastic Four #20 is set to release on December 16th from Marvel Comics.

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  Victor von Doom

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  Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic

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  Thor

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  Vanessa Kirby

  Sue Storm / Invisible Woman