Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Bruce Banner, and other first wave Marvel heroes were free market capitalists and individualists, whose ingenuity and hard work allowed them to create inventions that would prove the superiority of the West. Sure, there was some tragedy in there, as when Bruce risked his life to save a dumb teenager hanging around a gamma bomb test site and became the Hulk. But even Bruce’s bravery was framed as something the Soviets lacked. These comics believed that America would inevitably defeat the USSR, and that faith motivated their high-flying imagination.
Red Ghost was one of the villains who provided a counter-point. Ugly and old, the Red Ghost represented everything retrograde, as did his decision to rely not on inventions but on apes, an evolutionary step backwards. The Red Ghost may cause trouble for the FF, but it’s their boundless faith in the Good Ol’ U.S. of A. that charges every wisecrack the Thing makes at Ivan’s expense.
Red Ghost Gets a Good Laugh
Given that Marvel worked hard to even call Nazis bad, separating Red Skull and Hydra from Hitler, it’s hard to believe that First Steps will lean so directly into a political message, even one as conservative as the anti-Communist rhetoric of the era.
Still, it’s impossible to separate the FF’s sense of achievement and their wild celebrity status from their ability to win the Space Race for America. Even if First Steps doesn’t want to foreground that tension, having a character like Red Ghost around will allow the movie to recognize the Cold War politics indirectly. And as long as we’re laughing at his goofy set of super apes, we probably won’t notice the political perspective the movie takes, at least not enough to champion it or get mad about it.
After all, who can get mad at First Steps when we’re watching rockets, robots, super-monkeys, and other fantastic sights?
Fantastic Four: First Steps zooms into theaters on July 25, 2025.