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Professor Mark D. White Asks If The Fantastic Four Have Any Ethics?

Professor Mark D. White asks if The Fantastic Four have any ethics? And fills a book with his answers.

Published Tue, 17 Jun 2025 09:57:06 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Explore the ethical dilemmas at the heart of the Fantastic Four, from Reed Richards to Doctor Doom.
Discover Mark D. White's deep dive into sixty years of Fantastic Four comics and their moral questions.
Examine how the Fantastic Four’s actions raise tough questions about responsibility, loyalty, and power.
See how philosophy can unlock new insights into Marvel's first family and their most famous adventures.

It's a question, Mister Fantastic broke into an army base with his best mate, his girlfriend, and her brother and stole a space rocket. Putting them all in danger, just to get one over on the Russkies. And ever since, his attitude to saving the world has basically been solving the biggest equation possible. Oh, and he brings kids into a world that keeps getting attacked by alien invaders, insistent on destroying it. And when his kid starts to show promise, he wipes his brain. He ignores his wife, he lies to his best friend about his skin condition, and he thinks that people should cooperate with the government no matter what (despite stealing that space rocket) and then cloned Thor as a weapon. And that's just the good Reed Richards, not the Ultimate one. What ethics do the Fantastic Four actually have?

Professor Mark D White has written the book, The Ethics of the Fantastic Four, to answer this question. And as a follow-up to his many other geek-themed philosophy titles, which sell a lot better than his ones that don't have Batman in them. What ethical question about using the IP of others does that answer? As long as he doesn't follow up with The Ethics Of Bleeding Cool, I'll be fine. Probably a slim volume anyway.

: Ethics Of The Fantastic Four

: Ethics Of The Fantastic Four

Ethics of the Fantastic Four by Mark D. White
Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm: four adventurers transformed by a cosmic accident into Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing, together known as Marvel Comics' first family, the Fantastic Four. From their first appearance in 1961, these four heroes became not only the foundation of the Marvel Universe in the comics but also the stars of numerous animated series and live-action movies. Ethics of the Fantastic Four continues the team's tradition of exploration into the philosophical realm by delving into the moral philosophy behind the main characters, their friends and fellow heroes, and their enemies, based on over sixty years of comics history. After an introduction to the team and the ethical concepts used in the book, we take a closer look at specific features of the four key members, including Reed's oversized sense of responsibility, Sue's multifaceted strength, Johnny's dangerous powers, and Ben's self-loathing. In later chapters we discuss how each of the four reacted differently to the superhero Civil War; the moral status of Galactus and the complicity of his herald, the Silver Surfer; and the team's greatest and most complicated foe, Doctor Doom, who combines great insecurity and vanity with a presumption to honor and generosity. Written in an easygoing style that can be read by newcomers to either philosophy or comics, Ethics of the Fantastic Four is a marvelous companion to the adventures of the team in comics, animation, and film. Mark D. White is a professor of philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY and the author of A Philosopher Reads… volumes on Daredevil, Thor, and Civil War.

Other titles in this ilk by Professor Mark D White: