A better look at the Fantastic Four ally H.E.R.B.I.E., which stands for Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics, in Marvel Studios‘s upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been found at New York Comic-Con.
Who is the Fantastic Four’s robot companion H.E.R.B.I.E.?
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the 1978 animated series The New Fantastic Four as a replacement for the Human Torch, H.E.R.B.I.E. is a robot created by Mister Fantastic to help them fight crime. A year later, the beloved robot made the jump to the comics, becoming an integral part of Marvel’s First Family’s publication history. While H.E.R.B.I.E. has gone on to appear in other animated series like The Super Hero Squad Show and Ultimate Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will serve as the robot’s first major live-action appearance.
At the Marvel Studios booth at the 2024 New York Comic-Con (NYCC), there is a mural filled with characters from recent and upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, like Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness, Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk, and H.E.R.B.I.E., who appears beside Joseph Quinn’s Human Torch and Anthony Mackie’s Captain America inside the “A” of “MARVEL.”
The image, originally shared by The Direct, was quickly shared on X (formerly Twitter) and can be viewed below, alongside a photo of the entire NYCC Marvel mural.
Marvel’s First Family will be portrayed by Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing). Their casting was first announced by Marvel Studios on Valentine’s Day. The foursome will be joined by Julie Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus, with John Malkovich, Paul Walter Hauser, and Natasha Lyonne cast in undisclosed roles. A voice actor for H.E.R.B.I.E. has not been announced yet.
The Fantastic Four will be directed by Matt Shakman, who previously helmed all nine episodes of Marvel’s 2021 limited series, WandaVision. Production began in July at Pinewood Studios in London and is expected to last until the end of the year. Michael Giacchino will compose the movie’s score.
The Fantastic Four is scheduled to hit theaters on July 25, 2025, as part of Phase 6 of the MCU.
