‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Takes the Crown as This Year’s Top-Rated Comic Book Movie on Rotten Tomatoes Surpassing ‘Thunderbolts*’

The new movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps has started showing in some theaters around the world, and people are loving it so far.

Critics have given it strong reviews, with the film holding an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on over 174 reviews.

The critics agree that the movie does a great job bringing Marvel’s First Family to life. One consensus on the site says, “Benefitting from rock-solid cast chemistry and clad in appealingly retro 1960s design, this crack at The Fantastic Four does Marvel’s First Family justice.”

This high score means Fantastic Four: First Steps has overtaken Thunderbolts* as the best-reviewed comic book movie this year, with Thunderbolts sitting just behind at 88%. Among other comic book movies, Superman comes in third place with an 84% approval rating, while Captain America: Brave New World trails far behind at only 46%.

Despite its good reviews, Thunderbolts* did not perform well at the box office. By mid-July 2025, it had earned about $382 million worldwide, which is considered low for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

It was reported that the movie needed to make at least $425 million globally just to break even. Marvel boss Kevin Feige said part of the problem was that many people thought they had to catch up on a lot of other Marvel content before seeing the movie, which wasn’t true.

“People thought they needed to watch a lot of other content to understand it,” Feige explained, “which wasn’t the case.”

With The Fantastic Four: First Steps getting strong reviews and beating Thunderbolts* in ratings, fans are excited to see where this new Marvel family will go next.

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