Fantastic Four Trailer Reveals John Malkovich’s Marvel Character, But Who Is He?

The “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” trailer teases the heroes’ first Marvel Cinematic Universe adventure, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach set to portray the eponymous quartet. There’s a lot of hype surrounding this upcoming MCU film, with Marvel boss Kevin Feige claiming that “Fantastic Four” is the upcoming movie that excites him most, so it’s clear the studio is putting a lot of stock into this one.

Fans have also been waiting impatiently to see these characters on the screen again, but the villains are arguably the most intriguing aspect of the movie. We already know that Julia Garner will play Silver Surfer, but the identity of John Malkovich’s character is one of the biggest mysteries heading into the movie. Fortunately, the new teaser appears to have answered some of those questions, as his look in the trailer is very similar to one of the Four’s oldest rivals, Ivan Kragoff, otherwise known as Red Ghost. With that in mind, who is the character and what’s his history with the heroes?

As previously mentioned, Red Ghost and the Fantastic Four go way back. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, with his first appearance coming about in “Fantastic Four” #13, he is an evil genius and Soviet scientist with anti-American leanings. He was tasked with helping his allies beat the United States to the Moon, assisted by a gorilla, baboon, and orangutan, which he dubbed his Super-Apes. Cue a feud with Marvel’s mightiest heroes.

Red Ghost and his Super-Apes also have special powers which they acquired through cosmic rays to combat the Fantastic Four. Ghost is intangible and boasts the ability to turn invisible, which makes him a tricky foe to deal with. His non-corporeal form also sees him turn into red mist sometimes, which explains the meaning behind the name of supervillain alias. That said, he’s also an accomplished scientist in the fields of engineering, physics, and teaching primates how to do his nefarious bidding, which are skills everyone would like to have to some degree.

It remains to be seen how “Fantastic Four: First Steps” portrays Red Ghost in the current sociopolitical climate, and how the movie will update the character for the big screen. However, seeing John Malkovich in the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be interesting, as he’s shown time and time again that he’s a great performer.