Fantasticar MK I

Fantasticar
Name	Fantasticar MK I
Owners
Current Owner(s)	Mercs for Money
Previous Owner(s)	Fantastic Four
Origin
Reality	Earth-616
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
First	Fantastic Four #3 (December, 1961)
First	Fantastic Four #3 (December, 1961)

History

The original Fantasticar was the first vehicle used by the Fantastic Four after they went public as a team of super-powered adventurers. It was affectionately referred to as the Flying Bathtub.

It was used for both missions and everyday life as they used it to return from the Miracle Man's magic show in civilian clothes and then later when they donned their costumes to stop him. It was later replaced by the Fantasticar MK II after a number of the FF's fans from throughout the country wrote to the FF, saying that the original vehicle "looked too much like a flying bathtub."

Years later, after Power Man had stolen the Fantasticar MK II while under the control of the Puppet Master, Ben Grimm learned that, although Johnny Storm had modified the original Fantasticar into the MK II version years earlier, Reed Richards had actually kept a spare MK I version locked away in case it was needed.

The "flying bathtub" was acquired (allegedly during a Fantastic Four garage sale) by Shanna the She-Devil and used to travel between the Savage Land and New York City.

Many years later, a Fantasticar MK I fell into Deadpool's possession and was used by Commander Steve Rogers and the Mercs for Money to search Manhattan for Madcap.

Capabilities

• Can carry about 1200 pounds at up to 60 mph for 200 miles.
• Can break apart into four compartments, each capable of 30 mph speeds for up to 100 miles.

Alternate Universes

Retro-Futuristic 1960s

The Fantastic Four used a version of the Fantasticar to travel from the Celestial Cradle located in Hunstville, Alabama to Manhattan, New York City to stop the revolt, led by Mole Man. They eventually replaced it with a newer version.

Super Hero Squad

The Fantasti-Car of Earth-91119.

The Fantastic Four used this vehicle for transportation.

Old Man Logan

The Fantasticar of Earth-807128.

In Earth-807128, the Hulk Gang drove around in an old Fantasticar on their missions to collect rent in their territories. They'd modified it a bit with green spray paint on the front, featuring sayings like "Dead and 4-Gotten", and "Banners Un-4 Given".

Logan later used this car packed full of C-4 to blow up the Hulk Gang's encampment, killing most of them in the process.

Unknown Reality

Toad sitting in the pruned Fantasti-Car along with the henchman driver

In an Unknown Reality, a version of the Fantasti-Car was pruned and sent into the Void by the Time Variance Authority. It was eventually discovered by Cassandra Nova's Henchmen and used by their convoy. As the convoy discovered the pruned minuteman and captured him, Toad was riding the car while an henchman drove it alongside the other pruned vehicles. They eventually found Deadpool, Wolverine and Human Torch, shortly after capturing the minuteman and circled around them. After Human Torch was taken out by Pyro and Sabretooth was killed by Wolverine, Toad used his tongue to activate the Canadaram and magnet attached to the Mag Truck to capture Deadpool, Wolverine alongside attracting Deadpool's sliced up guns and its bullets, a few nuts and bolts and a pruned leg of a Sentinel, which knocked them both out. While the prisoners where captured in the Prison Balls and taken to Cassandra Nova's Lair, the Sentinel leg was also taken, by Toad and the henchman on the Fantasti-Car. Upon reaching the lair, all the vehicles including the Fantasti-Car, were parked.

Notes

• Although this vehicle was called the "Fantasti-Car" on the cover of Fantastic Four #3, within the story itself it was referred to as the "Fantasticar" four times. It was also called the "Fantasti-Car" in Fantastic Four #9–10 before it was replaced by the MK II, but the non-hyphenated name has been used in more recent appearances, as well as in Handbook-style publications like Marvel Fact Files #5.
  • In some cases, its name seems to be printed as "Fantasti-car" because space limitations within word balloons or captions had sometimes forced the letterers to split the name across two lines, leaving one line ending with "Fantasti-" and the line below beginning with "car." This can be seen in Marvel Team-Up #1.
• In Fantastic Four #12, Reed Richards implied that Johnny Storm had modified the original Fantasticar into the MK II version. Years later, in Fantastic Four #170, Ben Grimm mentioned how Johnny had modified their "old Fantasticar" into their "new, improved model" long ago, and Reed agreed that that was what Johnny had done.
• In Deadpool (Vol. 5) #4, Commander Rogers referred to the MK I version that Deadpool and the Mercs for Money were using as "one of Reed's one Fantasticars," implying that there were more than one still intact.
• The Fantasticar was generally used for inner-city transportation and kept around almost solely for sentimental purposes.
• More commonly known as the Flying Bathtub.
• Other prototypes of the "Flying Bathtub" exist, such as the Fantasticar depicted in Marvel Team-Up #1.

See Also

• 197 appearance(s) of Fantasticar MK I
• 2 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Fantasticar MK I
• 21 minor appearance(s) of Fantasticar MK I
• 6 mention(s) of Fantasticar MK I
• 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Fantasticar MK I
• 54 image(s) of Fantasticar MK I

Related Articles

• Vehicles of the Fantastic Four