Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Credit :

Jay Maidment/Marvel Studios/20th Century Studios

• The Fantastic Four: First Steps hit theaters on July 24
• The film follows a group of newly-minted superheroes battling Galactus, a being who destroys planets by consuming them
• At the end of the film, the Fantastic Four must save humanity and defeat Galactus

After a decade, Marvel has brought the Fantastic Four back to cinemas, this time with The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Just like the previous iterations, the movie follows Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), as they navigate their new life as superheroes after absorbing radiation during a space mission.

However, the film sees the Fantastic Four face their biggest threat yet: a godlike being named Galactus who destroys planets by consuming them. In a confrontation with the Fantastic Four, Galactus reveals that long ago, he was cursed with this affliction and must destroy planets because of an undying hunger that now lives within him. Helping him on his mission is the Herald (Julia Garner), a.k.a. the Silver Surfer, who handpicks planets for him based on how vibrant and life-sustaining they are.

Galactus ends up giving the Fantastic Four an ultimatum, telling a pregnant Sue that he’ll spare Earth if she gives up her powerful unborn child to him. The group declines his deal, which further angers Galactus, sending him on a vengeful mission to both destroy Earth and take Sue’s child.

As the Fantastic Four escape Galactus and the Herald, Sue goes into labor, giving birth to baby Franklin Richards (Ada Scott). When they return to Earth, they have to deliver the bad news to humanity — Galactus is on his way to end all life.

So, how does the movie end — and is there a post-credits scene? Here’s everything to know about the final moments of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Warning: The Fantastic Four: First Steps spoilers ahead!

Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ (2025). 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios

Earlier in the film, Reed had been working on building a small teleporter, which he called a “bridge.” After the confrontation with Galactus, Reed believes that humanity has a better chance of surviving if the group teleports the Earth somewhere else.

The Fantastic Four work with global governments to build giant bridges across the world, creating an interconnected network of teleporters that could transport the Earth to another part of the universe.

It’s all looking optimistic until the Herald arrives, destroying every bridge across Earth until there’s only one left in New York City, which is protected by the Fantastic Four. 

Julia Garner as Silver Surfer in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’. 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios

When the Herald arrives to destroy the last bridge, she’s confronted by Johnny, who has been working to decrypt her language. After learning to decipher a few phrases, he’s able to create an algorithm that translates enough of the Herald’s language to understand it.

He learns that the Herald’s name is actually Shalla-Bal and she too once lived on a planet that was targeted by Galactus. With a child of her own, Shalla-Bal made a difficult decision: She promised to devote her life to Galactus and help him find suitable planets for consumption if he spared her home. Filled with grief, shame and regret after being confronted, Shalla-Bal flies off into space, leaving Earth.

Pedro Pascal in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps.’. Marvel Entertainment

With just one bridge left and Galactus on his way, the Fantastic Four create a new plan: attempt to trap him in the bridge and teleport him to the far edges of the universe. This means they need to use baby Franklin as bait.

Sue is devastated by the idea, but also realizes that the group has no other choice. When Galactus arrives, Johnny shoots fire into his eyes to temporarily blind him, while Reed swaps out baby Franklin for an empty carriage. But Galactus catches on to the plan and goes in search of Franklin, walking away from the bridge.

A massive fight ensues between Galactus and the Fantastic Four. But Sue is the one who saves the day: As a mother, she’s determined to save Franklin, even if that means sacrificing herself. With all her strength, she pushes Galactus back towards the bridge while Johnny opens up the portal.

However, just before she can fully push Galactus into the portal, he overpowers her, draining her energy and killing her. Knowing how close they are to saving the world, Johnny realizes it’s up to him to sacrifice himself for the planet. He decides to fly into Galactus at full speed, pushing him through the portal. But as he starts to build up speed, he’s pushed out of the way by Shalla-Bal.

Realizing the role she’s played in the destruction of countless planets, Shalla-Bal understands that she’s the one who should be sacrificing herself for Earth. Flying at full speed, she pushes herself and Galactus through the portal before it closes.

Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ (2025). 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios

Sue dies at the end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

At the end of the film, the group surrounds her, mourning her death. Reed places baby Franklin on her so he can have one final moment with his mom. But it’s this moment that shows just how powerful this new member of the family is.

When Franklin sits on top of his mom, he brings her back from the dead. It’s a powerful scene that doesn’t just carry a huge emotional punch — it also has massive implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, finally bringing one of the comics’ strongest heroes to the big screen. 

Thing in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps.’. Marvel Entertainment

The Fantastic Four: First Steps has both a mid-credits and a post-credits scene, though the mid-credits scene is the one that audiences should really stay for.

The mid-credits scene picks up four years later with Sue reading to Franklin, who is now a young boy. The movie shows how powerful his mind already is, revealing that the last book he and his mom read together was Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species.

Sue goes to the kitchen, but quickly senses that someone else is there. When she turns around, she sees Dr. Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) playing with Franklin. The screen cuts to black before a message appears, saying that the Fantastic Four will return for Avengers: Doomsday in 2026.

There’s also a post-credits scene of a few-second clip of a cartoon stylized to look like the original The Fantastic Four cartoons from the ’60s.

Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps.’. courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios

So far, no standalone sequel has been announced, but as mentioned at the end of the mid-credits scene, the group will be returning for Avengers: Doomsday in 2026.

They’ll be joined by a slew of other Marvel heroes and villains like Captain America (Anthony Mackie), Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Dr. Doom and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh).