As I have written many reviews of soundtracks for superhero movies and TV shows, I will probably be repeating myself by saying that superhero media can result in outstanding and exciting scores. While I have heard some delightful superhero music over the years, I have also been disappointed by uninteresting ones. Fortunately, some composers always manage to find the right sounds and melodies to fit the hero on screen perfectly. One of these composers is Michael Giacchino, who has written astounding superhero scores, including music for The Incredibles, Spider-Man, Thor and Batman, which are all magnificent, but they are also very diverse scores.
When Giacchino was announced as the composer for the most recent Marvel movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which, according to the trailers, would not be a standard Marvel film, I knew that there was a great possibility that another excellent score would be added to the list of Giacchino’s excellent superhero scores. What makes First Steps unique is that it takes place on a different version of Earth as the majority of Marvel movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On this other Earth, most iconic Marvel characters do not exist. Time also moved more slowly over there, and the world and technology look like it is still from the ‘60s. This scenario looked like the perfect setup for Giacchino to write one of his exciting scores, as someone who is always able to translate the most unusable story and images to unique film music.
One of the things Giacchino always does with his soundtrack albums, in addition to giving each track a title with a pun, is to include suites of the prominent themes. The first of the two suites is “The Fantastic Four: First Steps Main Theme Extended Version,” representing the four heroes, and the music in it is – pun intended – fantastic. Giacchino has written a stunning orchestral fanfare. The choir parts especially make this piece fun and playful, but also heroic at the same time. The suite is a perfect showcase of what a choir can add to an orchestral piece. Not only is a choir perfect to sing over the orchestral lines and chant “Fantastic Four,” you can also use them with short “oh”‘s and “ah”‘s as a kind of extra instrument within the orchestra, making it a key part of why the music sounds delightful and fits the ’60s earth beautifully.
The second suite is meant for the adversaries of the Fantastic Four, and you can hear their themes in “The Galactus/Silver Surfer Suite.” In this suite the choir also plays a primary role, but in a different way, with the choir sounding haunting and emotional at the start. While this suite has both the themes for Galactus and Silver Surfer, the Silver Surfer theme is more prominent. Her theme – yes, Silver Surfer is a woman in this film – can be heard in three variations in this suite: ominous, emotional and heroic. It showcases perfectly that there is a person behind the herald of the Devourer of Worlds.
Creating unique and exciting suites for movies is one of Giacchino’s greatest strengths, but also being able to take the melodies from those suites and integrating them into the score itself is what makes Giacchino one of the best film music composers in the field. Take the Fantastic Four theme, for example. In the beginning with “Fantastic Four, First Cue” and at the end of the film with “Fantastic Four to Be Reckoned With,” you can hear the heroic fanfare version of the theme. In the middle of the movie, however, the theme is more dramatic as can be heard at the end of “Herald Today, Gone Tomorrow” or it is emotional and intimate, as in “Starship Birth.” The principle of many variations on a theme can also be applied to the Silver Surfer as I have already mentioned while discussing her suite, with an ominous version at the start of “Herald Today, Gone Tomorrow,” in the soundtrack and with a bold variation in tracks like “The Light Speed of Your Life” and “The Bridges of Silver Surfer County.” In addition, the theme sounds emotional in “A Mole in Your Plan” and can be heard as a heroic climax at the end of “The Other Sue Drops.”
The tracks I have mentioned are just some examples of Giacchino’s excellent writing, as every track is a delight to listen to. In the music you can relive the heroism, action scenes, despair, and an occasional touching moment again if you have seen the film. The music for First Steps is – pun intended again – fantastic from start to end. It is not only another showcase of how music for superheroes should be written, with unique and exciting music, but it is also one of the best scores that has come out this year.
Listen or buy
- Buy this soundtrack from Amazon or Apple Music
- Listen to this soundtrack on Spotify
Tracklist
The highlights are in bold.
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps Main Theme Extended Version (4:10)
- Pregnancy Testing 1, 2, 3 (1:58)
- Fantastic Four, First Cue (5:33)
- Herald Today, Gone Tomorrow (3:47)
- Out to Launch (6:10)
- A Galactus Case of the Munchies (3:08)
- Bowel Before Me (3:07)
- The Light Speed of Your Life (3:42)
- Nothing Neutron Under the Sun (2:23)
- Starship Birth (5:07)
- Span-tastic Voyage (6:35)
- The Bridges of Silver Surfer County (1:33)
- A Mole in Your Plan (3:08)
- A Walk on the City (6:08)
- The Other Sue Drops (5:33)
- Don’t Sue the Baby! (2:53)
- Without Further Adieu (1:23)
- Carseat Drivers (1:17)
- Fantastic Four to Be Reckoned With (2:28)
- The Galactus/Silver Surfer Suite (7:24)
- Tripping the Lights Fantastic (2:15)
- The Fantastic Four Power Hour (Cartoon Theme) (0:34)
- The Ted Gilbert Show (0:40)
- Let Us Be Devoured (Studio Version) (3:41)
- H.E.R.B.I.E.’s Lullaby (1:18)
Total length: 1 hour and 26 minutes
Hollywood Records (2025)
