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Warning: Contains Spoilers for Fantastic Four #33!
It’s been almost half a century, but Marvel is finally ready to recognize the best robot in the universe, as an iconic Fantastic Four member officially takes the spotlight. HERBIE is about to make its MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but Marvel Comics is also putting a renewed focus on the lovable robot assistant, and it’s overdue.
The robot character just recently took the lead in Fantastic Four #33, written by Ryan North with art by Cory Smith and Wayne Faucher. HERBIE has regularly been a valued part of the team, but this issue solidified its importance. In the intergalactic time-travel adventure, HERBIE not only saved the Fantastic Four, but may have actually created the Marvel Universe.
The F4’s powerful little robot has always been a great assistant, but the character’s recent sacrifice in the finale of this Fantastic Four run proves that it has become Marvel’s greatest robot character. With HERBIE about to appear in the MCU, the comics are finally giving the unlikely hero the spotlight it deserves over Marvel’s inferior robot and android characters.
HERBIE Proves Itself to Be a Vital Part of the F4 and Marvel Universe
Fantastic Four #33 by Ryan North, Cory Smith, Wayne Faucher, Jesus Aburtov, and VC’s Joe Caramagna
The Fantastic Four’s latest time travel adventure to the Big Bang proves that the team might be responsible for the creation of the universe, and they couldn’t have done it without HERBIE. The Thing recently lost his powers at the hands of Doctor Doom, threatening the rest of the team’s abilities as well, but an upgraded HERBIE helped fix everything.
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The genius daughter of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, Valeria, concocted the plan to save her superhero family. The team had to travel to the Big Bang, expose themselves to cosmic rays, and somehow return safely. However, a non-human team member was vital to making the plan a success, so HERBIE just ensured The Fantastic Four’s future in Marvel Comics.
Reed Richards enhanced HERBIE’s programming before the adventure, giving the robot a greater understanding of his capability to love. When HERBIE makes a grand sacrifice to save its family and the universe, it proves that the character has become an integral part of the F4. Although this HERBIE dies, Reed thankfully rebuilds one in time for the team’s next relaunch.
Sorry, JARVIS, Marvel Has a New MVP
Many fans consider HERBIE to be Marvel’s best robot. Still, the MCU’s focus on other artificial characters (and its long-standing rights issues with the Fantastic Four) meant that HERBIE and the rest of the team were often undervalued in the comics during that period. Now that HERBIE is officially joining the franchise, the F4 robot can finally compete with the others.
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Iron Man’s JARVIS is perhaps the most popular AI in that universe, and MCU story changes meant that the Avenger Vision was created from its programming. However, JARVIS wasn’t initially artificial intelligence in Marvel Comics; the MCU creation was an amalgamation of Tony Stark’s butler and another AI named HOMER. Thankfully, HERBIE’s MCU debut seems to be pretty comics-accurate.
JARVIS eventually became a Marvel Comics AI, along with other popular creations like Ultron, Vision, FRIDAY, and NATALIE. However, the robot created by Reed is still the most lovable robot in Marvel Comics, and aside from Vision, HERBIE is the biggest hero in its own right. HERBIE is even featured in Marvel Rivals, playing up its relationships with other heroes.
Mister Fantastic’s Creation Originally Replaced a Founding F4 Member
The History of HERBIE, Explained
Although HERBIE may just be viewed as an assistant robot for The Fantastic Four, the robot was actually created to round out the team in Johnny Storm’s absence. HERBIE is one of a few comic characters created specifically for an animated series, debuting in The New Fantastic Four cartoon before making its way into the comics.
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Human Torch wasn’t in the show because of more rights issues, so Stan Lee and Jack Kirby developed HERBIE to be the team’s fourth member in their 1978 Hanna-Barbera cartoon. The HERBIE acronym has evolved over the years, but initially stood for “Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-Type, Integrated Electronics”, a version of the acronym that’s used in the team’s latest issue.
There have been many members of The Fantastic Four over the years, but HERBIE has thankfully stuck around since its official Marvel Comics debut in Fantastic Four #209 by Marv Wolfman and John Byrne. Created by Mister Fantastic, with various variants over the years, HERBIE has gone beyond basic support status to become an iconic part of Fantastic Four lore.
HERBIE Also Makes a Great Babysitter
In an issue of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, it’s stated that HERBIE can also stand for Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration, and that title could come into play in the MCU’s version of the character. Additionally, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps set to introduce Franklin Richards, his powerful relationship with Herbie should also be featured.
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Franklin Richards is an extra-powerful Marvel Comics character, whose debut could have major ramifications for the MCU. Franklin’s friendship with his parents’ robot HERBIE is one of the most iconic parts of his character. HERBIE was sort of Franklin’s babysitter, but also became a major part of his life and his adventures, especially with the young superhero team Power Pack.
The F4’s Cutest Member Gets a Well-Deserved Spotlight
Along with his MCU debut, Marvel Comics is finally giving HERBIE some much-deserved attention in the latest Fantastic Four title and the robot’s own solo Infinity comic. While the H.E.R.B.I.E: Infinity Comic by Nathan Stockman spotlights the robot as a cute and more kid-friendly part of the Marvel Universe, it also proves HERBIE’s heroic nature.
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HERBIE isn’t just a trusted robot for the team; as other storylines have shown, the character has been manipulated or reprogrammed to serve as an interesting adversary against them. However, HERBIE has always come back to the family’s side, and its latest adventure in Fantastic Four #33 made the robot’s creation an essential part of the Marvel Universe’s history.
Other robots and artificial intelligence may have taken precedence in the MCU, but the upcoming debut of HERBIE will finally prove that it’s one of the best that Marvel Comics has to offer. The Fantastic Four robot is finally getting its deserved reverence in Marvel Comics, and it should be exciting to see what the new-and-improved HERBIE does next.
Fantastic Four #33is available now from Marvel Comics!
“}]] The Fantastic Four’s trusted robot takes the lead. Read More