Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes is a superhero animated television series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The series was co-produced by Marvel Studios and MoonScoop, with the participation of M6 and Cartoon Network Europe, and distributed by Taffy Entertainment.
World's Greatest Heroes is not directly connected to any of the previous iterations of the Fantastic Four, telling its own version of the team's origin and their encounters with their rogues gallery. Unlike its 1994 predecessor, which consisted almost entirely of straight or modified reinterpretations of classic Fantastic Four comic book stories, World's Greatest Heroes primarily features original stories, though elements from various comic iterations of the Fantastic Four were used in the series.
In October 2004, it was announced Marvel Studios and MoonScoop Group would be teaming up to produce an animated series based on the Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four comic book series which would be shopped to potential buyers.[1] After development began, Christopher Yost was hired to serve as story editor for the series and worked with Craig Kyle, in developing the series.[2] In March 2006, it was announced Cartoon Network had picked up the series for broadcast.[3]
After destroying a robot, Johnny inexplicably disappears. He finds himself in a stadium filled with aliens, where he has been put on trial for crimes against the Kree Empire, with Ronan the Accuser acting as judge. Meanwhile, Ben attempts to entertain the guests at a charity event. Reed is summoned to act as Johnny's lawyer while Ben and Sue are summoned as witnesses. Unfortunately, Ben and Sue's testimonies fail to help Johnny's case. Johnny is sentenced to immediate execution by robotic creatures. Ben, Sue, and Reed fight the robot executioners, one of which is accidentally thrown into the crowd. Johnny protects a Kree child in the audience from the errant robot, which inspires the crowd to demand that Johnny be exonerated and released. Feeling humiliated at having to appease the crowd, Ronan releases Johnny. The Kree return to their home world whereupon Ronan is banished from the Kree Empire, while the Supreme Intelligence notes that the Fantastic Four may be useful against the Skrull.
During its original run on Cartoon Network, the series was subject to an erratic airing schedule, with only 8 of 26 episodes being broadcast.[4] Cartoon Network briefly brought the series back in June 2007 to tie-in with the release of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but this run would also be cut short. As a result, the series was not broadcast in its entirety until 2009, when Nicktoons acquired the rights to air it alongside Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron Man: Armored Adventures.[4][5][6]