Everything you need to know about the Fantastic Four Robot

With the official trailer of ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’, new images of Herbie were presented, the intergalactic robot that will accompany the family of heroes in the mission of protecting the land from Galactus control, which had not yet emerged in live-action versions; look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pasmrkymqa

Already in the trailer, it is possible to note that Herbie is an essential company for the quartet, and its presence is always surrounded by cuteness. But do you know how the robot was created or its origin story? The truth is that there is much to find out about the character; look:

When was Herbie created?

Created by Stan Lee and Jack KirbyHerbie had her official comic debut held in “Fantastic Quartet #209”, published in 1979.

However, the character had previously been seen on TV, as in 1978 he appeared in ‘The New Fantastic Four’, a series produced by Depatie-Freleng Enterprises and Marvel Comics Animation, which emerged as a 1967 series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

In the animation, which had only 13 episodes, he was included to replace Johny Storm, also known as Human Torch, a character whose rights were reserved for Universal Studios, a producer who would make a hero’s solo movie, which never saw daylight.

What is the origin of Herbie?

So much so that reality inspired Herbie’s official origin this because, in comics, he, whose real name is “humanoid experimental robot B-Type Integrated Electronics”, or “Integrated Electronic Humpe Experimental Experimental Robot”, receives the explanation that the design was inspired by the series.

This is because, Reed Richards, the Fantastic Lord, was the one who created the robot in conjunction with the master Xar of the Xandarian extraterrestrials, who used Xandarian technology to create the robot. In comics, he explains that Herbie’s look came from a project that passed months developing with an animated studio for an animated series of the fantastic quartet within the comic book universe. The hero also justifies that the character was created in the cartoon to replace Johnny, who was “out of town” when contracts for the series were signed.

However, the motivation for the creation of Herbie in comics has no connection with the human torch. In fact, he was designed to help the team form an alliance with Galactus, as they needed to defeat a being known as the sphinx. In the end, the robot served its purpose, but there was a secret about its existence that no one suspected.

It turns out that an old villain of the fantastic quartet, Dr. Sun, had transferred his mind to Xandarian computers, and when Herbie gained shape, the antagonist transferred his mind to the robot. Doctor Sun has taken on herbie’s control several times, sabotaging missions from the heroes team, and even threatening the lives of superhumans until the robot made a drastic decision: sacrificing himself while destroying the main computer and to end the villain.

Eventually, Mr. Fantastic would build a new herbie, as the robot has gained several versions, which help the family of heroes not only save the world but also keep the children of the Storm family saved as it often acts as a nanny.

It is worth mentioning that the original versions of the robot have “flight capacity, computers interface, infrared scanners, retractable arms, retractable metal coils that may involve a fire extinguishing target and foam,” as Marvel reveals on its official website.

The myth about the creation of Herbie

Finally, there is an interesting curiosity that Fantastic Four fans should know about Herbie when the character came up in the 1978 animation, a myth about the robot’s real motivation was placed as a substitute for the human torch: the analog computer had become a member of the team due to a studio concern that children were inspired by Johnny and set off to imitate him. The idea is just a legend, of course.

Remember that the first live-action version of Herbie could be seen in theaters on July 25 in the United States.