The Fantastic Four for the Auburn Tigers: Mr. Fantastic, The Thing and More

The Auburn Tigers are just over a month away from the start of their 2025 football season, as they take on the Baylor Bears on August 29.

And though the time seems to be picking up, and the summer feels like it’s rushing to a close, a month still feels like an eternity when one is pining for football season. Lucky for those of us who have been not-so-patiently waiting and are starting to get antsy, the tail end of the football offseason coincides with the summer blockbuster season. So, there are plenty of movies to distract from the offseason fatigue.

The summer has already delivered some bangers, with movies like the Brad Pitt-led high-octane racing drama, F1, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and James Gunn’s Superman taking the global box office by storm. The next movie expected to put patron butts in theater seats is Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

In honor of Marvel’s First Family, we will be matching Auburn players with their corresponding member of Marvel’s original super team.

Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards

The true superpower of the leader of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards, is his ridiculous intellect. He is, historically, the smartest human in the Marvel universe. However, since nobody on Auburn’s roster has been revealed as a super genius (yet), we will focus on Mr. Fantastic’s physical powers.

He’s really, really stretchy. And who’s stretchier than the fantastically long and lean jump ball aficionado, Cam Coleman? In his short time on the Plains, Coleman has put his powers on display, using his length and strength to stretch over and around defenders to pull in the contested catches.

Coleman took his first steps on the way to stardom with a 37-reception, 598-yard, and eight touchdown freshman season. National expectations are that the sequel season will be even better.

Invisible Woman/Sue Storm

Invisible Woman can, you guessed it, turn invisible. She can also project force fields to protect her friends. She’s basically the Connor Lew of the Fantastic Four. Although there are some notable differences between Lew and Storm, Lew is 6-foot-3 and over 300 pounds, whereas Sue Storm actress Vanes Kirby is only 5-foot-6; the similarities are impossible to miss.

Turning invisible is the name of the game for an offensive lineman. They’re the unsung heroes, doing the dirty work without the recognition, throwing up force fields to protect their teammates. Just like Invisible Woman.

Lew heads into his junior year as one of the best centers in the country and has already garnered plenty of attention from the NFL and national media. It’s still not as much attention as a flashy group of receivers or a new quarterback may receive, but by golly, can he throw up a mean force field.

The Thing/Ben Grimm

Super strong, explosive, and indestructible. That’s The Thing. And no player on Auburn’s roster fits the description better than defensive end Keldric Faulk. Faulk proved during his first two years as a Tiger that he is an immovable object in the run game, and an unstoppable force in pass rush.

Ben Grimm is also known for his expert piloting skills. With Faulk’s size and Thing-like strength, he can play multiple positions along the defensive front, allowing him to pilot the Auburn defense to success in 2025. After 65 quarterback pressures and eight sacks in his college career, Faulk has proven that it is always clobberin’ time anytime he’s getting after the QB.

The Human Torch/ Johnny Storm

The Human Torch is a man on fire, and he can fly at superhuman speeds, much like Eric Singleton Jr. Singleton moves like a man on fire with the ball in his hands. His tape from Georgia Tech is a sizzle reel of astonishing and high-flying plays.

Singleton racked up 56 receptions for 754 yards and three touchdowns in 2024 for the Yellowjackets, and reports since he has been at Auburn indicate that we will see much of the same incendiary play in 2025. Look for Singleton to get his flame on as he lines up across the formation and scorches opposing defenses this fall.

This has been a good time. Let’s see if we can squeeze out a couple of more of these, outside of the Fantastic Four. What other Auburn players can we match with Marvel characters?

Iron Man/Tony Stark

Tony Stark is the genius billionaire who built the first Iron Man suit that helped him escape a cave in Afghanistan, and would go on to be one of the leaders of the Avengers. Jackson Arnold seems like a relatively intelligent individual who is allegedly making $1.5 million and escaped the cave that was the 2024 Oklahoma Sooners with Brent Venables playing Obadiah Stane, the insider saboteur.

Arnold will lead the Auburn Tigers in 2025. Throw in a gunslinger mentality and a tough-as-iron running style, and you have yourself Auburn’s grid-Iron Man.

Really, this pairing has a lot to do with facial hair.

Wolverine

Wolverine is traditionally undersized at 5-foot-3, virtually indestructible, and the heartbeat of the X-Men. No Tiger fits that description better than Damari Alston. At 5-foot-9 and 214 pounds, Alston isn’t the biggest back in the SEC, but he is tough as nails.

He runs with the attitude of somebody with an adamantium skeleton. It remains to be seen what kind of heartbeat he will provide, but he’ll get first crack at replacing 2024 heartbeat, Jarquez Hunter.

Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps comes to theaters on Thursday, July 24, 2025. We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to see Auburn’s superheroes in action.