Vintage Citizen Ad Appears in Fantastic Four: First Steps, and There’s a New Watch Too
The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been in theaters for about a week as I type. I just saw it last night, after the first-weekend crowds have dissipated significantly. There’s been a great deal of conversation about the importance of this Fantastic Four film in the movie community. Marvel, it’s no secret, has been slipping a bit as of late. Their splashy superhero action films are no longer guaranteed to approach a billion dollars in revenue. Add to that, a new Superman film is also in theaters, and has been pretty well received thus far. For the first time in years, it feels like DC film adaptations might be having a moment. The conventional wisdom is that Fantastic Four needs to be huge, shepherding the MCU faithful with excitement into a big and even higher stakes Avengers film next year.
I personally didn’t care all that much for First Steps. I thought the CGI looked, well, kinda bad. And the principal characters were mostly miscast. But there were silver linings, if you looked for them. Mole Man, played by Paul Walter Hauser, is a character worthy of a spin-off if there ever was one. Please, just put this character in every MCU movie from here on out. We’re still in a multi-verse arc, so it should be pretty easy to write him into movies he otherwise doesn’t belong in. The other great strength of the movie is the production design. Unlike just about every other MCU movie, this one is effectively a standalone piece that doesn’t really require a deep familiarity with the lore of the comics and the previous 3,000 films. That gives the filmmaking team an opportunity to explore the design language of the 1960s in the sets, wardrobe, props, and just about everything else seen on screen. The film is set in an alternate version of Earth, where some things are familiar and some things (like the existence of a giant, planet-eating space god called Galactus) are not. The retro-futuristic vibes are great, and even if I didn’t love the movie, I’d be happy to continue spending time in this world.
What, you may be asking, does this have to do with watches? Well, not a ton, but there’s a tenuous connection that of course I’m happy to draw. The 1960s aesthetic cues bleed into everything seen and heard in the movie, and that includes what appears on TV screens throughout. Citizen, as part of their longstanding partnership with Marvel, features a made-for-the-movie commercial in the film that is based on a period correct print advertisement. The ad, seen below, is for the Citizen Diamond Flake, which in 1963 was the world’s thinnest watch.
While it certainly can be easily dismissed as product placement, it’s actually a pretty cool idea from a filmmaking and world building perspective. This is a version of Earth in the 1960s where the Statue of Liberty exists, but Ed Sullivan does not. Incorporating a commercial for a real product based on a real advertisement from the Citizen archives adds a layer of authenticity to something meant to be fanciful but still just a little grounded.
As you might expect, Citizen also has a limited edition watch available to commemorate the release of The Fantastic Four. The watch is built on the Zenshin platform, Citizen’s integrated bracelet sports watch with an Eco-Drive movement and Super Titanium case and bracelet. The new LE straddles the line between an on-the-nose character watch, and something a little more subtle. It features the Fantastic Four “4” logo at the 4:00 position, and references each of the four members of the superhero team at the cardinal hour markers. Only The Thing’s rock inspired hour marker at 9:00 screams out that it’s a movie tie-in, in my opinion. Otherwise, it all feels (mostly) under the radar, but should still appeal to fans of the comic that are after a collectible to commemorate the film’s release.
The Zenshin also makes a certain amount of sense as the watch used for this limited edition. Following the 1960s theme, we’re approaching the age where integrated bracelet watches would begin to be introduced, if not yet widely adopted, and the design of these watches has always felt inherently futuristic, like a flying car or H.E.R.B.I.E the humanoid robot.
The retail price of the Fantastic Four: First Steps Zenshin limited edition is $595. Citizen
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