Who is H.E.R.B.I.E. in ‘The Fantastic Four?’

But, wait, who the heck is H.E.R.B.I.E. anyway? Many out there may be wracking their brains trying to such a character in the two Fantastic Four films from the mid-2000s or even struggling to recall anything from that one time they watched 2015’s Fant4stic and instantly regretted it. Well, don’t worry, you’re not at fault here, as H.E.R.B.I.E. has never made a cinematic appearance before now. But here’s everything you need to know about the team’s mechanical mascot before he debuts in the MCU.

H.E.R.B.I.E. was originally intended as a replacement for the Human Torch

Before there was Harley Quinn or X-23, there was H.E.R.B.I.E. Kicking off the craze of iconic Marvel and DC characters being created for TV and not the comics before it was cool, H.E.R.B.I.E. originates from 1978’s The New Fantastic Four animated series. At the time Marvel was — bizarrely — trying to make a solo Human Torch movie happen so the show didn’t have the rights to include Johnny Storm. Its solution? Switch him out for a quirky robot character, call ’em the new Fantastic Four, and nobody will notice!

Naturally, they did notice, and at first H.E.R.B.I.E. was greeted about as warmly by the fandom as Scrappy-Doo. What helped the character gain a foothold of popularity in the comics, however, was the clever, fourth-wall-breaking way in which he was introduced on the page. In ’79’s Fantastic Four #209, H.E.R.B.I.E. is introduced as a new sidekick for the team, with his design derived from an animated series based on their lives. Johnny isn’t in the series because he didn’t bother to sign the contract to grant the cartoon the use of his likeness.

Over time, H.E.R.B.I.E.’s origins were expanded upon and his importance to the lore increased. We later learned he was created by Reed Richards with the help of Xandarian scientist Master Xar and to track down Galactus. This proved key to 2015’s Secret Wars event, in which H.E.R.B.I.E. reactivates when Galactus returns and teams up with Moon Girl. I’m just saying, with Avengers: Secret Wars around the corner, don’t be surprised if this ability is brought over to the MCU.

The little guy is also often depicted as the beleaguered guardian to Reed and Sue’s children, Franklin and Valeria. With the Richards could already be a couple when the film begins, there’s a decent chance that Franklin and Valeria will be immediately introduced into the MCU too, so this could be another element of the character directly translated into the films.

H.E.R.B.I.E. — whose acronymous appellation either stands for Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics or Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration — nearly got his big break in Marvel has a big name in mind. Fingers crossed it’s Danny DeVito.