WIZARD WORLD L.A.: FANTASTIC FOUR PANEL

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The build-up to July 8 and the release of Marvel's latest tentpole movie, Fantastic Four, continued on Saturday at Wizard World L.A. with a panel featuring guest of honor Avi Arad of Marvel Studios and Chris Evans, who plays the Human Torch.

A specially prepared clip for ShoWest was repeated at the panel, drawing cheering fan response, especially when Ben Grimm spouts his trademark, "It's clobberin' time!" There were also several funny lines, including Johnny asking Ben where his ears were.

Perhaps the strongest indication of the favorable response was a request for an encore the clip, which was granted at the panel's end.

In between, Arad and Evans answered questions, with Arad occasionally tip-toeing around sensitive material in a playful fashion.

Following is a rundown of highlights:

* Arad said that The Thing is his favorite FF character. "Guys, pretend like you have something in your eye. Pretend that you're not crying," he said. "Because your date will be crying. The Thing will break your heart."

* Evans said he didn't read comic books as a child. "I had an older sister," he said. "I was playing with My Little Pony. I wish I had, though."

Evans said that once he got the gig, he bought "stacks" of comics.

"It's real literature," he said. "Every friend that I have that reads comic books is incredibly articulate. They have great vocabs and they're very creative people."

* Evans said he's aware there's a fan base that will scrutinize his performance. "It's just keeping the people who have a passion for this stuff happy," he said.

* Asked if H.E.R.B.I.E. the Robot would appear, Arad stopped Evans before he could answer. "Don't give it away!" Arad said.

* Arad on Doctor Doom: "Doom is the Doom right from the comics. The mask. The power. The madness."

* Asked about the status of the third X-Men movie, Arad said: "We've got the best story of the third and it's going to be very special."

Arad said that at ShoWest a date was set for the film -- May 22, 2006 -- and that a director will be announced soon.

"There will be new characters," Arad said. "I think you will find it more exciting than 1 and 2. It's a tall order, but it's a big idea, a bigger story."

* Evans said he developed a family-like relationship with his co-stars.

"And that's crucial. That's what makes Fantastic Four a special comic book, that you have this family with their ups and downs. I really hope that translates on film, especially with (Michael) Chiklis as the Thing. They had a great banter in the comics, and we had a great one in real life."

* Evans said he feels like he "won the lottery" in getting the role. "I can't think of a more perfect super-hero to play," he said. "I love everything about him. He's a great character."

* Evans said he is signed on for three FF films. "I really hope we get to do them all," he said. "The first movie is an establishing film of us getting our powers, being kind of awkward with them, not quite sure how to use and now quite sure if this is what we want to do with our lives. The majority of the film is that struggle and we all come together at the end and have a final battle, which is great because we get to use our powers.

"But all the cool stuff that Johnny Storm can do, I really feel we can do a lot of this. So hopefully the sequels are set up in a way that 2 and 3 are going to be packed with really cool stuff and show how far we can take our abilities."

* Evans said having his own action figure is a "weird" experience. "But, oh, I'll be playing with him. He'll be beating up Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joes all day."

* Evans on working with special effects: "It was difficult doing scenes where you're suppose to combust. What's my motivation for combusting and how does one combust? It's a very weird thing, they tried to keep me up to date, and it really makes you excited to see that little laptop pop out and see that three or four seconds of footage. The visual effects team and Tim (Story, director) did a good job keeping us up to date."

* Evans said he bombed in two auditions and actually read for Reed Richards at one point before nailing the Johnny Storm role. "I kind of few like I stole this one," he said.

"Johnny Storm was a tough one," Arad said. "You need a hero who can do comedy in a way that you're not angry with him. Eventually the hero does come out, you see that he cares for his friend, he cares for his sister and he puts his life on the line. You need someone who can look heroic and carry comedy, and that's not easy."

* Asked about the chances of seeing Venom in Spider-Man 3, Arad playfully responded, "50-50."

* Evans on his favorite scene: "I really liked the last scene. The majority of the film is this struggle of this family unit trying to operate with all this fame and power and, and there's a lot of arguing.

"At the end, we all rise to the challenge of the role of a super-hero, and we have this final battle with Doctor. Doom. And we're shooting out on the street at night and, just looking around, everybody is in their F4 uniforms, we've got the Thing and Doctor Doom, and my inner child was so giddy, like I was a superhero. It felt great."

* Arad said David Goyer is involved in a Thor film indevelopment. He called it "Marvel's Lord of the Rings."

* Hulk 2 is also in development. "There will be news," Arad said.