With a futuristic 1960s-style setting, The Fantastic Four: First Steps looks set to embrace the comics in a big way. In the movie, Marvel's First Family will encounter the Silver Surfer and Galactus, and be joined by their loyal robot helper, H.E.R.B.I.E.

The loveable "Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-Type, Integrated Electronics" has become a mainstay in comics and animation, occasionally serving as a key ally in battle or, more often, Franklin Richards' babysitter.

Talking to Empire Magazine, filmmaker Matt Shakman said, "He's a Reed Richards creation. He's the highest-evolution robot of our era. He is really Reed's right hand in the lab, capable of assisting him on any sort of experiment, always by his side, whether in New York City or out in space."

He'd later reveal that there will be other H.E.R.B.I.E.s in the movie, "doing errands, walking dogs,...