Who is H.E.R.B.I.E.? Fantastic Four’s robot sidekick explained

The MCU’s Fantastic Four features the live-action debut of H.E.R.B.I.E., an infamous character whose addition to FF lore is tied to a popular urban legend.

With the official announcement of the MCU’s Fantastic Four cast, fans got a little bit of a surprise. For the first time ever, Reed Richard’s precocious robot sidekick, H.E.R.B.I.E., will be appearing in live-action.

H.E.R.B.I.E. is a bizarre bit of Marvel lore. It has a long history with the Fantastic Four, even appearing in modern comics. But it also has something of a poor reputation among comic fans, thanks to an oft-repeated and ultimately untrue urban legend.

For many modern fans, H.E.R.B.I.E.’s nearly 50-year-old origins are as good as lost to time. As such, fans may be surprised to learn the adorable robot is a case of art imitating life. 

Who is H.E.R.B.I.E.?

H.E.R.B.I.E., or Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-Type, Integrated Electronics, makes its debut in 1979’s Fantastic Four #209. Reed builds H.E.R.B.I.E. to help him in the field, serving as a sort of remote replacement for the Baxter Building’s supercomputer. 

Early stories tease the notion that there’s more to H.E.R.B.I.E. than meets the eye. It’s created with a connection to the Living Mind Computer of Xandar. It’s soon revealed this connection has compromised H.E.R.B.I.E., allowing the scientist Doctor Sun to escape his imprisonment in the Xandar computers via the robot. 

Once Sun’s escape is revealed and the villain is dealt with, newer versions of H.E.R.B.I.E. would continue to appear in Fantastic Four comics. The character spends a fair amount of time as the butt of many a joke, though in recent years, the power of nostalgia has made the character somewhat more notable. 

Why did H.E.R.B.I.E. join the Fantastic Four?

The reason for H.E.R.B.I.E. being such a joke is because his origins are tied to children’s programming, both in and out of universe. However, it’s also tied to a fairly prominent urban myth about a popular Marvel cartoon. 

In the meta sense, H.E.R.B.I.E. is the result of the 1978 animated series The New Fantastic Four. While the cartoon was in development, producers learned they were not able to use The Human Torch, so they had to create a new character to take his spot on the team.

A popular myth claims this is because TV networks vetoed his appearance over concerns children would light themselves on fire to emulate Torch’s powers, but that’s not true. The reality of the matter is Human Torch was popular enough that Marvel was exploring solo projects with the character, so his rights were simply tied up elsewhere. 

Stan Lee created the kid-friendly H.E.R.B.I.E. as a Human Torch replacement for the series, but his origins in the comics echo real life. Reed’s original design for H.E.R.B.I.E. is for an in-universe Fantastic Four cartoon, where he’s meant to replace the Human Torch. Unlike the real world, though, Torch’s absence is explained by the aloof Johnny missing the deadline to sign his contract. 

Who are the Fantastic Four? Marvel’s First Family explained | The best Fantastic Four comics to read before the next movie | How strong is Mr. Fantastic? Fantastic Four character powers & weakness explained | How strong is Invisible Woman? Fantastic Four character powers & weakness explained | How strong is Human Torch? Fantastic Four character powers & weakness explained | How strong is the Thing? Fantastic Four character powers & weakness explained | How did the Fantastic Four get their powers? | How strong is Galactus? Fantastic Four villain powers & weakness explained | How strong is the Silver Surfer? Fantastic Four character powers & weakness explained