A Manhattan with a retrofuturist sensibility is among the intriguing visual aspects of the film. We talk with its designers to get the details.

This is a solid, intelligent, occasionally inspired comic book movie that delivers most of what a popular audience demands from the genre plus a little bit more.

First Steps is making big strides at the box office as the latest MCU entry on the 2025 movie schedule (the last one for the year), and while I wouldn’t call it my favorite, it does get closer to something I’ve been clamoring for: smaller stories.