Back before the cheese-tastic 2005 film version of Fantastic Four got the green light, a separate effects house made a pitch to imagine the classic Marvel comic for the big screen. The designs are definitely ... interesting.

Back in the early-to-mid 2000s, artist Steven Johnson put together some sketches for his take on the Thing and Doctor Doom. They’re very different from what eventually made it into director Tim Story’s version, and the Doctor Doom design is effectively creepy, with an almost serpent-like quality.

The drawings for the Thing, on the other hand, are pretty out there. The rock components look almost like giant tumors growing out of a half-rock man. The studio definitely had the right idea to go with a more traditional design in the final film, but it's interesting to see some of the ideas floated in the early days.

(Via Comic Book Movie)