LOS ANGELES -- Marvel’s first family has finally found box office gold. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” the first film about the superheroes made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co., earned $118 million in its first weekend in 4,125 North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe may have begun in 2008 with Iron Man, a billionaire playboy genius and philanthropist who fights injustice. But over the course of 17 years and 37 movies, the MCU has not only brought scads of comic book heroes and villains to theaters,