The Fantastic Four Appreciation 2020

[Keyotheseasons]

Currently, what I would begrudge the most is that Slott is clearly playing favorites with these characters and giving some significantly more love than others, which isn't right, but it's natural. If I got to write a Fantastic Four book it would be all about Sue and Johnny because those two are my favorites. While I do wish that the more neglected or less finely written characters had more of a spotlight shone on them I would never go so far as to say I want to break up the team or the family. I wouldn't mind however, as a matter of fact I would embrace it, if they had adventures in other books that allowed the characters to breathe outside of their franchise but that doesn't have to include divorce, breaking up, dying, etc.

[Crimz]

Currently, what I would begrudge the most is that Slott is clearly playing favorites with these characters and giving some significantly more love than others, which isn't right, but it's natural. If I got to write a Fantastic Four book it would be all about Sue and Johnny because those two are my favorites. While I do wish that the more neglected or less finely written characters had more of a spotlight shone on them I would never go so far as to say I want to break up the team or the family. I wouldn't mind however, as a matter of fact I would embrace it, if they had adventures in other books that allowed the characters to breathe outside of their franchise but that doesn't have to include divorce, breaking up, dying, etc.

Every writer has a favorite and that's ok. The issue with the current run is that the difference in treatment is so large you can really tell who Slott likes the most and who he likes the least.
When it comes to actual characterization though, I think Valeria is the one who has suffered the worst. She went from this cunning, calculated, morally grey kid to any other Marvel teen genius. She lost what made her special and interesting. Just looking at the difference between Slotts and Zdarsky's depiction of her is like night and day. Val in FF/X-Men is more like the Val we knew before.

I agree that the preferred thing is for the FF to have adventures and things outside of the family without having to leave it, just like real people do. You shouldn't have to sacrifice one to have the other, it's not necessary or beneficial. I just don't want Slott to write Sue anymore lol.

[CaptCleghorn]

Every writer has a favorite and that's ok. The issue with the current run is that the difference in treatment is so large you can really tell who Slott likes the most and who he likes the least.
When it comes to actual characterization though, I think Valeria is the one who has suffered the worst. She went from this cunning, calculated, morally grey kid to any other Marvel teen genius. She lost what made her special and interesting. Just looking at the difference between Slotts and Zdarsky's depiction of her is like night and day. Val in FF/X-Men is more like the Val we knew before.

I agree that the preferred thing is for the FF to have adventures and things outside of the family without having to leave it, just like real people do. You shouldn't have to sacrifice one to have the other, it's not necessary or beneficial. I just don't want Slott to write Sue anymore lol.

That's a good point about Val. One could say that she's developed a more socially acceptable persona with her growing up, but frankly, that ain't a fun character. The kids need personalities that reflect who they were pre-Secret wars and who they are now. They also need to grow uo some and have that reflected as well. It's easy for me to fan-wank or head canon Reed working with Val to keep her too busy to scheme and that's actually a reasonable parenting tactic.

Does Slott have kids? Serious question, I really don't know and generally wouldn't care, but with this book with now four kids all with strong personalities, personal real life experiences would seem to be an incredible aide.

[Oberon]

Fantastic Four Annual 32 (2010) https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Fanta...nnual_Vol_1_32

As to why no follow-up, I'd guess Marvel would rather not have Johnny be a father that way. Although I do find it surprising Marvel went ahead with the story to begin with.

I swear I don't remember this story. I may have bought/collected but somehow never read. wow.

[Triniking1234]

Fantastic Four Annual 32 (2010) https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Fanta...nnual_Vol_1_32

As to why no follow-up, I'd guess Marvel would rather not have Johnny be a father that way. Although I do find it surprising Marvel went ahead with the story to begin with.

That's one wild story, Marvel.

[Digifiend]

If that girl ended up time displaced, it's entirely possible that Johnny's already grown-up kid will show up out of the blue some day! If he ever got a solo book again, maybe introducing that kid as a teenager would work out - they could become a legacy character to the golden age Human Torch's sidekick, Toro.

[U.N. Owen]

Slott also hasn't proven to me why Yancy Street is somehow better than the Baxter Building. The Fantastic Four feel just as boxed in and isolated as they would be in the Baxter Building. Not to mention, Reed folding in multiple dimensions into Yancy Street because Slott wanted to rub in his love for Dr. Who is just dull. It's like they're in the Baxter Building again with different furniture. If it wasn't for the block party, which followed an arc which struck way too many nerves with me, I could have written it off as the Baxter Building.

[Marvel Forever]

Currently, what I would begrudge the most is that Slott is clearly playing favorites with these characters and giving some significantly more love than others, which isn't right, but it's natural. If I got to write a Fantastic Four book it would be all about Sue and Johnny because those two are my favorites. While I do wish that the more neglected or less finely written characters had more of a spotlight shone on them I would never go so far as to say I want to break up the team or the family. I wouldn't mind however, as a matter of fact I would embrace it, if they had adventures in other books that allowed the characters to breathe outside of their franchise but that doesn't have to include divorce, breaking up, dying, etc.

As much as I will always have a soft place in my heart for Stan Lee, I must admit that Sue did not receive as much attention during his reign as the other three and much of this came from her pregnancy leave with Franklin. It even looked like he might replace Sue with Crystal there for a while.

[Oberon]

If that girl ended up time displaced, it's entirely possible that Johnny's already grown-up kid will show up out of the blue some day! If he ever got a solo book again, maybe introducing that kid as a teenager would work out - they could become a legacy character to the golden age Human Torch's sidekick, Toro.

or maybe.... Johnny's displaced time child

is Toro?

[Sirius J Moonlight]

or maybe.... Johnny's displaced time child

is Toro?

I was thinking the same thing. The retcon wouldn't be hard. The story is his parents worked for Horton, and were killed. They said the Thinker found Horton tech in his body. If Toro's parents adopted or found him, and Horton used his work to control the child's powers, that seems workable. He was identified as a mutant, but these days that's undo-able and could have been a mistake. It does add an uh-oh with Frankie Raye possibly being Toro's daughter, though.

[Digifiend]

It's already been undone - Toro turned out to be an Inhuman.

[Ravin' Ray]

Oh editors will just make his mom a dormant Inhuman.

[CaptCleghorn]

Oh editors will just make his mom a dormant Inhuman.

Johnny and an inhuman?

[CaptCleghorn]

As much as I will always have a soft place in my heart for Stan Lee, I must admit that Sue did not receive as much attention during his reign as the other three and much of this came from her pregnancy leave with Franklin. It even looked like he might replace Sue with Crystal there for a while.

All of Lee's work was 1971 and before. I'd suspect Sue's treatment was heavily influenced by the unenlightened treatment of women characters in the sixties as much as, if not more than, Stan's handling of Sue..

[Iron Maiden]

All of Lee's work was 1971 and before. I'd suspect Sue's treatment was heavily influenced by the unenlightened treatment of women characters in the sixties as much as, if not more than, Stan's handling of Sue..

QFT. One has to only watch any film or TV show from that era and see that women were mostly around as something to be protected or to be the love interest for the male lead. I was reminded by Dame Diana Rigg's passing away recently just how eye-opening it was to see her fighting the menace of the week in The Avengers in the late 1960's. Even when Sue does start to fight for herself in issue #17, she has to give credit to Reed. But at least she isn't just left to being invisible and hiding so I give Stan some credit for trying here.