The Fantastic Four Appreciation 2020

[Rzerox21xx]

I think the art of Paul Ryan really saved Tom DeFalco's run. I didn't like that he took Reed and Doom out of the comic for a while. Accounts I've read where it's said that he wanted their deaths to be permanent. But then I guess he relented and brought them back in time for the Onslaught plot that was being worked on towards the end of that first volume of Fantastic Four comics. I also didn't like how he turned Sharon Ventura back into something even more ghastly looking. I liked his Lyja character but not the way she was introduced in the story as an Alicia impersonator. Paul Ryan at least made her the cutest Skrull in comics. I'd still like to see her and Johnny getting back together.


The only thing you could say was maybe Paul Ryan's style was a bit old school as compared to the up and coming Jim Lee and others.

well Lyja is cute, she made her most recent appearance in the shortlived Future Foundations series and it looked like they might hook her up with Alex Power.

[Snoop Dogg]

Ryan carried DeFalco's run on his back.

[Iron Maiden]

You can get it for free for a week. Binge watch all of the shows lol

I think I will do that. I was thinking about it....I should have done it when the offer was for a month for free!

[Iron Maiden]

well Lyja is cute, she made her most recent appearance in the shortlived Future Foundations series and it looked like they might hook her up with Alex Power.

That series is on my to be read list..... I had heard she was in it. I think Alex is a bit young for her though!

[Iron Maiden]

Ryan carried DeFalco's run on his back.

I think the last thing he did was a comic book version of the old newspaper strip of The Phantom ("The Ghost Who Walks") Supposed to be pretty good.

[Rzerox21xx]

That series is on my to be read list..... I had heard she was in it. I think Alex is a bit young for her though!

I think Alex been aged up a bit much like the rest of Future Foundation that accompanies Reed and Sue for some universe making post Secret wars.

[Iron Maiden]

I think Alex been aged up a bit much like the rest of Future Foundation that accompanies Reed and Sue for some universe making post Secret wars.

It's always fun to guess what everyone's ages are in a cast like the Fantastic Four, which has become multi-generational. Hickman made quite good use of Reed's father Nathaniel but he's disappeared into the timestream I suppose. I'm just going to randomly put him at 70. My head canon is to place Reed, Ben and Victor in their early forties. They've been around the block so to speak. I want to age Sue up a bit and put her at maybe 10 years younger then Reed. at around 32. Johnny's in his late twenties, somewhere close to Peter Parker since they are good friends. Alex could be in his early 20s these days I suppose. I'm just going to say Franklin and Valeria are teenagers and leave it at that! Or maybe Val could be 12. Be curious to see what others think.

[Frontier]

That would be an excellent idea. I have to go find EMH on YouTube....that was one of the best series they did. IIRC the FF were in a couple of episodes....for sure they were in the one with Doom.

One thing that was great about EMH is that, when they used other Marvel heroes/teams, they really did a good job of showcasing the characters and the core of what they're about. The FF and Doom were pretty awesome.

[CaptCleghorn]

It's always fun to guess what everyone's ages are in a cast like the Fantastic Four, which has become multi-generational. Hickman made quite good use of Reed's father Nathaniel but he's disappeared into the timestream I suppose. I'm just going to randomly put him at 70. My head canon is to place Reed, Ben and Victor in their early forties. They've been around the block so to speak. I want to age Sue up a bit and put her at maybe 10 years younger then Reed. at around 32. Johnny's in his late twenties, somewhere close to Peter Parker since they are good friends. Alex could be in his early 20s these days I suppose. I'm just going to say Franklin and Valeria are teenagers and leave it at that! Or maybe Val could be 12. Be curious to see what others think.

Those are pretty good estimates, except for Sue. Sue's Franklin's mother. She would have had to been old enough to marry and give birth without it being totally creepy. With Reed and Sue, we're talking closing in on 20 years since the rocket flight. That is counting the five years repopulating the multiverse. Doom and Nathaniel have done so much time jaunting, it's pretty irrelevant to pick a number. Reed's probably in his late forties and Sue is pushing 40. I pity the first villain she faces after she turns 40. (I'm kidding, I'm kidding. not really, though).

[Iron Maiden]

One thing that was great about EMH is that, when they used other Marvel heroes/teams, they really did a good job of showcasing the characters and the core of what they're about. The FF and Doom were pretty awesome.

I think that big smackdown sequence with Doom is the episode I remember the most (of course!)

[Iron Maiden]

Those are pretty good estimates, except for Sue. Sue's Franklin's mother. She would have had to been old enough to marry and give birth without it being totally creepy. With Reed and Sue, we're talking closing in on 20 years since the rocket flight. That is counting the five years repopulating the multiverse. Doom and Nathaniel have done so much time jaunting, it's pretty irrelevant to pick a number. Reed's probably in his late forties and Sue is pushing 40. I pity the first villain she faces after she turns 40. (I'm kidding, I'm kidding. not really, though).

I don't disagree that Sue could be older. She could be bumped up to 35 and I don't think there would be much disagreement about that

Nathaniel and Doom are the ones that could be just about any age, depending on when they came from. Didn't Hickman's New Avengers story posit that Doom when went into the past (since the Beyonders are linear and don't time travel) he spent 8 or 9 years finding and killing versions of the Molecule Man?

[CaptCleghorn]

I don't disagree that Sue could be older. She could be bumped up to 35 and I don't think there would be much disagreement about that

Nathaniel and Doom are the ones that could be just about any age, depending on when they came from. Didn't Hickman's New Avengers story posit that Doom when went into the past (since the Beyonders are linear and don't time travel) he spent 8 or 9 years finding and killing versions of the Molecule Man?

Doom and Nathaniel are weird cases. Victor is adept at the ,mystic arts and as Dr Strange has seemingly done, could extent his life that way. Additionally stories like the Millar mess have done bizarre stuff to his body and reformulation may be a factor as well. I go by the Lee/Kirby college tales and assume Vic, Reed, and Ben were all born in the same year or two. What happens after that is comic book pseudo-science.

Ages for the FF are an issue we love to get into and talk about a lot. But being the forerunners of the modern Marvel Universe, it's been a while since they stole that rocket. But Hickman (God bless him) gave Ben the immortality clause while he's rocky. Now couldn't the other FF members experience the same absence of aging when flamed on, invisible, or stretching? Just an idea to think about.

[Iron Maiden]

Doom and Nathaniel are weird cases. Victor is adept at the ,mystic arts and as Dr Strange has seemingly done, could extent his life that way. Additionally stories like the Millar mess have done bizarre stuff to his body and reformulation may be a factor as well. I go by the Lee/Kirby college tales and assume Vic, Reed, and Ben were all born in the same year or two. What happens after that is comic book pseudo-science.

Ages for the FF are an issue we love to get into and talk about a lot. But being the forerunners of the modern Marvel Universe, it's been a while since they stole that rocket. But Hickman (God bless him) gave Ben the immortality clause while he's rocky. Now couldn't the other FF members experience the same absence of aging when flamed on, invisible, or stretching? Just an idea to think about.

I really liked that story with Ben.


As for the aging process with the FF, I think that was covered some years ago. I'd have to go read that story again but it happens sometime before Byrne's run I think. I'll have to go look that up.

We know that Franklin will live for a very long time along with Galactus....until the next Big Bang that reboots everything. Valeria's future is unknown at this time, aside from that older version of her that Hickman used.

[CaptCleghorn]

I really liked that story with Ben.


As for the aging process with the FF, I think that was covered some years ago. I'd have to go read that story again but it happens sometime before Byrne's run I think. I'll have to go look that up.

We know that Franklin will live for a very long time along with Galactus....until the next Big Bang that reboots everything. Valeria's future is unknown at this time, aside from that older version of her that Hickman used.

The FF were aged by Skrulls in a Wolfman story which crossed over with Nova (Rider). I think they were boosted in powers, and maybe made younger than they started, but that's a guess based on my reticence to dig out old comics. I am pretty sure about the power boost though. Both Hickman and Waid have noted Franklin's longevity. I'd feel comfortable assuming that's a Marvel canonical thing now. As for Valeria, who knows at this point? She could go mystical slow aging, she could scientifically extend her age, or the adult Valeria in Hickmsan's story could just be the result of "normal" aging. But the kids' futures may be ever changing depending on writers and editors.

[Shadowcat]

I think I will do that. I was thinking about it....I should have done it when the offer was for a month for free!

If you have Verizon, you can get it free for a year. Or if you have a Roku stick, and someone else has a subscription, you can add it to that