The Fantastic Four Appreciation 2021

[Crimz]

Reminds me of how Paul Tobin basically wrote his Marvel Adventures FF run with Sue as the leader...and I think she was like co-leader of his Avengers team with Cap?

Although I feel like even if they made Sue the leader Reed would still probably be the one driving the plot the most or coming up with what everyone has to do to save the day.

Maybe, but she would be in a better position for that not to happen and for her not to be treated like wallpaper. Writers may still have him center everything but Sue as leader provides an alternative to that and some writers will capitalize on it.

[Dermie]

Mentioned this in another thread, but Sue should be the leader of the team. Reed doesn't need to lead and the way he constantly keeps life-threatening secrets from everyone makes him a bad one. Sue is constantly put in the background and being the leader would benefit the character and give her actual story arcs. While Reed honestly doesn't need the role, it doesn't negatively impact the character or what he does at all to no longer lead the team.

Sue has proven before that she can certainly handle the role as team leader. The problem is that they are all so used to following Reed's lead that even if they decided to officially appoint Sue as team leader, they would still default back into it--Reed would jump in with his solutions by force of habit, and Sue would either let him (making the change in leadership moot) or it would become a source of friction and conflict between them with her pushing back on Reed undermining her authority.

We saw a version of that play out during Reed and Sue's brief stint as active Avengers as well. Reed is so used to just taking charge and applying his own solutions that he ended up undermining Captain America's authority as team leader--and Cap had to put him back in his place a couple of times. Its probably one of the reasons their stint as Avengers was so brief--Reed just couldn't get used to being expected to wait for someone else's orders before acting on his latest brainwave.

Sue absolutely makes an ideal in Reed's absence...but for better or worse the link between Reed's roles as the "big brain" and "guy in charge" have been firmly linked for so long I just don't think they would successfully be able to transition to a different team leader while Reed is still in the group.

[Crimz]

Sue has proven before that she can certainly handle the role as team leader. The problem is that they are all so used to following Reed's lead that even if they decided to officially appoint Sue as team leader, they would still default back into it--Reed would jump in with his solutions by force of habit, and Sue would either let him (making the change in leadership moot) or it would become a source of friction and conflict between them with her pushing back on Reed undermining her authority.

We saw a version of that play out during Reed and Sue's brief stint as active Avengers as well. Reed is so used to just taking charge and applying his own solutions that he ended up undermining Captain America's authority as team leader--and Cap had to put him back in his place a couple of times. Its probably one of the reasons their stint as Avengers was so brief--Reed just couldn't get used to being expected to wait for someone else's orders before acting on his latest brainwave.

Sue absolutely makes an ideal in Reed's absence...but for better or worse the link between Reed's roles as the "big brain" and "guy in charge" have been firmly linked for so long I just don't think they would successfully be able to transition to a different team leader while Reed is still in the group.

I'm kind of banking on that friction tbh. It would not be an easy transition and Reed stepping on Sue's toes could provide for interesting drama for the pair that isn't the usual drama about secrets or Namor. Sue growing into the role and Reed learning to let her lead should definitely be part of it.

[CaptCleghorn]

Maybe, but she would be in a better position for that not to happen and for her not to be treated like wallpaper. Writers may still have him center everything but Sue as leader provides an alternative to that and some writers will capitalize on it.

Reed is the team leader while Sue is the undeniable head of the family. For leadership talents of dealing with team members and evoking faith and trust in the team, Sue certainly and easily surpasses Reed. But when it comes time to know what's what and what will work best, Reed surpasses Sue. Now whether that makes Sue a leader and Reed a tactical officer is debatable. I do love debate. But the FF is a small, close-knit group where a leadership position as stated is less important than in a larger more diverse group like the X-Men or the Avengers. Declaring Sue a leader is a lot like a team captain where a player gets a C on their uniform and it's a symbol of the respect the other players have for them. My opinion, anyway. Feel free to disagree.

[Frontier]

Maybe, but she would be in a better position for that not to happen and for her not to be treated like wallpaper. Writers may still have him center everything but Sue as leader provides an alternative to that and some writers will capitalize on it.

I don't think she needs leadership to not be wallpaper, just a writer that cares about writing more about Sue. It's the same for Johnny and Ben.

[Crimz]

Reed is the team leader while Sue is the undeniable head of the family. For leadership talents of dealing with team members and evoking faith and trust in the team, Sue certainly and easily surpasses Reed. But when it comes time to know what's what and what will work best, Reed surpasses Sue. Now whether that makes Sue a leader and Reed a tactical officer is debatable. I do love debate. But the FF is a small, close-knit group where a leadership position as stated is less important than in a larger more diverse group like the X-Men or the Avengers. Declaring Sue a leader is a lot like a team captain where a player gets a C on their uniform and it's a symbol of the respect the other players have for them. My opinion, anyway. Feel free to disagree.

I definitely don't think it's important to the characters themselves but outside of that I think it would influence how writers would go about the writing the team. That simple change in leadership could lead to Sue being used more and having story arc revolves around her. It gives her a solid role with story potential and that's something she sorely needs.

I don't think she needs leadership to not be wallpaper, just a writer that cares about writing more about Sue. It's the same for Johnny and Ben.

But most of the writer on the FF don't and haven't for decades. Waiting for a writer to come along who wants to write important story arcs for Sue or Johnny is not guaranteed. Giving the role of leader at least makes it harder to make her wallpaper.

[Iron Maiden]

No F4 35 preview? It comes out next week.

The previews are usually released to various news sites either the Thursday or Friday before they issue hits. Sometimes an issue will get a special preview that comes out earlier than that but with no dialog

[Thundershot]

I loved DeFalco’s FF when Sue was the leader and Reed presumed dead. She really stepped up and showed everyone what she had. Unfortunately she also showed off a lot of flesh in the process lol.. But we’ll blame Malice for that. In fact, when Reed returned, she took charge and made him uncomfortable. It was great. I wish she had remained the leader.

[danielsan52]

I loved DeFalco’s FF when Sue was the leader and Reed presumed dead. She really stepped up and showed everyone what she had. Unfortunately she also showed off a lot of flesh in the process lol.. But we’ll blame Malice for that. In fact, when Reed returned, she took charge and made him uncomfortable. It was great. I wish she had remained the leader.

My most favorite version of Sue ever.

[Frontier]

I definitely don't think it's important to the characters themselves but outside of that I think it would influence how writers would go about the writing the team. That simple change in leadership could lead to Sue being used more and having story arc revolves around her. It gives her a solid role with story potential and that's something she sorely needs.

But most of the writer on the FF don't and haven't for decades. Waiting for a writer to come along who wants to write important story arcs for Sue or Johnny is not guaranteed. Giving the role of leader at least makes it harder to make her wallpaper.

I understand where you're coming from but I don't think forcing the issue will necessarily lead to better writing unless the actual writer cares about Sue to begin with, otherwise her leadership would be in-name-only or they'd write her as a bad leader. And then there's still the rest of the FF.

[Ravin' Ray]

Sue should give the Fantastix serious training if she's still into the mentoring young heroes thing.

[LAWtoyoto 432]

Remember when Ben buys a lot of alarm clocks. Well, because every time when he awake, he immediate crush the clock like a rock.
The Thing 2.jpg
The Thing.jpg

[Digifiend]

Sue should give the Fantastix serious training if she's still into the mentoring young heroes thing.

Speaking of which, shouldn't Outlawed have affected the Fantastix? They'd actually have been required to get a mentor.

[Digifiend]

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...21-2022-reveal

Dan Slott is joined by Carlos Pacheco and Rachael Stott for Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four: Reckoning War, an epic saga over 15 years in the making. The original secret war of the Marvel Universe has been reignited and every living being in reality is in danger, for we are finally at…Our Day Of Reckoning.

[Will Evans]

Speaking of which, shouldn't Outlawed have affected the Fantastix? They'd actually have been required to get a mentor.

Weren’t they over 21 by then? They were early college students during The Initiative, so I figure they’re over 21 by now.


Reckoning War: so will we see the return of Gauntlet, Southpaw, Armory and a new Grasshopper?