World's Greatest Comic: The Fantastic Four Appreciation 2022

[CaptCleghorn]

While I fully understand the fear of losing the kids, my belief is that they will be there when the team (reassembles can the FF assemble, or is that only the Avengers?). I think North's playing a longer game by using the first few issues to mainly get his handle on the characters out there. Superheroes and spouses first, then parents. Slott wielded the "family" aspect of the book like a nuclear weapon with no sense of subtlety. People are mutli-faceted. They are one thing with their spouses, another with their kids, and another at work.

I love Ryan North's work. USG was a truly great book which despite its unusual stylings, was in many ways a love letter to what heroes should be. I had a lot of faith when his name was first linked with the book and his first two issues have solidified my faith.

[ComicNoobie]

I am fine with teenage Franklin...I just wish they would give him a life outside his family. Give him friends with names, a girlfriend, maybe reconnect him with Power Pack.

I'd enjoy this a lot. Especially reconnecting with Power Pack, I wanna see where their ages are at these days.

I am actually worried about Ben and Alicia kids too. I really like Joe and kalla and hope to see them again. i am hopeful as they are missing which i think is tied to i want to say reckoning but i would actually have to check my library but i remember the issue where reed sent them off but i can't remember which one and there is no assured way they can be found but i do have hope in that for the ff to be a family again this has to be solved.

Let's hope they'll appear later. Ben can't lose his new family.

[Chris0013]

I'd enjoy this a lot. Especially reconnecting with Power Pack, I wanna see where their ages are at these days.

I worked this out in the Power Pack Appreciation Thread during the Outlawed storyline...

Have they been consistent with the Power kids ages?

Originally....
Alex (12)
Julie (10)
Jack (8)
Katie Power (5)

Now...I get that age really depends on what the writer wants for kids and the story...but these are siblings...and Alex traipsing thru the timestream aside...age progression should be a constant.

For this argument I will use Julie as the baseline. Originally she was 10 years old...and in FF Vol 6 # 12 she mentions flunking out of college...so I would say that at a minimum she is 18-19 years old. Add in that it is mentioned by Alex in this series that he is months away from being 21 and can be the team's "mentor". So...8 years at minimum for Julie from 10 to 18 would put Jack at 16ish and Katie at 13ish...plus or minus based on actual time between births. But Katie and Jack seem to be written in this series as being much younger.

[ComicNoobie]

I worked this out in the Power Pack Appreciation Thread during the Outlawed storyline...

I haven't read Outlawed, I heard they made a mini about it. I miss Power Pack, I wish they'd appear more. There was a time they were close with the Fantastic Four because of Franklin and all. I can't recall Franklin ever mentioning them as of late.

[Chris0013]

I haven't read Outlawed, I heard they made a mini about it. I miss Power Pack, I wish they'd appear more. There was a time they were close with the Fantastic Four because of Franklin and all. I can't recall Franklin ever mentioning them as of late.

There was Power Pack limited series tied into Outlawed. It was fun. You should see if you can get it.

[Darkshadow]

If anyone actually read the intro/title pages, you'd know the kids are fine.

[ARkadelphia]

If anyone actually read the intro/title pages, you'd know the kids are fine.

If you had read this thread, you would have seen that this was mentioned already

[Ravin' Ray]

I do wonder though if Earth still has an agency that oversees all resident ET that would make the Grimm children fall under its jurisdiction and forced Ben and Alicia to hand them over to trusted friends for safekeeping.

So now an entire town of Doombots unaware of their true nature and living as normal humans… can't see that veneer of normalcy lasting in the long term.

[CaptCleghorn]

I do wonder though if Earth still has an agency that oversees all resident ET that would make the Grimm children fall under its jurisdiction and forced Ben and Alicia to hand them over to trusted friends for safekeeping.

This would not go over well.

Ben: "This is where you calm me down so I don't clobber them, right, "Licia?"
Alicia; "I'm sorry Ben, did you say something?"
Ben "It's Clob..."

So now an entire town of Doombots unaware of their true nature and living as normal humans… can't see that veneer of normalcy lasting in the long term.

I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. With the bots duplicating and making themselves unknown to anyone else, this sounds like a great way for Doom to make headway into just about anywhere.

The way you mention this made me think of the similarities between this and the Ben/Alicia story.

[Frontier]

I haven't read Outlawed, I heard they made a mini about it. I miss Power Pack, I wish they'd appear more. There was a time they were close with the Fantastic Four because of Franklin and all. I can't recall Franklin ever mentioning them as of late.

There was Power Pack limited series tied into Outlawed. It was fun. You should see if you can get it.

I would also recommend the Outlawed mini! It was even written by Ryan North who is currently writing FF .

[Oberon]

I remember a long ago story where the FF took a mini vacation together and "something happened".lagoon.jpg

[CaptCleghorn]

I haven't read Outlawed, I heard they made a mini about it. I miss Power Pack, I wish they'd appear more. There was a time they were close with the Fantastic Four because of Franklin and all. I can't recall Franklin ever mentioning them as of late.

Alex spent five years with the Richards and the Future Foundation repopulating the multiverse. When they returned to their Earth, it was Dan Slott's book and he removed the Future Foundation from being supporting cast. Julie also participated in the Future Foundation's mini-series. We haven't seen a non-Slott Franklin in a while so mentioning the characters removed from supporting status seems unlikely. But in any case, the Power family and the Fantastic Four are fairly well acquainted.

[4theEarth]

I’d be good with a middle-school-aged Franklin

lordy, please no.

[4theEarth]

While I fully understand the fear of losing the kids, my belief is that they will be there when the team (reassembles can the FF assemble, or is that only the Avengers?). I think North's playing a longer game by using the first few issues to mainly get his handle on the characters out there. Superheroes and spouses first, then parents. Slott wielded the "family" aspect of the book like a nuclear weapon with no sense of subtlety. People are mutli-faceted. They are one thing with their spouses, another with their kids, and another at work.

I love Ryan North's work. USG was a truly great book which despite its unusual stylings, was in many ways a love letter to what heroes should be. I had a lot of faith when his name was first linked with the book and his first two issues have solidified my faith.

Longer game indeed and my post pointed to focus not erasure. What does all here think of the FF page bullet points

the Fantastic Four are Fun
The Fantastic Four are Adventurers
The Fantastic Four Can do Anything
The Fantastic Four are Accessible

The last one goes to the kids question as I see it in that it really does not want to be too soap oprea and bound to the melodrama of a cast and its complexes. And that goes to point one as well - angst and teens equals melodrama that other books can go and do if you like that sort of thing.

[Magmaster12]

I had a random thought that maybe Franklin would be a good fit for Miles' supporting cast maybe he could have a simular relation to him that Johnny has with Peter.