Originally Posted by
CaptCleghorn
As to the confidence attitude, Slott has used that a lot in the first arc. That can be reflected as a quiet confidence, a cocky attitude, or a spiritual faith. They've always come back, but so has pretty much everybody else in superhero comic books. Johnny's potentially cocky. Ben never gives up. Reed has a Kirkian disbelief in a "no-win" scenario.
I think the FF's celebrity status has been underutilized. That's a potential part of their mystique that most modern writer have ignored and that's a shame. Would Johnny be a child-star train wreck, or would he shape up, even if being a little (or a lot) silly?
You are bringing up many good points here and although i suspect we may end up at an I like A; you like B impasse, the conversation has merit.