X-Men/Fantastic Four #1: The Impossible Boy

[superboyprime]

"This book feels like the very first time I have really drawn a “Marvel" comic book story. This story feels like the kind of stories I remember reading from Marvel growing up – a very Marvel superhero story." - Terry Dodson

Comments

[angelophile]

Apparently this is one of those crossovers where everyone looks like terrible people?

[owlbrigade1]

Well it is impossible to make the mutants not look horrible without fundamentally changing the whole Krakoa-Mutant Supremacist thing, so the only option is to make anyone who protests them look utterly utterly utterly horrible.

[icon_uk]

However, it's also tricky to make NON-mutants in the MU look like anything other than genocidal monsters when hate-fuelled mobs are probably something you can put on your college application as "After School Activity" and most democratic governments have repeatedly tried to wipe out all mutantkind simply for the crime of existing. Project Wideawake anyone?

[mazway_75]

"I'm doing this for your own good."

Reed Richards, smartest man on the planet in sciences, the common sense of a Kardashian in parenting.

[mastermahan]

Reed seriously needs to run all parenting decisions past his wife first.

[scorntx]

His wife, his best friend, his other best friend (provided he hasn't alienated them that week), then his mailman, then Doctor Doom if he's in and answering the phone.

Then, maybe, Reed can trust his own opinion.

[mazway_75]

Seriously, Doom treated Kristoff with more respect than Reed has done with Franklin at times.

[scorntx]

Doctor Doom, who spends years not acknowledging Kristoff exists, and when he does tends to treat him as a spare memory drive or a Doombot with fleshy bits...
And yet that's still true.

[super_fly]

Dr Doom knows when kids need their bedtime

[scorntx]

In Latveria, all children get a Good Night's Sleep. Or else...

[gnarll]

Lumpkin as a source of advice to Reed on family and emotional issues is not a bad idea at all.

[scorntx]

That's why Lumpkin's right after Sue and Ben.
They're just quicker to reach.

[mastermahan]

I'm not sure I'd include T'Challa in that lineup. BP would probably be all in on Operation Alter Your Kid Without His Knowledge Or Consent.

[scorntx]

Depends on whether it's for the Greater Good of Wakanda, really.

[shakalooloo]

Hey, if a cult shows up at your doorstep and asks you to give them your child, and the child thinks it's a good idea, is it good parenting to just let them go?

[chalicother]

I don't see the X-men as a cult in this. Also the X-men have a point he is one of them and Kitty was going to give them a choice. Let's not even add that the X-men see his gift as something that should be nurtured , while the Fantastic Four may want them gone. I mean it would suck for me to know I had a life with my powers and may grow without it.

[shakalooloo]

The reader may not see the X-Men as a cult, but to the average person on the Marvel street, some mutants go away to an island and 'politely request' that all other mutants abandon their families to join them. Matching yellow and black uniforms optional.

[shadwing]

Reed also actively lied to Franklin, altered his body without his knowledge or consent, and took away his ability to choose.

Those are *very* harmful violations, and coming from his own FATHER is even worse. Sure Reed might have had misgivings about the new Mutant Nation (who doesn't?) and had the best intentions. But his actions directly led to Franklin leaving ANYWAY, I mean if Franklin was on the fence before....Reed's actions here pretty much told Franklin "I don't trust you to make your own choices about your own life so I'm taking these choices away for your own good."

[liliaeth]

And it's not like this is the first time that Reed has messed with Franklin's body in regards to his powers. Add to that how his parents utterly refuse to understand Franklin's worries about losing his powers, nor do they treat them as valid.

[palgrave_goldenrod]

Gotta be entirely fair to Reed here -- Franklin's thirteen, and like shakalooloo says, there's a distinct cult-vibe going on with the X-Men.

Reed didn't go about it the right way by any means, but I think most parents would agree that a thirteen-year-old's "ability to choose" definitely doesn't and shouldn't include "choosing against their parents' wishes to join an organisation that isn't exactly trying hard not to come across as a benevolently sinister cult".

[shadwing]

Yeah I have no problem with Reed's objections to Franklin leaving, but his methods just blew up in his face BIG TIME.

His actions is trying to keep Franklin from leaving pretty much *guaranteed* Franklin leaving and if/when he does come back he's not likely to trust his father as far as he could throw him.

[jlbarnett]

finally the proper reaction

[lilacsigil]

No. But it's also not a good idea to put tracking devices in your child and alter their body to keep them away from a group of people they belong to but you dislike.

[shakalooloo]

Given that the X-Men themselves give a warning of groups that try to target and kill mutants, having a device that hides Franklin from mutant-detecting Sentinels seems like a good move. They haven't taken away his powers, merely masked him from those that might hunt him.

[silverhammerman]

I'm firmly on the FF's side here, since I still don't think wanting to prevent their 13 year old kid from going, uaccompanied, to Definitely-Not-A-Sex-Cult-We-Promise-But-Also-You-Can't-Visit Island is particularly unreasonable, nor is preventing him from using the Krakoan portals, given that he's a child. I'm still waiting to see some pushback to the FF's viewpoint that actually makes sense.

As a minor note here, I was surprised to see Valeria referred to as a regular human. I'd always sort of assumed that Valeria's intelligence was an actual superpower, given that even by the standards of comicbook scientists she's ludicrously intelligent. I mean, if it's not a superpower, how else is it supposed to work? Good genes? Because then she's basically an ubermensch, and that's a little problematic.

[shadwing]

Oh I do agree that letting Frankin go to Krakoa un-attended would not be a good idea. Its Reed's methods that people are having trouble with those are not cool, not cool at all.

I mean did Reed or Sue even TRY to talk to Franklin about this before the X-Men showed up? Cuz they knew the X-Men would show up and try to talk Frankin into going to Krakoa, so if they did try to talk to him and it didn't work then the whole "Prevent him from leaving" makes sense. If not....ugh.

[gnarll]

It is possible she has non-mutant powers like her parents do.

[obsidianwolf]

Ah yes Franklin's family is perfectly justified in wanting to keep him away from red flag island.

However, once again Reed has proven himself to be a controlling abusive dick of epic proportions in how he handled things.

So first commenter angelophile is right one of those crossovers where everyone is horrible so standard marvel policy these days everyone sucks.

[jlbarnett]

the island has non-gate ways of reaching it and the leader of the group has mind control abilities

[obsidianwolf]

Which Reed can easily circumvent since we've seen in the past Reed has tech that can monitor the brain waves of the FF and sound the alert if they are altered.

Keeping Franklin off Krakoa is perfectly understandable desire and as his parents they should have final say about that.

However, Franklin is old enough for his parents to talk to him about it and explain their point of view. Not secretly alter his body and shove trackers into him.

With all this anti-“human” sentiment, I’m surprised they didn’t force Jubilee to give up Sho

[deh_tommy]

“But you’re... you’re human!”

“And, as far as Krakoa is concerned, so are you. Yet here we are. Your point?”

[blueprintstyles]

I thought it telling that Reed didn't consult the mutants about Franklin's diminishing power before this, figuring out how powers work and how to make them grow is issue 1 of the x men franchise.

[deepspaceartist]

Maybe if Franklin's powers were just normal stuff like the rest of the FF's he would have. But I can't really disagree with the his notion that maybe just letting Franklin's powers dry up and be gone is the best plan. There are precious few people who I would trust with cosmic level reality alteration powers to begin with, and quite frankly 'human teenager' is about as far from that group as you can get without getting into 'actually evil' territory.

Also the last few times the X-Men received phenomenal cosmic power it sucked for everyone, so I also can't blame Reed for not wanting a repeat performance. And the fact that they're actively seeking the cosmic power is the biggest red flag in existence.

[obsidianwolf]

Which is a very good argument that Reed could be making in an age appropriate way to Franklin but he's not he's unilaterally making the decision and ignoring how Franklin feels about things. Which is a recipe for disaster.

I mean given the FF has even used Franklin's powers to save the day multiple times and once let their much younger daughter live with Doctor Doom it is no wonder Franklin is begging to rebel at this rate Valeria's one time prediction that Franklin might end up no longer speaking to Reed at all is starting to look very likely.

Not to mention how reckless it is to just decide to let Franklin's powers fade without doing all the investigation possible of what's going on for several reasons. Number one Franklin's powers have done a fade before and then come back so there's a chance they will again only next time Franklin may not trust his family at all to deal with any issues that show up and two Reed should be looking into the possible health effects of whats going on what if this weakening goes beyond his phenomenal cosmic powers and starts affecting his health.

Not to mention the mental effects of loosing his powers. HOw many mutants have we seen lose their powers and end up suicidal or under take dangerous experiments to get their powers back.

[shadwing]

There is also the possibility that the suppression of Frankin's Mutant Gene could ALSO be the reason why his powers are fading/not working right. Reed's tinkering and not realizing that COULD be effecting his sons powers/health doesn't make him look any better.

And given what we now know in X-Men 7 about how depowered mutants can have their powers restored via the resurrection protocols, and its horrifying and its looking like people are WILLING to do it should be telling Reed about the possible outcome of just letter Franklin's power fade "For his own good"

[deepspaceartist]

Honestly, considering Xavier's (and heck, Magneto, Emma, Cyclops and any of the rest of Krakoa's leadership) track record of keeping kids at his schools alive, would you want to send your child to him?

[zachbeacon]

So Magneto and the Thing are lecturing the other group about the dangers of your enemies attacking your home? Glass Houses, guys.

[jlbarnett]

Reed should have claimed he did that so no one could try to drag him there.

[gnarll]

So.

Why do they keep taking Magneto on diplomatic missions? Stop helping, Eric!
-Magneto does show considerable restraint when Susan goes off, and he is one of the few
people who can go even with her.
-Magneto is in his "good Magneto" X-man uniform at the start but changes to his white uniform
for the mission, and he dislikes white. What does this symbolize?

Didn't Ororo and Logan use to be members of the Fantastic Four? You'd think they'd be better welcomed.

Kitty can phase through Susans shield? Major props, thats generally a pretty hardened force field.

This may be the first time I've seen Franklin consider that being a mutant can mean enemies. Reed and Sue never seems to have been worried about Sentinels, and now we know why. Yeah, Reed would do that. You know, Susan could ask Namor to go with him to Krakoa and keep an eye on him.

Some good callbacks to the original X.Men/FF series. But the question remains: Will Rogue get her clothes off in this one?

[phantomfo]

Wolverine also once slashed Ben's face off. It fits that Ben might not be as friendly with him as he is with Storm.

[gnarll]

You know, I don't think Reed and Sue comes across very well here on another level:

Their son is of a recognized minority that is severely persecuted. Not just legally persecuted, the government builds giant death robots to kill them, theres been more than one attempt at concentration camps and the governments also quietly funded death squads. Thats pretty severe persecution.

The FF, a group that normally does not hesitate to stand up for people and causes do what - they do nothing. They hack Franklins biology so he is not detectable as a mutant and then sit back and ignore the persecution of his people. The people Johnny calls "Muties".

The FF could do a lot for mutants in terms of their wealth, popularity, acceptance and Reeds brains. They don't. Their strategy seems to be keeping their heads down until the rest of mutantkind is dead. Their instant hostility here seems like they have been fearing this for a while.

I do wonder if Johnnys children will be mutants.

[shadowpsykie]

you know... tech like that could have been useful to mutants all those times they were being tracked and murdered for their genes....