{"id":5089,"date":"2020-02-09T21:28:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T21:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=5089"},"modified":"2020-02-09T21:28:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T21:28:54","slug":"x-men-fantastic-four-1-annotations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=5089","title":{"rendered":"X-Men \/ Fantastic Four #1 annotations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVER \/ PAGE 1.<\/strong> Franklin Richards, with Kate Pryde and Sue Storm behind him (each with a hand on his shoulder), and behind them, Professor X and Storm. The title shown on the cover is X-Men + Fantastic Four<\/em>, but I’ll go with the solicitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 2.<\/strong> Recap – which in this case means spelling out the status quo of the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Reflecting its semi-X-book status, this issue keeps some of the stylistic quirks of the Hickman-era X-books but eschews the monochrome in favour of a yellow and white colour scheme. It’s worth mentioning that this series isn’t edited by the X-office but by Fantastic Four<\/em> editor Tom Brevoort. It’s the most significant interaction with the rest of the Marvel Universe that the X-Men have had since House of X<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

PAGES 3-4.<\/strong> Franklin Richards recaps his life and status quo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Franklin Richards<\/strong> is the son of Fantastic Four members Reed and Sue Richards. We saw him in House of X<\/em> #1, when Cyclops was transparently pitching for him to come to Krakoa and claiming that mutants were his real<\/em> family. This series picks up on that thread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m a few months behind on Fantastic Four<\/em>, since I’m reading it on Unlimited, but as far as I know this is a pretty straight summary of his status quo. The first panel is a generic flashback to Franklin’s infancy (though for some reason Franklin identifies his mother by her maiden name); the second is equally generic, and yes, Franklin really did wear that 4-and-a-half costume for a while. As a child, his power was to see the future in dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third panel is Franklin recreating the multiverse at the conclusion of Hickman’s Secret Wars<\/em>. As Franklin says, he’s traditionally been presented as a major character in the Marvel Universe, but right now, he has a finite amount of power which he can’t replenish, so if he keeps using his powers, eventually they’ll run out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 5.<\/strong> Credits. This is “The Impossible Boy”, written by Chip Zdarsky, drawn by Terry & Rachel Dodson, with colours by Laura Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recap talks as if Franklin is the only<\/em> mutant not to be on Krakoa, which is obviously an overstatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGES 6-10.<\/strong> The Marauders arrive on Krakoa. Kate is enlisted to help recruit Franklin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marauders.<\/strong> So let’s deal with the big continuity question: when exactly is this supposed to be happening? It doesn’t fit perfectly anywhere, but the main considerations here are (a) the Marauders exist, (b) Kate Pryde is there, and calling herself Kate, and (c) Pyro doesn’t have the huge facial tattoo that he picked up in Marauders<\/em> #2. If we assume there are no art errors, that really only leaves two options. The first is that this takes place after Kate returns from her apparent death in Marauders<\/em> #6 (with Pyro getting rid of his tattoo at some point, perhaps via resurrection). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other is that it takes place between Marauders<\/em> #1-2, which is awkward but not too <\/em>awkward – X-Force<\/em> already shoehorned an extra Marauders mission into that gap, so there’s no real problem with another one. Bishop would have to be torn away from his mission in Marauders<\/em> #1, but that’s not impossible. Kate has dropped the pirate accoutrements from her costume for no apparent reason, but she could<\/em>. (It would make more sense for her to do this for Franklin’s purposes.) The only outright error is that she ought to have a bandage on her nose, and that’s pretty minor. (The script says nothing about Kate’s choice of costume, so presumably Dodson has simply drawn her with the reference he was given.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kid Omega.<\/strong> Quentin helpfully reminds us – and Fantastic Four<\/em> readers – that Kate can’t go through the Krakoan gates. (He also calls her “Kitty” to annoy her.) The other guy who’s joining him on the trip to London isn’t identifiable in the art, but according to the script, it’s meant to be Daken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles and Magneto’s meeting room.<\/strong> According to the script, this is meant to be the same room where they briefed Cyclops in House of X <\/em>#3-4. Hence the image of Franklin appearing from a pool of water, as in those issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recruiting Franklin Richards.<\/strong> As Charles points out, the X-Men have been aware of Franklin for years, and they’ve never previously tried to recruit him. He and Magneto cite two main reasons for why things are different now. First, thanks to time travel shenanigans, Franklin is now a teenager, ready to make his own decisions. Second, something is wrong with his powers, and they want to help him and see if the problem might affect other mutants too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether we should take this explanation at face value is a little doubtful. Magneto certainly seems a little smug when he thanks Kate for agreeing to help. (The script describes him as “unsetlling” and “cocky”.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House of X <\/em>#1 had a data page which listed Franklin among the known Omega level mutants and said that “it is a current priority for the mutant nation of Krakoa to protect and nurture its greatest natural resource: Omega level mutants. All efforts are to be expended in order to secure the future of the state.” Franklin was the only person on the list who was identified as allied with humans. Almost everyone else on the list is actively allied with Krakoa (Jamie Braddock, Iceman, Elixir, Marvel Girl, Magneto, Proteus, Storm, Exodus, Kid Omega, Vulcan and Hope). There are still two Omega mutants who haven’t surfaced in the Hickman run: Mr M, and Legion. So if you wanted to think that the X-Men have other reasons for wanting to get Franklin to Krakoa… well, House of X <\/em>#1 has literally told you so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, this issue raises a tension which has been present in the X-Men’s set-up in recent years. The vast majority of mutants are first generation, and so in coming to Krakoa (or, before that, coming to study with the X-Men), they’re presumably leaving a whole other life behind. No doubt some of them were rejected by their parents, or had powers so dangerous that they needed mentoring, or were so visible as mutants that they were persecuted in the outside world… but not all of them. Despite that, few characters have shown any signs of divided loyalties or of wanting to maintain contact with the outside world. Franklin, who has peculiarly little need for anything the X-Men can offer, is a good character with which to explore all that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The history of Kitty and Franklin.<\/strong> This calls back to the first Fantastic Four vs X-Men<\/em> miniseries, from 1987. If you haven’t read it (and it’s on Marvel Unlimited), it’s basically four extra issues of Uncanny X-Men<\/em> – it’s written by Chris Claremont and it deals with a major X-Men storyline, namely Kitty losing control of her phasing powers after the Mutant Massacre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plot basically involves Reed Richards failing to save her after a crisis of confidence, and the X-Men accepting an offer from Dr Doom instead. Doom seems to want to cure Kitty partly in order to get the X-Men in his debt, and partly to prove his superiority over Reed. The key scenes so far as we’re concerned come in issues #3 and #4, where Kitty decides to kill herself rather than let Doom exploit her. (Killing herself, in this context, means leaving her life support system and allowing herself to drift apart.) Little Franklin shows up as an astral projection, befriends Kitty, talks her down from suicide, and then helps to talk sense into the X-Men and the Fantastic Four when they’re having the obligatory fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fantastic Four vs X-Men<\/em> seems to be a key reference point as far as this series is concerned. In that series, Franklin and Kitty were the bridge between the two teams, and the characters who rejected the argument that was preoccupying everyone else. Their role here seems somewhat similar, with Franklin torn between the two and Kate offering to support him instead of pushing him to come to Krakoa. And of course Kate herself, with her inability to use the gates, is a semi-detached member of Krakoan society at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wolverine.<\/strong> Logan pops up briefly to ask Kitty if she’s going to do what was asked of her. It’s notable that he seems to regard this as a decision for her, which implies that he’s rather equivocal about the official line too. But he does shoot down the particular point that Kitty offers, about Franklin being too young – which certainly is a bad point considering the number of other kids already on Krakoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGES 11-12.<\/strong> Reed can’t figure out how to cure Franklin.<\/em> Franklin is annoyed; Sue offers Reed support.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed takes the line (though not to Franklin’s face) that even if he can’t be cured, there’s nothing wrong with just winding up as a human. Sue makes the point that Franklin isn’t just losing his powers but the future as a major player that everyone has always been bracing him for; it goes to his identity in a more fundamental way. Note that this analysis is not particularly<\/em> about Franklin being a mutant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 13.<\/strong> Data page, though not in the X-books’ usual design. Basically, Reed Richards notes a theory that superhumans get their power (which would otherwise break the law of conservation of energy) from some sort of interdimensional energy source. The suggestion is that something has happened to interfere with Franklin’s connection to this “Godpower”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed credits this theory to Rachna Koul<\/strong>, a character from Zdarsky’s run on Marvel Two-in-One<\/em>. She ran a clinic where she claimed to be able to fix problems with anyone’s superpowers, at a high price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGES 14-15.<\/strong> Franklin and Ben discuss why Reed can’t fix them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Franklin makes clear that he’s not accusing his father of deliberately <\/em>failing to cure them, but does suggest that he may have some sort of mental block – he doesn’t really want Franklin to be so powerful, he doesn’t really want the FF to lose the Thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGES 16-20.<\/strong> The X-Men and the Fantastic Four argue about Franklin, and about the X-Men’s whole direction.<\/em> Kitty and Franklin sneak off.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that Professor X and Magneto actually show up in person for this mission tells you what a high priority it is – though bringing Magneto seems a bizarre decision in terms of the likely reaction from the Fantastic Four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understandably, Reed and Sue are a bit put out by the X-Men casually insisting that Franklin’s mutant nature is an overriding consideration, though they’re also playing the role of the parents being overly controlling towards a teenager who’s able to take his own decisions. Equally, the X-Men are written as caring exclusively about what<\/em> Franklin is, and not who<\/em> he is – or rather, as seeing the two as interchangeable. (Franklin certainly takes it that way, since he says in the next scene that nobody<\/em> cares what he thinks – he obviously doesn’t find the X-Men’s pitch especially empowering.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Nearly every mutant on the planet is on Krakoa now.”<\/strong> This surely can’t be literally right, not least because helping mutants find their way to Krakoa is part of the premise of Marauders<\/em>. More generally, the idea that “nearly every” mutant is up for leaving friends and family to move to the happy island defies belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genosha.<\/strong> The Thing isn’t the first character to point this out, but the history of mutant nations on island is pretty catastrophic. From the perspective of the outside world, and arguably from the X-Men’s perspective too, there’s no real reason to have such confidence that things will go better this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGES 21-28.<\/strong> The X-Men and the FF go after Franklin and fight; Franklin tries to go through the gates but finds that Reed has secretly done something to him so that the gates don’t work.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all know how these stories usually work – the X-Men and the Fantastic Four are being unreasonable, Franklin and Kate represent the middle way of compromise, in the end they will be proved right. So far, so good, with Kate positioning herself as the character who will defend Franklin against pressure. She’s also the only person to point out that the Krakoan gate is very convenient, so that Franklin doesn’t really have to choose at all; he can do both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s strange that the rest of the X-Men don’t<\/em> take this line, which is surely an obvious low-conflict pitch to the FF – though Charles does try to stop Magneto escalating things even further. Reed reiterates the point that there’s something a little bit suspect about Charles’s urgency to the press the issue. He’s probably right about that, but interfering with Franklin’s mutant gene is just weirdly controlling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some reason, Franklin just passes straight through the gate. This is probably a continuity error, since we saw in Marauders<\/em> #1 that Kitty experienced the gate as a brick wall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGES 29-30.<\/strong> Valeria sides with Franklin. Everyone else yells at Reed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the emotionally illiterate take on Reed – which is interesting, since in the original Fantastic Four vs X-Men<\/em>, his human connection with Franklin is a key plot point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGES 31-34.<\/strong> Franklin and Valeria stow away aboard the Marauders, promptly attracting the attention of Dr Doom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doom was the main villain in the original series too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valeria is usually portrayed as hyper-intelligent, but this is apparently meant to be trait inherited from her father, not a mutant power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition. COVER \/ PAGE 1. Franklin Richards, with Kate Pryde and Sue Storm behind him (each with a hand on his shoulder), and behind them, Professor X and Storm. The title shown on the cover is X-Men + Fantastic Four, but I’ll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-annotations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5090,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5089\/revisions\/5090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}