Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Speaking of starts, this is a brand-new one for Fantastic Four and for Marvel in general as the Heroic Age begins. You might say this time in comics is… foundational.

What’s all this, then? The Heroic Age was a crossover that’s not a crossover, but more of a soft reboot for Marvel. Fans had spoken up loud enough against all the violence and darkness of Civil War and its follow-ups like Secret Invasion and Dark Reign. Plus, the Marvel movies were in full swing now, so Heroic Age gave us a new Avengers series from heavy-hitters Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr., intended to get movie fans into comic bookstores. It’s also a new direction for Fantastic Four, albeit one that the creators had been building up to for a while.

Recap: After some foreshadowing about four cities in conflict, we eventually encountered them – the High Evolutionary’s underground kingdom, a lost tribe of Atlantis living in isolation in Antarctica, an offshoot of the Inhumans living on the moon, and the former Negative Zone prison now ruled by Annihilus and his insectoid army. We’ve also met a bunch of new characters, children who’ve come to stay at the new Baxter Building – mutants Artie and Leech, three intelligent Moloids, and a young clone of supervillain the Wizard.

We begin with Reed speaking at the Singularity Conference. He said when this annual conference started ten years earlier, it was just a few scientists with a plan to solve not just today’s problems, but the future’s. It has now grown into a huge event with its own campus in Colorado. Rather than praise the scientists, though, Reed criticizes them for growing too old and stale, and not thinking big enough. Rather than debate population control, Reed urges them to look to the stars. He announces his resignation as a member, saying there are more discoveries to be made.

At the Baxter Building, Alex Power, formerly of Power Pack and now somewhere around 18-ish (let’s not get into how comic book characters age), is arriving with all his bags packed. He says he’s seen “the roster” and he fears he’ll be the dumbest person there. Reed says Alex brings experience and perspective, which will be invaluable. In Old Atlantic deep beneath the Arctic, Sue acts in her role as ambassador, as the Old Atlantean king says his people are now free to explore the entire Earth’s oceans at will for the first time. He brings out two children and says, strangely, “You will have what you asked for.”

Then it’s back to HQ, where we catch up with the Moloids. Turg, who has been reduced to a head in a jar, is their voice of reason. Korr and Tong have taught themselves to read English, while Mik is busy calculating a confluence that links the four cities. Oh boy, it’s going to be tough keeping these Moloids’ names straight.

Then we cut back to Nu-World, which was originally a perfect recreation of Earth, only for all kinds of dystopian sci-fi stuff to happen there. Case in point, the next few pages take us further and further into Nu-World’s future, following its founder, Ted Castle, and the superheroes of that world and all the changes they go through over 300 years. Your guess is as good as mine by this point.

Back at HQ, there’s some comedy bits with Franklin, Ben, and Johnny, while Valeria uses her genius to fix up Dragon Man. She says she can make him smarter. (Dragon Man, who is not a dragon but an advanced robot, has been docile and friendly for some time now.) Franklin is learning martial arts, and he spars with Artie and Leech. Valeria loses control of Dragon Man, but she manages to fix him with the help of Artie’s holo-projecting powers.

Then we cut to P.A.V.L.O.V., location alone, which is described as a “metahuman psychiatric facility.”  Reed is there to check in on the Wizard, who is in a rabid state, ranting about creating clones of himself as a divine calling. Reed gives the Wizard his old helmet back, assuring the doctors that it is now harmless. This makes the Wizard a little more coherent. Reed tells him that the Wizard’s young clone, Bently, has come to live with the FF. Coldy, Reed tells the Wizard that Bently will grow up to become something better than the Wizard.

At the Baxter Building, Reed has set up a classroom. He says to his students that there will be only one class in this school, and it’s pass or fail. He says, “Welcome to the Future Foundation,” and “Together, there is nothing we can’t do.” And with that, we see our new team, the Future Foundation, assembled for the first time.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Not only has the Singularity Conference never been mentioned before this, but it seems it never will again. The Marvel Wiki has no entry for it. This is also the only appearance of the P.A.V.L.O.V. psychiatric facility, perhaps wisely.

Fade out: We don’t see what Sue said to the Atlantean king to request that the two undersea kids join the Future Foundation, but the king has no problem handing them over.

Clobberin’ time: Ben and Johnny give Franklin pointers on how to come up with an action hero catch phrase. Franklin decides on, “Time to die, buttheads!”

Flame on: While Franklin practices his martial arts, Johnny dresses for it, in a replica of the yellow suit with black stripe, famous for Bruce Lee in Game of Death and/or Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.

Fantastic fifth wheel: She-Hulk makes an appearance at the conference at the beginning, having lectured on science and law. Reed praises her efforts before belittling the rest of the group.

Four and a half: Curiously, Franklin is not in the Future Foundation classroom at the end. I had assumed he’d be a member. He’ll certainly interact with the Foundation a lot.

Our gal Val: Valeria dons her own “4” uniform for the first day of class.

Foundational: For the record, here are the starting Future Foundation members:

– Valeria Richards of the Fantastic Four.

– Alex Power, formerly of Power Pack.

– Artie and Leech, regulars from various X-Men series.

– Four highly intelligent Moloids – Tong, Turg, Korr, and Mik.

– Two children from the lost Old Atlantis kingdom – Vil and Wu (not named in this issue).

– Bently Twenty-Three, child clone of the Wizard.

– Dragon Man, now with increased genius.  

Trivia time: Is there any Marvel character with more hard-to-follow continuity than Dragon Man? Despite occasional stories about him become docile and childlike, he’s mostly used as a henchman for whatever supervillain acquires him. Prior to his recent appearances in Fantastic Four, he was seen in the Negative Zone prison during Civil War, but somehow also attended Stilt Man’s funeral during Civil War. The Marvel Wiki says he was “relinquished” to the Fantastic Four’s care following the collapse of the Negative Zone prison, which is where we catch up with him now.

Who are Artie and Leech, you ask? Leech (no other known name) was born a green-skinned mutant, whose mutation is the power to render other mutants powerless. He grew up among the underground Morlocks in NYC’s sewers. After the Mutant Massacre crossover, he went to live with X-Factor and became a regular in the X-books ever since. Then there’s Artie Matticks. A mutant whose scientist father experimented on him, Artie is mute but can communicate by projecting holograms. After his father died in a mutant battle, Artie went to live with X-Factor. It’s there that he and Leech eventually became inseparable pals. Note that Artie lost his powers during the House of M crossover, but now wears a high-tech helmet that lets him project holograms as he did before.

Fantastic or frightful? There’s not really a story in this issue, just a lot of place setting as we establish the new status quo. It’s a lot of juggling as the team grows from four members to around eighteen. Writing a comic series with that many regulars can be tricky, but the likes of X-Men and Legion of Super-Heroes have done it for decades. Now it’s the Future Foundation’s turn.

Next: Where’s Buzz and Woody when we need them?

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