Episode 173 FF #23: Run

Unpacking the Power of Power Pack

And we did it. We made it to the last issue of FF. What a fun little series. Hickman put together some compelling stories and weaved them through this and Fantastic Four.

We should take a moment to think about what we learned from our review of this series, FF, over this past year or so. Time has been spent on this book, and beer has been drunk. That all being said, what has been read and what has been discussed.

We started with everyone thinking that the Human Torch was dead, and the hiring of one Mr. Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. This changed the team dynamics and beat of the team. We started with the team at a low point, but we end with a stronger and more knowledgeable family.

There was also the introduction of the Future Foundation. This is the team that has our boy Alex having something mover tangible than what happened to him in the New Warriors, but not by much. At least he was treated like he had intelligence and not just a paper weight.

But the Future Foundation was a great idea. A group of smart kids solving the world's problems. They were a weird group of punks who brought something different to the conversation. THe ensemble could have been used more effectively at certain points, but it was not bad.

We discovered that AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics) having the bright idea to free The Wizard from prison and making him their leader proves that their ideas really aren't too advanced as they gave him back at the end of the series and asked for a do over.

We learned that having Spider-man on your team is a great idea, while having Dr. Doom is an occasionally good idea if you can stand the Doomness of him. Also, inviting The Wizard, Diablo, The Mad Thinker and The High Evolutionary to stand with you for some out of the box thinking is a great way to to get betrayed and stabbed in the back when the chips are down by people that you just fed lunch to.

A surprising number of issues deal with Black Bolt and The Inhumans interacting with the Supreme Intelligence and the Kree...we both found these issues, storylines and interactions to be boring, unwelcome and a distraction from important things, like what the Future Foundation kids are up to in their own title. Unfortunately, what they are often up to is standing off to a side, quietly observing the actions of other characters while storylines unfurl around them and their contributions amount to them being able to say that they were there too.

Speaking of surprises, a surprising number of beings were turned into pets. Dr. Doom to a multiversal Reed Richards, a couple of multiversal Reed Richards' to a Supreme Intelligence, Johnny Storm to Annihilus, Annihilus to a resurrected Johnny Storm, and Galactus to a Franklin Richards.

All in all it was a fun series and a worthwhile read, but it really shined when it dealt with the title holders of this series, the kids. Their developments, their growths, their failings and their foibles, their interactions and all the things that make them the foundation of the future.

Check out the artwork at: https://jeffandrickpresent.wordpress.com/2024/10/29/ff-23-run/

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Eighties Action by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3703-eighties-action
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rise Of The Kingdoms [the better version]