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Summary
Warning : Spoilers for Fantastic Four # 16!The child of theFantastic Fourhave formally made the teenage secret identity trope of comic strip and movie , generalize bySpider - Man , obsolete . The menial beginnings of the earliestSpider - Mancomics helped generalize the figure of a teen assay to protect their mystical identity while juggle superheroics and school . However , in a world wheresuperheroes are the average in movies and comics , Spider - Man having a secret identity looks out of place , even in the MCU .
This notion does n’t feel more observable in the strip than it does inFantastic Four#16 by Ryan North , Francesco Mortarino , Brian Reber , and VC ’s Joe Caramagna . The issue sees the children of the Fantastic Four get going at a new schoolhouse in Arizona after being reunited with their parents . In a arrant reversal of the earliestSpider - Mancomics , where Peter Parker would skip over through hurdles trying to keep his underground personal identity a secret in high school , Valeria and Franklin Richards inaugurate themselves to their classmates as part of the Fantastic Four .
In one issue , it becomes clearer than ever that one of the staple figure of prosperous years comic books is nearly nonexistent today . And that ’s not needfully a bad thing .
The Fantastic Four’s Kids Don’t Need to Hide Their Identities
flash back to 1962 , when the conception of being a superhero in comic books was still relatively new , Spider - Man hit the shelves for the first fourth dimension . In his early escapade , 15 - year - quondam Peter Parker work the witting decision to keep his personal life freestanding from his superhero life . For him , keeping his secret identity is the smartest mean value to protect his friend and kinsfolk from his enemies , along with forefend any fear of being mark an outcast by fellow high-pitched schoolers who ’d see him as a freak . Val and Franklin do n’t need to interest about any of that in 2024 .
After the events ofDevil ’s Reignsawthe Fantastic Four get arrestedand their account block , the family has relocated from New York to Arizona . There , Reed and Susan ’s children , Franklin and Valeria , get serve the local high shoal . Right afterthe affair ’s kidsintroduce themselves first , Franklin and Valeria introduce themselves as the children of the Fantastic Four - and in Valeria ’s case , the goddaughter of Doctor Doom . like a shot , the class of students are delirious and enamored with their new classmates , immediately bombard them with questions about their superhero life .
It’s Safer to Be a Superhero in 2024
have parents as celebrities who can protect themselves in all likelihood makes it easy to be open about their powers , ability , and adulterous activities in their high schooltime ( as if they have a selection ) . But 2024 is , for the most part , a safe time to be a superhero . Yes , New York is an exceptionthanks to the Kingpin ’s banning of vigilantes , but outside of that , superheroism is normalized . There ’s a rationality why most high - profile heroes in the Marvel Universe today do n’t have secret identities .
When Spider - Man first debuted , it was a no - brainer that he demand a mysterious personal identity in a public where superheroes were still unfamiliar territory to citizens . Today , in a world where there are jurisprudence that exist in stead to protect superheroes ( like the Secret Identities Act that She - Hulk namedrops inJackpot#1 ) , there is less of a demand for superheroes to hide in the shadow , allow alone have secret identities . The adoration that theFantastic Four ’s kidskin receive is a meridian good example of how in - universe superhero cultivation has positively evolve since the days whenSpider - Manfirst make it on the scene .
Fantastic Four#16is on sales agreement now from Marvel
