The adult version, that is. Mr. Franklin, as he's occasionally called by his younger self is frighteningly powerful. He's whats often referred to as a 'reality-warper', meaning he can more or less change the world around him on a whim. It's a fascinating niche, and one that leads him to a lot of very interesting situations - all of which can be found in Hickman's FF which I am trying VERY hard not to spoil here. But the downside to all that power is that it makes him a very difficult character to write a compelling story for. If you can make all your problems disappear with a wave of your hand....well, you don't really have problems then do you? But there are ways it can be done, stories that can be told with frighteningly powerful characters. And it helps to have a partner that can keep up.
Nathaniel 'Nate' Grey is another Marvel character who probably won't pop up in the movies anytime soon - and he's also essentially a deity in the body of a twenty-something. The son of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, and Jean Grey, sometimes known-as and possessed-by the Phoenix, he is a psychic whose powers essentially dwarf comprehension, to the point where he can pretty much do anything and have it be hand-waved as 'telekinesis'. At one point or another he's literally controlled every atom in the universe, or something equally absurd, so please keep in mind - I don't throw around 'god-like' for nothing. He's also briefly moonlighted as the 'shaman of the mutant tribe' - a vaguely spiritual position that I basically summarize as such; mutants, an inherently weird group of people, go to Nate when things get weird for THEM.
I'm honestly not sure if they've ever actually met - Onslaught Saga, that monument to the 90s X-Men, is probably the closest we've come. Moreover, neither of these characters are technically what you'd call 'Main Universe' folk - they've both survivors of worlds that have long since been destroyed. But that's something they've got in common, and moreover, it's an impetuous for them to find a new home. And between these two, you've got enough firepower to solve any problem and defeat any foe in the known Universe. So what do you do? Well, you take them out of the Universe for starters.
The idea of the Multiverse is, at this point, shockingly old news. While hardly a widely accepted theory (or even a scientifically accurate one), most people are at least aware of the concept - our universe is but one of many, all existing in parallel, and different in a variety of ways, ranging from the slight to the not-so-slight. It's something that's permeated the popular consciousness at this point, and pops up in a variety of tv shows, video games, and most especially comic books. And it's an absolutely delightful storytelling tool.
So the pitch? At this point, that should be obvious. Encroached upon by a Universe that senses they don't belong - and just how much they unbalance the scales - Franklin and Nate set out, looking for a place to call home once more. For two guys with endless power and time to kill, it's a fun little adventure. But the Multiverse is dangerous too - inhabited by gods, monsters, multi-dimensional empires, and most worryingly, Franklin's little sister. And when you're this powerful, trouble tends to find you.
No comments:
Post a Comment