The New FF...or "This Is Why I Write This Blog"

The title of this blog is the obvious motivation behind why I write it, and when I see stuff like the new Fantastic Four title (now minus Johnny Storm for obvious reasons), it just seals it for me. Here's why I think this one comic deserves a special weekend post of its own:

First: the costumes. They all look like generic heroes who couldn't afford real costumes. Is that a honeycomb on the chest? While the original blue suits were never that flashy, these outfits look strange. But that is explained by their new name...

Second: Future Foundation? Seriously? They sound like an old 80's Saturday morning cartoon series. Like it should be preceded by "Tommy Tomorrow and the..." or something. I can appreciate the writers were trying to keep the "FF" moniker for branding purposes, but they couldn't do better than that?

Third: Spider-Man? Between his own series and the New Avengers, now he's a member of the FF. Where do heroes like Spider-Man and Wolverine find time for anything else? And why not bring in a second or third-string hero that's not in other books to get a chance to shine? Without the Human Torch, they have no ranged fighter to speak of, so why not bring in someone like Stingray, or create a new Guardian from the old Alpha Flight suit and bring him back? How about letting Franklin Richards finally grow up and become a part of the team? How old should he be now...30 or something? I guess it's all for sales.

I have to give them credit for Spider-Man's new costume. Forcing him into the same generic suit does make him seem like more of a member of the team...but then we have to ask why? It's not like the X-Force suits that are meant to be camouflaged and therefore need to be black. These are generic white "Look at me!" suits. How is this a necessary change from the red-and-blues?

But I guess we all know this is just a placeholder until Johnny Storm comes back and we get the old blue suits back. But still, I can't say I'm blown away by the new FF. But then again, I was never a big fan of the originals either.


What about you? Is this a comic you're picking up, or are you passing on the whole thing?