Loose threads from issue 1

[E.Vi.L.]

Re-reading UFF1 and in light of the Mary Storm plot thread going on in the current arc, I can't help but wonder why authors haven't haven't touched on Reed's family in over 20 issues.

Yeah, the military wants to keep the lid on them but that doesn't seem to prevent them from leaving to Denmark on a whim so... I can see why he would want to cut bridges with his father, but he also has a mother who loves him and a cute little sister to whom he promised that he would take her into the N-Zone when he'd be ready to go (we know how that turned out). It doesn't Reflect well on Reed's character that he hasn't even had a thought for them in a long time.

While we're at it, sooner or later we have to see Ben's family and their reaction to his situation. When will it be, issue 75? You'd think that these are fairly early plot thread.

Finally, there are those N-Zone people we see in UFF 1. Not the dying universe we saw in the Z-Zone arc but the N-Zone that mirror our own as seen in the last panel of UFF 1. What's up with that?

 

[ourchair]

Finally, there are those N-Zone people we see in UFF 1. Not the dying universe we saw in the Z-Zone arc but the N-Zone that mirror our own as seen in the last panel of UFF 1. What's up with that?

Those aren't N-Zone residents. They're Baxter scientists putting together extradimensional cartography.

The entire room is meant to be a holographically projected visuals derived from whatever device they're using to observe the N-Zone, which Reed hypothesized as being an oscillator camera the size of a football field.

Re-reading UFF1 and in light of the Mary Storm plot thread going on in the current arc, I can't help but wonder why authors haven't haven't touched on Reed's family in over 20 issues.

Given the decompressed nature of the Ultimate books, its unsurprising.

Ultimate Spider-Man didn't bother going into the depth of Aunt May's grief and trauma dealing with the death of Ben, superhuman menaces and Peter's constant absences until issue 40something, save for some two or three page scenes in the arcs prior.

Yeah, the military wants to keep the lid on them but that doesn't seem to prevent them from leaving to Denmark on a whim so...

It doesn't Reflect well on Reed's character that he hasn't even had a thought for them in a long time.

While we're at it, sooner or later we have to see Ben's family and their reaction to his situation. When will it be, issue 75? You'd think that these are fairly early plot thread.

At the time the Four left for Denmark, the Baxter Building was still reeling from an attack from Doom that left several soldiers injured or dead and an entire living room/recreation lounge being incinerated by a nova blast. They didn't just leave for Denmark 'on a whim', they snuck out and took advantage of the chaos.

Also, sneaking out to Denmark was pretty imperative for Reed since he'd much rather get the codes from Doom and allow everyone to get back to their normal bodies ASAP before thinking about things like visiting their parents.

Assuming they were successful in undoing their changes, then no one would be the wiser when they finally visited their parents. I mean, being freakishly transformed and then dropping in on the family who hasn't seen you for awhile? Does that even make sense?

It's like taking a Golden-Globe winning actor and stuffing him into a rubber suit and then expecting the actress playing his wife to take it well while she's wearing a negligee. Oops.

I can see why he would want to cut bridges with his father, but he also has a mother who loves him and a cute little sister to whom he promised that he would take her into the N-Zone when he'd be ready to go (we know how that turned out)

Reed's relationship with his mother was never pefect, nor was it something he really appreciated. Yes, his mother loves him, but she was hardly the perfect pillar of strength for him in the face of an insensitive father.

She refuses to stand up for Reed even when she acknowledges how irrational and overblown her husband's reactions are. She chooses to take the path of least resistance, not really doing anything about her son's happiness in order to keep the peace in their little homestead.

Sure she keeps saying, "I love you, you know." But when the **** hits the fan, all she can do is keep her husband's fury at bay long enough for him to walk out. And all the has to say to her son is, "You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days." and "I do not know what do with you."

It's not that Reed doesn't love his mother, but his relationship to his family was so dysfunctional, it's hard to imagine him being in any hurry to return to that.

EDIT: Wow, the thorough attention to detail I have for UFF is actually kind of freaky.

 

[Pandrio]

Those aren't N-Zone residents. They're Baxter scientists putting together extradimensional cartography.

The entire room is meant to be a holographically projected visuals derived from whatever device they're using to observe the N-Zone, which Reed hypothesized as being an oscillator camera the size of a football field.

Given the decompressed nature of the Ultimate books, its unsurprising.

Ultimate Spider-Man didn't bother going into the depth of Aunt May's grief and trauma dealing with the death of Ben, superhuman menaces and Peter's constant absences until issue 40something, save for some two or three page scenes in the arcs prior.

At the time the Four left for Denmark, the Baxter Building was still reeling from an attack from Doom that left several soldiers injured or dead and an entire living room/recreation lounge being incinerated by a nova blast. They didn't just leave for Denmark 'on a whim', they snuck out and took advantage of the chaos.

Also, sneaking out to Denmark was pretty imperative for Reed since he'd much rather get the codes from Doom and allow everyone to get back to their normal bodies ASAP before thinking about things like visiting their parents.

Assuming they were successful in undoing their changes, then no one would be the wiser when they finally visited their parents. I mean, being freakishly transformed and then dropping in on the family who hasn't seen you for awhile? Does that even make sense?

It's like taking a Golden-Globe winning actor and stuffing him into a rubber suit and then expecting the actress playing his wife to take it well while she's wearing a negligee. Oops.

Reed's relationship with his mother was never pefect, nor was it something he really appreciated. Yes, his mother loves him, but she was hardly the perfect pillar of strength for him in the face of an insensitive father.

She refuses to stand up for Reed even when she acknowledges how irrational and overblown her husband's reactions are. She chooses to take the path of least resistance, not really doing anything about her son's happiness in order to keep the peace in their little homestead.

Sure she keeps saying, "I love you, you know." But when the **** hits the fan, all she can do is keep her husband's fury at bay long enough for him to walk out. And all the has to say to her son is, "You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days." and "I do not know what do with you."

It's not that Reed doesn't love his mother, but his relationship to his family was so dysfunctional, it's hard to imagine him being in any hurry to return to that.

EDIT: Wow, the thorough attention to detail I have for UFF is actually kind of freaky.

That's well put.

 

[E.Vi.L.]

Huh, looking back at that final panels, your explanation of the N-Zone makes more sense.

But as for :

Reed's relationship with his mother was never pefect, nor was it something he really appreciated. Yes, his mother loves him, but she was hardly the perfect pillar of strength for him in the face of an insensitive father.

yeah, I know. And who says anything about Reed "going back to that". He is a young man who has left the family home a long time ago. But I'm just talking about not cutting the bridge. His mom ain't perfect and she wasn't has strong as a little boy would hope her to be but being disapointed by your mom is no reason to cut her from your life. Beside, there is also his kid sister to consider. If you are really that disapointed in both your parents, it makes cutting off contact with your family, and therefore your younger sibling, even more unforgivable.

I dunno, it might be just me, but I have two younger sisters and I can't see myself losing touch with them for months on end for no reason.

The Doom expedition exemple wasn't meant to induce you to tell me excatly why it was necessary. Just to point out that if Reed feels he really need to do something, he'll disregard military directives. So if he really felt he needed to keep intouch with his sister, for example, he'd find a way around military quarantine. Some way to communicate.

Right now I can assume he doesn't because authors pretty much have no interest in this plot thread. But if the longer it takes for the authors to adress the feelings of Reed toward his family, the more it looks like he just callously cut em off from his life. Understandable for his father, less for his mom, unforgivable for his sister.

BTW Ourchair : You are quoting yourself in your sig?! You don't quote yourself. You just say it!

 

[Pandrio]

Wasn't he calling them sometime in the series, and then it sounded like they didn't care about him and didn't want him to visit. I remember that anyway.

 

[E.Vi.L.]

Wasn't he calling them sometime in the series, and then it sounded like they didn't care about him and didn't want him to visit. I remember that anyway.

Yeah, I think I do too, but "they" is likely his father.

 

[Pandrio]

Yeah, I think I do too, but "they" is likely his father.

But, his mother was talking to him about it. And she seems to always give in to his father, I think it's reasonable that he hasn't gone to see them, maybe he still calls them?

 

[E.Vi.L.]

Yeah, maybe. But it isn't adressed, or hasn't been in a long time. We haven't even heard a blip from his sister. That's the point basically. We ought to have an update on that whole family situation, basically. We get that on a day to day basis with the Storm, which is nice, but just an occasional tidbit for Reed and Ben every 6 issue or so would be nice.

 

[ourchair]

But as for :

yeah, I know. and who says anything about Reed "going back to that". He is a young man who has left the family home a long time ago. But I'm just talking about not cutting the bridge. His mom ain't perfect and she wasn't has strong as a little boy would hope her to be but being disapointed by your mom is no reason to cut her from your life.

What I meant by 'not going back to that' wasn't that Reed was trying to cut himself off, what I meant was that trying to establish contact with his family is hardly one of his priorities.

I'm sure Reed wishes for kind of resolution or peace with his family, and that no matter how problematic his relationship with them may be. We don't always want our dysfunctional relationships to go away and be replaced by 'something better' but rather want those relationships to 'get better'.

But I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon, and that kind of resolution might not come from Reed for a long time, since he's a very avoidant individual in dealing with problems (and in that sense, true to his 616 counterpart).

The Doom expedition exemple wasn't meant to induce you to tell me excatly why it was necessary. Just to point out that if Reed feels he really need to do something, he'll disregard military directives.

I understand that you weren't asking me to explain the Doom expedition. But I felt it was necessary to examine it in order to contrast it with the many other decisions and task Reed could have chosen to do after they got their powers and/or after the Baxter Building was attacked and more importantly, why his family wasn't exactly high on his priorities.

Right now I can assume he doesn't because authors pretty much have no interest in this plot thread. But if the longer it takes for the authors to adress the feelings of Reed toward his family, the more it looks like he just callously cut em off from his life. Understandable for his father, less for his mom, unforgivable for his sister.

You know, we have no idea what kind of relationship Reed really has with his sister. I'm not saying that Enid Richards ISN'T someone Reed is close to, so much as I'm saying that there isn't really much conclusive evidence about that.

They've only had one exchange in the entire series so far, and it's not enough to say whether Reed has a close bond with her or she's just meant to be plucky kid sister to his reckless boy genius.



I read this damn book way too much.

 

[E.Vi.L.]

You know, we have no idea what kind of relationship Reed really has with his sister. I'm not saying that Enid Richards ISN'T someone Reed is close to, so much as I'm saying that there isn't really much conclusive evidence about that.

They've only had one exchange in the entire series so far, and it's not enough to say whether Reed has a close bond with her or she's just meant to be plucky kid sister to his reckless boy genius.

Conclusive evidence? Man, she's his kid sister. He's her big brother. Until the day where she somehow horribly betray him, he doesn't need a reason to care, he's just supposed to do it. Otherwise he's an ***.

 

[TheManWithoutFear]

I think you're makin a big deal of nothing. What other heroes siblings are even mentioned in the other Ultimate Titles? Reed's like a kid who left for college. He doesn't need to call his family anymore than we assume he is doing so. We saw him do it once and that should lead into what the coversations are like the next 500 times he does it but we can certainly find other things to show in the book than those conversations. It would be like watching him get up every morning. We know he does it... but there doesn't have to be anything special about it.

 

[E.Vi.L.]

I'm just saying the authors ought to integrate that in the story once in a while.

Hawkeye has been part of the Ultimates title for about 15 issues, he is much more minor character than Reed is on the FF, and Millar has managed to integrate his family to the plot (or just as cameos) on several occasions.

If you don't want to follow up on the family situation of a character, you don't introduce it at all (Like for the Pyms).

This was the focus of UFF 1 and now it's completely off the map.

 

[ourchair]

We saw him do it once and that should lead into what the coversations are like the next 500 times he does it but we can certainly find other things to show in the book than those conversations.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

Hawkeye has been part of the Ultimates title for about 15 issues, he is much more minor character than Reed is on the FF, and Millar has managed to integrate his family to the plot (or just as cameos) on several occasions.

Difference though, is that giving Hawkeye's family some degree of focus was meant to distinguish him from other characters. It's in the service of characterization.

For Reed, his family not only establishes how difficult it is for people to relate to his strange scientific pursuits and his lack of consideration for others, but it also sets the precedent for how he will probably deal with other people in the future, especially if it's going to be anything similar to how his 616 counterpart acts.

Hawkeye's family was also necessary so that when the events of # 8 transpired, it didn't look like his family came from nowhere or that they suddenly entered the plot from out of nowhere. This is not to say that Reed's family is superfluous, but rather its inclusion in UFF 1 fulfilled a purpose in a very deliberately intended manner as Hawkeye's did.

If you don't want to follow up on the family situation of a character, you don't introduce it at all (Like for the Pyms). This was the focus of UFF 1 and now it's completely off the map.

Yes, UFF 1 focused ENTIRELY on Reed's family, but the purpose of that was to establish Reed as a gifted individual who is often misunderstood, even by those who are supposed to be close to him. It's supposed to identify him as a very special individual (as opposed to having his mother being bitten by virus-infected monkey).

Truth is, I DO feel the same frustration you have. UFF # 1 introduces so much character background material for Reed, that it feels kind of weird how little attention its gotten since then. But the fact is that the peculiar attention to family UFF # 1 has, is most likely the result of writing style on Brian Michael Bendis' part.

Even since the days of his crime noir books, Bendis is keen on introducing large amounts of characterization that in spite of being very important, do not justify the large page counts he devotes to them. Another writer would've probably compressed Reed's troubled family upbringing into half the amount of pages that Bendis did, but that's neither here nor there.

 

[E]

Sorry, but Reed's family is one of the least interesting plots or subplots that they have to work with. That's the kind of story that USM would put focus on, not UFF.

 

[ourchair]

Sorry, but Reed's family is one of the least interesting plots or subplots that they have to work with. That's the kind of story that USM would put focus on, not UFF.

That too.

But I am conceding in favor of some of EvIL's points, in order to argue against the others and defend the current writing. Even if we wanted to see more Reed's family stuff, there should at least be a purpose, yes?

 

[RUFUS!]

i can think of a lot more stories i would want to see rather than this
maybe if his dad came along to use Reed to make money but other than that, not interested