The last story arc was pretty traumatic. It left Reed with literal scars on his face that he can’t heal and Ben with disfigurement on his rocky skin as well. It also figuratively scarred both Johnny Storm and little Franklin Richards, who spent last arc being tortured in Hell. (Franklin is seeing a child psychiatrist where he draws scary stuff.)
True to form, Reed is completely self-involved. His embarrassment about his face (and his impotence in the face of protecting his family) is causing him to withdraw at a time when his son needs him the most.
Sue and Ben take the kid to Coney Island, where his anxiety becomes very apparent, but Sue is able to provide some actual hands-on mothering and help Franklin move through his paralyzing PTSD. I do like that this story takes into account the horrific impact of superheroic antics. It’s good that way.
It’s one of the best literary portrayals of PTSD I’ve ever seen.
The main point of this story, though, is an age-old ethical dilemma: Johnny and Reed go back in time to kill young Hitler. I mean, to kill young Doom.
It’s a misdirect. Reed doesn’t shoot Doctor Doom. But he does blast off a lock of his hair, which he picks up, telling Johnny that he has “plans.” They then return back to the present.
OK, so this is a dark little arc—but what did you expect after the last story?
This is one of the top 10 Dr. Doom comics of all time! See the rest here. I say it’s one of the best and yet he doesn’t appear in it as Dr. Doom–just as himself in his youth. But it shows just how malevolent he is, and how the effects of the things he does create lasting scars…In children, no less.