Not a month, nay, nary a week goes by without yet another Marvel prodigy appearing the pages of the House of Ideas. If that sounds sarcastic, it:s only because of the frustration I feel for this recurring trend that I, Cassandra-like, cry to unhearing ears about what is a doomed practice.
This time we have Fantastic Four Annual #32, written by Joe Ahearne and drawn by Bryan Hitch/Andrew Currie. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: PSYCHO-WOMAN!
She's the daughter of long-time FF Foe, the Psycho-Man! We know this because when asked if she uses an emotion-controlling box like the Psycho-Man, with its dials for specific emotions, she says "Hate, Fear, and Doubt are my father's tools. My weapons are far sharper." In order to harvest "tissues ... for an army of cosmic warriors," the Psycho-Woman and, uhm, synthetic (?) warriors of some kind invade the body of Johnny Storm and his girlfriend, drug the two, and some time later his girlfriend is pregnant with his child. The details are a bit murky (which might explain the art. Zing!)
So, the question remains. What does this add to the Marvel universe? Why did it have to be a progeny character? If it was to add a female villain to the FF's repertoire, then why not make it a female scientist, colleague or rival of Psycho-Man? Why did it have to be a female version at all-- it could have been the Psycho-Man himself, which might have even been creepier given the ... invasive nature of the villainy performed. All it does is simply perpetuate the idea that the Marvel universe is, again, aging, and that robs it of its magical realism a little bit.
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