Fantastic Four (1961)

Welcome to Father’s Day.

Raising children isn’t easy. Just imagine if they had super powers.

That’s what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did when they decided to bless Reed and Sue Richards with a child. The first couple married in their own title, the Richards also appear to be the first couple to also have a child. Which they did in their sixth anniversary issue.

Lee and Kirby couldn’t just have Marvel’s first family get stuck in a traffic jam for suspense. No, they decided on something much more dramatic. Reed must travel to the Negative Zone for Element X, the only element that can save Sue and their unborn childs’ lives from the Cosmic Rays that gave her her powers.

Fantastic Four (1961)
annual 6

He does not go alone.

Undertaking the dangerous task are Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, the Human Torch and Thing, respectively.

Negative Zone despot Annihilus does not willingly give up his Cosmic Rod, the source of the Element X. Though the trio are able to secure the rod, they are then chased about the Negative Zone. They are allowed to escape after Reed secretly secures some of the needed element and returns  the rod to Annihilus.

With the Element X, Sue gives birth to a healthy baby boy. It would take another two years before he was officially named Franklin Benjamin Storm in Fantastic Four (1961) 94. As a two-fer for Father’s Day, Franklin was named for his maternal grandfather.

Franklin would guest in his parent’s book over the following 15 years until finally earning a spot in Power Pack issue (1984) 17. The title ran 62 issues.

He would float in and out of the FF in various incarnations and ages, but maybe the only real stories to worry about are the Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius out-of-continuity books. Teamed with the ever faithful H.E.R.B.I.E. the two are almost Calvin and Hobbes clones at times.

Their adventures began as back up strips in various Marvel comic books before progressing to periodic oneshots. Fourteen have been printed to date.

As for the day itself, we’ve covered that in Lobo: Infanticide way back in 2019. Rather than rehash, click back for the history of Father’s Day. Go ahead and read the page while there.

And, don’t forget to thank the man in your life for, well, life. Life and lessons taught, no matter how hard they’ve been. Though he’ll never read this, I’ll wish my dad a big ol’ Happy Father’s Day from Four Color.

Don’t worry, I told him in person, too.