The MCU’s New Team Is a Gateway For a Huge Franchise Marvel Nailed In the ’80s

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The MCU’s newest team is also the perfect introduction to a huge franchise Marvel nailed in the 1980s. This summer, the Fantastic Four will make their long-awaited MCU debut in the film First Steps. While fans rejoice in Marvel’s first family finally getting their due, First Steps also sets up an MCU debut of another superhero team that peaked in popularity during the 1980s.

The lore around the Fantastic Four is immense. It was the first title of the Marvel Age of Comics, its debut issue changing comics forever. Laying the foundation for the Marvel Universe, Fantastic Four was the gold standard in comic books of the 1960s. The team has made many enemies along the way, but have also forged alliances as well. One such hero was Alex Power, the leader of Power Pack, who Reed Richards recruited to join his Future Foundation. Power Pack’s proximity to the Fantastic Four is the perfect way to introduce this team to the MCU.

Who Is Power Pack? Marvel’s Youngest Superhero Team Explained

Power Pack Started Strong, But Went Off the Rails at the End

While Power Pack is not currently appearing in any Marvel titles, at least as a team, the group nonetheless has a long history with the company. Created by legendary X-Men editor Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman, Power Pack quickly became a favorite with fans and particularly with critics when it debuted in 1984. Power Pack was the ultimate in wish-fulfillment: four children are given superpowers by a dying alien, and together they become heroes. Set firmly in the Marvel Universe, Power Pack met a wide variety of the publisher’s icons throughout the decade.

Despite the great acclaim heaped upon the book, Power Pack eventually floundered. Once Simonson and Brigman left, the book suffered from a revolving door of writers and artists for the rest of its tenure, which led to inconsistency and several changes in direction. In addition, the Power siblings changed powers every so often, leading to confusion on the part of fans. Marvel added Franklin Richards to the main cast, perhaps to boost sales, but also putting them in the Fantastic Four’s orbit. Reed Richards felt the Power family would provide Franklin a more stable environment to grow up in.

Marvel grew increasingly desperate to make Power Pack work, especially at the end. In one notable example from this era, Alex Power began mutating into a Kymellian, the species that gave the team their powers, with the implication the rest of the team was next. When Power Pack came to an end with issue #62 in 1991, Alex and his siblings took off into space to find a cure. A follow-up one-shot, published a year later, resolved the mutation storyline and brought the team’s story to an end for nearly a decade.

Power Pack’s Comeback Began in the 2000s, Thanks to the Fantastic Four

Power Pack Is Still Saving Lives in the Marvel Universe

Power Pack began making their way back to the Marvel Universe in the early 2000s, culminating with Alex Power joining Reed Richards’ Future Foundation. Simonson and Brigman established that Alex was supremely intelligent, and Reed saw something of himself in Alex. He invited Alex to join the Foundation, a think tank devoted to solving the world’s problems. While Alex was busy with the Future Foundation, his sister Juile was trying to break into show business, and joined a team of former teen heroes called the Loners. Marvel also published a series of out-of-continuity Power Pack minis throughout the decade.

Today, Power Pack is still together, and starred in a miniseries by acclaimed writer Ryan North in 2020. Julie Power has returned to the team and heroics, and recently joined the Avengers. As a member of the Avengers Emergency Response team, Julie took her next steps into the larger heroic community. Hand-picked for the team by Captain America, Julie has proven herself worthy of the Avengers, despite some initial misgivings from her teammates. The Power Pack franchise had been written off for years, but thanks to the Fantastic Four, they made a comeback.

Power Pack Can Add a Great Deal to the MCU

A Power Pack Series for Younger Audiences Could Be Massively Successful

And it is this connection to the Fantastic Four that can give Power Pack their “in” to the MCU. Alex and Julie’s father, Doctor James Power, was established as a super-intellect, one respected by other Marvel geniuses, such as Reed Richards. The MCU could introduce James as an associate of Richards, and from there introduce the rest of Power Pack. Power Pack got their powers as a result of a war between the Kymellians and the Snark, and introducing these two races to the MCU will bolster its cosmic side, lacking since the last Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Power Pack are children/teenagers, and their adventures, as noted earlier, are wish-fulfillment for many younger fans, making their appeal to a mass audience a no-brainer. Whether Power Pack could carry a movie is debatable, but a Disney + television show would be the perfect vehicle for Alex and the team to make their MCU debut. An MCU version of Power Pack also diversifies the franchise’s offerings, as Marvel and Disney can market it to younger viewers. In the hands of the right showrunners, Power Pack can make a huge contribution to the MCU.

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