FF and Characterizations

Hi All-

I¹ve largely enjoyed Mark Waid¹s first two issues on FF and look forward to great things to come.

But I can¹t help note that much of the charm of these two issues, particularly the latest, depends upon dialing the characters back‹especially Johnny and Ben, to behaviors that they had ³outgrown² as long ago as the Byrne run. Anyone else struck by this? Are such things necessary? The stories Waid has offered are charming, but are they charming because of such retrograde development, or despite it? (For me, such things are always a bit of static in the reading experience, especially with characters like Johnny, Ben, DC¹s Titans, etc.) Is this just another angle on the whole ³change vs. the illusion of change² debate?

The problem here, as I see it, is cumulative: Waid¹s own plotlines clearly call for the question of Johnny¹s maturation (as per Sue¹s gambit) to be central. Presumably, Johnny will both screw up and mature throughout this storyline, becoming a subtly different character at the end of it. But when the next writer on the title returns Johnny to the more immature, stock persona, such development might as well never have been written. The perils of serial characters demand some of this, yes‹ but it seems that many writers find ways to make it a bit less glaring.

Just interested in seeing other reactions to this issue in regard to the FF in particular (but it does come up in relation to other characters as well, of course).

And am I the only one who doesn¹t find it at all heroic or entertaining for two ³superheroes² to cause such widespread property damage and endanger so many civilians so cavalierly? I remember dropping Jurgens¹ Thor early on after Hercules and Thor had a similar ³friendly² battle in downtown Manhattan that involved a bus being thrown into a bar‹ and not one mention was made of the cost of such behavior, to say nothing of how many injuries or deaths could have resulted. I like senseless mayhem in my superhero stories as much as the next guy‹ but I also like it to come with some mention of the damage done‹ or offer ameliorating contexts.