FF Vol. 2 No. 1

At the end of 2012, Marvel launched the "Marvel NOW!" event. In the Fantastic Four series of the same name, Reed Richards discovers that the cosmic rays in his and his teammates' bodies are slowly consuming their lives, and no cure can be found on Earth. The Fantastic Four decide to leave Earth and embark on a long journey across dimensions and time to find a cure, which amounts to only a brief four minutes in Earth time. For those "four minutes," the four members each set out to invite substitutes: Reed chooses Scott Lang (Ant-Man), who has just returned to action after the death of his daughter, and hopes he will become the new head of the Future Foundation; Susan travels to the Inhuman city of Attilan to persuade Medusa; Ben Grimm speaks to She-Hulk (Jen Walters) in the training room; and Johnny Storm brings in his singer girlfriend Darla Deering, who will don the Ms. Thing suit. This volume, FF Vol. 2 No. 1, titled "Parts of a Whole," follows Scott Lang's point of view as he visits the children of the Future Foundation one by one—Valeria and Franklin Richards, Bentley-23 and Dragon Man, the Moloids, the Uhura siblings, the Wakandan girl Onome, Alex Power and Artie, Leech, and others—learning about this "next generation" institution made up of genius children and alien kids, and in a conversation with Reed he learns the truth and finally takes the job. This is issue No. 1 of the series and the entry point to the whole run.