The Marvel Universe has seen a recent growth in the number of teen superheroes, from The Runaways to Ms. Marvel. These teen heroes star in critically acclaimed and best-selling titles; they also get movies and TV shows as well. And yet these same heroes owe a great debt to one of Marvel’s original teen teams: Power Pack!
Teen superheroes were nothing new at Marvel, or in comics in general. Both Spider-Man and the original X-Men were teenagers when they debuted, and we as readers watched them grow up as people and as heroes. By the time Power Pack debuted in May 1984, Marvel was not publishing teenage heroes outside of their X-Men titles, so the group’s arrival was a breath of fresh air. Created by writer Louise Simonson (Superman: The Man of Steel) and artist June Brigman (Brenda Starr, Reporter), the team debuted to critical acclaim and high sales. The Pack participated in a number of high profile events in the mid to late 80s, such as Secret Wars II and Inferno. Over time, sales declined and Power Pack slipped into obscurity.
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In the 2000s that began to change. An all-ages Power Pack title, separate from the mainline Marvel Universe, was launched. Various members showed up in other Marvel titles, such as Runaways and Fantastic Four. In the meantime, Marvel experienced a renaissance of adolescent heroes, thanks in large part to Ms. Marvel. With a more receptive audience in place, the time was right for Power Pack to make their grand return, and this November they will return in a five-issue mini-series by Ryan North and Nico Leon that will place them right in the thick of Marvel’s Outlawed event—an event centered around teen heroes.
Comic Book Origins
Power Pack followed the adventures of the four Power siblings: Alex, the oldest and also the leader; Julie, the team’s heart and soul; wild child Jack and spunky and sensitive Katie. Their father, physicist James Power, discovered a new, revolutionary power source with destructive potential. The invention attracted the attention of two warring alien races: the benevolent Kymellians and the evil Snarks. The family soon found themselves caught up in a galactic conflict. During the fighting, the children were gifted superpowers by a dying Kymellian named Aelfyre. Using their new powers, the kids fought back the Snarks, and saved Earth in the process. They also kept their powers and decided to fight evil—all the while keeping it a secret from their parents!
Assisting the Power kids on their adventures was Friday, a “smartship.” Bequeathed to them by the same alien who gave them their powers, Friday was sentient and capable of faster than light speeds; Friday also served as the team’s advisor. Also joining the Pack was Franklin Richards, the son of Reed and Sue Richards of The Fantastic Four. Deciding they wanted a normal life for the prodigiously powered Franklin, Reed and Sue sent him to live with the Powers, who also happened to be friends of the Richards.
A unique feature of the team was there was no adult mentor—the teen X-Men had Professor X to guide them. The children’s parents did not discover the team’s secrets during the original run, although it was teased on more than one occasion.
Comic Powers
When the children were initially given their powers, Alex received the ability to control and manipulate gravity; Julie was able to fly at incredibly high speeds; Jack gained control of the density of his body at the molecular level, able to switch to a gaseous form and Katie received the ability to absorb and project energy. Each member also had an accelerated healing factor that could easily heal wounds.
In issue 25 of their original ongoing, an interesting wrinkle was introduced: the kids swapped powers. Alex received the energy powers, Julie gained the density-control ones, Jack was now able to manipulate gravity and Katie gained the powers of flight. The children would switch powers twice more: in issue 50 of their book, and again in 1991’s Power Pack Holiday Special—this last change saw the Power siblings gaining their original powers back.
Power Pack paved the way for Ms. Marvel, Moon Girl, The Runaways, Squirrel Girl, and every other teenage Marvel hero. Their return is long overdue, and it will be interesting to see how the Pack works with Marvel’s new crop of adolescent crusaders.
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