How Old is Torus Storm?

 

Consider this a sort of spin-off of the A-Next Ages series, because today I wanted to try and resolve something that’s honestly been on my mind for the last few years, at least since I made my History of the MC2: Fantastic Four and Skrulls in the MC2 posts: How old is Torus Storm?

 

Keep in mind this isn’t definitive unless it’s spelt out on the page and is merely a rough estimate based on in-universe information or- where necessary- statements from the creative teams involved in the characters creation and development. Here’s what we know:

 

Approximately five or so years prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Lyja was pregnant at this time and did not join the team on their mission (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4). Franklin engaged Hyperstorm in a 'mind-war' on every plane of existence which ultimately left Hyperstorm comatose and apparently stripped Franklin of much of his god-like power (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4).

 

Presumably, Lyja Storm is heavily pregnant with none other than Torus in the scenes depicting the Fantastic Four preparing to leave for the mission. Now this is significant because as I mention above, we know this mission was only ‘five or so years’ prior to the MC2’s present day. So, is Torus Storm only around 5 years old?

 

 

From the book Comic Creators on Fantastic Four by Tom Defalco, we got this comment from Fantastic Four and Fantastic Five artist Paul Ryan:

Tom Defalco: You felt Johnny and Lyja should have actually had a baby, right? Do you want to explain why?

Paul Ryan: I thought it would have been a new dynamic for Johnny, in that he would have to start facing some grown-up responsibilities. I thought that it could make for an interesting character, too, because the child of a Skrull and a human would be totally unique – and it could lead to some interesting story arcs in which the Skrull Empire wanted to get hold of the the child for some reason. We could have done things with the child itself, like accelerated growth rate; maybe the Skrulls mature faster. Also, things could have been very interesting where the child had the ability to face-shift, as well as he cosmic ray-based powers of heat and flame, which is something you experimented with in Fantastic Five. Finally, I thought it might bring Johnny and Lyja closer together, and there could have been some exciting story possibilities there.

 

I think Mr Ryan provides us with a very good explanation for why young Torus Storm looks and behaves more like a 10-year-old than a 5-year-old. Skrull hybrids are a rarity, and one that we know little about. For example, a later hybrid, the Kree-Skrull hybrid known as Hulkling appears to be in his late teens in Young Avengers, despite being conceived amid the Kree-Skrull War storyline which can only have occurred around a decade prior to the present-day Main Marvel Universe. Maybe Skrull hybrids really do age and mature faster?

 

So, unless we get confirmation otherwise, we know that Torus Storm can only be around 5 to 6 years old in the present day MC2. I’ve added the extra year of age for the approximate year of time which had passed in-universe from the beginning of the MC2’s published history to its end. Hope this clears up any confusion rather than contributes to it.

 

Until I run out of reasons to reference the Comic Creators books, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

American Dream Handbook Correction

 

I'd like to preface this little post by saying I love the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe series and have a lot of respect for the hard work and dedication of the people who work on it's various entries. I'm also aware that there are time and space constraints and that no one is infallible and errors sometimes slip by unnoticed. So, with all that said, here's another really pointless correction I'd like to make.

So, in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #1 (published in 2010) American Dream received a full-page entry. Now, I could point out that Shannon Carter’s level of education in the entry is listed as ‘unrevealed,’ despite the fact that we know that she obtained her job as a tour guide ‘right out of high school,’ as I mentioned in my last post. Here's the original handbook entry for reference:

 

But, that’s not what I really wanted to address today. It’s the section that mentions the Dream Team. According to the handbook entry ‘Barton dubbed his trainees the “Dream Team,” and intended them to replace the Avengers, who had fallen in battle years ago but before they could do so, a new team of Avengers formed.’ Obviously, this explicitly identifies the former Avenger Hawkeye aka Clint Barton as the one who named his group of special students the Dream Team. But this is clearly not the case, as we see in American Dream #4, where Brandon Cross aka Freebooter is inspired by fellow student Shannon’s speech and gives the group the name.

 

 

There are obviously other minor issues in the write up, but mostly these come down to compressing information to fit on the page, and usually don’t explicitly provide factual errors.

 

Until I stop picking nits, I remain

 

frogoat

 

A-Next Ages: American Dream

 

I thought it might be fun to work out the approximate ages of the various members of the MC2’s Avengers. Keep in mind this isn’t definitive unless it’s spelt out on the page and is merely a rough estimate based on in-universe information or- where necessary- statements from the creative teams involved in the characters creation and development.

 

 

For the fifth entry in this occasional series of A-Next Ages, it’s time to figure out the age of the team’s iconic, patriotic and statuesque blonde heroine: American Dream.

 

Much of the evidence you’ll see in this post was also used when I covered Freebooter’s Age but it’s important to lay out everything to make sense of it. Firstly, let’s take into account Shannon Carter’s height, which is first mentioned in-universe as 6’2” in A-Next #4 and later confirmed in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #1. It’s a safe bet based on this that Shannon is an adult and unlikely to grow any taller.

 

 

Argo the Almighty refers to Thunderstrike, American Dream and Bluestreak as ‘all around my age’ in A-Next #6. It appears Argo himself is a teenager (albeit one of godly stature) which helps give us a ball park figure to determine American Dream’s own age.

 

While it was initially established that Shannon Carter was a Tour Guide at Avengers Compound first seen in A-Next #1 and revealed in A-Next #3-#4, we get plenty more details about her early life in the American Dream mini-series. We know that Shannon was training to become a ‘super-athlete’ like her hero Captain America while still in high school. It was during this period that she first met Clint Barton (formerly Hawkeye) and Brandon Cross (later known as Freebooter) as seen in American Dream #3.

 

 

As mentioned above, Shannon works as a Tour Guide. According to American Dream #1, Shannon used her great Aunt Peggy’s connections to secure the job ‘right out of high school.’ Shannon notes it put her on the front lines and helped pay her expenses. This tells us that Shannon has already graduated high school and also paid for her own living expenses.

 

 

Shannon is seen leaving work and returning to what is presumably her own apartment to meet up with her fellow Dream Team members in (A-Next #3). Later on, in the pages of American Dream #1, Shannon notes that she ‘moved into Avengers Mansion over a year ago.’ This makes it clear that after becoming a member of the Avengers, Shannon must have moved into the team’s headquarters. Additionally, we now know over a year has passed since the events of A-Next #4, making Shannon another year older.

 

 

In Last Hero Standing #2 when, during a visit to their former mentor and teacher Clint Barton, the narration box refers to both American Dream and Freebooter as teenagers. This estimation is reiterated in the follow up mini-series’ Last Planet Standing #1 when Vision describes the current Avengers team as ‘mainly a group of idealistic, enthusiastic and powerful teenagers.’ It should be noted that Shannon was not an active member of the team at this point, however.

 

 

As American Dream, Shannon ran one of Clint’s training exercises known as the Gauntlet. It was at this time that Barton’s fellow students learned of the new Avengers team. Shannon notes when reflecting on this time that she hadn’t thought about the Gauntlet ‘in years’ (American Dream #4)

 

 

As noted in this series’ Freebooter entry, Brandon and Shannon appear to be around the same age. While Brandon has moments of maturity, Shannon is the more mature of the two, as noted by Ron Frenz on Adam Chapman’s podcast Comic Shenanigans Episode 744:

 

‘I liked the way they interacted, I liked the way Brandon and Blue came across as brother and sister, carping at each other. And Shannon kind of came across as the oldest sister who was constantly going ‘Bluestreak!’ and telling her to mind herself and all that kind of stuff.’

 

 

Now let’s look at what we can conclude by putting several smaller points together:

·         Shannon began training under Clint Barton while still in high school

·         Shannon began her tour guide job at the Avengers Compound right after finishing high school, moving into her own apartment

·         While working at Avengers Compound, Shannon witnessed the formation of the new Avengers team in A-Next #1

·         Shannon runs the Gauntlet training exercise and Barton’s other students learn of the new Avengers team

·         American Dream joins the Avengers alongside the rest of the Dream Team and at some point afterwards, Shannon takes up residence at Avengers Compound

·         During the events of Last Hero Standing, Shannon is said to still be a teenager

·         By the time the events of the American Dream mini-series occur, Shannon had resided in Avengers Compound for over a year

 

With all of that out of the way, we have another case of an easy-to-ascertain age within the MC2. Shannon Carter aka American Dream is at least 19 years old, at least up until the events of Last Hero Standing. It’s very likely she’s 20 or even 21 years old by the end of the MC2’s publication history, given we know over a year has passed in-universe. If you have any arguments to the contrary or you feel I’ve missed something, don’t hesitate to let me know!

 

 

 

Until I adorn myself after a super-athlete patriotic war veteran super hero and attempt to honour his legacy, I remain

 

 

 

frogoat