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