Family

When Stan Lee created The Fantastic Four in 1961, he created a superhero team that was also a family. Everyday chores and squabbles amid superhero battles and vacations to far off universes and dimensions. His foursome are still published by Marvel Comics today. But all characters, all people, have a family:

We are the combined result of our biology and upbringing. Jane and James Ross discover this when they are told their young son has special needs: particularly his brain does not have the ability to properly process information. He sees things and hears things differently than you and I do. He hears more and sees more, but he cannot differentiate between the sources of these stimuli. He hears across miles and sees through walls.

Our parents can frustrate us. Our parents can make us feel limited and powerless in our youth. But our family builds the foundation for the rest of our lives. Our family is the foundation for the rest of our lives. And when that foundation is strong enough, we can get a running start and, maybe someday, we can even fly:

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They were a very close family, despite their strange circumstances. Almost every day at 3:00 a.m., when most of the country was asleep, Jane, James, and Stanley would gather around the kitchen table and talk. It was only when the world around him was quiet that Stanley was able to function somewhat normally. He loved that special time with his parents. They would play games together, do puzzles, and drink hot chocolate or lemonade, depending on the season. Those tranquil times were a double-edged sword, though; on one hand, they provided Stanley with much needed peace and quiet, not to mention the irreplaceable time with his parents, but... being awake at 3:00 a.m. caused Stanley to fall asleep during classes. The Rosses were divided between their son's sanity and and his education; it was an ongoing give and take. Consequently, they came up with the plan of incorporating school work during these tranquil hours. Because of this change in routine, Stanley was able to make some progress with school work.

~ "The Chip" by George Jack; pp. 79-80

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Art by Shamus Beyale.