Ask a Star Wars fan how they feel about the prequel trilogy of movies, and it's more likely than not that you'll get a negative response. George Lucas' second trilogy of films - spanning The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clonesand Revenge of the Sith - introduced plenty of new ideas to his galaxy-spanning sci-fi work, and while some were great, fans tend to feel like he did more harm than good. And yet, despite this fan hate, Marvel seem set to implement one of Lucas' most unpopular additions.

Written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Terry Dodson - under the aegis of Jonathan Hickman as Marvel's Head of X - X-Men/Fantastic Four is a crossover set during the X-Men's new era, with the mutants presiding over the nation of Krakoa. Having embraced many of their former villains, their short-term goals are simple - gather and protect every Marvel mutant in one place. The problem? Franklin Richards, the son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, is one of the most powerful mutants in creation, and his parents don't want him to go.

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So what's the problem? Does Franklin just hate sand? The issue is that Franklin's powers are on the fritz. He's able to control reality, but he does so using a now finite supply of energy, and while his father has confirmed there's a problem, he doesn't seem overly concerned with fixing it. Doctor Doom, on the other hand, is more than happy to help Franklin unlock his powers, especially if it means siphoning off some of Franklin's unique energy while he's at it. In the process, Doom explains what's wrong with Franklin, and it's basically Star Wars' midi-chlorians.

Midichlorians Test from Star Wars The Phantom Menace

First appearing in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, midi-chlorians were an attempt to explain Jedi Force powers via biological means. Present within the cells of all living things, midi-chlorians connect to the larger Force - the more midi-chlorians you have, the more powerful your connection to the Force. While midi-chlorians don't completely ruin the mystery of the force, they did make it a far more mundane phenomenon, reducing a quasi-mystical spiritual connection to the bare facts of life. Sadly, X-Men/Fantastic Four seems set to follow the same path. Early in the story, Reed's notes are shown, and he theorizes about the nature of Marvel's own "Force":

Ever since the accident that gave us our extra abilities, I've been trying to reconcile the high energy expenditure of each of our power sets with our seemingly unchanged individual energy intake. The most basic laws of physics make this seem impossible. At first I suspected we were absorbing energy from the air, possibly low-level radiation, but the numbers never added up.

Then I came across the work of Dr. Rachna Koul, who specialized in imperiumology, the science of super-powers. She posited that superhumans are each connected to one or more intradimensional sources of energy, which she dubbed "Godpower" ... Franklin's diminishing powers would appear to lend credence to the Godpower theory, as he seems to be running out of the energy needed to use his powers. If we were to believe there is a Godpower source, then it's possible that Franklin's connection to that source is broken.

Marvel fantastic four x-men god power

Later, Doom - who would rather name this concept after himself - theorizes that Marvel's powered heroes, whether mutant or otherwise, tap into the Godpower via their mitochondria, which produce what he refers to as Von Doom Particles. By Doom's reckoning, there exists a distant dimension from which any hero who generates more energy than they take in (think Cyclops' eye beams) is drawing from, made possible by the presence of Von Doom Particles within their cells. This idea isn't totally new - heroes like Cloak and Reptil have been shown to derive their extra energy from specific alternate dimensions - but what is new, and disappointing to see, is the idea that all Marvel heroes draw their energy from the same dimension; a move which, like midi-chlorians, would make a wide and varied fictional world far more mundane.

Happily, there is some hope. Von Doom Particles and Godpower are, so far, just a theory - albeit one that makes sense to two of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe. Zdarsky also seems to plant the seeds of a reversal, clearly specifying that the Godpower dimension is a physical place, and one Doctor Doom has plans to invade. Hopefully, the team behind X-Men/Fantastic Four has more creative plans than those hinted at in this short, four-issue story - with Marvel having recently redirected a lot of talent to telling great stories in the Star Wars universe, it's to be hoped that they can learn a few lessons from the mistakes of that property's past - midi-chlorians included.

Next: Mister Terrific vs. Mister Fantastic: Who’s the Smarter Hero?