In every installment of Abandoned Love we will be examining comic book stories, plots and ideas that were abandoned by a later writer without actively retconnng away the previous story. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.

Reader Leo K. wrote in to ask:

I have a question, in Fantastic Four Vol 2 #11 (The last proper heroes Reborn issue), before Galactus and his Heralds strike, Sue announces to Reed that she’s pregnant and that’s it. Sue’s Pregnancy is never brought up again in either the rest of the Galactus story in when the heroes return from the reborn universe. So what happened to the baby?

Leo is correct.

In 1996, Marvel “killed off” the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in battle with the evil Onslaught (they sacrificed themselves to destroy him) and had them relaunched in their own new continuity in a series of books dubbed “Heroes Reborn,” with Jim Lee’s Wildstorm Studios handling Fantastic Four and Iron Man and Rob Liefeld’s Extreme Studios handling Captain America and The Avengers. After about a half-year’s worth of stories, Lee’s Studio took over all four titles.

In Fantastic Four #11 (by Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, Brett Booth, Ron Lim and a pile of inkers), Reed and Sue (who are not yet married in this reality) are having a picnic when Sue reveals some big news…

They tell the rest of the gang later in the issue…

Right before the Heralds of Galactus show up!

Then, the following issue, right in the middle of dealing with the whole Galactus threat, Reed proposes to Sue…

Then heroes learned that Franklin Richards, Reed and Sue’s son, had CREATED this new world to save them when they “died” fighting Onslaught and so the heroes then returned to Earth and, well, in Fantastic Four #1, Sue is no longer pregnant and it is never mentioned again…

The “real” answer is that it was just never explained. However, in Avengers 2001 Annual, Kurt Busiek, Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund explain away the changes to some Avengers and it probably applies to Sue, as well….

That’s just about coming TO the Heroes Reborn Earth, but I suppose it could explain changes on the way back, as well. And…yeah….that’s….kind of disturbing, right?

That’s it for this installment. Thanks to Leo for the suggestion! If anyone else has a suggestion of an interesting abandoned comic book plot, drop me a line at [email protected]!