8 Biggest WTF Comic Book Moments Of 2020

3. Wait... Franklin Richards Isn't Actually A Mutant?!

Franklin Richards Mutant
Marvel Comics

2020's biggest off-page shenanigans almost certainly belonged to DC, but as previously mentioned they didn't call dibs on all the 'yikes' moments within them.

Marvel's X-books have been a massive breath of fresh air this last year. They've introduced a new status quo for the mutants and no matter your interest in the X-Men, there's bound to be a title for you out there, because pretty much all of them whip a tremendous amount of ass.

The new changes have also spilled over into certain Marvel titles that fall outside of the X-Men's orbit, specifically Fantastic Four. One of the big conflicts Jonathan Hickman set up back during House of X was between the nation of Krakoa and Marvel's first family; Reed Richards and Sue Storm's son, Franklin, is a mutant, and the rest of the X-Men believe his destiny lies with them on Krakoa.

This was seemingly building to something massive, but then the new Fantastic Four series introduced a massive retcon: Franklin was never a mutant, and was instead only pretending to be one.

The allegorical nature of the X-gene makes this all one big 'oof' moment, and one fans are understandably yet to warm to.

Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.