Historically, Franklin Richards has played a pivotal symbolic role in X-Men comics by establishing a shared destiny and a poignant bond of sympathy between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. #xmen #Marvel 1/7
The connection begins in Days Of Future Past with the revelation that Franklin Richards is part of the incarcerated X-Men rebel team, alongside Magneto, Storm and Kate Pryde. He wears an M on his chest, revealing that he is, in fact, a mutant. 2/7
Franklin even dies at the hands of the sentinels, making him effectively a martyr for the mutant cause. 3/7
Years later in the first Fantastic Four vs X-Men mini-series, Claremont uses Kitty and Franklin to represent the innocence and generational aspirations of each respective team. 4/7
It is Franklin who keeps Kitty from killing herself in despair over her Mutant Massacre injury. In the end, it’s the friendship between Kitty and Franklin that symbolizes hope for the two teams to unite through the shared bond of the future generation. 5/7
This again becomes a prominent consideration in the underrated “Days of Future Present” storyline, which explores the depth of love between Franklin and the time-displaced Rachel Summers, a love that transcends death itself…briefly. 6/7