Marvel Chronology Project

In the recent Fantastic Four #26, the Future Foundation return to Earth through the forever portal. However, I noticed something odd in the issue. Rikki Barnes, the Moloids, Lyja Laserfist, Bentley, Onome and Dragon Man were all depicted normally. However, in the same panels, Artie Maddox, Leech and the kids from Power Pack were only shown in shadow , and not just as background characters or in silhouette. They were prominent and at the forefront of the panels, and given how beautifully detailed and coloured the issue was, it would seem obvious that their characters were obscured intentionally. Any idea as to why this might be? Perhaps the characters have undergone some physical change like aging, scarring, new costumes, etc, that they do not want to reveal yet, but this would seem unlikely as none of the members of the FF mentioned any difference. It could be possible that, as Artie Maddox, Leech and Power Pack do not fall under the direct FF license umbrella, they are unable to be directly depicted in an FF issue for some reason, with Artie Maddox and Leech br under X-Men and Power Pack being of its own.

I don't think they were intentionally blacked out. The idea is that they are backlit against the huge light source behind them (the Forever Gate). It's a little weird but consistent with how the scene is set up.

The first issue of the new Power Pack miniseries (linked to Outlawed) should be out next week and it doesn't seem to me that there are major aesthetic changes to the characters (in addition to the covers, an online preview was also released some time ago, before the postponement of the series).