Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Written by Kevin Burke and Chris 'Doc' Wyatt
Art by Nikos Koutsis
Colors by Mike Toris
Published by IDW

Welcome to another edition of Family Comic Friday. Today, we are going to have to get real loose and limber as we'll be looking at IDW's newest all-ages title- Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters #1.

Who is Stretch Armstrong?

Stretch Armstrong is the latest addition to IDW's shared universe of comics based on Hasbro toys. Stretch first appeared on toy shelves in 1976, where he stayed for over 20 years. The rubber man was filled with delicious ooey gooey corn syrup (Yes- corn syrup!) and he could stretch to about 2 feet in length before slowly regaining his normal shape. 

Despite being discontinued in 1997, Stretch Armstrong maintained a popularity with collectors. It was a highly sought after toy on the collector's market thanks once again to the corn syrup. Like just about everyone when they get old, most Stretch Armstrongs lost their ability to be pliable as the corn syrup would get crusty and dry up over the years. But more Stretch Armstrong's gave their lives in the name of curiosity as kids like me just had to know what was inside one of those figures. Once you cut him open and the filling poured out, that was it for Stretch Armstrong as moms across the world did not want corn syrup all over the house!

Back in Business

In the past year Stretch Armstrong has seen a resurgence. After several years of not being able to get a live-action film based on the character, Hasbro managed to work out a deal with Netflix for a 26 episode series. The first 13 episodes debut in late 2017 and the remainder is expected sometime later this year.

This comic is based on that Netflix series. It follows young Jake Armstrong and his buddies Nathan and Ricardo. During an accident, the boys are doused with a mysterious chemical called 'flexarium.' In order to not spend the rest of their lives as government guinea pigs, the friends agree to become a superhero trio called the Flex Fighters.

Nathan gains the ability to grow and retract glider like appendages and becomes Wingspan. Ricardo can change his body shape as Omni-Mass. Finishing out the group is Jake who with his super flexibility becomes Stretch Armstrong.

In the first issue, the Flex Fighters are sent to apprehend a giant Praying Mantis. The insect has somehow gotten into some flexarium and is now attacking Stretch's hometown of Charter City. Being a superhero is great and all that but Jake's father has put him on a very tight after school schedule. If he doesn't check in with his pop soon, that's going to mean the end of Stretch Armstrong. 

Issues with Issue #1

This first issue was interesting. I really liked the giant bug attacking the city. For the most part all of the characters seem very original and engaging, except for Stretch. Having him juggling being a superhero and a regular kid has been done to death with characters like Spider-Man, Robin, and Invincible. But one thing that helped with the characters I just mentioned is that their parents eventually find out that they are superheroes. That reveal adds a level of fluidity to the plot that you'd think Stretch Armstrong would have.

Another issue I had was that none of the Flex Fighters parents know that their kids were exposed to a potentially dangerous chemical. That's just completely unrealistic. Just once I would like to see a kid get super powers from a company's gross negligence and the CEOs get the pants sued off them as a result. It wouldn't be exciting. But it sure would be original!

I would like to say that I can't blame writers Kevin Burke and Chris 'Doc' Wyatt for the plotting. Normally, a writer of a comic book adaptation has to build a story based on another creator's idea. But both Burke and Wyatt are the executive producers of the Netflix series in which this is based! So I do blame them somewhat for having the Flex Force operate in secret with a company that seems to have a lot of trouble with split chemicals.

As for the art, not having Netflix, I have never seen an episode of Flex Fighters. But I have seen some stills from the show and I think the artist did a very good job. Nikos Koutsis' art looks quite a bit like those images of the cartoon. That being said, Mike Toris does a whiz-bang job on coloring detail.

The plot is a bit of a stretch

Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters #1 did remind me a lot of my childhood playing with my Stretch Armstrong figure. The action scenes were great and I liked the characters. While kids will delight in a series about teen superheroes, I'm not sure that adults are going to feel the same. The plausibility of the arrangement of this super group is just wrong. I will be careful not to say realistic, as I know this is a comic book and it's fantasy. 

But with all good sci-fi there's an element of realism somewhere. When it comes to the ethics of building a group of heroes by A) a chemical spill and B) threatening the kids with being forced to live in a government research facility for their entire lives, that's just where I have to draw the line with my suspension of disbelief. Young readers will probably see beyond this element of the story. For me, my imagination just can't stretch that far.

Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters #1 debuted on January 31, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Review was published concurrently on Outrightgeekery.com.