WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fantastic Four #31 by Dan Slott, R.B. Silva, Jesus Aburtov and Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
There are countless superpowered beings in the Marvel Universe, with the world of magic, mutants and mutates all resulting in plenty of different kinds of people with amazing abilities. While many become heroes and villains, Fantastic Four reveals one minor young hero who seemingly chose a much more mundane -- but still important -- place for himself in the world.
Terrance Ward, the former Trauma from Avengers Initiative, just returned to the Marvel Universe in a possibly major new position -- as Franklin Richard's therapist.
Terrance Ward is the son of Nightmare, one of Doctor Strange's most fearsome foes. As he entered adolescence while raised as an average young man, Terrance developed the ability to manifest into anyone's worst fears. The shocking nature of his powers drove others away from him, with his own mother ending up in a mental institution due to his powers. Eventually joining the Avengers Initiative program as a means of learning to control his powers, the newly dubbed Trauma was taken to Camp Hammond. Unfortunately, the application of his powers while in training resulted in the death of their fellow student, MVP.
Trauma soon received specialized training from Dani Moonstar, aka Mirage of the New Mutants. Thanks to the similar nature of her powers to his, she was able to help him gain a further level of control over his powers. Terrance even grew to truly appreciate the way Dani reached out to him, leading the young man to become a therapist for his fellow Initiative members. Growing increasingly heroic, Trauma tried to leave the Initiative when it fell under the sway of Norman Osborn during Dark Reign, but he was forced to remain within the organization by the Hood. It was at this point that Trauma learned about the true connection between him and Nightmare and helped keep the malevolent force from truly being unleashed on the world, eventually turning down an Avengers position to travel the world.
Trauma hadn't appeared for some time when the Fantastic Four come to him in Fantastic Four #31. After depleting his Omega-Level powers, Franklin Richards has become increasingly unsure about his place in the world and within his family. Growing more defiant and angry, Reed and Sue decide it's best for Franklin to have the chance to talk out his issues with someone they can trust -- even if it isn't them. This leads them to visit Terrance, who is revealed to have become a full-time therapist since leaving the world of superheroes behind. Using his powers, Trauma is able to reveal someone's worst fears to them -- but instead of using it for his own gain or to attack them, Trauma utilizes them to help the person learn more about themselves and move through their fears.
For Franklin, this means Trauma transforms into the mirror image of the young hero -- with his cosmic-level powers still intact. Notably, this gesture is enough to get Franklin to engage with Terrance as opposed to the more stand-offish attitude he had at the beginning of their meeting. Thanks to his powers, it appears that Terrance has developed into an ideal Marvel therapist. Considering his nice office and professional-looking setting, it appears that Terrance has also been highly successful in his work helping others. By taking on Franklin Richards as a patient, he could end up helping the young man find peace -- or even guide him towards humility if his powers should actually one day return.
It's a big step for the former Initiative prospect to have taken, especially considering his more self-defeating tendencies when his powers first manifested. It's a healthy development for the character and a reminder that superpowers don't just have to be used in the service of violence, but can instead be the secret keys to helping people change their lives for the better.