Runaways (collected as Runaways: Think of the Children) is a 2025 comic book series, initially published by Marvel Comics as part of the One World Under Doom event. The series is written by Rainbow Rowell with art by Elena Casagrandes, and is the sixth volume of Runaways.
Two months after the end of Runaways (Rainbow Rowell), when a future version of Gert Yorkes showed up and kidnapped Chase Stein, and after Karolina took the Staff of One away to an outpost in space to keep it away from her girlfriend Nico, the remaining Runaways are a wreck, held together primarily by the efforts of their self-appointed robot caretaker Victor von Doombot. When the real Doctor Doom begins summoning all his stray Doombots to come home, what's left of the team must pull together to save their friend.
The first issue was released June 11, 2025. The series lasted for 4 issues, with the final issue released September 10, 2025.
Runaways (2025) provides examples of:
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: Alex has claimed the mantle of Doc Justice for himself, becoming a teenage black successor to a role previously occupied by a white man.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Thanks to Doctor Doom instilling all of his Doombots with a belief that they are also Doctor Doom, a number of them have decided that since they are Doctor Doom, they don't have to follow his orders and are free to do as they wish. The miniseries kicks off with Doctor Doom seeking to disabuse them of this notion.
- The Atoner: Alex has taken up the mantle of Doc Justice in the hopes of making up for all the horrible things he did.
- Big Damn Kiss: Nico and Karolina share one when they're finally reunited in issue #4.
- Brought Down to Normal: Without the Staff of One, Nico has no access to magic. Gert has pointed out that she could always learn some different form of magic, but so far, Nico has no interest in trying.
- Call-Back: Way back in the original series, Nico alluded to having an eating disorder. In this miniseries, it comes back, as she has stopped eating and worse, keeps burning off whatever calories she does get through excessive exercise.
- Comically Missing the Point: In issue #3, Doombot and Chase argue over who should do a grocery run. Doombot argues that he should do it, as the most mature person there, but Chase notes that it would look really weird if Doom were spotted at Haul Mart. Doombot agrees - because everyone knows that Ralph's has better parsnips.
- Continuity Snarl: The miniseries is stated to take place about two months after the end of the previous series, which might have worked if the Runaways had remained dormant after the end of the 2017 series, except that in the intervening years, Nico has been teaching in Strange Academy (which issue #3 confirms is still canon), while Karolina has been having adventures in space in Marvel's Voices (2022).
- Defector from Decadence: It's shown that Victor von Doombot is one of several Doombots who have decided to stray from their creator's orders. One of the other Doombots is running his own criminal empire. Another works on a farm.
- Forgets to Eat: With her beloved Karolina gone, a depressed Nico has stopped doing anything to take care of herself, and keeps skipping meals. The first issue opens with Victor von Doombot trying to get her to join the rest of the team for dinner.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: In the penultimate issue, Doombot abandons the team in the hopes of leading his compatriots away from them.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Karolina has been in space and thus when she returns to find the Hostel empty and ravaged except for Alex (who is wearing the costume of the guy who crippled her powers), she assumes Alex must have done something.
- Never My Fault: Chase blames Molly and Gert for his kidnapping by Future!Gert, as if he wasn't the one who made Future!Gert possible by preventing Gert's death for his own selfish reasons.
- Not Me This Time: After all the shit he's done to his former friends since his resurrection, Alex has a hard time convincing Karolina that he wasn't responsible for whatever forced the Runaways to abandon the Hostel.
- Psychological Projection: Gert wants to help Nico regain her magic (despite the latter's ambivalence) because she herself feels useless without her time portico and her psychic connection to Old Lace and she assumes a similar angst is fueling Nico's depression, whereas it's obvious to everyone else that Nico's depression is because Karolina is gone.
- Recycled Title: The series is simply Runaways, the same title used for previous volumes. For the individual issues, it was disambiguated by using the One World Under Doom branding on covers, to tie in with the Crisis Crossover. For the collected edition that's dropped and it's renamed to Runaways: Think of the Children.
- Social Media Before Reason: Alex, Chase, and Karolina are able to find the others because Molly decided to post to her ClikClok account after Nico teleported them to one of the Yorkes properties.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: In issue #3, Karolina is forced to put her extremely-justifiable grudge against Alex on hold so that they can work together to find where the other Runaways have gone.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Whatever happened to Chase during his time in the future, he's come back much more bitter and angry, to the point that even Molly can barely inspire any affection from him and he's openly hostile to Gert.
- You Are Number Six: The other Doombots refer to Victor von Doombot exclusively as C53.