This episode parodies the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the spread of fake news through sites such as Facebook while also serving as a lead-in to the launch of the video game South Park: The Fractured but Whole.
Eric Cartman and his classmates are planning to launch a superhero franchise with an original Netflix series for their "Coon and Friends" alter egos, but are slandered by fake news stories on Facebook accusing them of burning the American flag and engaging in various sex acts, which damages their reputations.
The boys learn Butters Stotch is behind this, but he refuses to stop, as he engages in this activity in the guise of his supervillain identity, Professor Chaos, and has started a company to spread fake news for profit.
"[1] Jeremy Lambert with 411 Mania rated it a 5 out of 10, stating "It's tough to judge 'Franchise Prequel' given that it's 100 percent linked to the release of next week's South Park video game The Fractured But Whole.
Club contributor Dan Caffrey gave the episode a C+ rating, commenting that "By the end, 'Franchise Prequel' takes some timely jabs at Marvel's byzantine rollout plan for its cinematic universe, as well as our own complicity in the fake news problem by relying so much on Facebook to begin with.