Spider-Man in the Fantastic Four ! Part 1

The last time I told you about several of Spider-Man’s enemies and then on how he first encountered The Fantastic Four; this time I’ll discuss his relationship with them over the years. Johnny Storm, The Human Torch came to get his own title, Johnny Storm and the Inhumans, so they needed to have a new fourth member, so for the sake of sales, Stan Lee picked amazingly popular Spider-Man to fill that gap.

From the beginning, Reed Richards insisted that Spider-Man wear the official uniform, so Peter Parker donned one of Johnny Storm’s old suits and used a paper bag to hide his identity. He wore that makeshift uniform until issue 30. In that issue featuring the story “The All New Spider-Man!” Reed gave Peter advanced versions of his web shooters and a cowl that matched the suit as well as boots that allowed Spider-Man’s powers to function.  

Here’s the cover to Fantastic Four #49, where you can see Spider-Man’s “official” FF uniform–this was the first issue to feature The Watcher, and the beginning of The 3 part Yancy Street Saga.   Johnny Storm returned to save the team in issue #50 and Spider-Man departed the team in issue #51. Next time, I’ll point out a few future efforts by Marvel Comics to reunite Spider-Man with the Fantastic Four!