Spider-Man in the Fantastic Four ! Part 2

In Part 1, I showed the early days of Spider-Man being a member of the Fantastic Four. By the late 1970’s, sales of the Fantastic Four began sagging again, so once again, Stan Lee brought in Spider-Man again, to stimulate sales. Only this time, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, stayed, so for a time, they became known as the Fantastic Five! In the first issue, Spider-Man wore his traditional costume but with the spider logo replaced by a 5. 

Later Peter Parker went back to his blue and black “Fantastic  Spider-Man” suit only this time with a 5 instead of a 4 on the chest. By issue Five they had the ultimate foe when they fought the planet devourer Galactus, after that, there was seemingly no place else to go with the series, which is why Fantastic Five only lasted 10 issues. Despite that, Marvel has continued to treat Spider-Man as the fifth member of the team, in an off again, on again basis. 

In 2010, for issue #600, with the Human Torch currently dead, Spider-Man once again filled in. Shortly afterward the FF change to white costumes. He continues for another 20 issues; then Johnny Storm comes back to life–which always seems to happen in comic books–and returns to the team. 

Marvel Comics has gone to the Spider-Man well so often, it’s only a matter of time before Peter Parker once again becomes a member of the Fantastic Four. One thing is always certain about Marvel, they keep pulling the same tricks over and over again. 

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!