Waid and Ringo essentially deploy a bunch of sight gags and one-liners - but they are deployed with such expert timing and rapid-fire efficiency that “Spider Sense” becomes one of those storylines that tattoos a smile to my face just talking about it (I no doubt resemble the Cheshire cat when actually reading it). What ultimately elevates this story into “classic” status is the way Waid and Ringo use story and art to build the comedy - culminating with a Vaudevillian punchline by the time the second issue of the arc reaches its final page. Hijinks naturally ensue, leading to probably one of the best comic book stories to ever prominently feature the otherwise lame Spider-Man rogue, Hydro-Man.
Rather than get offended by Johnny’s obliviously cruel question, Spidey plays to his audience and decides to take his long-time frenemy on a tour of a day in the life of the unlikable. So rather than accept what has happened to him, Johnny seeks out Spider-Man for PR advice - i.e., “how do you do it?” (translation: how do you get out of bed every day and put on your costume when the whole city thinks you’re a menace). Johnny, always the egotist, is forced to accept the fact that his one-time adoring public has now soured on him, making Spider-Man, by comparison, less detestable to the common New Yorker. The story utilizes the always classic comedic trope of “role reversal,” in that it features a Spider-Man/Human Torch team-up that’s completely turned on its ear due to circumstances (that transpired in an earlier Waid/Ringo story) that have transformed the F4 from beloved superheroes into America’s most despised costumed vigilantes. Plus, neither Byrne nor Hickman ( though Hickman unquestionably came close) produced a Spider-Man/Fantastic Four story that’s as much fun to read as 2004’s “Spider Sense.” Waid and Ringo, who also collaborated for their classic early/mid-90s run on The Flash, just had an uncanny amount of synergy and chemistry while working on the “First Family of Comics.” Together, they yielded stories that featured the cosmic fun of the Lee/Kirby years, while also really nailing the Reed/Sue/Ben/Johnny family dynamic in a way that is both intimate but self-aware. But I might be willing to stick my neck out and declare Mark Waid and the late Mike Wieringo the winners. There will always be debate about which post-Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Fantastic Four creative run is the greatest - I certainly love John Byrne’s writer/artist stint in the 1980s, and Jonathan Hickman’s run on scripts a few years back is the strictest definition of a modern classic. “Spider Sense” - Fantastic Four #512-513 (published September-October 2004): script by Mark Waid pencils by Mike Wieringo inks by Karl Kesel
With the Fantastic Four starring in their own movie this summer, is taking a look at the 10 very best Spider-Man/F4 stories.
Dating back to the very first issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four have been intrinsically linked as allies, adversaries and frenemies.