Warning! Spoilers ahead for New Fantastic Four #2
In comic books, coming up with the perfect catchphrase is a rite of passage. But unfortunately, Spider-Man never quite got the hang of one.
In 1990, a Skrull villain kidnapped the Fantastic Four and posed as Susan Storm to convince Ghost Rider, Hulk, Wolverine and Spider-Man to take their place to form a new FF team. Now, that era is being revisited in the new Marvel comic series New Fantastic Four. The story follows a demon in Las Vegas that is taking control of people. As this new Fantastic Four confronts them, the demon sends Hulk, Wolverine, and Spider-Man away to the Baxter Building while he keeps Ghost Rider back to fight him.
In New Fantastic Four #2 by Peter David and Alan Robinson, the remaining three members of this new team find the Human Torch Johnny Storm. Together, the four of them jump in the Fantasticar and try to get back to Las Vegas to help their stranded comrade. Along the way, a priest who has interacted with the demon is magically teleported to the flying car and begins plummeting to the ground. The Human Torch goes after him, yelling his iconic catchphrase “Flame on!” in the process. At this point, Spider-Man muses that he should have a catchphrase like “Webs away!” But Hulk, in his gray Joe Fixit form, immediately shuts the catchphrase down.
Although this interaction is brief, put into context with the characters involved, it’s actually quite hilarious. The Human Torch and Spider-Man are close friends, so it’s certainly possible that Spidey has been jealous of Johnny’s catchphrase for a long time and has been planning to unveil one of his own. When he finally sees his opportunity to try it out, Joe Fixit, who is known for being a lot more sarcastic than his green counterpart, hilariously responds with just one word: “No.”
It’s cool to imagine an alternate timeline where this catchphrase does take off and Spidey goes around yelling, “Webs away!” before every fight. It’s also a bit odd to think Spider-Man has been around for decades and doesn’t have a signature phrase. Besides the Human Torch, another member of the Fantastic Four has a great catch phrase, that obviously being the Thing’s “It’s clobberin’ time.” There are also other sayings associated with other iconic heroes such as Superman’s “Truth, justice, and a better tomorrow” as well as Wolverine’s “He’s the best there is at what he does, and what he does isn’t very nice.” Probably the closest Spidey gets to that is his signature “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” but that’s more of a nickname than a catchphrase. And after being so popular for so many years, perhaps it’s time Spider-Man had a saying of his own.
