One of the biggest shakeups in modern comicbook history came back in January 2005 when Wolverine and Spider-Man joined the Avengers in The New Avengers #1. Fans were initially thrown for a loop when two of Marvel’s biggest superheroes joined Earth’s Mightiest heroes. How can Wolverine be in both the X-Men and the Avengers at the same time, people asked. Spider-Man has always been a loner; he can’t function on a team, they cried. But things worked out in the long run and The New Avengers became one of Marvel’s top-selling titles. It seems the House of Ideas is about to shake things up once more, as CBR revealed in an exclusive that Wolverine and Spider-Man are joining the Fantastic Four!
Marvel unveiled a number of upcoming issues that tie-in to their big Fantastic Four and Avengers comicbook crossover series titled Empyre. Starting in Fantastic Four #21, both Wolverine and Spider-Man will get new matching FF costumes and officially become part of Marvel’s first family.
Written by Dan Slott with art duties being handled by Sean Izaakse, the official issue description reads: “With the Fantastic Four neck-deep in the menace in space, who can Powerhouse and Brainstorm call upon to deal with the crisis down on Earth? Only Spider-Man and Wolverine, of course!”
As this child of the 90s remembers, this isn’t the first time that both Wolvie and Spidey have joined the Fantastic Four. Way back in January 1991 a new FF team was recruited by a shape shifting Skrull who was impersonating the Invisible Woman.
The imposter managed to trick the Hulk, Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, and Wolverine into forming a new Fantastic Four. How will four heroes known for being lone wolves work together as a team!? It’s these kinds of questions that make the idea of a shared universe so appealing to a comicbook fan. The storyline only ran from Fantastic Four #347-349 but was so memorable that the team has reunited on occasion over the years.
The newest overhaul to the Fantastic Four roster comes as part of the larger Emprye storyline that sees the alien races of the Skrulls and the Kree uniting under a single emperor. The main series is written by Al Ewing and Dan Slott with art by Valerio Schiti. Let’s hope the new foursome is just as exciting as this long-time reader remembers the 90s incarnation to be. Excelsior!