Untold Tales of Spider-Man Annual 1996
A Night on the Town!
While out on patrol, Spider-Man spots a gang of jewel thieves fleeing the scene of a robbery. He swings in to capture the thieves but is beaten to the punch by the Human Torch who surrounds them in a ring of fire. Spider-Man is annoyed further when a news crew comes to interview the Torch for the capture of this gang. As Spider-Man swings away, the Torch catches up and reveals that he spotted Spider-Man swinging in to bag the Maloy Gang and decided to beat him to the punch on purpose. This angers Spider-Man even more and so he decides to get even with the Johnny for this stunt. Thinking about how he could do so, the wall-crawler suddenly gets inspiration.
At that moment, at the Baxter Building, Sue Storm enters Reed Richard's lab to tell him that they just received a letter from his old alma mater at State University. They have asked him to come to the school in order to give a speech.[1] Reed is annoyed by the interruption, telling Sue that he is working on a device that will help them better understand her ability to create invisible force fields.[2] When Sue tries to tell Reed that she needs to get out and do something, hinting that she is feeling neglected, he tells her that he is really busy. This angers the Invisible Girl and she storms out of Reed's lab. Running into Johnny and Ben, she tells them about how Reed ignored her. While Johnny teases her about not falling for the Sub-Mariner, the Thing assures her that Mister Fantastic loves her, even though he has a funny way of showing it. That's when Spider-Man arrives with a bouquet of flowers. When the Torch demands to know what the wall-crawler is doing in their home, Spider-Man explains that he has come to ask Johnny's sister out on a date. The pair almost come to blows when Sue steps in and surprises them all by accepting Spider-Man's invitation. After making arrangements to meet at eight the next evening, Sue sends Spider-Man away. Swinging for home, the wall-crawler is surprised that his scheme actually worked. Back inside the Baxter Building, Johnny asks his sister why she would even consider going out on a date with Spider-Man. She reminds them of their last encounter with the wall-crawler which ended with Spider-Man weaving her a heart out of webbing.[3] When Johnny points out that the entire encounter happened only because Spider-Man was trying to make a play for his girlfriend, Sue points out that at least Spider-Man is attentive to her needs. With Sue preparing for her date, Johnny and Ben try to get Reed out of his lab long enough to tell him what's going on.
The next day, Peter Parker can't focus on classes at Midtown High because he keeps on thinking of his upcoming date with the Invisible Girl. His lack of attention gets him in trouble in class. He also is oblivious when Flash and Tiny pin a "kick me" sign on his back. Noticing that Peter is acting differently, Liz Allen asks Peter if he is feeling unwell, but he assures her that he feels fine. However, Peter finds himself in a dilemma when he returns home and Aunt May tells him that Betty Brant is on the phone. Betty has been mad at him for the attention other girls have been showing him recently.[4] Betty tells Peter that she has the night off and suggests that they spend it together. When he turns her down, Betty gets upset and angrily hangs up on him. Peter feels bad for hurting Betty all for the sake of getting on the Human Torch's nerves. Still, he keeps his promise, and Spider-Man arrives at the Baxter Building that evening for his date with the Invisible Girl. When he arrives, Johnny is waiting outside with his sister trying to talk her out of going on a date with the wall-crawler, but she insists on keeping the date. When Spider-Man arrives, he and Sue go on their date in one of the components of the Fantasti-Car. Johnny is furious and decides to do something about this situation. It's then that Spider-Man realizes that he hasn't thought of where to take Sue on their date. Strapped for cash, he suggests that they go to a pizza parlor down below. Seeing that the Fantasti-Car has stopped, Johnny leaves the Baxter Building and flies out across the Atlantic Ocean to enact his scheme to get back at Spider-Man.
Reaching the right spot, the Torch uses his flame powers to attract the attention of the Sub-Mariner who demands to know what the Torch wants. Johnny convinces Namor that his sister has been kidnapped by Spider-Man. This ploy easily works and the Torch sends the Sub-Mariner off with a tracking device that will lead him to Sue and Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Spider-Man's date with Sue Storm is not going as planned as Sue spends her whole time complaining about the relationship problems she has with Mister Fantastic and the Sub-Mariner. When talking about dating, the web-head admits he envies the fact that the Fantastic Four don't have secret identities, as his makes it difficult to explain why he is ducking out on a date. That's when the Sub-Mariner comes crashing into the pizza shop in order to "rescue" Sue. When the Invisible Girl tries to explain the situation to Namor, Spider-Man makes the mistake of putting his hand on the undersea monarch. This is seen as an insult, prompting the Sub-Mariner to strike Spider-Man with a blow hard enough to send the hero flying out into the street. The pair soon begin fighting across the city, making it impossible for Sue to try and talk both of them down. Deciding that she is in over her head, she pulls her Fantasti-Flare Gun out of her purse and fires it into the air in order to summon the rest of the Fantastic Four.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man is on the defensive but knows that Sub-Mariner is more than a match for the Sub-Mariner and begins scrambling for ideas on how to end the fight before things go to far. By this time, the Fantastic Four have arrived at the pizza shop where Sue explains the whole situation. Unable to help himself, Johnny begins to laugh at Spider-Man's misfortune, tipping his teammates off to the fact that he is responsible for Namor's presence in the city. While on the rooftops, Spider-Man begins getting tired, leaving him open to harm from Namor. He is also distracted when he spots Betty Brant on the street below with J. Jonah Jameson. When Namor tries to hurl debris at the web-slinger, he dodges out of the way but has to web up the debris before it can strike Betty and Jonah. Seeing Spider-Man selflessly saving innocent people causes the Sub-Mariner to pause for a moment. However, the time for talk is passed as Spider-Man is now spoiling for a fight. Before the pair can come to blows again, they are stopped by the Invisible Girl, who puts a force field between the pair. Landing the Fantasti-Car, the Fantastic Four explains the whole situation. Namor apologizes for acting so brashly and returns to Atlantis, while Mister Fantastic apologizes for ignoring Sue. While Johnny believes he finally taught Spider-Man a lesson, the wall-crawler is not done with the Torch yet and swings away. It's over an hour and a half-later when Peter Parker returns home to Queens, satisfied that he has delivered the Torch a worthy comeuppance.
While in Glenville, Long Island, Johnny and Sue have returned home where the Torch gets a stern talking to from his sister. Johnny doesn't see what the big deal is since nobody got hurt and decides to go into the garage to tinker with his car. When he enters he finds his car webbed to the ceiling and a note telling Johnny that his webbing will dissolve within an hour. As it turns out, that hour has passed just as Johnny entered the garage and watches in horror as his car comes crashing to the ground.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Sub-Mariner, Flash Thompson, Tiny McKeever, Liz Allen, Aunt May, Betty Brant, J. Jonah Jameson, Raymond Warren
Continuity Notes
Reed Richards will answer this request to give a speech at State University in Fantastic Four #35.
At the time of this story, Sue just recently started using her ability to create invisible force fields in Fantastic Four #22.
The Invisible Girl is referring to the time Spider-Man played pranks on the Human Torch in Amazing Spider-Man #8.
Particularly, Betty has been upset by the attention that Liz Allan has been showing Peter since Amazing Spider-Man #12.
