The chemistry is the whole point: the trash talk, the one-upmanship, and the quiet loyalty underneath it. When the jokes stop, the bromance is the real story. After the Human Torch's apparent death in the 2011 "Three" storyline (Fantastic Four #587), Peter Parker joined the Future Foundation — effectively taking Johnny's place on the team. It remains one of the most poignant beats these two ever shared.
Spider-Man and the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) first met in Strange Tales Annual #2 (1963), a story that ran in the Human Torch's own feature. The Torch is tricked by the Wizard into believing Spider-Man is a criminal; the two clash before realizing they've been played and team up to take the Wizard down. (Johnny had already appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #1 earlier in 1963, when a broke Spider-Man broke into the Fantastic Four's headquarters hoping to join the team for money, but the Annual is their first real face-to-face team-up.) The early friction — Johnny the celebrity golden boy, Peter the broke unknown — hardened into the needling, competitive friendship that defines them.
Spider-Man and the Human Torch are among the closest, most enduring friendships in the Marvel Universe — best-friend rivals whose relationship is built on constant needling. Johnny is one of the small circle who has long known (in most eras) Peter's true identity as a trusted confidant. The bond was tested most severely when Johnny apparently died in Fantastic Four #587 (2011); Peter honored his dying wish by taking his seat in the Future Foundation (FF #1, 2011). Johnny was revealed alive in Fantastic Four #600 (2011), and the two picked right back up. In recent continuity Johnny is once again active with the Fantastic Four (including Ryan North's ongoing run) while Peter carries his own titles; whenever their books cross over, they revert instantly to the affectionate, competitive 'bro' dynamic that has defined them since 1963.
Jonathan "Johnny" Storm gained his powers alongside his sister and their friends when cosmic rays washed over their spacecraft. He can ignite his entire body — bursting into flame with the cry of "Flame on!" — and take to the sky, projecting and controlling fire and heat at will. He can absorb nearby flame to grow stronger, and when he pushes to his limit he can unleash a devastating nova burst, releasing his stored heat in every direction at once.
He's the hotshot of the Fantastic Four, flying wingman to Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman (his sister), and the Thing — his sparring partner in good-natured chaos. Their greatest foe is Doctor Doom. Johnny is impulsive, cocky, and brave to a fault: the youngest of the family, and the one who wears his heart on his flaming sleeve.