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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 17, 2020 21:23:24 GMT -5
This started in Land of the Misfit stories, since I was continuing on after finishing Marvel Super Special, and MTU and MTIO were occasionally used to continue a storyline (Thanos, Black Goliath, a few others) and some of the guest stars were decidedly misfits; but, the point was raised about these warranting their own threads. Well, like any wrestling booker, I go with the crowd. So, here is the new home for random pairings of heroes to fill out the card. These won't be the main events; but, will be a pretty good source of mid-card tag-team matches. So get your programs, buy some popcorn and a beer (or soda) and sit back, because it is bell time....
The Road Warriors; mauling more opponents before most people have breakfast!
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 17, 2020 21:24:06 GMT -5
Marvel Team-Up #1 The title sounds like the intro to a Monty Python sketch! Creative Team: Roy Thomas-team writer, Ross Andru-team penciler, Mike Esposito-team inker, Artie Simek-team letterer, Stan Lee-team coach Where were you in '72? (to swipe from George Lucas...) I was starting the 1st grade. Technically, this was released in December of 1971, so I was being forced to do some horrid Christmas thing for school, to present to our parents, while in kindergarten. Nap time was fine; but, I learned more from Sesame Street than kindergarten. I could already read, thanks to the Muppets and The Electric Company (well, to a certain extent) Synopsis: Peter Parker is at the beach, having been assigned there by JJ Jameson to get snaps of the Polar Bear Club and their annual attempts at hypothermia. One nitwit comes out of the water screaming about a tentacle, made of sand. The tentacle forms into a man and it's the Sandman....  Cue Metallica... The Sandman pops a beer and whacks someone with a cane...... ...Oh, wait, that was ECW..... ECW was an exciting (if rather bloody and violent, far too often) product; but, their ringside crowds were like Pavlov's dogs. Anyway... Sandman is sporting his Kirby duds, having left behind Ditko's striped shirt and eschewing Neil Gaiman's black coat and black eyeliner. The cops try to arrest him (On what charge; tickling with intent?) and that doesn't work, as the cuffs just pass through his arms. Sandy shakes out his trunks (the sand gets everywhere) and laughs atthe fuzz and then Spidey shows up. He swings in on a web, though I don't know what it is attached to there on the beach. The banter and play on the beach and Spidey mentions Christmas Eve, which catches Sandy by surprise (Oh, no; what will I get the Wizard for Christmas?) Sandy takes a powder and Spidey slings off down the street, before nearly getting burnt, by a ring of fire... It's the Torch, goofing around, while demonstrating that he is color-blind (even for 1971/72)...  Spidey tells Johnny that sandman is back (since he is with the Frightful Four and Johnny used to spar with him solo). They go off to New Jersey in Torch's beater version of the Fantasticar, since Reed and Sue have the new station wagon model on a test drive. They drop down in Jersey to check around and spot muggers attacking a woman and intercede, getting checks on Santa's Good List. next, they spot a cement truck (who's pouring concrete in December?) that goes out of control, sliding on ice and they stop it. They are about to give up when they spot Sandman on a rooftop (where else?) They fight and Sandman says something about "Not when I'm this close..."  Using the Wizard's gadgets, which solidify his sand into concrete, he takes out the Dynamic Dimwits and holds them prisoner. He dumps them into a water tower to drown. Spidey can't get loose; but, Torch is able to spit fire onto the cable that holds them and burn through, freeing them. They catch up to Sandy and spot him going into a window. Then, they follow and find a surprise...  They give Sandy five minutes, but Torch falls asleep and Sandy gets out through a sink drain. The boys go off to celebrate their own Christmases. Thoughts: Sappy, but fun. Oh, for the days when you could have a cornball holiday issue and no one got all bent out of shape because it wasn't part of a multi-chapter epic, stretched to fit into a trade book or with 18 variant covers, including Hanukkah and Kwanza limited editions! Andru & Esposito were Spidey vets, so they knew what they were doing and Torch and Sandman are well handled. It's holiday fluff, so no real in depth analysis is needed. Just a good, solid comic for readers, for the holidays. Back when comics were still a mass medium. Marvel Team-Up was initially launched as a Spidey & Torch vehicle; but, that proved limiting and they abandoned the format after the first three issues. So, we get two more Torch crossovers, then new guest stars. Roy pretty much sets up the template; Spidey is hanging around, away from his normal soap opera, when some crisis erupts and he stumbles into another hero. They work together to solve things, with a lot of banter and a greater emphasis on action than plot (not that they didn't come up with some good plots in these things). Big names would come in to give the series a boost and rookies would get a tryout or attempt to "get a rub," as a wrestling booker would say, to elevate a minor character. Sometimes, they carried over into a second issue and would continue their team or bring in another character. Once in a great while, they stretched it over three or four issues, such as when Spidey encounters an amnesiac Black Widow, who is on the run from SHIELD, while Silver Samurai and Viper are up to no good. That one brought in Black Widow, Nick Fury and Shang Chi, by the end of it and had them stopping Viper from using the Helicarrier to launch 9/11, some 22 years earlier. I always preferred MTU to the regular Spidey books, as the tone was lighter and more playful and you weren't hit with the constant whining that passed for soap opera. Spider-Man had some great stories; but, for much of the 70s, he came across as a big crybaby, who could whip up some electronic gizmo, with no money, and defeat a villain, but couldn't earn enough to pay his rent. It just never worked for me. Next, The Thing starts his own tag-team series.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 17, 2020 21:24:52 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #1 Ben and Man-Thing go monstro a monstro! Looks like Man-Thing needs a little chlorophyll there.... Creative Team: Steve Gerber-writer, Gil Kane-pencils, Joe Sinnott-inks, Jean Izzo-letters, George Roussos-colors, Roy Thomas-editor Synopsis: Ben is at a store newsstand (remember those?), looking at Man-Thing on the cover and contemplating calling his lawyer to file a trademark infringement suit...  Thing short changes a clerk for a bus ticket to Florida to go serve papers. Th gas station owner wonders how he angered the Fates. On the bus, Ben muses while his fellow passengers wish they had taken Amtrak. He remembers his recent battles with the Hulk and alongside Iron Man, in Marvel Feature, which served as a test for this concept (and helped further Thanos on his road to killing the universe). Elsewhere, the Molecule Man is dying and passes on his legacy to his son. He dies and Junior heads to Earth and does the usual fist rattling at the world...  He transports to Florida and runs into the chlorophyll deprived man-Thing and feels weaker and ages. Well, he's ugly; but not that bad...He grabs his wand and it reverses things (he dropped it when he saw MT). So, Chekov's Gun and all that. He goes stomping off in the Everglades, looking for Ben, with man-Thing loping behind him. Ben gets off at a bridge and hops into the swamp to go searching. You know, the Everglades covers a lot of acreage; how exactly is Ben going to find Man-Thing; luck? Yup.....  Molecule Man Jr attacks, Man-Thing Pearl harbors him and tosses him aside, but he keeps hold of his wand. Ahem... He zaps Ben and M-T with its rays, which affect time and both appear in previous human form, with Ben back to his ever lovin' self and M-T returned to Ted Sallis. MM runs off and Ben seems a bit miffed about being returned to human form, though Sallis is pretty happy.  Molecule Man's wand starts acting up (stop it!) because of the Nexus of Realities. he decides to walk to New York, to attack the FF. Ben and Ted follow. They track him to Citrusville, where he is making things go all loopy...  He turns an old man into reed Richards, then smacks him around and Ben attacks and gets turned back into the Thing. he then gets chained down. Ted tries to tell ben that brute force won't work and gets smacked into MM and turned into Man-Thing, who then attacks Ben. MM laughs and Ben throws debris at him, knocking away the wand, which causes him to rapidly age. He tries to get to the wand but crumbles into dust before he can reach iot. ben picks it up but can't make it work and throws it aside, for a kid to pick up. Man-Thing shuffles off and the kid dreams of being King of the World. Nice job Ben; future super-villain right there! Thoughts: Pretty contrived but it gets by on personality and just enough comedy to make it work. I always preferred MTIO, since Ben made for a more fun character and the comedy was usually better written than MTU. Also, Ben is just a big lovable hunk a' rock. The idea of Ben and Ted being restored is tossed aside pretty quickly and Ben is back in rocks and trunks faster than you can say "Presto-chango!" You could have got some mileage out of that; but, these were usually done-in-one stories. Kane makes it look all...well, Kanesian. He adds some nice physical touches with the bystanders at the beginning and as MM is running amok. Now, quick housekeeping note; at one point, MTU crosses over with MTIO; but, they started 2 years apart. that meant either waiting to do MTIO until I hit that point, 40+ issues down the road, or that I just cover things separately, which is what I'm going to do. So, when I hit that point in MTIO, I will start the story's review with the MTU chaper, even though it will be out of sequence and continue in the MTIO chapter, then go back to pick up the MTU coverage where I left off. It may get confusing; but, it's more fun, for me. your mileage may vary.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 17, 2020 21:27:54 GMT -5
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 18, 2020 10:38:41 GMT -5
I enjoy MTU a lot. I know that is a first issue in a new Spidey series (and his second ever series) but I always find it kinda funny how that book always has people who will buy it. I would say the earlier team ups were fun, with nothing that amazing or great ever in the entire run really. MTIO is a relatively unknown for me having only read a smattering of issues so I look forward to this thread (grabs another handful of popcorn)
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 18, 2020 10:48:42 GMT -5
I enjoy MTU a lot. I know that is a first issue in a new Spidey series (and his second ever series) but I always find it kinda funny how that book always has people who will buy it. I would say the earlier team ups were fun, with nothing that amazing or great ever in the entire run really. MTIO is a relatively unknown for me having only read a smattering of issues so I look forward to this thread (grabs another handful of popcorn) IMO, the more MTU tied to TASM plots (no matter the degree) the stronger the title would become. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 20, 2020 16:49:39 GMT -5
Marvel Team-Up #2 and just for fun, the French edition...  Spider-Man et la Torche Humaine! En couleur! En Francais! Zut alor! (My apologies to anyone of the Gaulic persuasion) Creative Team: Gerry Conway-writer, Ross Andru-pencils, Jim Mooney-inks, Sam Rosen-letters, Stan Lee-editor. No credit for colorist. GCD has no idea, either. Synopsis: Johnny Storm is moping around on a pier, when he runs into an old rummy ex-sailor, named Nathaniel, who like all sailors, talks like Robert Netwon...  As yesterday was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and I was at work and could participate (it's unprofessional to say, "Will ye be shippin' this express, ye scurvy landlubber?"), I will continue the rest of the review in authentic pirate patois... in a West Country accent of course! Arrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Johnny 'ears the words of the old salt, by gar, and 'e realizes e should be a-consultin' wit one of 'e's mates; so, 'e Flames On an' goes searching for Spider-Man. 'e finds him and yells out, "Avast there, ye bilge-sucking wall crawler . What up?" Spider-Man nearly drops from the misenmast, as Torch burns clear through 'is web line and tells Torch to go wark the plank and bugger off! Spidey swings like Errol Flynn past a porthole (I believes ye calls 'em winderrrrrs), where Wizard and Trapster (I preferred the name Paste Pot Pete; good pirate name that!) are hole up. Sandman joins them and Wizard spots Spidey and 'e says that the web slingerrrr will make a fine member of his crew. Sandman say 'es off his tiller and 'e want revengin' on Spider-Man. Wizard, 'e got a plan. Arrrrrr!!!!! Johnny boy is back at tha Baxter Building, 'aving a pint o' grog (coffee, that is) when the ship's bell rings, from the pier (or Spidey buzzes from the lobby, take yer pick!) Torch takes tha elervator down to the lobby and Spidey belts 'im one around tha ears, and knocks him on 'is stern. Torch don't take kindly to gettin' bonked in tha mush and 'e tries to get 'is back!  They 'ave a donnybrook through tha buildin', with Spider-Man gettin' tha better of it an' Torch, 'e wakes up in a straightjacket, 'is legs encased in Paste Pot Pete's foam.  Wizard is usin' the Negative Zone connection to drain cosmic energy for their devices, when 'e spots Annihilus, who starts drainin' power from them. Spidey is under some trance of Sandman's (somehow we ain't seen). Torch breaks loose o' the paste and straightjacket and Flames on, then 'e blasts at Sandman an' Paste Pot Pete, then Pete fires 'is gun back at 'em. As Annihilus starts to break through tha gate, Wizard tells Spider-Man to heave to and attack Torch.  Spidey wails on the lubber until Johnny shouts 'e's Spidey's mate an' Spider-Man starts to come out of 'is trance. They then team up (like tha title says, ye grog-addled dogs) an knock seven bells outta the Wizard an Paste Pot Pete and turn off tha' machine what Annihilus was usin' to board their dimnension. Sandman turns up agin an'Spidey decks him, spreadin' 'is sand out. "e leaves and Johnny calls for tha' shore patrol. We never do learn 'ow he was put under tha Wizard's spell. Thoughts: Not entirely pleased wi' this 'ere yarn, ye scurvy dogs; too much left unsaid, if ye don't mind ma' sayin', cap'n. Conway doesn't tell or show us 'ow them bilge rats put the whammy on Spider-Man and it is pretty important to the plot. Methinks Stan was too busy elsewharrrr to do 'e's job proper-like, if ye take ma meanin', no offense to tha Man. Feels like someone left out 3 or 4 pages of the story. Aye, but tha artwork do look a might perty, so it's got that goin' fer it, This is still meant as a Spider-Man and 'uman Torch vehicle, so it is, with one more issue of that there format. Now, it's eight bells and time fer some grub!
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Post by kirby101 on Sept 20, 2020 17:20:55 GMT -5
I read MTU because I was a Marvel Zombie. But I never took to Andru's Spider-Man. Was happy when other artist I preferred took over.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 20, 2020 18:12:22 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #2 The Thing and the Sub-Mariner  Ah, sub-mariners are a bunch of pampered nancy boys, who go out on ships designed to sink! Join the real Navy!  Creative Team: Steve Gerber-writer, Gil Kane-pencils, Joe Sinnott-inks, Artie Simel-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Roy Thomas-editor Synopsis: Wundarr, who has been leaping about, after getting into a scuffle with Man-Thing, coes crashing down into the ocean, near Hydrobase, where he is spotted by Namorita, cousin of prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner.  Namorita dives in and rescues the big lug, who can't swim and then gives him a bit of mouth-to-mouth, though not necessarily to revive him. She asks his name and he makes like Kurt Russell, on Gilligan's Island. (Girl...boy. Girl...boy. Girl...boy. Now you try. Girl...boy, boy, boy!) Namor shows up to spoil her fun. Wundarr leaps away in fear, as Namor is pretty agitated. Nita begs her cousin to go after him, that he acted like a baby. Namor gives in, 'cause he's a dope. Wundarr is observed from space by Tuumar and Zeneg, the Kang and Kodos of Wundarr's home planet of Dakkam. They remind us what happened in Adventure into Fear # 17, when Hektu, Wundarr's father, sent him off into space, prophesizing doom for the planet. He was wrong, was executed for spreading panic and his ship malfunctioned and Wundarr grew up to be a man-child, who was missed by kindly Maw and Paw, in the Florida swamps, so he thought Man-Thing was his mother. It was more Gerber silliness.   Meanwhile, in New York, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm come out of a theater, after watching 5 Fingers of Death. Johnny was wowed; Ben wasn't impressed. I didn't think much of it either. The Shaw Brothers had much better films. Still better than your average Chuck Norris karate flick, though.  Wouldn't you know it? Wundarr comes crashin' down into Manhattan and he doesn't like crowds.  He picks up a car and flings it and Ben jumps in to keep the destruction at reasonable Marvel levels.  Kang & Kodos....er, Tuumar and Zeneg watch from space, while Namor & Nita turn up. They get help from a tugboat cap'n, who is smokin' a pipe, while watching the fight on tv. They fly off and arrive just as Ben knocks Wundarr on his hinder and Namor tackles Ben...  (like the FOOM Wants You billboard, followed on the next page by a marquee advertising "Roy Steps Out.") Nita helps Wundarr up, as Namor trades punches with Thing, like Kawada and Misawa in All-Japan Pro Wrestling... Kang & Kodos...er,....aw, heck, I'm callin' 'em Kang & Kodos...decide that Namor is too wild and Imperils the calmn of Dakkam, even though they aren't anywhere enar Dakkam and go down to stop him. They hover above and beam down, with a big robot and zap Wundarr...  Namor attacks the robot, but it has a board with a nail in it. Ben hits it with a bigger board, with a bigger nail. Soon they will have a board with a nail that can destroy the entire world! Nita plays tug-of-war with Kang & Kodos, with Wundarr as the rope and then Ben and Namor turn up, so Kang and Kodos split back to their saucer and leave. Namor has had enough and leaves Ben to take care of Wundarr (the Barbarian!).  Whatta revoltin' development this is! Thoughts: This was fun! Last issue was a bit lame, as Gerber seemed to lose the thread of the plot; but, here, he's goofin' around with Wundarr, his Superman homage/rip-off that almost got him fired (DC felt there was a fine line between homage and plagiarism and Gerber stomped on it and even Roy had warned him he needed to make changes). Nothin' major going on, but, it is all silly fun, which lets Kane let loose his inner Kirby and smash the heck out of Times Square. I do have to wonder if the Simpsons team didn't swipe Kang and Kodos from Tuumar and Zeneg, as they have the same dynamic, taken to extremes. Oh, sure, they debuted in the Halloween episode, parodying "To Serve Man," but, they developed along these lines. Their look was good old fashioned Wally Wood; but, yeah, the dynamic is very Gerber. Can't tell me Groenig was oblivious to his work. I do find it interesting that Gerber gives us Wundarr, a pastiche of Supmeran, and would a little bit later give us Thundarr, a mix of Plane t of the Apes, Conan, Star Wars and Kamandi (which Kirby aided, with character and background designs). We are stuck with Wundarr, for a bit, until Gerber leaves. Then, he will disappear until the Project Pegasus storyline, where Gruenwald and Macchio will turn him into a hippie (or Jesus, take your pick).
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 20, 2020 18:28:11 GMT -5
ps The All-Japan stars of the 90s (Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue, and Jun Akiyama) beat the crap out of each other, for real. Yes, the match was worked; but they worked such a stiff style that they were getting punched, kicked and dropped on their heads, for real. Misawa died in the ring, in 2009, after taking a bump, after years of this. Akiyama had herniated discs he discovered only after getting himself checked out, in the wake of Misawa's death. Kobashi got badly injured multiple times. Their matches looked relatively realistic and decidedly epic; but, it came at a ridiculously high price.
Still better than the garbage wresting (aka hardcore or extreme wrestling) talentless jabronis who butchered themselves with light tubes, glass, staples, tacks, barbed wire and fire, in front of dozens of "fans" for $50 and a lot of scars (with no health insurance).
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Post by kirby101 on Sept 20, 2020 19:24:02 GMT -5
Another fine Kane-Sinnott team up. And though there might have been better movies than 5 Fingers, it was the first to reach a larger audience than the Kung Fu movie houses. It was a cultural touchstone.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 20, 2020 20:03:26 GMT -5
Another fine Kane-Sinnott team up. And though there might have been better movies than 5 Fingers, it was the first to reach a larger audience than the Kung Fu movie houses. It was a cultural touchstone. Yeah, but that's a bit like sitting through a two-reel oater before getting to see The Magnificent Seven or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. |
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Post by brutalis on Sept 20, 2020 20:40:49 GMT -5
Another fine Kane-Sinnott team up. And though there might have been better movies than 5 Fingers, it was the first to reach a larger audience than the Kung Fu movie houses. It was a cultural touchstone. Yeah, but that's a bit like sitting through a two-reel oater before getting to see The Magnificent Seven or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. And there ain't NOTHING wrong about sitting through a two-reel oater and then The Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. That sir is a most perfect Saturday at the movies with your soda and popcorn! |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 20, 2020 20:58:06 GMT -5
It didn't strike me back in the day, but I'm amazed that these team-up titles would rate artists like Ross Andru and (especially) Gil Kane.
That gives them a distinct A-list flavour.
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Post by berkley on Sept 20, 2020 21:32:43 GMT -5
I was only a casual Spider-Man fan at best, though I still read the main series, Amazing S-M, through the mid to late 70s. Marvel Team-Up I would usually buy only if I particularly liked the guest star or especially the artist - so the Byrne issues that came along later were the highlights of the series for me. I wasn't buying comics in general for most of the earlier years of the book so I missed all thogse but I'e since started picking up a few back issues here and there..
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