Review by Frank Plowright
Marvel Team-Up’s first run extended from 1972 to 1985, and while a few other highlights can be identified, what’s uncontestably the most fondly remembered run is the creative collaboration of Chris Claremont and John Byrne. The peak of their team-ups are supplied in this volume, although others also contribute and don’t maintain their standards.
Concentrating on the headliners first, they open with a two-parter teaming Spider-Man and Captain Britain amid the ludicrousness of one of Arcade’s intricate game constructions, this time a pinball machine. In the introduction Claremont writes about Byrne’s excellent storytelling, and it’s on display here. Given the visual complexity of the ideas it could descend into chaos, but Byrne delivers clear excitement on every page. It’s followed, though, by the distinctly dodgy idea of a potion making Tigra into Kraven the Hunter’s slave. Byrne pulls off the key visual moment of dozens of zoo animals escaping, but it’s ordinary.
The following encounter with Man-Thing is cleverly plotted given the co-star can’t speak, but it’s the two-parter that follows delivering the peak excitement. The Living Pharaoh is forever a dumb villain associated with Havok’s first appearance, but Byrne really delivers the power of his alter-ego the Living Monolith, requiring Thor to drop by and sort things out. The final Claremont/Byrne collaboration is the great idea of having Spider-Man and Power Man fight a fire. The sample art shows Byrne’s on top form and scripter Ralph Macchio’s over-writing, although Claremont’s 1978 stories also require patience with expository dialogue and thought balloons. He’s extremely good, though, with Spider-Man’s wisecracking personality, and varies the genres. Few are straight superhero team-ups.
Of three stories written by Claremont and drawn by other artists, the best is the novel idea of Spider-Man teaming with the 1979 cast of Saturday Night Live, with Bob Hall producing good likenesses. It’s still fun, and was missing when this material was printed in black and white as Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 3. In the introduction Claremont mentions the opportunity to work with industry legend Howard Chaykin, but Chaykin’s effort is minimal on the first part of a teaming with Ms. Marvel and Doctor Strange, and Jeff Aclin actually pencils a fair amount. The idea of a world within the Orb of Agmotto is good, but the story ordinary.
As for the other creators, if Plantman’s your villain the chances of a great story are slim, and that’s where Bill Kunkel and Dave Wenzel head, along with the heroes first fighting before teaming. Bill Mantlo and Jim Mooney run a sequel to events in Volume 5 featuring Iron Man, Jean De Wolff and the Wraith, but it’s laboured, while Gary Friedrich and Kerry Gammill’s teaming of Spider-Man and Daredevil could have been from 15 years earlier and has a poor ending.
After a selection of original art reproduced and the new covers drawn when the material was reprinted in Marvel Tales, three short stories follow up on events, none of them memorable.
The not so good and ordinary drags down the achievements of Claremont and Byrne, but there’s not going to be a better Masterworks volume of Marvel Team-Up. The highlights are also found in Spider-Man: Marvel Team-Up.
