AQUAMAN #61, 62, & 63

”THE ARMAGEDDON CONSPIRACY”
Story: David Michelinie (with thanks to Richard “Comic Media News” Burton)
Art: Don Newton and Bob McLeod | Letterer: Milt Snappin
Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Paul Levitz

The story arc dating back to issue 58 concludes in AQUAMAN 61, as our hero teams up with Batman and Green Lantern to stop the Kobra’s plot to destroy Lisbon, Portugal. Kobra (who was the Fisherman's mysterious master, "King-1") has apparently faced Batman before, and the Caped Crusader speaks often of how deadly he is, even going on a couple of wildly out-of-character rants berating Aquaman for prioritizing the lives of hostages over capturing the villain. But there are no footnotes in the story to indicate where these two crossed paths before, nor do we get any sort of flashback or exposition explaining exactly why Batman feels so strongly about Kobra.

Indeed, this entire story feels a bit off, as if something is missing. It almost seems like a crossover with JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, as we're told that a number of developments in the heroes’ hunt for Kobra occurred off-panel and are touched upon only extremely briefly here.

But this is David Michelinie’s final issue of AQUAMAN, so perhaps he knew he was on the way out and felt a need to wrap up his Kobra story before someone else came in to take it over. When he arrived, back in ADVENTURE COMICS #443, it was in the station of mere scripter, and he alternated that duty with a couple other writers. But eventually he returned on a permanent basis with ADVENTURE 450, becoming the longest-running writer in this stretch of issues. But his run has come to an end and writing chores are turned over to the writer of the Mera serial from the past few installments to close out the DEATH OF A PRINCE storyline.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #67

Stan Lee presents: SPIDEY and TIGRA!

”TIGRA, TIGRA, BURNING BRIGHT”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Dave Hunt
Letterer: Annette Kawecki | Colorist: Dave Hunt | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Suffering from insomnia, Spider-Man swings over Manhattan. He is lured into a trap and captured by Kraven the Hunter, and awakens later in Kraven’s lair to find the villain has Tigra the were-woman in his thrall. Kraven sics Tigra on Spider-Man, but the web-slinger breaks the villain’s control over her.

Kraven retreats, revealing his lair to be an abandoned animal park, still fully populated by a number of beasts, which Kraven sets on a stampede toward the heroes. Tigra reaches Kraven but he beats her; however Spider-Man catches up and saves Tigra’s life. The wall-crawler is nearly run over by Kraven’s animals but survives, after which he knocks the Hunter out.

Continuity Notes: Spider-Man last battled Kraven in PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #2.

The webbed wonder recognizes Tigra from the Daily Bugle’s files. He was under the impression she was working with the Fantastic Four, but a footnote states she only associated with them for issues 177 – 183 of their magazine.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #66

Stan Lee presents: SPIDEY and CAPTAIN BRITAIN -- together

”MURDER WORLD”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker/Colorist: Dave Hunt
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Spider-Man and Captain Britain awaken in Arcade’s Murderworld, where they are soon separated to face their own deathtraps. Cap battles evil funhouse mirror versions of himself, then finds his love interest, Courtney Ross, a prisoner. While Cap tries to rescue her, Spider-Man escapes a holographic battlefield by sneaking into Murderworld’s maintenance tunnels. The web-slinger messes with the complex’s systems, then heads back out to find Captain Britain.

Spider-Man and Cap meet up and rescue Courtney, then, thanks to Spidey’s earlier mischief, Murderworld blows a fuse and explodes. The heroes and Courtney emerge from the underground complex in Manhattan, where Captain Jean DeWolff picks them up. Elsewhere, Arcade vows to rebuild Murderworld and have his revenge on Spider-Man.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #65

Readers may recall that I already wrote about this issue and the next a couple years back as part of my very first review series here, on the subject of Captain Britain. But that post was written primarily with attention to Cap’s side of the story and wasn't done “in-depth”, so here's the revised and expanded version (and forgive me if, between this issue and the next, I regurgitate a bit of that old post).

Stan Lee presents: SPIDEY and CAPTAIN BRITAIN!

”INTRODUCING, CAPTAIN BRITAIN”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker/Colorist: Dave Hunt
Letterer: Bruce Patterson | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Spider-Man swings across Manhattan to Empire State University, where he changes to Peter Parker for a meeting with the Dean of Students. The dean informs Peter that the school wants an exchange student from England to board with him for foreseeable future. Peter is introduced to Brian Braddock, and the pair leaves the dean’s office.

In England, a mysterious American assassin named Arcade is hired to kill Brian. Back in the U.S., later that night, Peter changes to Spider-Man for a night out, but passing police sirens outside awaken Brian, who spots the web-slinger swinging away from Peter’s bedroom. Assuming Spider-Man has harmed or kidnapped Peter, Brian changes to his alter ego of Captain Britain and gives chase.

The costumed heroes have a brief skirmish but in the end make peace. Captain Britain recaps his origin for Spider-Man, then the duo is captured by Arcade.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #64

Stan Lee presents: SPIDEY and the DAUGHTERS of the DRAGON!
”IF DEATH BE MY DESTINY…”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker/Colorist: Dave Hunt
Letterer: Bruce Patterson | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Iron Fist lays near death in Colleen Wing’s apartment, though his physical body is in perfect condition. Meanwhile, prowling in search of Iron Fist to finish him off, Steel Serpent recalls his origin: as Davos, the son of Lei Kung the Thunderer, he was one of two men who dueled for the right to challenge Shou-Lao the Undying. He was beaten by his challenger, Wendell Rand-K’ai, but secretly went after Shou-Lao and was defeated. Davos was exiled from K’un L’un on the same day Wendell, having passed on his chance with Shou-Lao, left for reasons of his own.

As he nears Colleen’s apartment, Steel Serpent is attacked by Spider-Man and then Collen and Misty Knight. He flees into a nearby park, where Iron Fist confronts him. The power of the Iron Fist begins to consume Steel Serpent, and Iron Fist gets the better of him, taking back his chi as Steel Serpent explodes.

Iron Fist and Misty share a kiss and the heroes head home, while in K’un L’un, Lei Kung mourns the death of his son.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #63

”NIGHT OF THE DRAGON”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Dave Hunt
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Dave Hunt | Editor: Archie Goodwin

You are Iron Fist, and once upon a time, you were the Living Weapon, the finest martial artist in the fabled city of K’un-Lun and on Earth.

That has changed.

The Plot: Peter Parker arrives at Danny Rand’s townhouse to shoot a photo layout for the Daily Bugle. But Danny receives an ultimatum from someone called the “Steel Serpent” and cancels the appointment. Sensing Danny is in trouble, Peter changes to Spider-Man and follows him.

Meanwhile, Misty Knight, undercover as John Bushmaster’s moll, Maya Korday, learns that Bushmaster has helped Steel Serpent arrange his hit on Iron Fist. Misty breaks cover and flees Bushmaster’s yacht to go find Iron Fist.

In Inwood Park, Iron Fist comes face to face with Steel Serpent, who reveals himself as Davos, the son of Lei Kung the Thunderer. Steel Serpent and Iron Fist begin their duel, which is interrupted by Spider-Man. Serpent stuns the wall-crawler and takes advantage of Iron Fist’s concern for his friend to steal his chi, and the power of the Iron Fist. Misty arrives, but is too late to save her friend. Steel Serpent departs as Iron Fist lays comatose in Misty’s arms.

Continuity Notes: Narration states that it’s been two years since Danny Rand left K’un L’un in MARVEL PREMIERE #15 -- which means Claremont isn’t quite telling his stories in real time any more, given that this issue was published about three and a half years later.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #62

Stan Lee presents SPIDEY and MS. MARVEL -- together!

”ALL THIS AND THE QE2”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Dave Hunt
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Dave Hunt | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: At the Penn Station rail yard, Spider-Man defends himself against the Super-Skrull and notes that an overhead power grid briefly blocks the Skrull’s powers, which are supplied via a continuously running beam from deep space. The Skrull takes Spider-Man out and heads for the cruise liner Queen Elizabeth II just offshore, where he raids an antique dealer’s cabin to recover a cavourite crystal.

But Carol Danvers is aboard ship as well. She changes into Ms. Marvel and attacks the Super-Skrull, battling him until Spider-Man arrives. The web-slinger and Ms. Marvel join forces to snag the cavourite crystal and then recreate the power grid on a huge scale, blocking the Skrull’s power. Then they release their makeshift grid and toss the crystal back to the Skrull. It is super-charged by the deactivated beam, and transports the Skrull through a space warp.

Continuity Notes: This issue picks up exactly where the last left off. For those keeping score, Spider-Man has teamed up with four heroes to fight two villains across four issues covering a span of probably less than twelve hours. I love stuff like this.

Super-Skrull recalls Mister Fantastic blocking his powers once before in FANTASTIC FOUR #18.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #61

Stan Lee presents: SPIDEY and the TORCH -- together!

”NOT ALL THY POWERS CAN SAVE THEE!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Dave Hunt
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Dave Hunt | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: As Spider-Man cleans up in the Baxter Building, he's attacked one at a time by what seem to be the individual members of the Fantastic Four. The wall-crawler is thrown from the building and rescued by the Human Torch.

The two young heroes return to FF headquarters to find the Super-Skrull waiting. A fight begins, which travels down to the Penn Station rail yard. There, while the Torch fights the Skrull, Spider-Man rigs up an electrical trap. The Torch is subdued and Spider-Man lures the Skrull into his trap -- but it fails, and the Skrull advances on the lone web-slinger.

Continuity Notes: This story begins shortly after last issue’s conclusion, meaning this is still the same night as Spider-Man’s, Yellowjacket’s, and the Wasp’s fight with Equinox (though by issue’s end, it's the next morning).

The Torch explains to Spider-Man that Super-Skrull had been trapped inside an Indian “soul catcher” by Tigra in MARVEL CHILLERS #7, who had entrusted it to the FF, and that the Skrull presumably escaped during the Equinox altercation.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #60

Stan Lee presents: SPIDEY and the WASP -- together!

”A MATTER OF LOVE… AND DEATH!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Dave Hunt
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Don Warfield | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Equinox gloats over Yellowjacket’s death as Spider-Man, Wasp, and the police look on. Wasp assaults Equinox but is rebuffed, then she and Spider-Man go to speak with his mother, Margay. Equinox follows and the group retreats to the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building for help in changing the villain back to normal. Along the way, Margay describes Equinox’s origin.

Wasp’s Avengers ID card gains the group entrance to the Baxter Building, but the Fantastic Four are away. Meanwhile, Equinox rampages through Manhattan, his actions leading indirectly to a Midtown blackout. Spider-Man and Margay make it into the FF’s lab, but Wasp is separated from them when the Baxter Building’s backup generators kick in, activating an automated defense system.

While an inexplicably more powerful than normal Wasp battles the Baxter Building’s defenses, Spider-Man and Margay rig up a harness which attaches to Margay’s blaster to amplify her potential cure. Equinox arrives in the Baxter Building and attacks, but Yellowjacket appears as well soon after. Together, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Spider-Man, and Margay cure Equinox. Then, while the rest of the group leaves, Spider-Man remains behind to clean up after the fight.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #59

Stan Lee presents: SPIDEY and the YELLOWJACKET -- together!

”SOME SAY SPIDEY WILL DIE BY FIRE… SOME SAY BY ICE!”
Writer: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker/Colorist: Dave Hunt
Letterer: Bruce Patterson | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Web-swinging home from dinner at his Aunt May’s house, Spider-Man is ambushed by a mystery assailant with fire and ice powers. Far above the city, Hank and Jan Pym -- Yellowjacket and the Wasp of the Avengers -- are preparing for a romantic evening in their penthouse apartment when Hank spots the wall-crawler falling to his doom. Yellowjacket saves Spider-Man and he comes to in the apartment.

As Spider-Man works to piece together the identity of his assailant, the villain assaults the penthouse, revealing himself as Equinox. Spider-Man, Yellowjacket, and Wasp battle Equinox out of the apartment and down into the city, where Equinox apparently kills Yellowjacket by way of a tanker truck explosion.

Continuity Notes: In an unconscious haze following Equinox’s first attack, Spider-Man dreams about his late girlfriend, Gwen Stacy.

Equinox first appeared in MARVEL TEAM-UP #23, wherein he was defeated by Iceman and the Human Torch.