This is the best issue of MTU so far, and probably because it’s so random and silly. That was the charm of MTU, and Marvel really didn’t start perfecting it until later in the 1970s.
This issue is called, “Wolf at Bay” and it starts on the Bay Bridge. How cool is that?
Spider-Man is in San Francisco because J. Jonah sent Peter Parker there to snap some pics of Daredevil and Black Widow, and also to help him forget how much he misses Gwen Stacy. Oddly, Gwen died in a bridge fall, and in their opening battle, Spidey knocks Werewolf off the bridge and tells himself the wolf must be dead because nobody could survive a fall like that.
Beyond that, you really don’t need to know more. Where there’s a Werewolf, there’s evil magicians, yodda yodda. This one is named Moondark, and he’ll be back a few times. It’s good fun if you don’t think too much.
Marvel Team-Up#12 ( “Wolf At Bay!” ) is notable for one thing, one thing, one thing, and one thing only: It was the very first time a superhero character encountered a “horror” character in Marvel Comics. ( excluding Morbius and the Man-Wolf, of course, who belong more to the realm of science-fiction than to horror ) Ever since Marvel began introducing their readership to classic “horror” characters like Dracula, the Werewolf, the Frankenstein Monster, the Mummy, the Zombie, etc., etc., there had been a real concern/debate over whether or not these characters actually co-existed in the mainstream Marvel Universe alongside Spider-Man, the FF, Thor, Iron Man, etc. This one single issue settled the issue, once and for all. If Jack Russell, aka “Werewolf By Night” is battling Spider-Man, then if the werewolf, who has already been seen battling Dracula over in their own respective titles, then all these characters all obviously co-exist in the same continuum of reality. Up to that point in time, very excellent arguments for both sides of the debate were presented as to why “horror” characters should not exist concurrently in the Marvel Universe with their superhero characters, and why they should. Ultimately, the issue was settled when Spider-Man encountered/was attacked by the Jack Russell werewolf. Around a year later, the first issue of ‘Giant-Size Spider-Man’ comes out, featuring a legendary and controversial “non-meeting” between Spider-Man and Count Dracula, ( holy cop-outs, Batman! ) which was mostly notable not for it’s cop-out feature story, ( “Ship of Fiends!” ) but for the editorial written by either Roy Thomas or Len Wein, ( after forty-nine years, I just can’t remember anymore ) explaining why the decision was made to incorporate ALL of Marvel’s characters into one, cohesive continuum of reality. Half a century later, I personally am still not sure where I stand on the whole debate- as noted, there are pretty persuasive arguments supporting both points of view- but I will say this: Whereas I was happy with the establishment of the status quo as it has been given to us, I was equally happy with the resolution of the “Montesi Formula” storyline given to us in 1983’s ‘Dr.Strange’#’s 60-63, which resulted in the eradication of all vampires from Marvel-world. Why-?? Because: It seems to my mind that if the scourges of vampirism and lycanthropy are not eventually, ultimately, and totally expunged from our world, then what is going to happen eventually is, the Planet Earth becomes Vampire Planet, and not all the superheroes in the world are going to be able to stop it! ( see ‘What If??’ volume two, issue#32- “What If Wolverine Became Lord of the Vampires??” ) A total vampire apocalypse! And who wants, or needs that-?? Of course, when vampires ( for some weird reason- Anne Rice-?? ) came back into the vogue, Marvel realized it had made a mistake by eradicating vampires from the Marvel-616 with the ‘Montesi Formula’ storyline, and reversed it, through means too complicated ( and irrelevant to the point ) to explain here. It’s too bad. I thought the “Montesi Formula” storyline had as much power as the ‘Phoenix Saga’, or the ‘Kree-Skrull War’, or the ‘Galactus Trilogy’, and was certainly the most exciting ( and important! ) ‘Dr. Strange’ story I had ever read! ( the vast majority of Dr. Strange’s adventures are just too off-beat and far out for me ) So, in the 616 of today, vampires and werewolves are not just an everyday fact of life here on Planet Earth, but they actually have their own United Nations granted country they all live in, called Chernobyl!! ( ??? ) The understanding is, remain within your own borders, and we won’t send in the Avengers, the Silver Surfer, Dr.Strange, ( e.g., the Defenders ) in to wipe all your bloodsucking asses off the map! ( this country, ‘Chernobyl’, is supposed to be on the Western African coast, by the way ) The Black Panther ( who is very much alive on ‘616’, contrary to what the MCU would have us to believe otherwise ) has even graciously agreed to keep the, uh, “people” of Chernobyl furnished with all the synthetic hemoglobin they require in order to survive and play nice! So, the world of ‘616”s vampire/werewolf problem is resolved- and it isn’t. Count Dracula, the undisputed ruler of Chernobyl, is too much of an asshole to just sit on his throne and tolerate peace. Like Adolf Hitler, Kim Jong Ul, and that other infamous “Vladimir”, Putin, Dracula is going to eventually grow bored with peace, and will eventually embark on a new campaign for vampire world domination. It’s just his nature. So there you have it. By the way, Mr. Ekko, this issue of Marvel Team-Up was NOT “the best issue of Marvel Team-Up, so far.” Nooooo, no, buddy- that honor goes to issue#4’s team-up with Spider-Man and the X-Men versus a rampaging Morbius the Vampire! Everybody knows that fourth issues are magical at Marvel, and ‘Marvel Team-Up’#4’s ( “And Then………the X-Men!” ) was no X-ception! What a great comic! But that’s a review for another post! X-celsior!!