By 1972, it had become obvious that Spider-Man was not some flash in the pan. The wondrous Web-Slinger had racked up more than 100 issues of his flagship title, Amazing Spider-Man, and fans were clamoring for more Spider-Man action. So the Powers-That-Be at Marvel launched Marvel Team-Up, a second monthly title featuring everyone's favorite Wall-Crawler. Except Marvel Team-Up had a twist - a hero would guest-star with Spider-Man in every issue. Over the next 150 issues, Spider-Man would be joined by such Marvel stalwarts as the X-Men, Captain America and the Fantastic Four, along with such lesser-known heroes as Brother Voodoo, Doc Samson and King Kull.

All in all, Marvel Team-Up was a generally entertaining, although largely forgettable, book. Some of the stories were far less important, continuity-wise, compared to Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, which started up in 1976. Most of Spider-Man's A-list villains were reserved for those two books, leaving the odds and ends for Marvel Team-Up. The title even went long stretches without a steady creative team. But Marvel Team-Up also produced its share of successes, particularly during the Bill Mantlo/Sal Buscema and Chris Claremont/John Byrne runs.

The series began with a Christmas story featuring the Human Torch, who would become Spider-Man's most frequent ally (I think Iron Man has more - Eric) in these pages, and long-time Spider-Man/Fantastic Four villain the Sandman. It's a chilly Christmas Eve day in New York and Peter Parker is at the beach taking some human interest photos of some "polar bear" swimmers - the folks who swim in freezing temperatures. Their frosty dip in the ocean is interrupted by the Sandman, who materializes on the beach. Spider-Man attempts to apprehend the villain, but the Sandman gets distracted when Spider-Man mentions it is Christmas Eve. "Shuddup! I ain't got time to mess with you -- not now!" he says, and disappears into the sandy beach.

Well, Peter Parker has a date that evening with the lovely Gwen Stacy, so he's not that interested in hunting down the Sandman. So he stops by the Baxter Building to alert the Fantastic Four. There, Johnny Storm, AKA the Human Torch, is the only one home - and he's feeling pretty blue. "I'll give it to you straight! I've got girl problems," he says. They talk and realize they both recently encountered the Sandman on the George Washington Bridge, heading into the city from New Jersey. Spider-Man has an idea, so they get in the Fantasti-Car and head to New Jersey. But although they do some good deeds (saving a woman from a mugger, stopping a traffic accident), they don't encounter the Sandman. "I've had it up to here with all this 'Merry Christmas' Crud," the Torch proclaims. "I'm dumping you off at the first spider web, man -- and headin' for home." Spider-Man can't blame him for being grouchy, though. "If I ever lost Gwen, I'd cry 'humbug' with the loudest of 'em!" he thinks. Hmmm...perhaps that is a bit of foreshadowing for Amazing Spider-Man #121 some 15 months later. Or maybe it's just a coincidence. Just then, they spot the Sandman. But even with a two-on-one advantage, the Sandman is able to subdue both Spider-Man and the Human Torch. He ties them up back-to-back and throws them in a nearly full water tank. Spider-Man remembers something the Sandman said, "Keep your chin up, Torchy!" He allows the Torch to get his face out of the water and ignite his flame to burn off the ropes holding them in the tank. Spider-Man realizes that Sandman wasn't really trying to kill them - just keep them occupied for a while.

They track him down to a nearby home. But before they can nab the villain, the Sandman surprisingly asks for a little mercy. "That's my mom in there," he says, gesturing to an old woman in the next room. "The docs never tol' her I wuz a crook. Don't spoil it for me this Christmas, huh?" Spider-Man and the Human Torch agree to give him a few minutes with his mom, provided he voluntarily goes back to jail. A few moments later, they peek into the room to find the Sandman's mother asleep...and a few grains of sand in the bathroom sink! This issue was a solid introduction to the new series. The chemistry between Spider-Man and Johnny Storm was good and the story had a good twist of an ending. Still, it felt more like just a "nice story" than the start of something big.

Next issue: Although this story ended on a fairly conclusive note, the Sandman would return to plague Spider-Man and the Human Torch the very next month. And he's bringing some friends with him!

Reviewed by Bruce Buchanan.

Reprinted In:
Marvel Treasury Special 1974
Spider-Man Megazine #1