Essential Super-Villain Team-Up, Vol. 1

Super-Villain Team-Up #1-14, 16-17

by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Bill Everett

Book by Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella, Wally Wood, Gene Colan

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Marvel, Science Fiction, Fiction

552 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1975

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection of these bad boy team up adventures. Of Course Dr Doom or the Red Skull figures into most of them. Nice classic Silver age and early Bronze age art and writing. Recommended

[Bill Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent storytelling featuring Doom, Namor and the Red Skull as the main characters/anti-heroes. Love these old comics as they pack more into 1 issue than you get in 3 or 4 together now.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This was a little different. This series basically continued the Dr. Doom stories from Astonishing Tales and the Namor stories from his own title. They weren't in separate stories, however, but rather their stories were combined. The majority of the stories featured Namor and Dr. Doom either teaming up or fighting their various enemies such as the Red Skull, Attuma, Dr. Dorcas, Krang and others. The final issues featured the Red Skull and the Hate Monger, which was weird. We also get appearances by the Avengers, the Champions, the Fantastic Four (of course) among others. This series was also the first appearance of the Shroud, which I didn't realize.

Artwork is good, stories aren't bad, it's pretty typical 70s Marvel, which isn't a bad thing.

[Professor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essential Supervillain Team-Up, Volume 1 collects the Dr. Doom stories from Astonish Tales (a comic that paired Doom with....Tarzan rip-off Kazar? The hell?) and all of the Super-Villain Team-Up issues. The first part of the book is arguably the best, with Dr. Doom fending off incursions on his territory by the former Crown Prince of Latveria, Rudolfo, and by The Red Skull (along with his utterly ludicrous team called "The Exiles"). The second half, which could just as easily be called "Dysfunctional Super-Villain Relationship" spends most of its time pairing the Sub-Mariner with Dr. Doom, in a back-and-forth, will-they-or-won't-they ally and rule the world scenario. The Red Skull periodically shows up again to mess with the pair, as does Rudolfo, the Circus of Crime (the hell? again), super-Batman/Shadow knock-off The Shroud, The Fantastic Four, and the Avengers. It's a fun time, certainly, but not quite as good as the Doom solo stuff. Finally, at the tail end of the run we get Doom revealing to Magneto that he's ALREADY conquered the world (nice touch, Doom) and grown bored, so he challenges Magneto to best him. Magneto is only able to free The Beast from Doom's domination, and ends up battling The Champions, then bringing that team to the White House lawn where Doom is annoyed at how easy it was to take over. The very last story is less satisfying, because it pairs The Red Skull and Hate-Monger, and, while Doom makes a compelling anti-hero (I find myself not a fan of Sub-Mariner's "I GET VERY EMOTIONAL ABOUT EVERYTHING" style), you can't really root for a pair that boils down to being "Hitler, and Hitler if he was even crazier and more effective". I find it unsurprising that the book died after these issues, which feature atrocious art and a so-so story.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Namor and Doctor Doom yell at each other, get in fights, team-up, break up and re-team-up for about 500 pages. In other words, it's pretty much the greatest work of literature ever.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a lot going on in this series. And quite a changing cast of characters. Initially this was presented as a continuation of the Sub-Mariner’s recently cancelled solo series and as a sort of follow up to Doctor Doom’s “solo” adventures from the pages of Astonishing Tales. But this series also features such villainous luminaries as the Red Skull, Magneto, the Hate Monger, Attuma, Warlord Krang, Tiger Shark, Ringmaster & his Circus of Crime, and Arnim Zola. And then there’s guest-stars like the Fantastic Four, Black Panther,Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Yellowjacket, Wasp & the Beast (including a multipart crossover with the Avengers) and Black Widow, Hercules, Ghost Rider, Iceman & the Angel from their days as the Champions of Los Angeles, and the very first appearance of the Shroud. But it’s also an uneven mishmash of quality.

First off, there’s the Doctor Doom centric tales from Astonishing Tales #1-8 - Wallace Wood & Roy Thomas start this series, but Thomas is quickly replaced by Larry Lieber, and the Wood is replaced with George Tuska. The final two issues are by Gerry Conway & Gene Colan. Wood & Lieber both worked on 4 issues, but only 2 of these did they work on together. So it’s kind of hard to get much continuity with these ever changing artistic perspectives. But it’s a fun, if odd and wacky, series. These issues even includes the first encounters between Dr. Doom & the Red Skull, and Dr. Doom & the Black Panther (3/5).

Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1 ~ starts things off and it’s a amalgamation of new material and reprinted stories from Sub-Mariner #20 and Marvel Super-Heroes #20. For weaving all this stuff together, it does a reasonable job (3/5).

Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #2 ~ provides an all new story and some more incentive to get the two initial stars of the title together. Doctor Doom and Namor have never been the likeliest of allies, and this is no exception. What makes this work though is that it provides rational for these two to form an unlikely and tentative alliance (3/5).

Super-Villain Team-Up #1-4 ~ This arc starts out pretty strong, and loses focus with each new writer. Not a very auspicious opening salvo for the series proper to be sure. While it does reintroduce the plight of the sleeping Atlanteans it also brings in outlaws and traitors of Atlantis and the ill-fated people of Hydrobase, all elements left unresolved when Sub-Mariner’s solo comic was cancelled (it also introduces some story elements that are continued in Marvel Spotlight #27 which is sadly not included here). Definitely something for fans of Namor to have (2/5).

Our next arc includes Super-Villain Team-Up #5-8, and guest-stars the Fantastic Four. Writer Steve Englehart offers a compelling story and we even get the premiere of a brand new Marvel hero, the Shroud, whose backstory is almost identical to that of Batman, except for the mysticism twist (meaning that Nighthawk truly remains Marvel’s answer to Batman). Had this not come right off the heels of a Fantastic Four/Doctor Doom story in the pages of Fantastic Four when it first came out, I might have liked it more when I first read it. There’s a lot of conflicting motivations going on and the rotating writers with different perspectives since this series started, means this just continues to be a kind of mess (3/5).

Super-Villain Team-Up #9 & Avengers #154-156 ~ offer a strong story and one that definitely has longer ranging effects. Gerry Conway, Bill Mantlo, Jim Shooter, George Pérez, Pablo Marcus & Sal Buscema contribute to this epic multifront conflict as it weaves between the two titles (4/5).

Super-Villain Team-Up #10-12 ~ acts as almost a kind of epilogue or follow-up to the previous arc. Captain America confronts Doctor Doom and the Red Skull, with Namor and the Shroud guest-starring. It’s a fun story, but it’s also ruined with terrible pseudo-science that has Doctor Doom traveling from the earth’s surface to the moon in about 30 minutes. Some very underwhelming art and a story that just limps along almost retroactively lowers the quality of the previous arc (2/5).

Super-Villain Team-Up #13 ~ wraps up the loose plot threads concerning Namor and the Atlanteans, and Doctor Doom’s noble and honorable side comes fully to the surface. He almost comes across as a hero in this issue. Almost. Very nice art from Keith Giffen & Don Perlin as well. The ending is a bit rushed, but it’s a nice wrap-up for Namor’s finale in the series (5/5).

Super-Villain Team-Up #14 & Champions #16 ~ An excellent story, marred by some rushed art and an ludicrous ending. This could have been brilliant, but it comes across as little more than the average 1970s Marvel output. But I’m giving it a slight bump because it certainly tried (4/5).

Super-Villain Team-Up #16-17 ~ Another great premise. With a rushed execution. Poor artistic choices and some plot holes that just don’t work. It starts off strong, but just gets weaker and weaker with every missed opportunity. And unfortunately it’s a weak story to close the volume with (2/5).

Super-Villain Team-Up #15 isn’t included as it contains only reprinted material of some Doctor Doom stories from Astonishing Tales. Taken all together, I’d love to give this collection at least a 4-star rating, but the weaker material just weighs it down a bit too much (3/5).

[Big Hoss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it because I am a marvel fan of Dr Doom and especially Namor. But I was surprised that the entire volume is Dr. Doom and Namor teamed up in a really long story arc of their team up. Occasionally Red Skull shows up and is the only other villian Doctor Doom teams up with. I was hoping for Paste Pot Pete and The Vulture or more mix up villians from different mags. That all said the authors on this I enjoyed the most was Bill Mantlo. And artists/storytellers Tony Isabella, Herb Trimpe, & Bob Hall.

[PJ Ebbrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this for this for the Wally Wood Doom strip, but it is a fun read. Two villains or Ant9-heroes join forces to fight injustice in their own way. The art is hit and miss at times. Enjoyable romp.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the concept was better than the execution, taken for what it is, it's kinda fun.

[David Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the 2-3 issues of this I had as a kid in the 70s, and always wondered what the rest of the story was like. Should have just let my memories stand.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Calling this a series is a BIT of a misnomer. It is actually THREE series.

It begins by reprinting the Doctor Doom feature from Astonishing Tales... mostly because they are essential to understanding the first two arcs of SVT up and unlike the Namor stuff, they were unlikely to be reprinted any other way. Which is fine. What is NOT fine is that in just eight 10-page stories the feature went through 4 writers, each with a slightly different idea of what the series should be. To make matters worse, writers would often leave midstory arc so the whole experiment seems like a jumbled mess. Is Doom a villain to the outside world but a beloved hero to his people? Or is he just a dick to everybody and dealing with enemies at home and abroad? Really, the only time Doom really comes off as a protagonist is when he's fighting Red Skull. Say what you will about Doom, he doesn't like Nazis so he can't be 100% bad. 99.9999% maybe, but he's not all the way there.

The first Super-Villain Team-Up book, (plus two giant sized issues to act as backdoor pilots) follow what happens when Namor and Dr. Doom kinda sorta form an alliance... maybe. The uneasy alliance between the two because of the things they have in common, is kind of a cool idea. The problem is well... it has only a slightly better track record of holding on to a creative team than Doom did in Astonishing Tales. Almost every writer involved seems to agree that Doom is a bad guy. Only their takes on Namor- who is ostensibly one of the leads of the book- has zero consistency. Sometimes Namor is the angry enraged villain he was in early appearances in FF. Other times, the reluctant antihero off his early days in the 40s. Then you get stories where he is the out and out superhero he was in the solo book that was cancel to make way for this title... only his misguided sense of honor leads him to side with Doom. Some writers want the series to have Doom and Namor fight other villains,. Which if it is Red Skull, I'm totally on board with. Others seem to want the book to really be a generic super hero book, where guest heroes try (and fail) to stop Doom and Namor. But more commonly you get stories where heroes either new (since the two good thing you can really say about the title is that it gave us The Shroud), or old favorites like Captain America, or The Avengers fight Doom-- with Namor trapped in the middle. Oh, and you get the occasional story where Doom teams up with other villains.... including Magneto and perhaps one of the real world's true super villains of the time, Dr. Henry Kissinger.

There is somethign SERIOUSLY wrong with a trade when the best stories they include are the crossover issues with other titles. Especially if one of those other titles is the first volume of The Champions.

Oh, and the less said about the third series- which came out a few years later using the original series numbering because in the 70s that was still something DC and Marvel did... the better. Nobody wants to read a 'bad guys wipe other bad guys' story when both bad guys are Nazis. The character we should be focusing on here seem like not only background characters, they barely do anything and are little more than puppets of the villains. For shame, Peter B. Gillis, for shame.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, we have one of those "They reprinted that?" moments with this Marvel Essentials volume. This was never the most popular series to begin with, hence the short life span. But it did have some fun moments.

The book doesn't just reprint the Super-Villain Team-Up series, but also the Dr. Doom series from Astonishing Tales in the early seventies. That series featured the artwork of the legendary Wally Wood, and is simply beautiful in black-and-white, though it still seems a little out of sorts with the rest of the Marvel Universe of the time. The two issues of Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up are also represented, featuring a reprint of the Doom solo tale from Marvel Superheroes #20 and some rare Marvel art by DC and Dell Comics art legend Mike Sekowsky. All of the crossover issues with the Avengers and The Champions are also in this volume. You have art from folks like George Tuska, Bill Everett, Keith Giffen, George Perez, Carmine Infantino, and John and Sal Buscema to look at, and some great stories from Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas and Bill Mantlo.

This book reprints the first appearance of the Shroud, along with appearances by the aforementioned Avengers and Champions, Magneto, the Red Skull, the Hate-Monger, loads of Atlantean baddies, and of course Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, who was Dr. Doom's co-star for most of the series. Nothing essential here, and at least one storyline has already made it to the Marvel Premiere Classic line, but it's a fun read.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a hit or miss affair, depending on the creative team(s) involved, and that pretty much sums up the biggest problem with Marvel in the '70s: a lack of consistency. There are some gems between these covers, though. Astonishing Tales starts off strong, with writing by Roy Thomas and artwork by EC alumni Wally Wood. Wood stays on board for issues 3 and 4 with Larry Lieber (Stan Lee's brother, for the uninitiated) handling the scripts. Gerry Conway and Gene Colan wrap up the AA stuff well, and this screams for a Marvel Premiere Classic Hardcover! SVTU is handed off like a baton, from every Bronze Age journeyman one would expect: Bill Mantlo, Steve Englehart, Tony Isasbella, Herb Trimpe, etc. The series runs out of steam, and gets cancelled with Issue 14...or did it? It was always a bi-monthly affair, and Issue 15 was a reprint of two AA issues. Six months after that, the series gets re-tooled with the Red Skull and the Hatemonger for an interesting, entertaining tale, and then...nothing. Fin.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvel creates a comic where two of its most arrogant, short tempered characters team up, fall out and battle each other, re-join forces and break up again and all of the marvel universe gets caught in the middle.

Dr. Doom and Prince Namor are great characters and there efforts to further their perspective plots and quests and occasionally fight evil, in their own special way are quite entertaining and dramatic.

What's equally interesting is the varied ensemble supporting cast that shows up to help and/or fight the two leads.
The only problem with this series is that the series changed writers every couple issues and then the lead duos motives/quests/alliances would change on a dime. Bit of a roller coaster as story threads would come and go so quickly.
Fun if uneven read.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, mainly fuelled by nostalgia admittedly! I have a few of the individual issues in my collection, so it was nice to read the issues that precede and follow. Yes, it has dated, but considering the stories date back some 40 odd years that's got to be expected.
The stories are popcorn fun-lightweight, quick to read and quick to forget but no less worth reading for it. In comparison to some of the doom and gloom and realism of today's comics it's a welcome diversion.
And what's not to like about Dr Doom, Namor, and a rotating cast of guest stars.
Enjoy it for what it is!

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Testata storica degli anni 70 dedicata alle alleanze tra i maggiori avversari degli eroi Marvel, presenta delle buone storie accanto ad altre meno buone. Il Dr. Destino la fa da padrone, affiancato da Namor, ma con ottime presenze di un cattivo come il Teschio Rosso e tante guest stars.

[Karl Kindt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Only three or four of the issues in this collection are worth bothering with. A great concept, wasted.

[Trae Stratton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated now, but still a fun ride for Doctor Doom fans.