Marvel Team-Up
Cover ofMarvel Team-Up #1 (March 1972). Art byGil Kane andFrank Giacoia.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Marvel Team-Up (all): monthly Spider-Man Team-Up: quarterly
Format	Ongoing
Publication date	Marvel Team-Up : March1972–February1985 Spider-Man Team-Up: December 1995–June 1997 Marvel Team-Up (vol. 2): September 1997–July 1998 Marvel Team-Up (vol. 3): January 2005–December 2006 Marvel Team-Up (vol. 4): June 2019–present
No. of issues	Marvel Team-Up (vol. 1): 150 and 7Annuals Spider-Man Team-Up: 7 Marvel Team-Up (vol. 2): 11 Marvel Team-Up (vol. 3): 25 Marvel Team-Up (vol. 4): 6
Main character	Spider-Man
Creative team
Written by	List Mike Carlin,Chris Claremont,J. M. DeMatteis (101, 111–112, 114–133),Gerry Conway,Bill Mantlo (38–51, 53–56, 72, 134–135, 140, Annual #1, 6),Louise Simonson (149–150, Annual #7),Roy Thomas Len Wein
Penciller	List Ross Andru Sal Buscema John Byrne Bob Hall Gil Kane Greg LaRocque Frank Miller Jim Mooney Ron Wilson
Inker	List Terry Austin Mike Esposito

Marvel Team-Up is anAmerican comic book series published byMarvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvelcharacters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featuredSpider-Man as the lead "team-up" character in all but ten of its 150 issues, and in six of its sevenAnnuals. It was the first major ongoing spin-off series for Spider-Man, being preceded only by the short-livedThe Spectacular Spider-Man magazine. Of the issues that did not star Spider-Man, theHuman Torch headlines six issues (#18, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35); theHulk, four (#97, 104, 105, andAnnual #3); andAunt May, one (#137). Publication of most of the issues starring the Human Torch coincided with that ofGiant-Size Spider-Man, an alternate Spider-Man "team-up"-themed series by the regularMarvel Team-Up creative team. When cancelled with #150 in 1985, the title was replaced byWeb of Spider-Man.

The second series was published for 11 issues from September 1997 through July 1998 and originally featured Spider-Man;Namor the Sub-Mariner was the featured character starting with #8. From 1995 to 1997, a quarterly series titledSpider-Man Team-Up fulfilled much the same purpose as the original title. The thirdMarvel Team-Up series, written byRobert Kirkman, began publication in January 2005 and frequently featured Spider-Man. This volume often reintroduced lesser-known Marvel characters that had fallen into obscurity, in addition to featuring a crossover with Kirkman'sImage Universe seriesInvincible, which in 2024 would be adapted (albeit witha Spider-Man analogue in place of Spider-Man due to legal restrictions) to thetelevision series adaptation'ssecond season.

The spirit ofMarvel Team-Up was carried on byAvenging Spider-Man and later bySuperior Spider-Man Team-Up.

Comics journalist Jonathan Miller summarizedMarvel Team-Up in a retrospective article:

The series was admittedly formulaic; either Spider-Man or that issue's guest-star would encounter a menace and then by sheer chance cross paths with another hero who would lend a hand. The title's guest-stars were an equal mix of A-list characters whose presence was likely to increase sales and fledgling heroes being given exposure in the hopes of launching them into stardom but who for the most part continued to languish in obscurity.^[1]

The series debuted with a March 1972cover-dated issue^[2] featuring Spider-Man and the Human Torch in a story by writerRoy Thomas and artistRoss Andru.^[3] Spider-Man and the Human Torch were originally the permanent headliners on the series, but the creators found this format limiting, and after just three issues the Human Torch was dropped in favor of a rotating co-star slot.^[1] The main artists on the series for the first several years were Andru,Gil Kane,Sal Buscema, andJim Mooney.^[4]

In 1974, Marvel started publishingGiant-Size Spider-Man, which was a quarterly 68-page comic that lasted for six issues which complementedMarvel Team-Up.^[5] The series featured team-ups, with each issue featuring a new story with a back-up reprint, except the last issue, which only featured a reprint.

Due to the limitations of the typically single-issue team-up stories, the supporting cast of Spider-Man's other titles rarely appeared inMarvel Team-Up.^[1] The series often featured non-superhero characters in the co-star slot.^[6] A multi-issue time travel story arc began in issue #41 with Spider-Man and theScarlet Witch traveling to theSalem witch trials in 1692,^[7] and pushed the barriers ofcontinuity by having Spider-Man team up with two characters who had no established connection to the mainstreamMarvel Universe,Killraven andDeathlok.^[1] Though the series did often team Spider-Man with other highly popular characters, it regularly gave the co-star slot to obscure characters that the average reader was unlikely to even recognize, particularly during writerJ. M. DeMatteis's run. DeMatteis recounted, "I was always attracted to the more obscure characters, mainly because they were ripe for exploration. You could crack them open and really develop them. … I just looked at these fringe characters as more inviting than the mainstream, more established characters – who all had their set-in-stone continuity. I wanted room to play and those characters gave me all the room I wanted. And let's face it, our lead character was as mainstream as you can get, so the obscure ones made for a nice contrast."^[1]

With issue #47, the series had a crossover withMarvel Two-in-One #17, which featured theThing.^[8]Jean DeWolff was introduced as a supporting character in the Spider-Man/Iron Man story in issue #48.^[9]

John Byrne, who would later become the artist onTheUncanny X-Men, first drew the characters inMarvel Team-Up #53.^[10] Byrne and hisUncanny X-Men collaborator, writerChris Claremont worked together on several issues ofMarvel Team-Up.^[11]Captain Britain, a character created forMarvel UK, made his first appearance in an American comic book inMarvel Team-Up #65 (January 1978).^[12]

Karma, a character that later joined theNew Mutants, was created by Claremont and artistFrank Miller in #100's lead story.^[13] Aphoto cover by Eliot R. Brown was used for the Spider-Man/Captain America team-up in issue #128.^[14]

Though published for well over a decade, the series format never truly caught on with readers. Upon taking a serious look at sales figures forMarvel Team-Up, Marvel's editorial staff found that sales dramatically rose or fell with each issue depending solely on the popularity of that issue's co-star.^[1] Taking this into consideration, Marvel editor-in-chiefJim Shooter concluded that it would make more sense to have another Spider-Man solo series with guest stars appearing when the storyline and/or promotional needs called for it, rather than a team-up series which unnaturally forced guest-stars upon the story.^[1] The series ended with issue #150 (February 1985),^[2] to be replaced byWeb of Spider-Man.^[1]

A Hulk and the Human Torch story written byJack C. Harris and drawn bySteve Ditko in the 1980s that was intended forMarvel Team-Up was published by Marvel asIncredible Hulk and the Human Torch: From the Marvel Vault #1 in August 2011.^[15][16]

Spider-Man Team-Up was a brief attempt to revive the concept of the series^[17][18] and was soon followed byMarvel Team-Up vol. 2 which was published from September 1997 to July 1998.^[19] The thirdMarvel Team-Up series launched in January 2005 and ran for 25 issues^[20] which starred a variety of characters.^[21] The fourth series began with a June 2019 cover date and contains legacy numbering.^[22]

• Marvel Team-Up Omnibus
  • Vol. 1 collects #1-30, plusDaredevil #103,Giant-Size Super-heroes #1,Giant-Size Spider-Man #1-2
• Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Team-Up
  • Vol. 1 collects issue #1-11, 248 pages, December 2010,ISBN 978-0785142102
  • Vol. 2 collects issue #12-22, 256 pages, June 2012,ISBN 978-0785159339
  • Vol. 3 collects issue #23-30,Giant-Size Spider-Man #1-3, 272 pages, May 2018,ISBN 978-1302909703
  • Vol. 4 collects issue #31-40,Giant-Size Spider-Man #4-5,Marvel Comics Calendar 1975, 296 pages, January 2019,ISBN 978-1302915209
  • Vol. 5 collects issue #41-52, 304 pages, August 2020,ISBN 978-1-302-92218-4
  • Vol. 6 collects issue #53-64, Annual #1, 320 pages, August 2021,ISBN 978-1-302-92931-2
  • Vol. 7 collects issue #65-77, 304 pages, December 2023
  • Vol. 8 collects issue #78-90, Annual#2, 296 pages, December 2024. #79 (Red Sonja issue) to be confirmed if included
• Essential Marvel Team-Up
  • Vol. 1 collects issue #1-24, 496 pages, April 2002,ISBN 978-0785108283
  • Vol. 2 collects #25-51, 528 pages, August 2006,ISBN 978-0785121633
  • Vol. 3 collects #52-73, #75, andAnnual #1, 480 pages, September 2009,ISBN 978-0785130680
  • Vol. 4 collects #76-78, 80–98, andAnnual #2-3, 480 pages, February 2013,ISBN 978-0785167341
• Spider-Man/Iron Man: Marvel Team-Up includesMarvel Team-Up #9-11, #48-51, #72, #110 and #145, 209 Pages, October 2018978-1302913687
• Spider-Man: Marvel Team-Up by Claremont & Byrne includesMarvel Team-Up #59-70, 75, 240 pages, December 2011,ISBN 978-0785158660
• Fantastic Four/Spider-Man Classic includesMarvel Team-Up #100 and #132-133, 152 pages, April 2005,ISBN 978-0785118039
• Essential Defenders
  • Vol. 5 includesMarvel Team-Up #101, 111 and 116, 448 pages, August 2010,ISBN 978-0785145370
  • Vol. 6 includesMarvel Team-Up #119, 528 pages, October 2011,ISBN 978-0785157540
• Spider-Man: The Complete Alien Costume Saga
  • Volume 1 includesMarvel Team-Up #141-145,Annual #7, 488 pages, January 2012,ISBN 978-0785156130
  • Volume 2 includesMarvel Team-Up #146-150, 504 pages, May 2015,ISBN 978-0785190035

• Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic Vol. 5 includesSpider-Man Team-Up #1, 424 pages, April 2010,ISBN 978-0785144625
• Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly Epic
  • Volume 3 includesSpider-Man Team-Up #2, 432 pages, January 2012,ISBN 978-0785156130
  • Volume 4 includesSpider-Man Team-Up #3, 464 pages, April 2012,ISBN 978-0785161318
  • Volume 5 includesSpider-Man Team-Up #4, 464 pages, July 2012,ISBN 978-0785163831
  • Volume 6 includesSpider-Man Team-Up #5, 448 pages, November 2012,ISBN 978-0785165521
• Thunderbolts Classic Vol. 1 includesSpider-Man Team-Up #7, 296 pages, April 2011,ISBN 978-0785153092

• Ms. Marvel Team-Up collectsMarvel Team-Up vol. 4 #1-6, November 2019,ISBN 978-1-302-91831-6^[37]

The storyline "Spider-Man and Invincible" fromMarvel Team-Up #14 was loosely adapted to "I Thought You Were Stronger", thesecond season finale of theAmazon Prime Videotelevision series adaptation ofInvincible, which aired April 4, 2024. Due to Amazon andRobert Kirkman not having the rights to adapt anyMarvel Universe characters from the issue to the adaptation,Robert Kirkman consulted with Amazon's legal department to "figure out a way to keep that moment somewhat intact from the comics", ultimately creating the legally distinctparody characters "Agent Spider" and "Prof Ock" to replace Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, with the former to be voiced by "an actor who had done Spider-Man before". On recommendation of supervising director Dan Duncan,Josh Keaton was cast to voice the parody character, after previously voicing Spider-Man in the animated seriesThe Spectacular Spider-Man, the video gamesSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensions,Marvel vs. Capcom 3 andSpider-Man: Edge of Time, and the filmSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (with the character's dialogue in the episode alluding to the latter film franchise's events).^[38]

• The Brave and the Bold – The firstDC Comics equivalent.
• DC Comics Presents – The second DC Comics equivalent.
• Ultimate Marvel Team-Up – TheUltimate Marvel Universe's team-up series.

• Marvel Team-Up at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

• 1972 comics debuts
• 1985 comics endings
• 1997 comics debuts
• 1998 comics endings
• 2005 comics debuts
• 2006 comics endings
• 2019 comics debuts
• Comics by Chris Claremont
• Comics by Gerry Conway
• Comics by J. M. DeMatteis
• Comics by Eve Ewing
• Comics by Len Wein
• Comics by Louise Simonson
• Comics by Roy Thomas
• Invincible (comics)
• Marvel Comics titles
• Spider-Man titles
• Team-up comics

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