Issue(s): Super-Villain Team-Up #5, Super-Villain Team-Up #6, Super-Villain Team-Up #7
Published Date: Apr-Aug 76
Title: "...And be a villain!" / "Prisoner!" / "Who is... the Shroud?"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Writer
Herb Trimpe - Penciler
Don Perlin / Jack Abel / Pablo Marcos - Inker

Review/plot:
The Sub-Mariner shows up at the Baxter Building looking for help. Dr. Doom has caused the blue suit that Namor wears to stop doing what it does to keep him alive. Reed Richards puts Namor in a vat of brine and starts working on the suit. While he's doing so, Johnny ponders Namor in all his speedo glory. Is the Human Torch gay, a racist, or both?:

Johnny: "Hmmmmm... we haven't seen Subby back in his swim trunks in a long time! You know something...? He looks good!" and then "I couldn't tell Reed but that blue get-up makes Subby look like some gang-leader from the Bronx."

Then he spots a shadowy figure on a nearby building and goes to check it out. It turns out to be a new character called the Shard, who is another Bat-man rip off (he even has the same origin: 'walking home from a show, parents killed by a criminal, swore to fight evil'). Unlike Bat-man, he got his training from the Cult of Kali. I assume it's the same Cult of Kali that Iron Fist fought in Marvel Premiere #21-22). The other wrinkle is that he's blind, but he's about as blind as Daredevil, if you know what i mean.

Doom has given Namor 24 hours to reconsider accepting Doom's offer of an alliance, and at the end of the 24 hours Reed has failed to fix the suit, so Namor feels honor bound to accept the agreement and he becomes Doom's partner. Doom has completely forgotten the character development he recently went through where he realized that his pride was often to cause of his downfall and that if he wanted Namor to be his partner, he also has to be his friend. This is because that character development was written by three different writers. Englehart is writing him as a generic meglomaniac villain, and therefore he treats the Sub-Mariner like a complete lacky.

The FF follow Namor to Latveria, but they find themselves fighting Namor as well, since he has sworn to help Doom. Then, in the greatest Super-Villain Team-Up of all, Henry Kissinger shows up, forms an alliance with Doom, and tells the Fantastic Four to go blow. Classic government lacky Reed Richards says "We've never bucked the government before, and we can't start now." and the FF go home, despite protests from the Thing and the Human Torch. They do stop off at Hydrobase and let the amphibians know where Namor is, though.

The Shroud then shows up in Latveria and tells Namor that he's going to kill Dr. Doom. Namor thinks he's nuts and ignores him, which is pretty reasonable. However, the Shroud does actually manage to defeat Doom (who was apparently about to rape one of his villagers), and throws him off a cliff. Doom is rescued by Namorita and Tamara.

Englehart was generally one of the better writers at this time, but these three issues are truly awful.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The Letters Page for Fantastic Four #173 says: 'All the "current stories" in Marvel Two-In-One occur before bashful Benjy's catastrophic alliance with the Hulk, which so drastically altered his life. Ditto for the recent issues of Super-Villain Team-Up.' Since the Thing has a costume that looks exactly what the Thing used to look like before he lost his powers, i don't see any reason why that would need to be so, but just to be safe i've moved these issues prior to Fantastic Four #166 accordingly. It also takes place after Namor's solo adventure in Marvel Spotlight #27.

References:

• Reed has taken steps to avoid Doom's air defenses, which he learned about from Luke Cage, who invaded Latverian airspace in Hero For Hire #9

Cross-over: N/A

Continuity Implant? N

Reprinted In: N/A