Issue(s): Marvel Team-Up #108, Marvel Team-Up #109
Cover Date: Oct-Nov 81
Title: "Something wicked this way kills!" / "Critical mass!"
Credits:
David Michelinie / Tom DeFalco & David Anthony Kraft - Writer
Herb Trimpe - Penciler
Mike Esposito - Inker

Review/plot:
Tom DeFalco gets "Plot and Edits" credit for issue #109.

Spider-Man gets involved in a case with the Paladin, hunting down a scientist who's gone crazy after developing super-powers and calls himself Thermo, the Thermotronic Man.

The two have such a tough time that Dazzler has to help out.

Things get really tough when Thermo tries to horn in on a satanic ritual. "This city is getting ridiculous", one Satanist says. "You can't even have a peaceful little Satanic mass without someone butting in!"

Peter is a bit disturbed by the fact that Paladin is a superhero for money.

These issues make a point to hype the competition between Peter and up-and-coming photographer Lance Bannon.

Trimpe's Kirby-esque influences shine through on occasion.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Peter Parker runs into a problem with a Coach Barnstorm for flunking a star athlete. This is relevant because we meet Barnstorm for the second time in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #60, so this arc has to come first. The MCP places this between Amazing Spider-Man #220-221.

References:

• Contemplating the Paladin as a mercenary, Peter thinks back on when he first became Spider-Man and tried to make money off of it in Amazing Fantasy #15, the events of which he feels led to the death of Uncle Ben.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Marvel Tales #231, Marvel Tales #232

Hasn't Spider-Man met Luke Cage & Iron Fist? They're heroes who charge for their services. What's the difference?

I'm actually surprise Spidey and Dazzler didn't try for a relationship after this issue and her last team-up with Spidey. There seemed to be something there.

Spider-Man has worked with the Punisher, who kills, but he finds Paladin morally objectionable?

Well, at the time of this book's publication, most (all?) of Spidey and Punisher's encounters were as antagonists to one another. Any collaboration was reluctant.
Even in the future, when they would find themselves working on the same side more often, Spidey usually at least gives a pro forma hemming and hawing, sometimes resulting in Punisher agreeing to use nonlethal weaponry.

This story was published in 1981 and by '75 and '76 Spider-Man and the Punisher had already been having fairly amicable team-ups against the likes of Moses Magnum, Jigsaw and the Hitman.

As far as heroes earning money from their activities is concerned, as mentioned by another poster, Spider-Man had fought beside Luke Cage on a number of occasions and had no strong issue with his getting paid for what he did or with Iron Man (who was supposed to have been Tony Stark's "employee" at the time). Spider-Man himself wasn't above making money from his own exploits by selling photographs to a newspaper.

When you consider all of the people who do make a living from e.g. private security, detection or tracking and capturing fugitives from the law, Spider-Man's attitude to Paladin here is somewhat nonsensical.

The attitude to Paladin does at least match his original reaction to Cage - when they first meet in ASM #123, Cage attacks Peter who says "You're the clown who sells his powers -- like some cheap, third-rate thug!"

Peter then goes on to claim that Cage has made him mad, "if there's one thing I can't stomach, it's a mercenary. That's low, fella -- real low." By his own words, he is not mad that Cage attacked him, but that Cage is being paid for his powers. This dismissive attitude to Cage also makes the job personal for Cage, and they both dislike each other until the end of the issue where they come to an understanding, and Peter remembers he started out wanting to be paid, too.

So you could say that is at least in character to previous words spoken by Peter, and perhaps there is a subconscious resentment where Peter dislikes guys who are as irresponsible as he started out.

Also, perhaps he can accept Cage being a "mercenary" because they are now on friendly terms, while Paladin here insults him as "naive", and Paladin's uncaring arrogance will have reminded Peter of his younger self. Cage doesn't laugh at Peter for not charging money, so I think they are 2 different circumstances.

Fair enough, Lebowski! You are correct.

I think that if we were having a game of "Things a Marvel character is least likely to say" then for Spider-Man it would be "Who am I to judge others?"