Issue(s): Marvel Team-Up #145
Cover Date: Sep 84
Title: "Hometown boy"
Credits:
Tony Isabella - Writer
Greg LaRocque - Penciler
Mike Esposito - Inker

Review/plot:
This story by Tony Isabella overtly promises to be "an examination, if you will... of the super-hero's opposite number... the super-villain." The super-villain in question is Whiplash Backlash Blacklash.

He's at an Electronics Convention in Cleveland, trying to get a job and go straight, but he doesn't have much luck.

And when the Maggia contacts him to give him one last chance at doing a job for them, Spider-Man and Iron Man, who both happen to be at the convention, ensure that he doesn't have much luck at that either.

In the end he's fighting with his court appointed attorney about whether or not he should go for an insanity defense, on the grounds that he's been legitimately diagnosed as manic-depressive.

I never knew that Blacklash was a scientist in his own right. I may have missed it, but as far as i knew he was always a goon of the Maggia, and either they or Justin Hammer supplied his equipment. He's always been depicted as a thug.

A lot of this story hinges on the idea that he had a promising legitimate career ahead of him but he gave it up in college to join the Maggia. So i'd have preferred if there was something in his past appearances that supported that idea. Otherwise it feels like a bit of a shoe-horn; would any random super-villain have worked equally well?

Update: Well, it turns out that based on an issue i didn't originally have - Iron Man #62 - it is established that Blacklash does have a degree of scientific knowledge. So, kudos to Tony Isabella.

Regardless, it's nice to see a book that focuses on a "what makes him tick" aspect of a villain.

Shades of a Kurt Busiek Astro City style story, and while i'd say it's not as well written, it's not bad.

Oddly, according to the dialogue, Iron Man and Morley Erwin came from California to New York and are now boarding a flight to Cleveland. I assume it's because the art showed them getting on the same plane as Peter Parker and they had to cover for it in the dialogue. Otherwise it would have made more sense for Rhodes and Erwin to come directly from California. Regardless, the two have been traveling around looking for business contacts for their new company.

Spidey's in Cleveland because JJ sent Peter Parker there to cover the assignment. Once again, Peter Parker leaves New York and Spider-Man, a hero closely associated with the city, suddenly shows up in the same place as Peter.

We've seen Spider-Man's costume transformation a number of different ways, but i thought this scene was particularly cool.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: For James Rhodes, the MCP places this between Iron Man #185-186, and between West Coast Avengers #1-2. He does not use his repulsors in this issue, so placing it before they are repaired in Iron Man #187 is fine. For Spider-Man, it's context free except for the fact that he's wearing his black costume. The MCP places it between Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #95-96 and Amazing Spider-Man #255-256, but that puts it right in the middle of a complicated area for Spidey, in the middle of the Cloak & Dagger/Silvermane plot, and essentially during the Casket of Ancient Winters. It's feasible since a gap has already been identified, but i don't see a good reason for it, so i prefer to have this happen before Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #95.

References:

• Blacklash makes a reference to a time he spent undercover as head of research at Stark's Cincinatti division in Iron Man #62. No footnote for that. (Thanks Michael!)
  
• When Blacklash spots Iron Man, he thinks back to all his previous encounters. His first appearance in Tales Of Suspense #97-99, and his most recent fight with Iron Man, in Iron Man #146-147, are specifically referenced (although there are no footnotes).

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

In Iron Man 62, Whiplash was undercover as "Mark Scott", the head of research at the Stark plant in Cincinatti. That's what he's referring to in the panel you posted above. (Would it have killed them to put in a few footnotes?)

Great, thanks! A couple updates to the entry above based on that.