Issue(s): Marvel Team-Up #146
Cover Date: Oct 84
Title: "Hero worship!"
Credits:
Cary Burkett - Writer
Greg LaRocque - Penciler
Mike Esposito - Inker

Review/plot:
Another Cary Burkett Marvel Team-Up, and i've decided that it's not just nostalgia; i actually like these issues.

Spider-Man and Nomad...

...stumble upon a recruitment drive set-up by the Taskmaster for a new villain called the Black Abbot.

Burkett didn't do much for Marvel, but it looks like he wrote a lot of DC team-up books like World's Finest, and he's very good at quickly establishing a team-up and introducing each character. I don't have all of the issues that re-introduce the Jack Monroe Nomad in Captain America's book, but Burkett sums him up in a few easy panels and makes him a like-able character. Similarly, we all know Spider-Man, but Burkett introduces him from Nomad's point of view, which both introduces the character and gives us an outsider perspective.

The villains are introduced just as neatly. Taskmaster's MO and mercenary aspect are clear, as is the Black Abbot's strange religious persona and his powers.

There are definitely some shortcuts taken - if Spider-Man and Nomad can't figure out each other's secret identities after this story, they have too much lead in their diet - but it works well for the format of the book.

But overall, it's good stuff, and Burkett can write a nice fight scene too. And LaRocque has a nice Marvel house style on this issue as well.

At one point the Taskmaster shoots a sonic-siren arrow at Spider-Man. We know now that Spider-Man's symbiote costume should have been affected by that attack, but of course we don't see any such reaction here.

The Abbot's hand is disintegrated when Nomad throws the Taskmaster's shield, preventing the Abbot from disintegrating Spidey. I like that the narration makes note of the fact that the Taskmaster's shield is disintegrated somewhat, too, something that wouldn't have happened to Captain America's shield.

It'll turn out that this isn't actually the Black Abbot as his story is continued over the next two issues of Marvel Team-Up (which don't take place immediately after this one). Which is odd for a villain's first appearance. For simplicity's sake, i've include the Abbot in the Characters Appearing section. Mentally speaking, he's here.

Quality Rating: B

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - first Black Abbot, except not.

Chronological Placement Considerations: This issue takes place during Amazing Spider-Man #258, after Mary Jane reveals that she knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man but he finds out his black costume is an alien symbiote. For Nomad, there's nothing that suggests placement. The MCP places this after the big Red Skull story in Captain America, between Captain America #301-302. But they also place the Avengers in that Red Skull saga after their appearance in the Casket of Ancient Winters saga. And since Spidey loses his black costume at the very beginning of the Casket saga, something has to give. So i'm placing Nomad's appearance here before Captain America #293.

References:

• Mentally running through a list of his problems, he includes his recent tiredness, and the fact that Mary Jane now knows his identity, as shown in Amazing Spider-Man #258.
  
• Taskmaster says he has an old score to settle with Spider-Man, from Marvel Team-Up #103.
  
• Some of the gang members recruited by the Taskmaster are from the gang that Spider-Man fought in Marvel Team-Up #140.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I remember reading this at my best friend's house (he was a big Nomad fan). Reading it now it makes me wonder where Ant-Man is - after all, Ant-Man was in each of Taskmaster's first three appearances.

this issue introduced me to the wicked coolness of taskmaster. But I thought Nomad was lame. still do.

That's because Taskmaster is wicked cool and Nomad is lame. QED.

Nomad is a solid concept but geez that costume sucked balls.