Issue(s): Marvel Team-Up #28
Cover Date: Dec 74
Title: "The city stealers!"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
Jim Mooney - Penciler
Vincent Colletta - Inker

Review/plot:
Investigating some earthquakes in Manhattan, Spider-Man and Hercules encounter some strange robots.

They've somehow managed to unfasten Manhattan and they pull it out to sea. In literally the most implausible scene to ever appear in a Marvel comic, Hercules drags the island back.

Not only is it an unrealistic feat of strength, not only is it geologically impossible, but the art depicting the scene has some bizarre perspective problem that shows Hercules walking parallel to the island on some other landmass out in the Atlantic. The Mayor of New York comes out to yell at the super-heroes, and a note from the editors admits that they're not really sure if they believe Gerry Conway's version of events.

Prior to finding the robots, Hercules marches through the carnage in Manhattan, too focused on finding the cause of the earthquake to stop and help anyone.

There's also a cheap scene where Spider-Man rescues a blond girl from a long fall in a deliberate parallel to Gwen Stacy's death.

This storyline is part of a long running conspiracy style plot that is eventually resolved in Hulk #238-242. Hercules' island-pulling feat is retconned in that story as well. Lann, Prince Rey, and Tyrannus are behind-the-scenes in this story.

There's a debate in the letter column about whether or not Marvel's comics are full of "near pornography", "sex and savagery", and indecent language. The consensus seems to be that, if anything, Marvel is actually too conservative at the expense of being realistic.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - the semi-famous "Hercules pulls the island of Manhattan back into place" issue.

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place after Peter Parker moves in with Flash Thompson in Amazing Spider-Man #138. Per a footnote in Thor #231, Hercules appears here during that issue.

References:

• Peter is apartment hunting. He's been living with Flash Thompson since his old roomate (Harry Osborn) cracked-up in Amazing Spider-Man #136. Well, Harry cracked up in #136, and that's the reference that's given, but Peter has been living with Flash since Amazing Spider-Man #138.
  
• Hercules can't help Spider-Man investigate the attack any further because he has to help out with the events depicted in "current issues of Thor".

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Oh, look, Hercules put Manhattan back UPSIDE-DOWN.

Not to mention that the island never would have fit through The Narrows (where the Verrazano Bridge runs between Brooklyn and Staten Island) on its way out to the ocean.

"In literally the most implausible scene to ever appear in a Marvel comic, Hercules drags the island back."

Only if you decide that Hercules picking up the island and hitting Thor with it years later was just a tall-tale.

For the sake of completeness, I should mention that in Hulk 241 Tyrannus says of this issue, quote, "One of our pawns would have split New York city asunder with earthquakes had not the man-god Hercules braced himself against the city's foundations and absorbed the generated shock-waves with his own immortal body. Of course, the son of Zeus has since boasted of his feat in more grandiose terms, but no matter!" As if substituting one completely impossible scenario with another that is only slightly less completely impossible makes a difference.

Google this story and you can find several flame wars over whether it's true or exaggerated by Hercules. Even at the end of this story, the editors are doubting its veracity. Personally, I like the idea that Hercules is so charismatic he can even get his stories told his way in the "official" record. Also, since I think there are no outside stories confirming the horrific damage and loss of life, and the massive repairs that would have followed, that this story has in fact been embellished by Hercules.

Meh. It's Prince Rey who's ranting, not Tyrannus. (fnord, FYI, you have him mislabelled.)

Anyway, how crazy was that storyline? How does giving the Orb his goofy helmet cause "violent geophysical activity"?

(Fixed it, thanks Andrew.)

Thanks, fnord. And welcome back!

fnord has returned from his vacation to find all sorts of crazy comments on his website. Anyway, welcome back, fnord. Looking forward to your new entries coming soon.

I've never had the opportunity to read MTU #28, but its notoriety proceeds it. This seems like a ridiculous story, but at the same time the whole "screw logic and physics, let's have some fun" approach does have its appeals. That's probably why Deadpool and Squirrel Girl are so popular nowadays; they're something of a reaction to years of ultra-serious super-hero stories.