Issue(s): Marvel Team-Up #3
Cover Date: Jul 72
Title: "The power to purge!"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
Ross Andru - Penciler
Frank Giacoia - Inker

Review/plot:
The third issue of Marvel Team-Up and the third Spidey/Torch team-up. This issue also features Morbius as the bad guy, and i first thought it might have been used as a trial balloon for him getting his own series, but this is only his second appearance and he's pretty much still a pure villain here.

We start with Morbius getting fished out of the Hudson by a guy named Jefferson who just finished fighting with his brother about not wanting to "shine Mr. White Man's shoes" all his life. Morbius repays Jefferson by attacking...

...but we later learn that instead of killing Jefferson, he turned him into a vampire (or its Code-approved scientific equivalent).

Meanwhile, Spider-Man is having one of his perpetual flus.

Also meanwhile, Martine Bancroft shows up at the Baxter Building asking for help. She was Michael Morbius' fiance, and she's aware Morbius has become a vampire.

She's come to the FF because Morbius had previously exchanged correspondence with Reed Richards.

The Human Torch has heard about Morbius from Spider-Man, so he heads out to find his "friend" ("Maybe it's time Spidey and I teamed up again. --though why I even bother with that egotistical costumed wall-crawler I'll never understand.").

Everyone converges on a Professor Hans Jorgens, a former colleague of Morbius' and also one of Peter's college professors (although, as the Index points out, he's apparently on a never-before-seen Queens campus of Empire State University; Peter's college is normally shown to be in Manhattan).

Spidey and the Torch fight Morbius after the vampire murders a hobo.

Between his flu and the fact that he and the Torch aren't working well together, the fight doesn't go so well.

Things get even worse when Jefferson's brother Jacob and a group of kids attack the super-heroes, mistakenly thinking Morbius is a regular guy.

But when Jefferson shows up, Morbius is attacking Jacob, so Jefferson attacks Morbius...

...and Morbius responds with a karate chop that kills him (or ends his un-life).

I originally was going to use the reprint of this issue from Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #6 for my collection, but it turns out that reprint drops the first three pages of this story completely and then re-scripts the fourth page so that it serves as a framing sequence that takes place between PPTSS #5 and #7 before going into the "flashback" that reprints this issue. Spidey must have been having some serious deja vu since he's performing the same actions twice. That issue also adds a final new page at the end. I guess i'll cover it as a new issue in its proper place. Luckily i also have the Essentials.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - first (non-flashback) Martine Bancroft

Chronological Placement Considerations: The first three pages of this story, showing Morbius attacking Jefferson, take place "a few weeks ago". Spidey has just a brief silhouette of an appearance; the Index and MCP place it soon after Morbius' defeat in ASM #102. According to the Index, the rest of the issue takes place during Amazing Spider-Man #105, along with several other Spidey guest appearances, but see my comment on that entry for more. The Human Torch's appearance is context free; i'm following the MCP's placement between FF #124-125 (the Index actually put it between #123-124 but that's not possible since those two issues take place on the same day). This story more or less continues directly in Marvel Team-Up #4 although at least a night passes so i've kept that issue in a separate entry.

References:

• Morbius (and Martine in flashback) previously appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #101-102.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Essential Marvel Team-Up vol. 1

Martine was in ASM #102, but only in flashback.

Thanks Mortificator. Updated here and added scan on that issue's entry.

This story has one of the most unfortunate titles I've seen in a long while.

These first three issues makes you wonder if the book was originally intended to be a Spider-Man/Human Torch team-up book.

Roy Thomas confirmed it was not, the book was always meant to be Spidey and a different character. It's explained in a Comic Book Legends revealed story on CBR.

https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-legends-revealed-450/2/

So how does the Morbius Appearance cycle work? Is this his 2nd Appearance or 3rd? the comic PTB have declared it as scripture that this is his 3rd Appearance? Anyone?

It's his third appearance but his second story- his first appearance was in Amazing Spider-Man 101-102.

I don't know if it's the scan or the reprint or the skill of the colorist or what but the colors on these pages really pop. It looks great.