Issue(s): Marvel Team-Up #36,Marvel Team-Up #37
Cover Date: Aug-Sep 75
Title: "Once upon a time, in a castle... / The cold wind of doom! / To make a monster!" / "Snow death!: Madhouse! / Wolfpack! / Survival!"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Vincent Colletta - Inker

Review/plot:
Spider-Man passes out while trying to stop a routine robbery, and wakes up next to the Frankenstein Monster.

Their captor is Baron Von Shtupf, the Monster Maker. Someone's not taking this very seriously.

Spidey and the Monster escape, but are quickly captured again, this time by SHIELD agent Klemmer, who wants their help in taking down Von Shtupf.

But Von Shtupf has also got himself a friend.

You can't not enjoy a nice monster mash, even if the role of the Wolfman in tonight's feature will be played by the 1970s mood amulet & yellow jumpsuit-wearing Man-Wolf.

Not much to say about the plot; it's Spidey teaming up with the Frankenstein Monster to fight the Man-Wolf and a mad-scientist type. Can't really go wrong with that, although Gerry Conway tries his best by using an 'icy bitch' stereotype: "For twenty six years, Judith Klemmer has fought that feeling of abandonment - has formed herself into a woman of steel. In most situations she doesn't require protection - and normally resents it. Yet tonight, she's been protected by a male -- and something of the steel melts -- making her feel lonely - and a little afraid." It's not exactly sexist but you can sort of get the impression that Conway doesn't really like self-reliant women.

There's a scene at the end where the Frankenstein Monster is just sort of forgotten about which is done fairly well.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP places this issue between ASM #150-151. Takes place prior to Creatures on the Loose #37. It's also worth noting that the Frankenstein Monster must at this point have resolved his differences with Victoria von Frankenstein because he must return to her after this story to appear (much later) in Iron Man #101-102.

References:

• A recap for the Frankenstein Monster covers his origin from Frankenstein #1, his revival in the modern age in Frankenstein #12 and Monsters Unleashed #2 and Monsters Unleashed #4, his battle with Dracula in Frankenstein #7-9, and probably other scenes i can't identifiy.
  
• "Special Lupine No-Prize to the merry Marvelite who can list when and where Spidey tangled with M-W -- Marv". The answer seems to be Creatures on the Loose #32.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

These issues caused continuity problems. They're supposed to take place after Creatures on the Loose 36. The problem is that there is no gap in Creatures on the Loose 36-37 and Marvel Premiere 45-46 where this story can take place. The reason for this is that Creatures on the Losse 37 was published at the same time as MTU 37. Marvel Premiere 45-46 were written in 1975 but not published until 1978. Creatures on the Loose 36-37 featured Lunatik as the villain, and since Lunatik was appearing in the Defenders in 1978, Marvel thought it would be a good idea to publish the issues so that the readers could see the last Lunatik story ended. If not for the Marvel Premiere stories this could take place right after Creatures on the Loose 37. Olshevsky's Marvel Team-Up Index 2 assumes that this takes place shortly after Marvel Premiere 46.

Von Shtupf, besides being one of the lamest Marvel villains ever(the guy BAWLS when he gets defeated!)seems to me to be a take on some character from another media like a movie or TV show or even a rock song, but I can't guess who the hell it would be.

I think the name refers to Lili von Shtupp, a character from Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles." She's a parody of Marlene Dietrich, but Brooks's subsequent film was "Young Frankenstein," which I guess is the connection here. It's confirmation that Conway isn't taking this seriously. I don't know specifically of a Brooks character who bawls like this guy, but it's definitely something you might see in one of his films. Except it would be funny.

For anyone who doesn't know, schtup is Yiddish for "to have sex with" (verb) or "an act of sex" (noun).

Klemmer is one hot woman :)

Though this came out well before his notoriety, Baron Von Stupf kinda looks like Kelsey Grammer. And although the end sequence is indeed done very well, this story treats the Frankenstein Monster as a prop to be used in the monster mash (as fnord so eloquently puts it) with the Man-Wolf.