Siskoid and the Irredeemable Shag’s coverage of Marvel Team-Up continues with issue #60 (August 1977) by Chris Clarement, John Byrne and Dave Hunt, starring Spider-Man and the Wasp! It’s “A Matter of Love… and Death!”.
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Another fine episode. I didn’t realize how each issue would set up the next. It’s as if this run of issues all take place in the span of 2 hours.
I’ve had the next issue ever since I was a kid. And it was one of my favorites with [redacted] as the villain. I re-read it so many times and hope the story holds up 50 years later.
I especially like when [redacted] puts a [redacted] around Spider-Man’s [redacted]!
You mentioned at one point that Equinox was projecting the “wrong” kind of energy from his hands (fire while icy, I think) but IIRC Byrne was consistent about drawing him that way. When his hands are fire, he’s projecting ice, and when they’re ice, he projects fire. Makes for a better visual due to the contrast, and nothing about his powers makes much sense if you stop to think about them too closely anyway.
Always (well, since age 11 anyway) thought Equinox was a really nifty character design, although he must be kind of a nightmare for an artist to remember to switch his ice/fire “halves” regularly and keep the sequencing straight. I don’t think he’s ever been animated, but it would be interesting to see how they’d tackle that. You don’t have panel breaks to conceal the switches, so how do you handle that on screen? Probably wouldn’t look right to have him just stutter back and forth rapidly between the two forms on-camera, so do you try to use camera cuts to hide him changing? Or show the transformations but slow down the pace so it doesn’t wind up looking silly? Probably some combination of the two, but it seems tricky enough that the poor guy may never wind up in a cartoon so we can see how it actually looks.
Fun issue and great discussion. Hank doing that stuff to Janet just adds to the toxicity of their relationship.
But I know that ‘wand’ very well as MTU #61 is a formative issue from my youth. I got this issue with the Wasp later in life and was so pumped to see that final hook.
And yes the reveal of [redacted] as the villain next issue is rent free in my mind. And the flashback panel of Byrne drawing [redacted] was a bit of an awakening for young Anj!
Yeah, the conclusion in this one is much stronger than the preceding issue – so I’d agree that that’s why the whole story is so fondly recalled by many (although, to be fair, it seems like all of the Claremont/Byrne issues of MTU are fondly remembered – I know my personal favorite stars a certain Hyrkanian sword-wielder).
As for next issue’s villain, isn’t some guy named Jesus Pestilence or something like that? 😉
I ADORE JANET VAN DYNE! She’s an awesome Avenger, a superior hero and a bad ass businesswoman, who also enjoys the finer things in life. She likes to go shopping, having her hair done, and meeting friends for high tea. These things aren’t “an act”. She doesn’t put on a “Sex and the City” persona, it’s who she is. Too often writers feel that a female character can’t be “feminine” and be taken seriously. The Wasp has always been proof that they can. Some of her greatest moments came in Spectacular Spider-Man 105 & 106 (I guess I’ll have to cover it since Shagg passed on it. Janet is part of a group of investors who have been Targeted for assassination. While Spider-Man is out of his mind with concern for her safety, Janet isn’t bothered at all. She goes shopping. Spidey is incredulous, how can she go shopping when someone is trying to kill her? Well, because she’s The Wasp! She’s battled cosmic criminals, indestructible robots, and alien armies! She’s not going to sweat the small stuff. Also in that story line, when she’s in a business meeting with her fellow investors, she is completely disrespected by them. She’s the only woman among them, and when she tries to speak her piece the men shut her down and tell her to go make coffee. Janet doesn’t get upset, she doesn’t argue, she smiles and goes into the next room, prepares coffee AND HER NEXT MOVE! While the men continue to posture and argue, Janet out maneuvers them all, and takes the controlling share of the business. That’s Janet Van Dyne, if she’s not in control, she soon will be.
Sooo… let me check that I have this right: Hank messes with Janet’s genetics without her knowledge or consent… and it’s *THE SLAP* that’s remembered?!
Is there ANY limit to this guy’s violations on his violations?
Shag – I’m glad you landed on Sue & Ralph Dibney as potential team up partners for Janet – It’s where my head went to immediately, and I know your love of the character from previous JLE discussions.
Ooops – mistype! I meant “violations on his partner”.
Great discussion. Shag mentioned the massive power outage that occurred back in 2003. I was actually in a movie theater watching Bad Boys 2 when that power outage hit halfway through the movie. To this day I still haven’t seen the rest of Bad Boys 2. I can’t wait to find out how it ends, but I guess there’s no big rush.
We should get a Wasp maxi series showcasing all of her best costumes and it can be called Janet Van Dyne: The Eras Tour.
Getting back to the idea that Jim Shooter intended to give Hank Pym a real villain turn, imagine if that had happened: Hank could have been Hal Jordan Parallax long before “Emerald Twilight”.
Wow, I didn’t expect to TWO spontaneous name drops in this episode! Alas, I do not know who Maggie Sawyer would have been based on, but I do recall hearing that Byrne visually coded her more masculine on purpose for eventually addressing her sexual orientation.
When I first read this story in Marvel Tales, I was stunned to see it introduced her powered up sting and strength. I guess the downside is being in MTU allowed other comics to easily ignore or forget about. I do think her increased sting power carried over the most, albeit inconsistently depending on the writer. I think of Avengers #212, where she blasts a van in mid-air to stop it from flattening Yellowjacket, so that cemented her power level in my head. But her super-strength never comes up again until #264 thanks to Roger Stern, which *also* introduces the second Yellowjacket, not a coincidence in my mind.
But yes, I’ve said it repeatedly and stand by it: Wasp is the best leader of the Avengers. And it took separating her from Hank for it to happen, and his “Don’t ask questions” noise! If anybody wants to hear me go on about it at length, my podcast discusses it almost every episode this year. Another great story featuring Jan happened in the final 2 issues of Unstoppable Wasp, where Jan comes in to help Nadia, and is totally a great mom to her stepdaughter. If you haven’t read it, Jan fans should seek it out.
Since the MCU Wasp was mentioned, I can’t help but note that the name “Hope Van Dyne” came from Uncanny Avengers, when in an alternate future, Janet and Alex (Havok) Summers had a daughter! So of course, once the X-Men get involved, things get overcomplicated and it makes my head hurt.
I like the fashion angle for a Wasp team-up, so I’m going for fashion model Mari McCabe, Vixen, plus they have animal motifs in common. They meet at a fashion show, Mari models some Van Dyne originals on the cat walk, and of course supervillains! While Whirlwind is an easy pull for Wasp, Vixen is a little short on notable antagonists, so I’m not sure who to pull in, although I see Jan pulling “don’t you dare damage that dress” during the fight. After all, she did that to She-Hulk before.
Now, I loved that Claremont slipped in a Bard College reference, his alma mater! The school notably includes him on their list of writers that graduated there. Claremont will later make Bard the school where Jean Gray’s father taught, and where Phoenix was buried. In real life, students have been putting a fake headstone for Jean in the school’s cemetery alongside notable alumni and professors for years. It’s such a staple, that the annual “ghost tour” of the cemetery includes a professor wearing a Magneto helmet who tells the story of the Phoenix saga completely straight! And at the end, admits it’s a story by alumni Claremont. I’ve seen it twice, and it warms my nerdy heart every time.
Oh, and I did ask Ren how many of their friends at school are bio-geneticists like Equinox’s mom, and they said “oh gobs!” The joke is Bard College is primarily a liberal arts school. It’s got a great science building, but it’s very new and I definitely not a staple in the 70s.
I’ve been lax in commenting on episodes even though I’m listening to so many of them this summer and enjoying them. As I mentioned last MTU episode, I’m still a fan of Yellowjacket. I am also a fan of the Wasp, of course, but I still think I need to defend ol’ Hank Pym after the comments on this episode and the last. Janet Van Dyne is, indeed, a great character, as well, and this is a straight-up fun comic book with beautiful art. I also still appreciate the visual of Equinox with the combination of fire and ice. Good stuff all around.
Another great episode, guys. I am always down for a spotlight on JVD. A recent book that spotlit Jan was Avengers Inc. it only ran for like five issues, but she is the main character. It’s a fun, quick read.
It’s too bad Claremont never got the chance to do an extended run on the Avengers back in his prime. Imagine how much drama he could have cooked up. Wonder Man and Beast a couple? Awesome! Jacosta in love with a Roomba? Cool!
I wanted to mention A Inc., cuz I liked it, too.
Here’s my idea for team up it starts
With the watcher but not the watcher we know this is a female watcher dressed in Janet vandyne original she watches earth 789 .
Where wasp is earths greatest hero and leader of fashion force . The team includes Shang chi and his
Siamese cat , Hercules, Hank pym as the scientific adventure, and are guest for this issue a new rookie hero marionette (from the tv show miraculous ladybug )
In this time line she is essentially the Paris Peter Parker but her powers are still magic based instead of science based and she is Janet’s young assistant in the house of vandyne and she is ladybug Paris newest super hero .
When a the villain hawk moth creates a villain style queen that takes the rest of fashion force can the wasp , the lady bug and the new hero’s cat noir and his big sister black cat save the day .
Note this story takes place during fashion week