A City In Chains!

OR: "Wheaties--The Breakfast Of Gods"


Whatever else you may have to say about Marvel Team-Up #28, there's something that we're all probably in agreement on when we glance at its cover:

Artist Gil Kane has an interesting perspective on the size of a toddler's head.

It's also likely the consensus that there aren't many readers who would hold up this copy of MTU as an example of inspired and compelling plotting. It's an assessment which even Marvel's letters page "armadillo" coughed up to when responding to letter contributor (and future Marvel staffer) Ralph Macchio's description of the story as, among other things, "far-fetched":

We'll be honest with you, Ralph: the mail response is in and "The City Stealers" seems to be one of the least popular* stories we've done in TEAM-UP, with your letter and Doug Stewart's being representative of the bulk of opinions received. And it wasn't Gerry [Conway]'s scripting or Jim [Mooney]'s artwork ... that garnered this response--rather, it was the concept of having Manhattan Island towed to sea, which was felt to be a mite too much for proper suspension of disbelief.

*Talk about putting the best possible face on unfavorable feedback; the story wasn't one of the "least liked," but one of the "least popular."

"The City Stealers!" is the last issue of 1974 for MTU--and while the Manhattan Island scene is indeed a bit hard to swallow, you may find there are other elements in the story which keep the book from ending the year on a high note.



To fulfill the "team-up" obligation of the book, Spider-Man and Hercules must cross paths--and so our story begins when Manhattan Island experiences a series of earth tremors that are severe enough to wreak widespread destruction. If there's a villain at work here, it's a believable way of not only establishing their threat potential but also of provoking a response from Manhattan's heroes, though only two out of all the resident super-powered denizens respond.

Hercules and Spider-Man teaming to avert the same crisis is an interesting choice by Conway, who was at the time the regular scripter on the titles of both characters (with Hercules guest-starring in Mighty Thor). It's MTU's stock-in-trade to feature such pairings, of course--and while some don't quite jell together sufficiently to carry the weight of an entire story on their shoulders, both of these men have their own distinctive way of inspiring a level of trust in those they join forces with which supersedes their differences and allows them to more easily ingratiate themselves with the reader.

But before they meet, they must each determine (a) the extent of the crisis and (b) a course of action. For Peter Parker, that means dropping in on a seismologist at E.S.U., who is able to elaborate on the unique nature of these quakes--while Hercules tracks the tremors south amidst the carnage they've wrought.

With two distinct focal points for the source of the quakes, that conveniently leaves one for each of our heroes to investigate--Hercules to the south, and Spider-Man to the north of the island. As they discover, it looks like technology is responsible for the fatal tremors--as well as for that which operates it.

Neither man fares well in their respective confrontations--but for Hercules, his defeat is by choice, in order to facilitate his capture and thereafter learn the full extent of their foes' plan. What's revealed is probably the most elaborate extortion plot you've ever heard of this side of SPECTRE.

I suppose by that logic, you could sever the state of Florida at the panhandle, bring in a few nuclear subs with chains (chains are all you'd need, mind you), and tow the state into the Atlantic. (But who would pay a ransom for Florida?)

Regardless, Herc and Spidey have enough info to spring into action and attempt to foil this plot, particularly since the island has already started to move. And as they topple their captors, they discover a more human mind behind this affair--but for Spider-Man and Hercules, the mystery only deepens.

Which brings us to the scene that either justified the 25¢ for those readers who rang this puppy up at the register, or made them crumple the issue between both hands:

We learn later that the submarine escaped, and apparently in a hurry since it left its chains behind to be appropriated for Herc's own use--though, for pity's sake, you'd think reports of Manhattan being stolen would have scrambled fighter jets at half a dozen bases to attack and sink that sub before it even made it out of the bay.

As for Spidey and Hercules, however, no good deed goes unpunished--or in this case, unscolded, thanks to the city's mayor, who believes these two are responsible for what happened to Manhattan and begins to rip them a new one for it. Regrettably, it provides a lackluster ending to what some may see as a disappointing story.

Marvel Team-Up #28 Script: Gerry Conway Pencils: Jim Mooney Inks: Vince Colletta Letterer: Artie Simek