What are the best years/runs of Marvel Team-Up?

[tib2d2]

I'm looking to grab some of the collected issues of Marvel Team-Up. Are there any particular years or runs that are better than the others?

[Revolutionary_Jack]

The Chris Claremont/John Byrne run on MTU is a high-point.

https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Man-Ma.../dp/0785158669

-- It includes the Cap. Britain 2-Parter with Arcade's debut.

-- The Kraven story with Spider-Man allying with Tigra, which some argue was a reference for JMD (who also wrote MTU by the way).

-- The Red Sonja/MJ story.

[Spidey_62]

The JMD written Spidey/Uatu Christmas issue is a great issue, #127.

I don't remember how it was but of note Robert Kirkman wrote the 2000s Marvel Team-Up series.

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up wasn't an exceptionally written series by Bendis but I always liked that series because every story had a wide variety of great artists in the industry getting a stab at Spidey and new versions of Marvel characters, all pretty visually diverse and changing with the tones of the contents.

[A Maze Thing]

I vaguely remember some stuff Bill Mantlo wrote which I read as a kid. The story where Spidey and a few other superheroes (plus Dr. Doom) travels back in time in a story inspired by the Salem witch trials in the 17th century. There were also the original Wraith story where I think Jean DeWolff debuted.

[Spidey_62]

Did some digging back through the Kirkman Marvel Team-Up and it's a really fun series. Different from what came before as it is a big more sprawling, lots of characters weave in and out and usually back around together by the end, and it's pretty funny too. Spidey's not the defacto star but he's pretty much there most of the time. There was a really neat Invincible crossover issue drawn by Cory Walker.

[oldschool]

The first 4 issues of the series (especially the first issue which is a classic) are all very good; it then lapses into the trope of 1970's Marvel comics (forced situations, rushed resolutions and endless exposition) while still being a mostly fun read. There are some admittedly incredulous yet engaging stories (the time travel saga with Spidey at the Salem Witch trials with Frankenstein and the Scarlet Witch and then flung into Deathlok's future is really something else) but this is a series that you can mostly cherry-pick outside of the sensational run of stories by Chris Claremont and John Byrne; these stories are as good as any going on in Spidey's world at that moment and deserve to be sought out and enjoyed. MTU #100 is also an underapprecated classic by Chris Claremont and Frank Miler; also, JD Dematteis wrote some very good issues down the stretch in the early 1980's as the title headed towards cancellation but nothing beats the Claremont/Byrne run.

[PCN24454]

The fact that this isn't a Marvel Comics question shows how much Spidey is used.

[Grapeweasel]

The fact that this isn't a Marvel Comics question shows how much Spidey is used.

He was in 142 issues.

[tib2d2]

He was in 142 issues.

Oh is that all???

[A Maze Thing]

The fact that this isn't a Marvel Comics question shows how much Spidey is used.

Marvel Team-Up was always intended to be a second Spider-Man book. The original idea was that the team-up always would consist of Spider-Man and Human Torch, but that idea was dropped after a few issues. Gerry Conway explains it all in the introduction in the first volume of Marvel Masterworks with MTU-stories. The reason there are a few issues without Spider-Man is that there were the short-lived quarterly title Giant Size Spider-Man. The months they released new issues of that title Spidey didn't appear in Marvel Team-Up because Marvel was afraid there would be "too much Spider-Man".

[K7P5V]

I vaguely remember some stuff Bill Mantlo wrote which I read as a kid. The story where Spidey and a few other superheroes (plus Dr. Doom) travels back in time in a story inspired by the Salem witch trials in the 17th century.

Marvel Team-Up #41, 42, 43, 44 are highly recommended.
If only to read about Doom thanking Spidey and calling him... friend?!

[From The Shadows]

All I've read were sporadically 70's, 80's 90's but I only favored particular issues than runs. I'm actually surprised to see team-up fans that have favorite runs. Makes me want to fill in the holes.