Super-Villain Team-Up


Super-Villain Team-Up is the name of two American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. Both series featured supervillains as the protagonists.

Publication history

The first series started in 1975 with two giant-size issues before launching as a regular series, and was mostly bi-monthly during its existence. It initially teamed up Doctor Doom and the Sub-Mariner, who had lost his own series, from which it picked up the unresolved plots, especially that of the comatose Atlanteans. After a succession of writers and artists and a crossover with The Avengers, the plot gets resolved in issue #13 when Doctor Doom revives the Atlanteans, thus dissolving his alliance with the Sub-Mariner.
Issue #14, which featured Magneto and Doctor Doom, was billed as the final issue of the series and its plotline was resolved in The Champions #16. The following year, SVTU continued with issue #15, a reprint of Astonishing Tales #4–5. Issues #16 and #17 featured the Red Skull and the Hate-Monger. The irregular publishing frequency of the final three issues was due to a legal maneuver to prevent DC Comics from trademarking the term "super-villain".
The series saw the death of the Sub-Mariner's 1940s sweetheart Betty Dean and the death of her murderer, Doctor Dorcas. Steve Englehart created The Shroud, a character partly inspired by Batman, shortly before he started to work for DC Comics on Detective Comics.

Issues

IssueCover dateCharacterCharacterNotes
Giant–Size #1March 1975Doctor DoomSub-Marinernew framing story by writer Roy Thomas and artists John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. Reprints Sub-Mariner #20 and Marvel Super-Heroes #20.
Giant–Size #2June 1975Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. the Doomsman
#1August 1975Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. Attuma, Doctor Dorcas, and Tiger Shark
#2October 1975Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. Attuma, Doctor Dorcas, and Tiger Shark
#3December 1975Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. Attuma, Doctor Dorcas, and Tiger Shark
#4February 1976Doctor DoomSub-Mariner
#5April 1976Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. the Fantastic Four
#6June 1976Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. the Fantastic Four and the Shroud
#7August 1976Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. the Shroud
#8October 1976Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. the Ringmaster
#9December 1976Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. Attuma. Crossover with The Avengers #154–156
#10February 1977Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. the Red Skull
#11April 1977Doctor DoomRed Skull
#12June 1977Doctor DoomRed Skull
#13August 1977Doctor DoomSub-Marinervs. Warlord Krang
#14October 1977Doctor DoomMagnetocrossover with The Champions #16
#15November 1978Doctor DoomRed Skullreprints Astonishing Tales #4 and #5
#16May 1979Red SkullHate-Monger
#17June 1980Red SkullHate-Mongeralso featuring Arnim Zola

''Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's 11''

In 2007 Marvel published Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's 11, a five-issue miniseries featuring 11 supervillains in the manner of the movie Ocean's Eleven.

''Doctor Doom and the Masters of Evil''

This 2009 miniseries features Doctor Doom working with other villains.

Collected editions

Essential Super-Villain Team-Up collects Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1–2 and Super-Villain Team-Up #1–17, 552 pages, September 2004, Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's 11 collects Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's 11 #1–5, 120 pages, February 2008, Doctor Doom and the Masters of Evil collects Doctor Doom and the Masters of Evil #1–4, 120 pages, July 2009, Super-Villains Unite: The Complete Super-Villain Team-Up collects Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1–2; Super-Villain Team-Up #1–14, 16–17; The Avengers #154–156; Champions #16, 464 pages, March 2015,