MARVEL TEAM-UP #5

"A Passion of the Mind"

• Writer: Gerry Conway
• Artist: Gil Kane
• Inker: Mike Esposito
• Print Date: Nov, 1972

Featuring:

Plot Summary:

I remember Marvel Team-Up having the BEST villains. Well, 'best' in a cheesy sort of sense. It didn't often have the classic Spider-Man villain, but often featured these typical "one appearance only" type of villains. The Monstroid featured on the cover here seems to fit the mold perfectly.

On a hot and humid night, Spider-Man swings over the city and spots a fellow insomniac roaming the streets. Said insomniac is weaves, lurches forward, and falls THROUGH the sidewalk. Spider-Man sails down to pick up the stranger's coat, and discovers the Vision half-sunk into the sidewalk beneath. The Vision, obviously ill, says that something is twisting his mind before collapsing, now solid, into Spider-Man's arm. Recognizing a mystery, Spider-Man takes the Vision back to his apartment.

So, something is bothering the Vision. Up to now, I don't have much to say other than I'm really enjoying Gil Kane's artwork this issue.

Soon, some sixty blocks uptown, Spider-Man checks in to verify that his roommate Harry is still sound asleep and then returns to find the Vision stirring. The Vision explains that he's been having seizures, but that they are coming more and more frequently. The cause of the agonizing pain is unknown to the Vision, but he shrugs off Spider-Man's suggestion of going to a doctor - "What use can a human physician be to an inhuman android?".

Spider-Man finds the Vision collapsed and suffering on the streets. Wouldn't his first thought be to take the Vision back to Avenger's mansion? Or call the Avengers to come get him? Instead, Spider-Man takes the Vision 60 blocks back to his apartment, where his roommate is sleeping, and lays the vision out on the couch. This really seems illogical to me. Plus, they then start having a conversation, still in full costume, with Peter's roommate asleep in the next room. It would take but a second for Harry to get up, wonder who is in the living room, and pad out in his PJs to find two super-heroes have taken over his couch.

We take this opportunity to seek answers elsewhere. We head eastward to Long Island's North Shore where in a darkened laboratory, the villain known as the Puppet Master works on his latest puppet. The Puppet Master thinks back several weeks where he spotted a spacecraft plunging to the Earth. Spotting something of interest through the spacecraft's portal, the Puppet Master forced his way into the spacecraft. For months, he's been waiting and scheming trying to find the perfect plan to get revenge on the Fantastic Four. The Puppet Master turns to command his prize - a large alien robot named Ballox. The Puppet Master renames the creature something more terrifying - Monstroid!

So, the Puppet Master just HAPPENS to spot a large unidentified spacecraft hurtling to Earth which just happens to have a large unstoppable alien robot inside which just happens to be susceptible to the Puppet Master's controlling clay. This is obviously one of those moments where you have to try REALLY REALLY HARD to maintain your suspension of disbelief. And I'm trying.. I'm really trying here.

Oh, the little scene with the Puppet Master and Monstroid happened several hours ago, and we're just now returning to the present. At a small but prestigious jewelry shop on Fifth Avenue, a private security guard makes his rounds. His vigil is interrupted when the Monstroid smashes through the wall and pummels him unconscious. The Puppet Master scoops up the jewelry from the smashed cases while the Monstroid deals with the police gathering outside.

The journey of getting revenge on the Fantastic Four apparently starts with a small jewelry store heist. By small, I'm referring to the size of the store and probably take from the robbery. It's not referring to the terror and destruction that the Monstroid seems capable of inflicting.

Apparently, this is connected to the Vision's current issues, but we don't know how yet. The seizures have stopped, but the Vision needs Spider-Man's aid. For his own reason, he states he cannot go to the Avengers. And the heroes' conversation is interrupted by Harry stirring in the next room. Harry hears the conversation, but when he peers into the living room, the place is empty.

The heroes head to a nearby hospital and slip inside unnoticed. Spider-Man hooks the Vision up to an electro-encephalogram and computer-probe. The devices works, but according to the readout, the Vision has two sets of brainwaves. It seems that the Vision is not alone in his head?

I love it when Spider-Man gets all science-y and can easily diagnose problems like seizures in an artificial consciousness. I don't recall what was going on in the Avengers at this time that prevented the Vision from going to them. Even still, you'd think asking the Fantastic Four for help might not be out of the question either.

We transition to the Baxter Building, home of the Fantastic Four. The Puppet Master and Monstroid have apparently escaped the police, and not the Monstroid carries the Puppet Master to the roof of the Baxter Building in order to dispatch his hated enemies. The Monstroid destroys the rooftop laser security system, and smashes his way into the Fantastic Four headquarters. The Monstroid destroys the interior alarms, but there is no sign of the Fantastic Four. Inside the Baxter Building, the Puppet Master makes plans for the Fantastic Four's return.

What do you suppose the liability of having a laser gun rooftop defense system is? How many pigeons do you think that takes down per year? Is blasting potential intruders and possible inadvertent trespassers really a good plan?

Spider-Man and the Vision head towards the Baxter Building themselves. Spider-Man has cobbled together a device to track the broadcast frequency that is in the Vision's head. As they approach the Baxter Building (apparently on the roof!), three events happen. The Monstroid bursts out onto the rooftop, the Vision collapses in agony, and the Monstroid attempts to pummel the Vision. The Vision become intangible, and his attack thwarted, the Monstroid turns towards Spider-Man. The Monstroid uses a laser blast from his eyes to burn through Spider-Man's webbing, and backhands the hero across the rooftop. Spider-Man assumes that the robot belongs to the Fantastic Four and wonders what Reed Richard was thinking to send the Monstroid to attack them.

Despite the seizure, or because of it, the Vision descends into the Baxter Building and into the control room where the Puppet Master waits.

Getting over his confusion, Spider-Man's strength and agility is too much for the Monstroid. Spider-Man simply dodges and pummels the Monstroid in an effort to stop the attack, but his blows have no effect on the creature.

Back in the Baxter Building, the Puppet Master takes a couple of kicks at the Vision, but the Vision remains in a stupor.

The Monstroid shrugs off Spider-Man's attacks and stuns Spider-Man with a power discharge.

At the same moment, the Vision rises and phases through the Puppet Master. He simultaneously knocks the Puppet Master unconscious and smashes the Puppet Master's figure. With that, the alien memories in the Vision's head fade, and the Monstroid falls inert. The Vision returns to the rooftop and explains that he and the Monstroid both operated on the same mental frequency. Whenever the Puppet Master commanded the Monstroid, it would jam the Vision's mind as well. The Vision explains that the device is a Skrull Scout used during the Kree-Skrull War. And with that, the Vision floats off into the city night.

The Vision is having seizures because a Skrull Scout robot and he were both on the same mental wavelength. Why, the writer could've easily gone for a "and they lived happily ever after!" ending with this story. But it is not to be. Spider-Man is left with a mess on the Baxter Building. Much of the Fantastic Four's property has been damaged or destroyed, there is an inert alien robot on the rooftop, and the Puppet Master lies unconscious below. Oddly, the Vision offers Spider-Man about three sentences of explanation and does not mention the strange man that he left unconscious below. Presumably, the Vision was aware of whom the Puppet Master was, but even if he didn't, you'd think he do SOMETHING about the person he left unconscious.

Overall, a weak premise makes for a weak story. Spider-Man and the Vision could've made for an interesting battle, but the introduction of the Puppet Master just muddled the waters and made for an anticlimactic ending overall. No one beat the Monstroid, the Vision simply knocked out the Puppet Master (a lopsided battle indeed), and the Monstroid fell inert.