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 eleven 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.