They call her Mockingbird… but that hasn’t always been true. So, why did the Huntress change her name? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Marvel Team-Up #95 awaits!

MARVEL TEAM-UP #95

Writer:  Steven Grant
Penciler: Jimmy Janes and Bruce Patterson
Colorist: Ben Sean
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Dennis O’Neil
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: 40 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $68.00
Release Date: April 22, 1980

Previously in Marvel Team-Up: Initially seen in the pages of Astonishing Tales as one of the scientists working on Project: Gladiator (an attempt to recreate the lost Super Soldier Serum that created Captain America), Doctor Bobbi Morse was witness to the origins of the Man-Thing. She then ended up in The Savage Land, working with Ka-Zar and discovering that her boyfriend was actually a mole for A.I.M. (Joke’s on him, though, as Bobbi was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. all along.) When a senator sent her undercover to investigate a corrupt branch of S.H.I.E.L.D., she finally donned her first costume and mask to investigate as… The Huntress!

That story hit the stands in November of 1975. In August of 1977, the daughter of the Earth-2 Batman took on the same alias to join the Justice Society of America. (I’m not saying that’s the only reason why Bobbi Morse’s return features a new name and costume, but I think it’s worth noting.) As this story begins, Bobbi returns to New York by air, only to walk into an ambush!

Fortunately, by the logic of Marvel Team-Up, she cannot be the only superhero flying home to the Empire State, as photographer Peter Parker is on the same flight. And one thing Spider-Man cannot countenance is an unfair fight, getting involved to save a seemingly innocent woman. When she dons her costume and gets in a fight with a flying car, things get even more complicated, and Spidey finds himself on the lam with a renegade secret agent in a remote-controlled death machine.

Mockingbird gets away clean, but Spider-Man is knocked unconscious, waking up in the custody of Nick Fury…

…’s android duplicate, in the employ of a very minor lackey of the Manhattan branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. called DeLandan, who wants his help in bringing Mockingbird in from the cold.

I’ve always been a fan of Jimmy Janes from his work on Legion of Super-Heroes, but it’s hard to see his signature style in these pages. Maybe it’s the work of Bruce Patterson (their roles aren’t clearly designated, so it’s unclear if one was inking the other, or some other sort of collab), but this issue does perfectly fit the Bronze Age Marvel house style, bridging the gap between Ross Andru and John Byrne. When Spider-Man leaps into action to defend Nick Fury from Mockingbird, he finds that it’s not as easy as it would seem. Also, it’s not necessary, as Agent DeLandan is a big ol’ rat.

The actual would-be Fury killer, DeLandan, uses a special exoskeleton and the legendary Satan Claw to temporarily match up with the Web-Head, but gets outsmarted by his pet robot, who turns out to be the real Nick Fury! Spidey and Fury make short work of the corrupt agent, but the heroes aren’t aware that he gave the other agents the command to greet their costumed interlopers with deadly force.

The “corruption at the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D.” storyline is a long, slow-burn that may or may not be the Deltite Conspiracy that brings down the agency in 1988, as Mockingbird’s next appearance is the mission where she meets and impulsively marries Hawkeye, leading to the founding of the West Coast Avengers. As for Marvel Team-Up #95, it’s a little too twisty to feel like a natural progression of events, but some well-crafted art and a new direction for Mockingbird make it worth seeking out, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall This story is a fun one to read in the context of Spider-Man and Mockingbird’s romantic relationship some 30 years later.

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MARVEL TEAM-UP #95

63%

63%

Weaving A Plot Of Old Threads

Picking up some five-year old plot points and pulling them together into a "never trust spies, they're liars" plot about a decade before every other comic book spy story follows suit, this issue introduces Bobbi Morse's best costume, which is an achievement in my eyes.

• Writing

  5
• Art

  7
• Coloring

  7
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