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Cover: Gil Kane & Mike Esposito

Marvel Team-Up #23

Name: Marvel Team-Up #23
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jul 1974 · Marvel · 0.25 USD

📊 ~17,675 copies sold its debut month

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“The Night of the Frozen Inferno”

★ 1st appearance — Equinox

About this Issue

Marvel Team-Up #23 holds a firm place in Bronze Age history as the first full appearance of Equinox, the Thermodynamic Man — a villain whose simultaneous command of fire and ice made him a conceptually elegant foil for exactly the two heroes Len Wein chose to face him. The issue also carries quiet continuity weight: the cameo by Cyclops, Angel, and Marvel Girl, who depart on a vaguely described 'secret mission,' retroactively dovetails with the original X-Men's role in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), making this a minor thread in the fabric of mutantkind's most consequential revival. Beyond that single villain debut, the issue is a textbook example of Wein's sophisticated cross-title plotting: the story picks up mid-scene from Giant-Size Spider-Man #1, demonstrating that Bronze Age Marvel Team-Up could function as genuine serial fiction rather than self-contained filler. It was also one of only six issues in the series' entire 150-issue run in which the Human Torch, not Spider-Man, carried the lead — a calculated editorial choice tied directly to Marvel's publishing calendar.

writer Len Wein · artist Gil Kane · inker Mike Esposito · inker Dave Hunt · colorist Glynis Wein · letterer C. Jetter · letterer Gaspar Saladino · cover Gil Kane, Mike Esposito

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $15

CGC 9.8 · 19 in census $523

CGC 9.6 · 34 in census $199

CGC 9.4 · 19 in census $135

CGC 9.2 · 7 in census $80

CGC 9.0 · 11 in census $80

CGC 8.5 · 4 in census $58

Show all 20 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 4 in census $54*

CGC 7.5 · 6 in census $42

CGC 7.0 · 3 in census $40*

CGC 6.5 · 3 in census $36*

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 · 1 in census $28*

CGC 5.0 · 3 in census $26*

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 · 3 in census $23*

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 2.5 none in existence

CGC 2.0 none in existence

CGC 1.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 $575 1 listing CGC 5 $59.99 1 listing CBCS 8.5 $80 1 listing Raw — VF $27.99 1 listing Raw — FN/VF $20 1 listing Raw — FN+ $21 1 listing Raw — FINE $27.95 1 listing

Raw — FN ▾ $12–$20 3 listings

FN $12 FN $14 FN $20

Raw — VG+ $9.6 1 listing

Raw — VG ▾ $9.4–$30 7 listings

VG $9.4 VG $12.74 VG $12.99 VG $13 VG $15.4 VG $24 VG $30

Raw / ungraded ▾ $7–$17 7 listings

Raw / ungraded $7 Raw / ungraded $8 Raw / ungraded $12.99 Raw / ungraded $14.9 Raw / ungraded $15 Raw / ungraded $15 Raw / ungraded $17

Verified matches for Marvel Team-Up #23 · eBay asking prices, seen 25 days ago

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History

Writer Len Wein scripted this issue while simultaneously serving as the series' writer for both Marvel Team-Up and the companion Giant-Size Spider-Man — and, by the cover date of July 1974, he was also editor-in-chief at Marvel. The Human Torch's starring role here was not accidental: Wein deliberately gave the Torch top billing on those Marvel Team-Up issues that shipped the same month as a Giant-Size Spider-Man issue, reasoning that having Spider-Man headline three books in a single month would represent overexposure. Penciler Gil Kane drew the interior pages and co-drew the cover with inker Frank Giacoia, with inks inside by Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt and colors by Glynis Wein; the book carried a cover date of July 1974 with an on-sale date confirmed by contemporary trade publications as April 1974. Roy Thomas was the immediate editor on the issue, operating under Wein as editor-in-chief.

Trivia · 8 facts

First full appearance of Equinox (Terrance Sorenson), the Thermodynamic Man — created by Len Wein and Gil Kane — whose body simultaneously manifests fire and ice, making him a mirror-villain uniquely suited to both lead heroes.
Story title: 'The Night of the Frozen Inferno.' Spider-Man appears only in a brief cameo at the issue's opening, with the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Iceman (Bobby Drake) serving as the true leads.
The plot is a direct continuation of a subplot from Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 (July 1974), which shipped the same month; the two issues interlock scene-by-scene, with MTU #23 opening at the exact moment GSSM #1 transitions away from the jewelry-store robbery subplot.
Cyclops, Angel, and Marvel Girl make a cameo appearance to exonerate Iceman — their mention of a pressing 'secret mission' is retroactively tied in Marvel continuity to the Krakoa mission depicted in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975).
This issue is one of only six across the entire 150-issue Marvel Team-Up run in which the Human Torch, not Spider-Man, is the headlining character; those Torch-led issues were published to coincide with Giant-Size Spider-Man releases.
Creative team: script by Len Wein, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt, cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, colors by Glynis Wein (Oliver), letters by Charlotte Jetter; Roy Thomas served as editor.
Equinox returned to fight Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #59–60 (July–August 1977), received an entry in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4 (2006), and appeared in the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
The letters page carries Marvel Value Stamp Series A #28 (Hawkeye). The issue has been collected in Marvel Team-Up Classic Vol. 3 (Epic Collection, 2018), alongside Giant-Size Spider-Man #1–3.