Marvel Team-Up Annual #7
Marvel Team-Up Annual #7 occupies a specific and well-documented place in the Alien Costume Saga: it is one of the earliest issues in which Spider-Man adventure in the alien symbiote suit, and the Collector explicitly prizes him as a 'double prize' because his costume is itself a living alien — a plot thread that ties directly into the broader 1984 black-costume storyline running across Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, and Marvel Team-Up. The issue also serves as the largest-scale crossover between Spider-Man and Alpha Flight during the team's John Byrne-era heyday, embedding Marrina's Plodex heritage into a cosmic threat that deepens both her character and the team's post-Guardian-death emotional dynamics. Its backup story, 'No Place to Run,' offers an unusually grounded civilian-perspective meditation on superhero collateral damage — a narrative approach that was rare for mainstream Marvel annuals of the period and anticipates the more humanized street-level storytelling that would define later decades.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Louise Simonson scripted the lead story shortly after leaving her long-running editorial role at Marvel to write full-time — Marvel Team-Up was among her first regular writing assignments — while Paul Neary, who co-designed the cover with Alpha Flight architect John Byrne, handled pencils. The issue was edited by Danny Fingeroth under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, and went on sale in direct-edition form on June 5, 1984, with newsstand copies following on June 26. The backup 'No Place to Run' was written by Bob DeNatale with pencils by a then-early-career David Mazzucchelli, giving the issue an unexpectedly distinguished artistic pedigree in hindsight.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Lead story 'The Collected Spider-Man' written by Louise Simonson, pencilled by Paul Neary, inked by Sam de la Rosa; backup 'No Place to Run' written by Bob DeNatale, pencilled by David Mazzucchelli, inked by Brett Breeding; cover by Paul Neary and John Byrne; edited by Danny Fingeroth.
- Spider-Man wears the alien symbiote black costume throughout the issue — the Collector targets him in part because the suit itself is a living alien, a plot point that directly connects to Amazing Spider-Man #258, where Reed Richards identifies the symbiote's true nature.
- First appearance of the Pearl of Great Price (a giant clamshell prison used by the Collector) and Snake-Eyes, the Collector's Xanthian Boulder Crusher, a hypnotic reptilian creature used to subdue Marrina.
- The Collector — newly restored to life after the events of Marvel Super Heroes Contest of Champions — attempts to add both Spider-Man and Marrina (a Plodex alien) to his intergalactic collection, with Aurora, Northstar, Puck, and Sasquatch of Alpha Flight mounting the rescue.
- The New Mutants' Warlock (Technarch) appears on the Collector's video monitor as a specimen of interest; the Collector mistakenly refers to Warlock's species as 'Warlocks,' unaware that Warlock is atypically peaceful among his race.
- Backup story 'No Place to Run' depicts a superhero battle — Human Torch and Black Panther versus the Crimson Dynamo — entirely from the perspective of a frightened civilian couple in Albany, New York, an unusually humanistic framing for a mid-1980s Marvel annual.
- The issue carries a Black Cat cameo and acknowledges ongoing continuity threads including the death of Alpha Flight's Guardian and Marrina's Plodex origin story from Alpha Flight #3–4.
- Reprinted in the Alpha Flight by John Byrne Omnibus (Marvel, 2017) and in the Spider-Man: The Complete Black Costume Saga Omnibus (Marvel, 2024), affirming its status as a documented chapter of both the Alpha Flight and symbiote-era Spider-Man canons.
Cast · 27 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Spidey and Marrina are targeted by the Collector, Spidey for the alien costume he wears and Marrina because she is a Plodex alien. Alpha Flight rides in to the rescue.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).