Carol Danvers is Coming to Help: Marvel Team-Up Vol 1 #77 – January 1979
Marvel Team-Up Vol 1 #77: "If I'm To Live...My Love Must Die!"
Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man team up in an attempt to save Dr. Strange. While Dr. Strange is trying to save Clea.
The issue opens with a fast recap of the last one. Dr. Strange, Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man have arrived at Marie Laveau’s house. They need her help to save Clea’s soul from the Orb of Agamotto, but apparently this is a trap.
Dr. Strange travels with Laveau through the different levels of the astral plane. As they go further she telepathically binds their minds. The Witch-Queen is in control now.
Down on the reality plane. Ms. Marvel’s and Spider-Man’s disguises are fading away. Spider-Man’s Spidey sense kicks in to high-gear, informing them that they are in danger. The danger is a lot of ninjas coming to kill them, at the Witch’s command. Ms. Marvel orders Spider-Man to take Dr. Strange to safety for as long as he is out.
Ms. Marvel fights them off, it’s just natural for her. It appears that it is also natural for her to take the lead. Spider-Man notices this positive change in her. She’s more confident and is just generally more human, not letting her Kree side take control of her. It’s nice that others notice the change.
What at first seems like an easy battle turns out to be a lot more difficult. The ninjas just keep getting up, almost by magic. Spider-Man guesses that they are probably there to kill Dr. Strange.
On the astral plane, Dr. Strange realizes he is in mortal danger and then Laveau tries to kill him. Even though she tells him he was her last hope.
Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man notice the consequence of that fight on their own plane. Then suddenly the Witch-Queen and Silver Dagger appear, while Dr. Strange remains unconscious. Apparently, he is a religious fanatic who wants to make the world “pure,” whatever that means in his eyes. Spider-Man wants to fight him, but both he and Ms. Marvel are tied in the crimson bands of cyttorak. They are unbreakable. We find out that Laveau has been enslaved by the Silver Dagger all this time.
Dr. Strange is now trapped within the orb. Where he meets a smoking caterpillar on a mushroom. Literally, like taken out of an Alice in Wonderland. While he is there, he decides to save Clea from being burned at the stake, which is a rather good idea. He wanted to get into the orb to save her and he got what he wished for, in a nasty way. He arrives too late, he cannot put down the magical fire. She emerges from the fire as an inhuman and deadly soul. Apparently, she turned into the creature that she could have become had her mother raised her. Her mother is the sister of Dormammu. Yes, he is the same one as the big bad from the Dr. Strange movie. So, of course, she wants to kill Dr. Strange and a battle to the death starts. Well, the new Clea wants to kill him, and he doesn’t want to hurt her.
Spider-Man comes up with a plan to break free of the bands. His plan works, freeing him and Ms. Marvel from their bands.
Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man both attack Silver Dagger in a well-coordinated collaboration. Also, it seems like Ms. Marvel is clinging to Spider-Man’s back which is odd, since she can fly. But both of them punching one after the other is pretty awesome. They try to attack Silver Dagger without pause so he will not cast any spells. But, Silver Dagger manages to punch Spider-Man nonetheless. Ms. Marvel tries to fly off with Silver Dagger, but he pulls Spider-Man with him, and drops him from the air. In the end Silver Dagger tries to pull Ms, Marvel and Spider-Man into the orb as well.
Spider-Man falls into the orb and that causes the reality inside the orb to change. Dr. Strange uses the opportunity to over power Clea.
Silver Dagger says he has other plans for Ms. Marvel. I don’t want to know what they are. But, first he wants to humble her. That’s the first time I heard those insulting words. Although it’s probably because she is a woman. He grows in size, from some reason, and her blows don’t affect him at all. But it is the now freed Laveau who saves the day, by stabbing Silver Dagger, with his dagger, in the back. That’s kind of a low blow, but it still does the job.
Dr. Strange wakes up, everyone is freed, including Clea and they are back in New-York. Minus Clea’s memory. Dr. Strange is weary of whether that is actually a part of Clea or a spell. I guess he doesn’t know about the Dormammu connection at this point. Dr. Strange also decides to save Silver Dagger by putting him back in the orb. The issue ends with a cliffhanger as Marie Laveau reminds Dr. Strange that the prophecy isn’t over yet. He may have lost his own soul.
This was a very fun issue. Ms. Marvel is kicking ass with Spider-Man at her side, though the threat was too big and too different for them. Although it still seems that Spider-Man is the brain in this partnership. I can’t believe that Silver Dagger actually wanted to humble her, that is a horrible choice of words, but does sound kind of religious to me. In the end this was all about Dr. Strange, and his journey is not over, although Ms. Marvel will not be joining him, as it seems she has her own problems so solve. As the previous issue stated, she has some serious problems at work.
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