Super-Villain Team-Up
The first series started in 1975 with two giant-size issues before starting as a regular series, and was mostly bi-monthly during its existence. It initially teamed up Dr. Doom and Sub-Mariner, who had lost his own series, from which it picked up the unresolved plots, especially that of the comatose Atlanteans. After a continual succession of writers and artists and a crossover with The Avengers, the plot gets resolved in issue #13 when Dr. Doom revives the Atlanteans, thus dissolving his alliance with Sub-Mariner. The Sub-Mariner plot continued in The Defenders after which the character became an infrequent guest-star in the Marvel Universe.
Issue #14 (Oct. 1977), which featured Magneto and Dr. Doom, was billed as the final issue of the series, and its plot-line was resolved in Champions #16. Inexplicably, SVTU continued with issue #15 (Nov. 1978), a reprint of Astonishing Tales #4-5, and issues #16-17, which featured the Red Skull and the Hate-Monger. The final issue, #17, was cover-dated June 1980, more than a year after #16 (May 1979).
The series saw the death of 1940s Sub-Mariner sweetheart Betty Dean and the gruesome death of her murderer, Dr. Dorcas. Steve Englehart created The Shroud, a character partly inspired by Batman, shortly before he started to work for DC Comics on Detective Comics.
The series has been collected in an Essential Marvel volume.
Read more about this topic: Super-Villain Team-Up