Marvel Team-Up #74 - Atop the Fourth Wall

Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this episode, Linkara looks at a bizarre team-up - Spider-Man and Saturday Night Live!
atopthefourthwa...
Originally uploaded June 4th, 2012.
ORIGINAL INFO: Live from New York, it’s a really bizarre team-up!
RUMINATIONS: And here’s where we start getting into the fun stuff of the show.
Reviewers treat stuff like a character from a piece of fiction appearing on their show as if it was nothing, as if their existence out of their medium is just something as fact. I’ve always felt kind of uncomfortable about that, even when I indulged in it myself by having Cable appear back during my early days. We can let Snowflame get away with it because… well, it’s Snowflame… or we can just assume it’s a random crazy person who’s addicted to cocaine and not necessarily the one from the comic. But then you’ve got stuff like people reviewing Star Trek material having their own phasers… and for them, it’s not treated like it’s some big deal or a joke - as far as they’re concerned, within their own little “universe,” as it were, these things ARE real. And sometimes it’s okay to follow the MST3K mantra - “Just repeat to yourself - it’s just a show, I should really just relax” - but for other times when a show has its serious and genuine dramatic moments, you really kind of need an explanation for how Linkara is a Power Ranger. And thus I went back to the classic of the show - the oft-repeated joke at the expense of One More Day - “It’s magic - I don’t have to explain it.” And thus that became kind of the subtitle of this storyline: “It’s Magic - I don’t have to explain it… but I will anyway.”

[@carlrood4457]

OK. Due to retcon, this is before Mary Jane TOLD Peter she knew he was Spider-Man. The retcon in the 80's had it revealed she saw him sneaking out of his house the night Uncle Ben died.

[@PsylomeAlpha]

I would _love_ if in a comic a superhero just non-chalantly tells his girlfriend he's a superhero before pulling out a mask and jumping into action after concealing it for hundreds of issues. like, they're out on a date, the green goblin starts to attack, and spiderman tells his girlfriend of the month (after getting over the death of the last one), stuffs a mask on a bit wonky, strips down to his superhero uniform, jumps away, and swings off.

[@diegocamacho6477]

Ahh, the Broze Age. When creators took comics just seriously enough that they put alot of effort, but not to the point that they stopped having fun with them. Those were the days.

[@adriantrela]

And what do we have now? Yes we have marvel NOW, all new all different, marvel now 2.0!!!!!! Man I miss bronze age :(

[@Commissar_Eiven]

wtf

[@Tareltonlives]

Hell, I miss the Silver Age.

[@Commissar_Eiven]

Yes me too I miss you original versions of a villains

[@PsylomeAlpha]

what age are we in now? the zinc age?

[@Archeopteryxman421]

Fun Fact: Apparently, the Silver Samurai founded the first incarnation of Big Hero 6.

[@andreworders7305]

Not sure if they founded it but they were one of the original members. I think Sunfire founded the team but I could be wrong.

[@maxmcelhannan7477]

what?

[@genesismultiverse4896]

Yeah and almost lost his teleportation ring in a bet to that samurai guy

[@MistsMagic]

Well... He's done saying those catch phrases now... RIP Stan "The Man" Lee.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Oh hey, it's magic, and he actually explained it!

[@Gat720Dua]

That part about the the writers hating the Muppets left me kinda uncomfortable, and I'm not even a Muppets guy. There's something wrong when your lynching a stuff version of one of the characters in your own room.

[@henrygvidonas9573]

The Muppets on SNL were more like The Feebles in a prehistoric setting with volcanos and dinosaurs, than like the actual Muppets for children of all ages as they are known now. Minus the super-crass stuff, of course.

[@OrangeRangerVideos]

I don't think Belushi IS saying anything on the cover. In the same way he screamed Japanese-sounding gibberish in the sketches, I think they just wrote Japanese-looking kanji on there. I ran it through the Google Translate app and it didn't lock in on anything.

[@traxthetrashwizard]

OrangeRangerVideos if that's actually the case, I'm impressed! That's a pretty clever visual gag.

[@jfdrac]

that probably no one not Japanese got

[@RoyalKnightVIII]

It's totally made up bs but they do look like radicals made up at random... So yeah

[@nathanclark2424]

I think it would have been even funnier if they had written it in actual kanji or other Japanese writing, but when translated it would just be jibberish.

[@JanetStarChild]

_"For this I left Canada??"_ Lorne Michaels says to Dan Aykroyd, who is also Canadian. lol

[@SpectacularSpiderMan]

To be fair, there was an SNL where Ant-Man was black. In fact, the actor who played him had a cameo in the new Ant-Man film

[@Cartoonguy133]

Yeah, Garrett Morris. He was in this issue too.

[@MadisonCarter]

And is, in fact, the same actor that is dressed as Thor in this comic. Grant Morris.

[@jeremyusreevu237]

That Laser Cats joke was hilarious! Laser Cats is a seriously underrated SNL sketch.

[@danthefan28]

6:49 John Beluci as a member of the Green Lantern Corp. quick! somebody come up with an oath!

[@jfdrac]

In Brightest Pay, In Bluest Night, no drugs shall escape my sight, Beware my power Bluto's might

[@nathanforester5993]

I'm pretty sure both Jake AND Elwood could be considered superheroes considering how the Bluesmobile can survive everything including being blown up.

[@ebwarg]

PCP vs POP PETEY-KINS vs PETEY-KING This is why the Comics Code banned the use of FLICK.

[@gweegweezoozoo]

I choose pcp

[@DementedEmperor]

Yes, because a comedian untrained in combat of any sort and without any special attributes that could be used in combat can definitely defeat both an army of goons AND the Silver Samurai. I predict Spidey doing most - if not all - of the legwork in this "crossover".

[@Bauglir100]

Tom Edwards Actually, they do a pretty good job at fending for themselves.

[@noahvance6160]

If they'd actually succeeded in defeating him, I feel it would have made him as credible of a threat as Killer Moth after his encounter with Batgirl. 😂

[@jeremyusreevu237]

12:40: Nice Laser Cats reference, Linkara. By far the most underrated SNL sketch.

[@Launchpad05]

Well, the cast of 'Jessie' appeared on 'Ultimate Spider-Man'.

[@Klonoahedgehog]

Marc Baker That episode wasn't really that bad, it was stupid but not bad.

[@Launchpad05]

Still, 'Ultimate Spider-Man' is all my fears of Disney's acquisition of Marvel made flesh, at least for a series on Dixney XD. And I'm still bitter that 'Spectacular Spider-Man' got canceled because that series was SO much better than 'Ultimate'. If Disney XD wasn't so hell bent on being more 'squeaky clean', and obnoxious than Cartoon Network, Nick, or Discovery Family, maybe 'Ultimate' would've been just as good as 'Spectacular'. At least ABC is okay with 'Agents Of Shield', and Netflix gave Marvel tons of creative freedom on 'Daredevil', but cartoons are suppose to be far more reaching, and more substantial than they were in the 70's. It's like all the hard work, and reputation that cartoons have fought for since 'Batman:TAS' has all been squandered by networks who would rather 'play it safe', and regress that hard work.

[@jayr5277]

Marc Baker I'll admit I kinda tuned out of Ultimate Spider-Man. I actually enjoyed it overall in season 1 and thought season 2 was a pretty good sign of improvement for the show... But... Uhhhh... Yeah. I'm very glad that I tuned out now. xD

[@SpectacularSpiderMan]

I know but Ultimate Spider-Man the series is even worse than One More Day. & Jessie was never a good show. SNL sucks now but was good at the time

[@powerist209]

+Spectacular Spider-Man About One More Day, Ultimate Spiderman even adapted that storyline in one scene where MJ and PP broke up as kids and called the romance as "MISTAKE" just to spite the fans.

[@stargate525]

So, four years later, when are we going to see the Letterman/Avengers!?

[@jakebryant3445]

He probably forgot about it.

[@josephcage7955]

Yeah, Linkara, what's that all about?

[@Rgoid]

“Beware! It’s Assistant Editors’ Month! Don’t say we didn’t warn you!”

[@CouchSpud91]

...Dude, John Belushi as a Green Lantern would have been SO much better than Ryan Reynolds.

[@ellnats]

that was jack black dude

[@Commissar_Eiven]

Spencer McClure wtf

[@ev_artwork6443]

So, a Zany comedy, with one of the characters getting a ring stuck on his hand, and thus pursued by the villain, characters getting dropped through the floor by the villain, bizarre costumes... This is the worst fan fiction of the Second Beatles movie HELP! I've ever seen.

[@PsylomeAlpha]

That's what I was thinking too.

[@nathanforester5993]

I definitely recall the Jay Leno/Spiderman comic team-up that was sort of a tie-in to the Raimi movies.

[@Wysiwyg43]

Holy sh**! I had that comic! I bought it at a drug store (along with my MAD and Cracked) when I was eleven years old! I remember sneaking late at night to watch Saturday Night Live in our small apartment because I wasn't allowed to watch it. Thanks for reviewing it and I enjoy your channel. PEACE

[@Tareltonlives]

RECORDED IN MINNESOTA, IT'S MONDAY MORNING!

[@joshuaingobo1559]

Tareltonlives You mean Monday afternoon.

[@JohnnyElRed]

And in other matters, Francisco Franco is still dead, but feeling better everyday.

[@bthsr7113]

Still waiting on that Letterman meets the Avengers comic.

[@Rgoid]

Bthsr71 As am I.

[@SuperSongbird21]

17:50 I personally believe that if a character is really good, it shouldn't matter what colour skin they have or what their orientation is. What bugs me is when media throws it in just because it's "trendy" - the personality and spirit should come first when you create/revive a character.

[@Tareltonlives]

MST3k meets SNL. It would be like a comedy explosion. In heaven, Stan Lee, the cast of SNL, and Spiderman's likeability are all partying right now.

[@Klonoahedgehog]

This is by far the weirdest idea for a crossover i have ever seen.

[@sailoritaly]

How about the Mars Attacks and Popeye comic?

[@Wren_the_Bird_King]

+Sailor Italy That's a thing?!

[@sailoritaly]

Wren Dean Yep. Here ya go 4.bp.blogspot.com/-O_SIaFkNM2E/UOnVULrkCVI/AAAAAAAAAnY/kxb8ELGw-kE/s1600/prv14713_cov.jpg

[@jfdrac]

And I though Mars Attacks Image was starnge enough

[@jasonedwards8352]

What's next? Dr. Strange and Black Panther meeting the cast of Whose Line is it Anyway?

[@tylersackett6302]

I knew comic books were weird back in the day, but this is beyond silly!

[@michaelawalton6579]

I don't care about the color of someone skin in a book I just want a good book, I feel the same way with everything else.

[@evanlanctot323]

The plot was listed directly out of the Beatles' HELP! movie.

[@spidergwenstarwars6504]

If you think that's weird then you'll love spiderman vs powered toast man

[@Merit2397]

While I understand that Linkara really doesn't care for this type of team up, I can't help but LOVE it. Speaking as a fan of old 80s comedies like Animal House, Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day, it's kind of neat to see Spider-Man interact with classic comedians like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and even the late great John Belushi. Plus, speaking of the late greats, having Stan Lee as the host was just icing on the cake of what was a kind of odd, out of nowhere, but very enjoyable crossover.

[@jayarby8494]

I was watching the joke about Stan Lee being forced to repeat the same catchphrase over and over when the news just broke that he died. Ain’t timing a bitch?

[@mikethegrunty5968]

I have zero problem with a character taking up the mantle of a super hero if they're a different race( John Stewart anyone?). What I have an issue with is if they brought in, say, Wally West and decided he's going to be black now( before you get in my face I would have the exact same complaint if victor stone was suddenly a white guy). The only reason ultimate nick fury gets away with it is because it's an alternate universe... Plus he's based on Samuel L Jackson. As for characters changing sexual orientation... It doesent bug me that much. People hide their orientations all the time.

[@TheGotenza]

Well... The African American Wally west is in a different timeline. Because of Flashpoint the world changed. When the timeline changed maybe Wally's mother or father was an African American now.

[@mikethegrunty5968]

Oh, crap. In that case I'm ok with it.. Thanks for setting me straight. Maybe I should actually read the books before opening my mouth,lol

[@Igarappappa]

Mike White To me, as long as race wasn't a huge part of their character or origins, I don't mind seeing them mixing it up. Like with Johnny Storm. All I care is that he's a better written character than he was in the last movies.

[@KidSnivy69]

I'm more bug was that (last I checked) Wally had no superpowers in New 52, and since he was the Flash I was introduced to that upsets me

[@jakebryant3445]

Same with Kamala Khan taking up the mantle of Ms Marvel.

[@lucasmackey2808]

21:22 For this I left Canada? Lord you have no sense of JUSTICE 24:59 Yeah! That exists! I have it!

[@Cdr2002]

Weekend Update is the only consistently good bit SNL still has

[@cheshirecreeper3743]

Love your Stan Lee Impression.

[@CaydeTheSixth]

15:27 Tbh a better explanation for not trying to call the cops would be: "If the goons hear sirens, they might drop the subterfuge and take the audience hostage."

[@Sitharos]

Woohoo!!! Can't wait to see Dr. Insano soon! :-)

[@Rgoid]

9:12 This took place LOOOONG before Nightcat.

[@jaredsamples6969]

About the Garrett Morris/Thor thing, mr. Morris once portrayed Ant-man in a sketch. That's why he's got a cameo as the guy whose car Scott Lang landed on I the Ant-man movie.

[@mtdeeley]

Hang on. A celebrity gets a special ring mailed to them from a fan, gets it stuck on their finger, and is targetted by a villain. This is the plot of The Beatles' movie "Help"!

[@deadaccount7520]

Those Muppet sketches were f$@#&$ terrible. These weren't the miss piggy, Kermit, animal, etc Muppets but some terrible prehistoric Muppets. Which is a shame because animal and Belushi hanging out would have been epic.

[@skyslasher2297]

22:11 wait that’s how Silver Samurai got his teleportation ring in a bizarre Spider-Man Crossover

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

18:02 Ah, the days before Spider-Verse made Miles a household name or before Alan Scott revealed he was gay in the main universe.

[@gameygeemer4142]

I had heard about this comic, but I didn't realize there was an Atop the Fourth Wall of it.

[@ilopominecrafter]

Well, it is now semi sad to see stan here, considerin we lost him this year

[@foxfireinferno3547]

Best. Intro. EVER.

[@frankjosephjaeger2675]

Nah SNL wasn't even more funnier but I was a huge 90 MAD TV Fan until 2002 and In Living Color because of Damon Wayne as Homie The Clown

[@FandomRider]

So, what happened when your Pokeball turned back into a toy while Pyramidhead was still inside? I’ve been rewatching these and that’s always been in the back of my mind every time I get to this point.

[@AT4W]

...Huh. Never thought of that. stuck in limbo during that time, I suppose?

[@jackmonaghan8477]

If Spider-Man if Earth-19529 shows up in a future Spider-verse movie, they should totally reference this for a laugh.

[@shadowlinkbds]

I also love the celebrity jeopardy skits from snl. I'll always watch them gor a good laugh.

[@Commissar_Eiven]

shadowlinkbds wtf

[@nooneofimportance2110]

John Belushi as Green Lantern? OK, THAT'S THE COMIC I WANT TO READ!!!

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

That Stan Lee joke turned dark since a few years ago.

[@rockersunite122]

Randomly I looked Up Rick Jones , and the first thing that popped was a sporting character from the Incredible Hulk, Captain Marvel, and Rom Spaceknight. So... Did he have a music career that nobody knew about?

[@jfdrac]

Yes he actually did. During the Captain Marvell run his carrer took off and he even had at least number one hit and was at least as people like say Spice Girls or Miley Cyrus were

[@henrygvidonas9573]

When you do "speedballs" for several days straight, it's not really an _accidental_ overdose. It's just what happens, sad as it is.

[@miylacrystal9938]

One of these days I am going to draw Linkara holding the magic gun with a silhouette of a little girl behind her

[@noahvance6160]

I honestly kind of want to see a story where John Belushi was somehow chosen to become part of the Green Lantern corps.

[@noahmagana137]

LIVE FROM NEW YORK TEN YEARS AGO ITS SPIDER-MAN AND SNL!!!

[@JoeRepp]

When the text in the credits gives away that it was originally backed with a unique song but its just the AT4W theme

[@jfdrac]

Damn youtube copyright trolls

[@kitandco]

Nicely implanted thing from Spiiny's show. Never thought someone will remember this joke with anti-magic field generator.

[@codenate02]

oof, the Stan Lee "Why won't Marvel just let me stop" bit hits differently now

[@kingofgames2894]

Worst part is i made the exact same letterman joke in my head at the beginning..... Not even kidding

[@andreworders7305]

The superhero that fell bad jokes and the comedy show that tell bad jokes together at last. Except Spider-Man does it on purpose.

[@ACrustyCount]

"Representation becomes reality" Good thing Linkara didn't have a reproduction of the Infinity Gauntlet or things would get really weird.....it has been awhile since I've watched the show though, hence the retread through the show.....

[@SpeedyEric1]

I still watch SNL on TV every Saturday night, and I also watch the older episodes whenever they pop up on VH1 or Comedy Central. The Celebrity Jeopardy sketches are also my favorite, and I also love the one they did in the 40th Anniversary Spacial. Still Waiting for that review of The Avengers #239.

[@deadaccount7520]

And hear i thought ghostbusters was belushi fjrst comic appearance.

[@EuclideanAl]

So it's 2017, now. Where's the review of that Avengers x David Letterman crossover?!

[@Rgoid]

AzureDarkGod Sounds like an idea to me.

[@jfdrac]

My guess is it seemed good fodder but he just could not find the jokes in it

[@maxmcelhannan7477]

celebrity jeapoardy is my favourite sketch series too. i wish they would bring it back. there are so many celebrities to make fun of. i know both sean connery and alex trebek are dead but jeopardy has a new host so they could use that host for the new stuff

[@thevision3150]

It's spiderman. Warning Belushy from a samurai. I need their drugs

[@simontrask3679]

You should review "Thing two in one" number 75. Ben Grimm teams up with the Avengers. They venture into the negative zone to fight Annihilus, Blastaar and the The Super Adaptiod.

[@spookyrosev6467]

Weird thing to watch before I go to Cincy Comic Expo tomorrow.

[@symantares9171]

The cast of SNL is also responsible for The Awesomes, but whether that's good or bad is very subjective

[@kurtwagner1915]

Bring this story to the mcu. With bad cgi deaging and all!

[@andreworders7305]

Reality is bendable. Stan Lee runs Marvel Comics in the same universe as the Marvel Comics characters and there are real-life celebrities.

[@skyslasher2297]

17:48 wow this section is one big hindsights a bitch since not only was Miles transferred over to the mainline marvel universe but Alan Scott's Earth 2 change carried over long after Earth 2 ended and the original was brought back into DC continuity

[@WraithTDK]

WOOOO! EXPLANATIONS! Still hoping to see where Libkara first got the gun and the book, but I really dig having an explanation.

[@AT4W]

Those were explained in the first DVD. =)

[@WraithTDK]

Linkara-AtopTheFourthWall WELL. Off to the web store!

[@WraithTDK]

IIIIII dunno...seems a bit far-fetched. The best thing a giggling stranger ever gifted ME during lunch was a magical pocket knife; and *it* does is feature a really, really effective corkscrew. Nice touch with the book's origin digging on _Silent Hill_ . A review of Crisis On Infinite Earths would be awesome, if crazy-long. It's my all-time favorite storyline, and the first "big event" story I eve read .

[@TomElvisSmith]

It's incredible how bad the caricatures are in this comic. It's a good thing they keep saying each other's names in the dialogue, or I wouldn't who they were supposed to be. Belushi and Ackroyd look more like they should than the others, but most of the rest don't resemble the actors at all. Gilda looks like Gilda only when she's Emily Ritella in the comic. Lorne Michaels, Jane Curtin and Bill Murray look like totally different people.

[@taekinuru2]

Tell me you wouldn't watch an episode of Dancing Stan Lee Live though.

[@Redlegcook]

Still waiting for that review of Avengers 239.

[@futurewarriorhero123]

umm, wow. just like....wow O-o

[@thomasjenkins7506]

wait...he cut open a high pressure steam line and no one died? that's pretty absurd.

[@Tareltonlives]

Best "WHAT" since Brad Jones

[@Tareltonlives]

My opinion on race is that it shouldn't be a problem unless it interferes with the origin. It's very problematic for, say, Thor or Black Panther to change race, but Spidey, Bats, Supes, Ironman, etc don't have that problem at all.

[@Tareltonlives]

The best part of this review? The Muppet Show and SNL clips

[@PsylomeAlpha]

whitewashing Martian Manhunter would probably incite some lore issues as well.

[@jfdrac]

Technically he always was White as a human until Supergirl came along

[@Tareltonlives]

As long as he turns out green, I personally don't see an issue :)

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

25:05 We never got that review. :(

[@Bauglir100]

I know this video was made in 2012, but holy shit. The part at 17:20-18:47 has seriously not aged well at all. Not only has race-swapping, as well as gender-swapping and even orientation-swapping, become extremely common in modern media, but they're even doing this with actual historical figures that really existed, and whose race, gender, and orientation are well-documented. Not to cast a good actor for the part, but for the sake of diversity.

[@BlueJaguarRanger]

My mother just walked by and said you sound like Bert & Ernie

[@kimifw58]

Bert *and* Ernie? He sounds like both of them?

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Dude, if you were to ever edit together the out of comic story lines then I would totally watch the shit out of it. That is the worst thing with the videos being out of order, can't follow the story line.

[@ellnats]

spiderman and the cast of SNL, This Comic....AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Just OOOWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWHHYYYYYYYYYY!!!!, AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ellnats]

I have changed my mind, at least its the original cast, not the new shit

[@dakotadoyle7573]

Are their any other spells in that book beside the image becomes reality and the defense enchantments?

[@jakebryant3445]

Then again a black Thor would be pretty awesome.

[@Marelfan]

0:06 WHAT!?

[@christopherb501]

Still hoping for the Letterman comic.

[@emmyttsmith8033]

So if Stan Lee exist in the Marvel universe along with Marvel comics.. what do they write about since all the characters in Marvel are walking around and such in the Marvel universe?

[@JCLegendary]

Writers don't usually write themselves into the comics, but I supposed the comics are biographical rather than fictional. I remember in one issue of Man-Thing Steve Gerber appeared in his own comic and explained that, I shit you not, a Wizard told him what to write but had to stop after seeing the devil blow up the universe. Man-Thing was a weird comic.

[@emmyttsmith8033]

JC Legendary My mind is blown...and confused...

[@BlueJaguarRanger]

DC Characters. Same for Marvel in the DC Universe

[@Nintendon85]

Sounds about right. We know that DC exists in the Marvel Universe, since one character mentions seeing The Dark Knight 9 times.

[@jfdrac]

Actually it has been established that yes Marvel does exist in the Marvel Universe and they do write stories about the actual inhabitants of that world....In some cases like the FF they actually license the rights from the team in return for indepth accounts of stories that take place outside of their purview. So yeah maybe a simple Spidey fighting Electro in time square they heard about but stories like Spidey vs Dr Doom they would never know anything about or when the FF travel to another dimension.....If you think about its no differnt then say stoires in our world about cops or firemen

[@Sonichero151]

Silencer........... He's done it again.....Either that or Sombra Used an EMP which now affects magic because Shut up...

[@andreworders7305]

29:08 what's wrong with the card?

[@JeffreyPiatt]

Linkara nice gold ranger zeonizer aka king brace it's odd it gives you an white suit as Jason and troy never had an morpher in zeo saban made the staff weapon his morpher then again he wasn't an kid morphing through puberty in the us or the super prototype ranger in zeo.

[@dakotadoyle7573]

If the Zeonizer doesnt tap into a universal morphing grid what is its power source?

[@davidspring4003]

Magic.

[@RaithSienar]

Shit talk SNL all you want they are also responsible for Wayne's World, one of the greatest 90's movies ever made.

[@TheTrueTriceror]

Well, of course Saturday night live! Why not? Answer:it is Saturday night live.

[@jeremyusreevu237]

21:27-21:32 What does this mean?