Essential Marvel Team-Up #1
In "Have Yourself a Sandman Little Christmas!", Spider-Man and the Thing team up with the surprisingly remorseful Puppet Master to confront a past tragedy—his role in blinding Alicia Masters, the woman he once cared for. Written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Gil Kane, with inks by Mike Esposito and letters by Jean Izzo, this holiday-themed tale unfolds in a tense, emotionally charged race to an abandoned lab, where the heroes face a trap set by the Mad Thinker. The cover by Gil Kane captures the story's eerie, festive tone.
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 ▸Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Puppet Master admits to Spider-Man and the Thing that he caused the accident that blinded his stepdaughter Alicia Masters (Thing's girlfriend). This accident was also the source of the Puppet Master's ability to create and control puppets from radioactive clay. Hoping to cure Alicia, they all head for the old hidden lab, but the Puppet Master has already turned the lab over to the Mad Thinker, and the heroes are trapped. The lab is eventually destroyed in an explosion, the villains assumed dead.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).