Super Spider-Man TV Comic #504
Super Spider-Man TV Comic #504 is the UK weekly reprint vehicle that brought the debut story of Frog-Man (Eugene Patilio) — 'Look Before You Leap!' from Marvel Team-Up #121 — to British readers in 1982, making it the UK first appearance of one of Marvel's most deliberately comedic Bronze Age heroes. Eugene Patilio's origin, in which the bumbling son of the villain Leap-Frog accidentally defeats Speed Demon while trying to rehabilitate his family name, introduced a genuinely fresh storytelling register: slapstick underdog heroism within the otherwise earnest Marvel universe. The issue sits at a historically meaningful seam of the long-running Spider-Man weekly line, appearing just after the title dropped its 'Super Spider-Man TV Comic' cover banner in favor of simply 'Spider-Man,' marking a quiet but real rebranding of what would become Marvel UK's longest-running publication. Frog-Man himself went on to achieve a live-action debut in the MCU's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022), retrospectively lending the character's first-UK-appearance issue a cross-media dimension its original readers could not have anticipated.
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
The issue is part of the Spider-Man Comics Weekly lineage — a Marvel UK black-and-white weekly reprint series that began in 1973 and ran, under various title iterations, for 666 issues through 1985. By the time #504 appeared, the title had already merged several other cancelled Marvel UK weeklies into its pages across the years, and had transitioned its cover identity from 'Super Spider-Man TV Comic' (used at least through #498) to the plainer 'Spider-Man' banner. The core reprint content — Marvel Team-Up #121 — was written by J. M. DeMatteis and drawn by Kerry Gammill with inks by Mike Esposito; DeMatteis later singled out Frog-Man as one of his all-time favorite characters he created. The large supporting cast of characters indexed across the issue (including Arabian Knight, Acroyear, Aurora, Arkon, and both Ant-Men) points to the standard Marvel UK practice of packing multiple American backup strips alongside the lead Spider-Man story.
Trivia · 8 facts
- UK first appearance of Frog-Man (Eugene Patilio), reprinting Marvel Team-Up #121 (cover date September 1982, released June 1982 in the US), written by J. M. DeMatteis with art by Kerry Gammill and inks by Mike Esposito.
- The story, titled 'Look Before You Leap!', features Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and Human Torch (Johnny Storm) teaming up against Speed Demon (James Sanders), with Eugene Patilio debuting as a clumsy would-be hero who inadvertently helps defeat the villain.
- Eugene Patilio's Frog-Man costume is repurposed from the Leap-Frog suit of his father Vincent Patilio — a villain originally created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan in Daredevil #25 (1965).
- Issue #504 falls within the period when the title's cover banner had shifted from 'Super Spider-Man TV Comic' to simply 'Spider-Man' (the change occurring at least by issue #501), reflecting a significant rebrand midway through the run.
- The Spider-Man UK weekly line of which this issue is part ran for 666 issues from 1973 to 1985, making it Marvel UK's longest-running publication.
- The large character index (including Arabian Knight, Acroyear, Aurora, Arkon, both Ant-Men/Hank Pym and Scott Lang, Aquarian/Wundarr, and Angel/Warren Worthington III) indicates the issue contained multiple American backup reprint strips alongside the lead Spider-Man story, consistent with standard Marvel UK weekly format.
- Frog-Man's creator J. M. DeMatteis later described the character as one of his all-time favorites.
- Eugene Patilio eventually made his live-action debut in the MCU in the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 'Ribbit and Rip It' (2022), portrayed by Brandon Stanley.
Cast · 26 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Spider-Man and Human Torch team up to stop Speed Demon, and they are about to get help from a new hero... Leap Frog!?!
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).