Membership: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane
Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner
Purpose: To entertain the masses with comedy
sketches
Aliases: None
Affiliations: Gail, Harry, Rick Jones, Stan Lee,
Ken Morrow, Lorne Michaels, Don Pardo, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Statler,
Waldorf, Mary Jane Watson
Enemies: Berros, Corelli, Frank, Harry, Jacko, Sammy, Silver Samurai
(Kenuichio Harada), numerous other Silver Samurai agents
Base of Operations: NBC Studio 8H, 30
Rockefeller Plaza, New York City, New York, USA
First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up I#74
(October, 1978)
History: (Marvel Team-Up I#74) - As Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson visited the NBC Studios to see a taping of the television show Saturday Night Live starring the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players, SNL usher Sally informed Parker, Watson and several arriving that the stage seats were full and that they would have to go to the balcony. Ushered towards the balcony, Mary Jane saw the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Player Gilda Radner, yelling hello and prompting Radner to return the greeting while secretly thinking how packed the studio was for such a stormy night. Hearing a noise from John Belushi's dressing room, Radner then visited Belushi's dressing room, where the rest of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players were watching Belushi attempt to remove a ring from his finger. When Belushi became concerned about the ring he had gotten in fan mail from Japan, the rest of the Players combined their efforts to get the ring off but had no luck as producer Lorne Michaels arrived to give the comedians a five minute warning before the show started taping. Giving up on getting the ring off for the time being, the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players were led towards the stage by Michaels, unaware of the tall, seemingly unassuming usher standing in front of the costume room. Once the SNL cast had walked past, the man entered the costume room and revealed himself as the Silver Samurai, ordering his agents to assist in retrieving the ring stuck on Belushi's finger.
Moments later, the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players
appeared on stage in NBC Studio 8H as the Saturday Night Live guest host,
Stan "The Man" Lee, was introduced alongside his musical guest, Rick
Jones. The Players were introduced next as Peter Parker and Mary Jane
took their balcony seats in front of elderly men Statler and Waldorf.
When the show began with Stan Lee's monologue, Peter Parker witnessed a
page being captured and decided to investigate as Spider-Man, soon
finding Bill Murray backstage teasing John Belushi for still being
unable to remove the ring. When Bill noticed the Silver Samurai
ordering his men to search the Players' dressing rooms for the ring, he
used a rubber prop mallet to knock out one of the Samurai's agents and
take his place in an attempt to learn what Silver Samurai was up to.
The Saturday Night Live continued
on but when Bill did not appear for the Weekend Update sketch, Jane
Curtin and Gilda Radner improvised until Gilda fell through the floor,
followed by Jane herself. Jane and Gilda were then searched by the
Silver Samurai's agents, who determined they did not have the ring
moments before Spider-Man made his entrance to rescue the two
Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players. Gilda and Jane then apprehended one of
the Samurai's men as Silver Samurai escaped by cutting a steam vent.
Spider-Man quickly rushed over to the two women, only to find that the
agent they had captured was the disguised Bill Murray. After learning
of the Silver Samurai's desire to acquire John Belushi's ring,
Spider-Man agreed to work with the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players
against the Samurai and returned Jane and Gilda to the Weekend Update
set so as to not draw attention to their plans. Spider-Man then visited
Laraine Newman's dressing room, where she was accosting Sammy and
another Silver Samurai agent, both of whom thought she was the heroic
Ms. Marvel. As Spider-Man took care of the goons, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett
Morris and Bill Murray arrived and filled Laraine in on Silver
Samurai's intentions. Taking a cue from the goons' terror at seeing
Laraine dressed as Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man had Garrett Morris pose as
Thor while Bill Murray and Gilda Radner electrified two of the
Samurai's goons with a loose wire. Dan Aykroyd then suggested they
continue confusing Samurai's goons with costumes as the Silver Samurai
located John Belushi, dressed as his samurai character, as he headed
for the stage. Attacking when he saw Belushi's ring, Silver Samurai
chased Belushi onto the stage, where Jane Curtin was doing a soft shoe
shuffle with Stan Lee. Spider-Man confronted Silver Samurai onstage to
rescue Belushi as Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman rescued Lorne Michaels
from more of the Silver Samurai's goons using fire extinguishers.
When the Silver Samurai cut Spider-Man's webline with
his sword, causing Spider-Man to narrowly miss landing on audience
members Harry and Gail, John Belushi decided to confront the Silver
Samurai sword-to-sword. Easily gaining the edge over the untrained
Belushi, Silver Samurai acquired the ring and used it to teleport from
Studio 8H, leaving Spider-Man and the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players
to clean up his mess. The Players then met Stan Lee onstage for the
taping's final bows as Spider-Man quietly slipped away and returned to
his date with Mary Jane Watson. Later, at a nearby bar, Peter Parker
learned what he had missed from Mary Jane as John Belushi shared with
Garrett Morris how the Silver Samurai's ring was meant to be delivered
to a man named J.B. Lu-Shi, who had an office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Belushi then admitted that he was curious what the
Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players would do as a spinoff following their
adventure with Spider-Man.
Comments: Adapted into comics by Chris Claremont, Bob Hall and Marie Severin.
Sadly, due to Marvel's sliding time scale (and the
later real-life deaths of some of the seen celebrities such as John
Belushi, Gilda Radner, Don Pardo & even Stan Lee), the
Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players would have to either be written off as
a reunion of some of the original SNL cast members (minus John Belushi
and Gilda Radner) or they would be rendered topical like the US
President and be whichever cast members were regulars on SNL at the
time frame the sliding time scale would allow or even simply written
off as the cast of a generic sketch comedy show. In this case of the
sliding time scale cast, that would
be roughly 11 years ago so the SNL cast circa 2009 (as it's currently
the year 2020). That cast would be: Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Bill
Hader, Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson and
Kristen Wiig (with featured players Abby Elliott, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim
Pedrad and Jenny Slate). Of course, not only would the
Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players be rendered topical by the sliding time
scale but eventually, someday, the guest host of SNL, Stan Lee, will be
sadly rendered topical as well. I mention these sliding time scale
quirks because at this point, there's no way Spider-Man would be old
enough to have met the SNL cast circa 1978. For the purposes of this
profile, the characters are who they are intended to be, but for the
purposes of Marvel history, Spider-Man met the cast of a general sketch
comedy show.
The old men Statler and Waldorf are obvious homages to the Muppet characters of the same name.
Don Pardo was not identified on-panel but was confirmed by name in Official Marvel Index to Marvel Team-Up I#4 (1986).
Despite sharing a name and some online resources stating they are one and the same, the Ken Morrow subprofiled here and seen in the Marvel Team-Up I#74 is likely not the real-life hockey player Ken Morrow. While one could argue that the real-life Ken Morrow was active as a hockey player in 1978, when he still in his college years, the hockey player Morrow's real career didn't take off until 1980 (after the 1980 Olympics, when he was part of the famous gold medal-winning Team USA), making it unlikely that the comic's Ken Morrow would be the comic counterpart of the real-life Morrow. Not to mention the difference in hair color/facial hair...
The Official Marvel Index to Marvel Team-Up I#3
(1986) establishes that some of the four Silver Samurai agents seen in
Marvel Team-Up I#57 (1977) were next seen in Marvel Team-Up I#74
(1978). Since none of the agents in #57 have facial hair and two are
named (Joe, Ernie), the other two agents in #57 could be either
Corelli, Berros, Sammy, Jacko or Frank from Marvel Team-Up I#74. For
the purposes of this profile and the sake of making it easier to read,
I choose to believe the two unidentified agents from #57 are also left
unidentified in #74, as Silver Samurai had a bunch of agents in #74 as
opposed to four in #57. It seems likely that some of them remained
unidentified and the newly named agents in #74 were new recruits that
Silver Samurai had added to his group of hoodlums-for-hire since #57.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players have no known connections to:
Comedian Dan Aykroyd was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and member of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players. Shortly before taping the latest live episode of Saturday Night Live, Dan watched with the other cast members as John Belushi attempted to remove a ring that had been delivered to him, placing bets with fellow cast member Bill Murray as to whether Belushi could remove the ring. He subsequently tried to help Belushi remove the ring as the show's producer, Lorne Michaels, reminded everyone that they had five minutes until the show began. He then rushed to the stage with the rest of the cast just in time to appear onstage with the episode's guest host, Stan Lee, and later discovered Spider-Man rescuing Laraine Newman in her dressing room. Learning that the Silver Samurai was seeking the ring worn by Belushi, Dan suggested turning the criminals' fear of superheroes against them and soon dressed ina "Mad Dog Mulcahy" costume to confuse Silver Samurai's criminal agents. When the Silver Samurai and his agents chased John Belushi back onto the stage, Dan and Laraine Newman used fire extinguishers against the criminals to rescue Lorne Michaels. Eventually, Silver Samurai acquired the ring and teleported away, allowing Dan and the rest of the cast to return to the stage for the episode's final bows.
For those not in "the know," Dan Aykroyd is a real-life comedian and was indeed a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" circa 1978. He later went on to appear in numerous movies, arguably most famously the "Ghostbusters" and "Blues Brothers" movies.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Comedian John Belushi was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and member of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players. Shortly before taping the latest live episode of Saturday Night Live,
Belushi was given a ring in a piece of mail from Japan but proved
unable to remove the ring, much to his fellow castmates' entertainment.
Despite help from his castmates, Belushi remained unable to remove the
ring by the time the taping of the episode began and he went out
onstage with the rest of the cast during the introduction of the
episode's guest host, Stan Lee. Later, after preparing for an upcoming
sketch in which he played a samurai, Belushi ventured towards the set,
only to be accosted by the Silver Samurai. Nearly cut in two, Belushi
ran and was chased onto the stage, where he was rescued by Spider-Man.
When the Silver Samurai nearly killed Spider-Man by cutting his
webline, Belushi became angry and decided to fight back, only to be
easily pinned by the Silver Samurai. Spider-Man returned to kick the
Silver Samurai, allowing the Samurai to pull the ring off Belushi's
finger. Leaving Belushi alone, Silver Samurai used the ring to teleport
away and Belushi reunited with the rest of the Saturday Night Live cast
for the episode's final bows. After the taping, Belushi and castmate
Garrett Morris visited a popular Fifth Avenue bar, where Belushi
discussed what the show could do as a spinoff after their encounter
with Spider-Man.
John Belushi was a real-life comedian and was indeed a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" circa 1978. He went on to star in movies such as "Blue Brothers," "National Lampoon's Animal House" and "1941." The real-life John Belushi sadly passed away in 1982.
Berros was an agent hired by the Silver Samurai as part of the Samurai's plot to steal a ring accidentally delivered to Studio 8H in New York City. Berros hid in the studio's costume room as the Silver Samurai explained how the ring was delivered to a cast member of Saturday Night Live and Berros listened to the orders to retrieve the ring subtlely without alerting New York's local superheroes. After receiving his orders, Berros helped another agent apprehend SNL cast members Jane Curtin and Gilda Radner from their "Weekend Update" sketch and Berros was ordered by the Silver Samurai to search Radner but Spider-Man arrived and rescued the two women, knocking out Berros and the other agent.
Berros carried a gun.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Corelli was an agent hired by the Silver Samurai as
part of the Samurai's plot to steal a ring accidentally delivered to
Studio 8H in New York City. After being tasked with finding the ring
without alerting New York's local superheroes, Corelli followed Berros,
the Silver Samurai and another agent into the Saturday Night Live
cast's dressing rooms to search for the ring. When cast member Bill
Murray witnessed Silver Samurai ordering Corelli and the others to
search the rooms for the ring, he used a rubber prop mallet to knock
Corelli out and replace him within the Silver Samurai's ranks to learn
more.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Comedienne Jane Curtin was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and member of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players. Shortly before taping the latest live episode of Saturday Night Live,
Jane Curtin watched as her castmate John Belushi had trouble removing a
ring that had been given to him from Japan. She was soon ushered onto
the stage as the show's taping began and later joined cast member Gilda
Radner in a "Weekend Update" sketch. When Bill Murray did not appear
onstage for the sketch, Jane improvised, introducing Radner as her
character Emily Litella, but Radner was soon captured when agents of
the Silver Samurai pulled Radner beneath the stage. Jane attempted to
cover up the disappearance but she was soon captured in a similar
manner as well. Before Radner could be searched for Belushi's ring,
which the Silver Samurai sought, Jane and Radner were rescued by
Spider-Man. During the ensuing scuffle, Silver Samurai escaped by
cutting a steam vent and Jane worked with Radner to capture one of the
Samurai's men, unaware it was their disguised castmate Bill Murray.
After Murray explained that the Silver Samurai was after John Belushi's
ring, Jane and Radner were returned to the "Weekend Update" sketch by
Spider-Man in order to keep the show moving while Spider-Man and the
other cast members searched for Belushi. As many of the cast members
disappeared while helping Spider-Man take down the Silver Samurai's
men, Jane Curtin did an impromptu softshoe shuffle with SNL's
guest host, Stan Lee, until the Silver Samurai chased Belushi onto the
stage. Eventually, the Silver Samurai acquired the ring and teleported
away, leaving Jane and the other cast members to reunite for the show's
final bows.
Jane Curtin is a real-life
comedienne and was indeed a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" in
1978. She notably went on to appear in television shows such as "Kate
& Allie" and "3rd Rock from the Sun," as well as movies like
"Coneheads."
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Frank was an agent hired by the Silver Samurai as
part of the Samurai's plot to steal a ring accidentally delivered to
Studio 8H in New York City. After being tasked with finding the ring
without alerting New York's local superheroes, Frank broke into the
technical room with Jacko and another agent and together, the agents
captured Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels and forced him to run the show despite Michaels' insistence that he was not a technician. SNL cast
members Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman later busted into the technical
room and sprayed Frank and the other agents with fire extinguisher
foam, incapacitating them.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Gail was a bystander in the Saturday Night Live audience with a man named Harry. During Spider-Man's battle with Silver Samurai, his webline was cut and Spider-Man fell into the audience, narrowly missing Gail and Harry.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Harry was a bystander in the Saturday Night Live audience with a woman named Gail. During Spider-Man's battle with Silver Samurai, his webline was cut and Spider-Man fell into the audience, narrowly missing Gail and Harry, who assured Gail the action was all part of the show.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Harry was an agent hired by the Silver Samurai as part of the Samurai's plot to steal a ring accidentally delivered to Studio 8H in New York City. After being tasked with finding the ring without alerting New York's local superheroes, Harry joined Sammy in searching Laraine Newman's dressing room for the ring. Shocked to find the heroine Ms. Marvel there (actually Laraine Newman in a stage costume), Harry warned Sammy when Spider-Man showed up before Spider-Man easily defeated the two goons with kicks.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Jacko was an agent hired by the Silver Samurai as part of the Samurai's plot to steal a ring accidentally delivered to Studio 8H in New York City. After being tasked with finding the ring without alerting New York's local superheroes, Jacko captured one of the ushers and learned where the technical room was. He then broke into the studio's technical room with Frank and another agent to capture Saturday Night Live's producer, Lorne Michaels. Jacko then ordered Michaels to stay relaxed but Michaels claimed he was only a producer, not a technician. Jacko was later defeated when SNL cast members Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman broke into the technical room and sprayed Jacko and Frank with fire extinguishers.
Jacko carried a small gun.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
J.B. Lu-Shi was an importer-exporter who had an
office at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. When a ring capable
of teleportation was mailed to Lu-Shi, a storm's rain caused the
address label to smear and the ring was instead delivered John Belushi,
who worked at 30 Rock. as a cast member of Saturday Night Live.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74-BTS
Lorne Michaels was the producer of NBC's Saturday Night Live television show. Prior to taping the show's newest episode with Stan Lee as the guest host, Michaels gave the cast a five minute warning and ushered them towards the stage. Shortly after the episode began, however, several agents of the Silver Samurai broke into the studio's technical room and captured Michaels, who claimed he was not a technician but a producer. Uncaring, the agents forced Michaels to act as technician as the show was taped in an effort to not arose the suspicions of New York's local superheroes. Michaels was later rescued when SNL cast members Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman broke into the technical room and sprayed the Samurai's agents with fire extinguishing foam. Angry that he had also been sprayed, Michaels began to yell at Aykroyd, who insisted thanks were not necessary. After the Silver Samurai acquired a teleportation ring that had been accidentally delivered to cast member John Belushi and teleported away, Michaels joined the cast and Stan Lee onstage to take the final bow.
Lorne Michaels is and was the real-life producer/creator of "Saturday Night Live." He produced the show from 1975-1980 and again from 1985 to present. He has appeared in several episodes of the series as well as produced the "Late Night" series of television talk shows, "The Kids in the Hall" television series and, since 2014, "The Tonight Show" series of talk shows.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Comedian Garrett Morris was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and member of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players. Shortly before taping the latest live episode of Saturday Night Live,
Garrett watched as his castmate John Belushi had trouble removing a
ring that had been given to him from Japan. He was soon ushered onto
the stage as the show's taping began and was later summoned to Laraine
Newman's dressing room after his castmate Bill Murray informed him of
the criminal Silver Samurai's intent to steal John Belushi's ring.
Together with the heroic Spider-Man, Garrett and the other SNL cast
members decided to locate Belushi and Garrett asked what they should do
about the Silver Samurai's agents swarming the studio. Realizing some
of the agents had been scared of Laraine Newman when she was dressed as
the heroine Ms. Marvel, Dan Aykroyd suggested Garrett put on his Thor
costume that he was to wear for a later sketch. Talking like Thor,
Garrett then confronted two of the Silver Samurai's agents and stalled
them until his castmates Bill Murray and Gilda Radner electrocuted the
two criminals with a loose wire. After the Silver Samurai acquired the
ring from Belushi and teleported away, Garrett managed to reunite with
the other cast members in time for the episode's final bow. He later
joined John Belushi at a Fifth Avenue bar, where they discussed the
evening's events. Upon hearing that the ring had been delivered to
Belushi by mistake, Garrett asked Belushi why he was so sad and Belushi
questioned what SNL would do next as a spinoff to follow their encounter with Spider-Man.
Garrett Morris is a real-life
comedian and was indeed a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" in
1978. He notably was the first actor ever to portray Marvel's Ant-Man
on screen (in an SNL skit, no less) and, as such, he has a cameo in
Marvel's Ant-Man movie. He is also known for appearing in the movie
"Coneheads" and the television series "2 Broke Girls."
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Ken Morrow was a man attending a taping of Saturday Night Live and when Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson found their balcony seats for the show's taping, Mary Jane ended up sitting next to Morrow. After Peter Parker had to excuse himself to battle the Silver Samurai as Spider-Man, Ken Morrow introduced himself and asked what Mary Jane was doing after the show. Mary Jane responded by introducing herself and asking what Morrow had in mind. Following the show's taping, Peter Parker was annoyed at Morrow's suggestion and Mary Jane asked Parker to drop the discussion.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Comedian Bill Murray was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and member of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players. Shortly before taping the latest live episode of Saturday Night Live,
Bill Murray watched as his castmate John Belushi attempted to remove a
ring he had received in the mail and Murray placed bets with cast
member Dan Aykroyd on whether or not Belushi would be able to remove
the ring. All of the cast was soon ushered towards the stage as the
show began but Bill Murray remained behind and soon met Belushi
backstage to discuss Belushi's failure to remove the ring. Murray then
overheard the criminal Silver Samurai and his agents going into cast
member Laraine Newman's dressing room. Curious what they were up to,
Bill Murray followed and hit one of the agents, Corelli, over the head
with a rubber prop mallet, knocking him out and taking his place within
Silver Samurai's agents to learn more about their motivations. After
learning that the Silver Samurai planned to steal Belushi's ring, Bill
Murray followed the agents as they captured cast members Jane Curtin
and Gilda Radner but when Spider-Man showed up to rescue the women,
Jane and Gilda captured Bill Murray, thinking he was part of the
Samurai's group. Revealing himself to his friends, Murray explained
what the Silver Samurai was after then left to inform Garrett Morris
and Dan Aykroyd. Leading Garrett and Dan back to the dressing rooms,
Murray found Spider-Man defeating more of the Silver Samurai's goons
that had attempted to capture Laraine Newman. The SNL cast
soon decided to confuse the Silver Samurai's agents in order to take
them down and Murray assisted Gilda Radner in electrifying two of the
agents when Garrett Morris confronted them disguised as Thor. After the
Silver Samurai acquired the ring and teleported away, Murray regrouped
with the other cast members for the show's final bows.
For those not familiar, Bill Murray is a real-life
comedian and was indeed a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" in
1978. He notably went on to stars in numerous popular movies including the "Ghostbusters" movies, "Scrooged,"
"What About Bob?," "Kingpin," "Space Jam," "Rushmore," "Lost in
Translation" and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," among many
others.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Comedienne Laraine Newman was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and member of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players. Shortly before taping the latest live episode of Saturday Night Live,
she watched as her castmate John Belushi attempted to remove a ring
that had been given to him before she was ushered with the rest of the
cast to the stage for the show's start. Later in her dressing room,
Laraine Newman was putting on a costume of the heroine Ms. Marvel,
admitting she felt silly in it, when two criminal agents of the Silver
Samurai, Harry and Sammy, busted in. Seeing Laraine as Ms. Marvel, the
criminals appeared surprised and Laraine threw a bottle at them before
Spider-Man arrived to rescue her. Some of the other cast members then
arrived and informed Laraine that the Silver Samurai was seeking to
steal the ring John Belushi was wearing, prompting Laraine to join the
cast in confusing the criminals. Getting into a military costume,
Laraine then accompanied Dan Aykroyd in storming into the studio's
technical room, where they rescued SNL producer
Lorne Michaels using fire extinguishers. In the confusion, Laraine
grabbed a gun from one of the men and kept it pointed at them. After
the Silver Samurai acquired the ring and teleported away, Laraine
regrouped with the SNL cast for the episode's final bows.
Laraine Newman is a real-life comedienne and was indeed a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" in 1978. She notably went on to star in several movies including "Coneheads," "Problem Child 2" and several children's programs as a voice actress.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Don Pardo was the announcer for Saturday Night Live and introduced Stan Lee as the guest host for a new episode taping. He also introduced the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players.
Don Pardo was the real-life announcer for "Saturday Night Live" from the show's first episode in 1975 through 1981. He returned to the show in 1982 and continued to act as announcer up until his death in 2014 at age 96.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Comedienne Gilda Radner was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and member of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players. Shortly before taping the latest live episode of Saturday Night Live,
Gilda was seen by Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson as they arrived for
a show taping and Gilda greeted them with the other bystanders before
entering castmate John Belushi's dressing room, where Belushi was
attempting to remove a ring that had been given to him. She was then
ushered onto the stage by producer Lorne Michaels and was present when
announcer Don Pardo introduced the Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players and SNL's
guest host, Stan Lee. Later, Radner appeared as her Emily Litella
character on a "Weekend Update" sketch, where she questioned where Bill
Murray was. Cast member Jane Curtin suggested they improvise until
Murray showed up but Radner was soon captured from beneath the stage.
When Jane was similarly captured, criminal agents of the Silver Samurai
were ordered to search Radner for a ring sought by the Silver Samurai
but the two women were rescued by the superhero Spider-Man. During the
ensuing scuffle, Radner and Curtin attempted to capture one of the
Silver Samurai's men, only to discover the man to be a disguised Bill
Murray. Learning about Silver Samurai's quest for the ring on John
Belushi's finger, Radner and Curtin were returned to their "Weekend
Update" sketch to continue the live taping and Radner later joined Bill
Murray in electrocuting two of the Silver Samurai's agents with a loose
wire as Garrett Morris pretended to be Thor. After the Silver Samurai
acquired the ring and teleported away, Radner reunited with the rest of
the SNL cast for the episode's final bows.
Gilda Radner was a real-life
comedienne and was indeed a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" in
1978. She notably went on to star in movies such as "Hanky Panky" and
"Haunted Honeymoon," and sadly passed away in 1989.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Sally was an usher working at the NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Center. When Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson arrived late for a taping of the newest episode of Saturday Night Live, Sally informed them that the stage seats were all filled and that they would have to go to the balcony.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Sammy was an agent hired by the Silver Samurai as part of the Samurai's plot to steal a ring accidentally delivered to Studio 8H in New York City. After being tasked with finding the ring without alerting New York's local superheroes, Sammy and another agent, Harry, visited the dressing of Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman. Seeing her in a Ms. Marvel costume, Sammy thought Newman was Ms. Marvel and exclaimed that the Silver Samurai wasn't paying him enough to battle superheroes. Newman then threw a bottle at Sammy, making Sammy think that perhaps she wasn't the real Ms. Marvel before Spider-Man arrived and downed both Sammy and Harry with kicks.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Statler was an elderly man who sat in the audience of a Saturday Night Live episode taping with his friend Waldorf. When Peter Parker and Mary Jane walked in front of them to find their seats, Waldorf demanded they sit down and Statler commended Waldorf on his comments before calling Waldorf an old coot.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
Waldorf was an elderly man who sat in the audience of a Saturday Night Live episode taping with his friend Statler. When Peter Parker and Mary Jane walked in front of them to find their seats, Waldorf demanded they sit down and Statler commended Waldorf on his comments before calling Waldorf an old coot.
--Marvel Team-Up I#74
images: (without ads)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p2, pan4 (Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players, main image, gathered around John Belushi)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p18, pan4 (Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players in costumes, with Lorne Michaels and Stan Lee)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p4-5, splash page (Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi,
Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Don Pardo, Gilda Radner, Statler,
Waldorf)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p5 (Berros)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p8, pan2 (Corelli)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p11, pan3 (Jane Curtin)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p15, pan3 (Frank)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p16, pan5 (Gail & Harry (audience))
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p12, pan1 (Harry (criminal) & Sammy)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p6, pan2 (Jacko)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p14, pan8 (Lorne Michaels)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p16, pan1 (Ken Morrow)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p7, pan7 (Bill Murray)
Marvel Team-Up I#74, p1, pan3 (Sally)
Appearances:
Marvel Team-Up I#74 (October, 1978) - Chris Claremont (writer), Bob
Hall (pencils, editor), Marie Severin (inks, colors)
First Posted: 01/18/2020
Last updated: 01/18/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
