Spider-Man Fact — October 19, 2026

Today's Fact

Verified against two independent sources. Issue numbers cited below.

Spider-Man once teamed up with the cast of Saturday Night Live!

The Featured Fact

In Marvel Team-Up #74 (October 1978) — "Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!" — Spider-Man fought crime alongside the actual cast of Saturday Night Live. Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson have tickets to the show, but before it starts, John Belushi receives a package containing a mystic ring — and the Silver Samurai wants it badly. When an SNL production member is attacked, Spider-Man leaps into action, and on stage, under the bright lights with the cameras rolling, the wall-crawler and Belushi cross swords with the Silver Samurai.

The whole Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players appear as themselves: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, plus producer Lorne Michaels. Stan Lee cameos as the SNL host — and the Muppets' hecklers Statler and Waldorf appear as real people sitting in the balcony.

It happened because Belushi himself asked for it. A huge Marvel fan, he called editor Jim Shooter, asked to visit the Marvel offices, and pitched teaming Spider-Man up with SNL. Lorne Michaels approved the idea. Chris Claremont wrote it, and Bob Hall — then the book's editor — insisted on drawing it himself because he wanted an excuse to go to 30 Rock and meet the cast. With no internet for photo reference, nailing the likenesses was brutal — until inker Marie Severin, an expert caricaturist, saved the day.

Why It's Obscure

A celebrity crossover pitched by the celebrity himself, buried in a 1978 team-up book — and the only time Spider-Man ever shared a stage with sketch comedy's first legends.

1978

Marvel Team-Up #74 — "Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!" Chris Claremont, Bob Hall & Marie Severin; cover by Dave Cockrum & Marie Severin.

The call

John Belushi phoned Jim Shooter, toured the Marvel offices, and pitched the team-up himself. Producer Lorne Michaels gave it the green light.

The cast

Aykroyd, Belushi, Curtin, Morris, Murray, Newman, Radner and Michaels — all as themselves. Stan Lee as the SNL host; Statler & Waldorf heckling from the balcony.

Trivia

The letters page of Marvel Team-Up #80 later told the full behind-the-scenes story of how the strangest team-up of the Bronze Age came together.

Gallery

Art from the actual issue — no AI imagery, nothing mislabeled.

Marvel Team-Up #74 cover (1978): Spider-Man swings over the Saturday Night Live cast — **Marvel Team-Up #74 (1978)**The cover — Spider-Man swinging in over Belushi and the Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players.

Marvel Team-Up #74 newsstand edition cover — **Newsstand edition**The same issue as it appeared on newsstands — note the barcode box instead of the direct-edition Spidey head.

Interior art from Marvel Team-Up #74, via the Masterworks collection — **Interior art**Bob Hall's pencils with Marie Severin's inks — her caricature work is what made the cast likenesses possible.

Sources

Every claim above is verified against at least two of these independent sources.

Bullpen Bulletins

Marvel Team-Up #74 — MyComicShop issue listingFull plot synopsis: Belushi's mystic ring, the Silver Samurai, the on-stage fight; creative team (Claremont/Hall/Severin, Cockrum cover); full SNL cast list; Stan Lee host cameo; Statler & Waldorf in the balcony.
"Live From New York, It's Spider-Man" — ComicBookBinBelushi's phone call to Jim Shooter, his Marvel office visit and pitch; Lorne Michaels' approval; Bob Hall's DragonCon account of drawing the issue and Severin's caricature inks.