Editing Marvel Spotlight (section)

== Publication history ==
''Marvel Spotlight'' was one of three tryout books proposed by [[Stan Lee]] after he transitioned from being Marvel Comics' writer and editor to its president and publisher, the others being ''[[Marvel Feature]]'' and ''[[Marvel Premiere]]''.<ref name="backFeature">{{cite journal |last=Cassell|first=Dewey|title=Marvel Feature|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|issue=71|pages=14–18|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|date=April 2014|location=Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> The advantage of such tryout books was that they allowed the publisher to assess a feature's popularity without the marketing investment required to launch a new series, and without the blow to the publisher's image with readers if the new series immediately failed.<ref name="backFeature"/>

The series began with a [[Red Wolf (comics)|Red Wolf]] story.<ref name="Sanderson150">{{cite book|last1=Sanderson|first1=Peter|author-link =Peter Sanderson|last2=Gilbert|first2=Laura, ed.|chapter=1970s|title=Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2008|location=London, United Kingdom|page=150|isbn=978-0756641238|quote=Writer Gardner Fox and artist Syd Shores created the Red Wolf of the nineteenth-century American West in this new series.}}</ref> Editor [[Roy Thomas]] explained: "Stan [Lee] and I decided it'd be a good idea to have a book with an American Indian hero. ... Stan didn't want it as a modern-day character. I guess he was trying to see if he could find a way to get a [[Western (genre)|Western]] to sell, because everybody in the field wanted to write or draw a Western".<ref name="back71"/> Following this successful try-out, Red Wolf was given his own series, as were [[Werewolf by Night]],<ref name="Sanderson154">Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 154: "With the changes to the Comics Code in place, Roy Thomas came up with the idea for a series called 'I, Werewolf'...Stan Lee liked the concept but decided to rename it 'Werewolf by Night'".</ref> [[Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)|Ghost Rider]],<ref name="Sanderson156">Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 156: "Co-created by editor Roy Thomas, writer Gary Friedrich, and artist Mike Ploog, the new Ghost Rider was Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt performer".</ref> the [[Daimon Hellstrom|Son of Satan]],<ref name="Sanderson160">Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 160: "Stan Lee suggested doing a series called ''Mark of Satan'', and Roy Thomas amended the idea to 'The Son of Satan'".</ref> and [[Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)|Spider-Woman]].<ref name="Manning92">{{cite book|last1=Manning|first1=Matthew K.|last2=Gilbert|first2=Laura, ed.|chapter= 1970s|title=Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2012|location=London, United Kingdom|page=92|isbn = 978-0756692360|quote=Spider-Man's female counterpart debuted in this story written by Archie Goodwin and penciled by Sal Buscema.}}</ref>

In addition to launching new series, ''Marvel Spotlight'' hosted some significant stories with established characters. Issue #31 provided a retroactive explanation for why [[Nick Fury]] (inextricably associated with [[World War II]] due to his starring role in ''[[Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos]]'') remained so youthful, in the form of an experimental longevity serum.<ref name="back71"/> After a run of nearly six years, the series ended with ''Marvel Spotlight'' #33 (April 1977).

The series was revived in 1979, initially as simply a place to publish inventory stories from the recently cancelled ''[[Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)|Captain Marvel]]''.<ref name="back71"/> However, once these leftover tales were exhausted, the series went on to feature other characters. Tako Shamara first appeared in ''Marvel Spotlight'' vol. 2 #5 (March 1980), in a story by [[Marv Wolfman]] and [[Steve Ditko]]. In his first appearance the character battled a huge dragon from the past called a Wani, a monster that destroyed his ancestors' villages in 1582.<ref>[[Tom DeFalco|DeFalco, Tom]] "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 197: "Tako Shamara became the Dragon Lord in ''Marvel Spotlight'' #5 by writer/editor Marv Wolfman and artist Steve Ditko".</ref> The creature that Tako battled was intended to be [[Godzilla (comics)|Godzilla]] but since Marvel no longer had the rights to the character, which lapsed the previous year, the creature was modified to a dragon called The Wani.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/12/24/comic-book-legends-revealed-239/ |title=Comic Book Legends Revealed #239 |first=Brian |last=Cronin |date=December 24, 2009 |publisher=[[Comic Book Resources]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731190736/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/12/24/comic-book-legends-revealed-239/ |archive-date=July 31, 2013 |url-status=live|df=mdy-all|access-date=January 13, 2013 |quote=The Godzilla fill-in by Marv Wolfman and Steve Ditko, ended up appearing in the pages of the re-launched ''Marvel Spotlight'' in 1980 as Dragon Lord, about a fellow who can control dragons.}}</ref> Issue #8 featured the final Captain Marvel solo story before the character's death.<ref name="back71"/>

The second volume was cancelled after just 11 issues. In contrast to the original series, only one issue (#5) featured a new character, and none of them led to the featured character getting their own series. [[Jim Salicrup]], who edited and/or did cover copy on most of the second volume, said that he was excited about reviving ''Marvel Spotlight'', but that "it was probably a mistake to launch a new title with material from a recently canceled comic. I suspect that as an editor, I was hoping to give Captain Marvel another chance, but sometimes it's better to let things go. As a result, for the most part, the series seemed to exist just to burn off existing inventory".<ref name="back71"/>

In December 2005, the ''Marvel Spotlight'' title was used for a series of comic book–sized magazines, usually featuring profiles of and interviews with Marvel creators (one writer and one artist each issue), or spotlighting special Marvel projects such as ''[[The Dark Tower (comics)|Stephen King's The Dark Tower]]''.