WIR Essential Defenders Vol I

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PolarBlues

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I have the soft spot of the orignal Defenders. There was a special chemistry between Dr Strange, Hulk, Namor and occasionally the Silver Surfer. something about the world's most powerful outcasts and weirdos joining up to secretly save the world that just works. This chemistry even tranlasted to the animated tribute to the Defenders in Justice League series, with Aquaman, Grundy and Dr Fate. Having stumbled across my copy of Essential Denders (the black and white reprints from a few years) I figured this could use re-read. I figured I could share my impressions as I went along. I probably won't go in too much detail.

The first few stories in the collection are preludes, stories in other books that set the seeds for how the Defender came to be.

DR STRANGE #183
This is a standalone Dr Strange adventure with a bit of gothic theme, with no obivious link to the Defender other than in introduced the Undying Ones. Strange is called to help an old friend only to discover his household is possessed by demons. What is striking here is the art of Gene Colan. It's amazing. I remember reading somewhere how Stan Lee tried to steer most of his artists towards a simlar Kirby influnced house style, exemplifed by the likes of John Buscema. But when it came to Colan, he just left him do his own thing.

One curious fact, this set at the time when suddenly Dr Strange had a secert identity of Stephen Sanders. And when he donned the Dr Strange costume he looked a bit like Silver Surfer with a cape. I'd forgotten entirely about that. I suspect Marvel wishes we all forgot about that (right after we forgot about Mike Murdock).

SUB-MARINER #22
This one is a bit of a mess. A Dr Strange that looks like Silver Surfer summon a Sub-Marnier who can't breathe water to face the Undying Ones. There is a lot of exposition on the Undying Ones, but the plot itself doesn't really make sense at the art of Marie Severin is a far cry from Gene Colan. What saves this issue is the surprise ending. Strange scacrifices himself and allows himself to be stranded in a demon dimension to allow Namor to escape, which goes further than your average superhero team up usually goes

HULK #126
Banner is captured by some pretty amatuerish looking cultists. But they have a big plan, send Hulk to another demon dimension to defeat it's guardian, the Nightcrawler (no, not the X-Man, this is the scary Nightcrawler) and in turn open the way for the Undying Ones. This is already better stuff from Roy Thomas (who penned all other adventures described above). Banner doesn't want to turn into the Hulk and fight, so the amatuers cultist turn on of their own, and shove her into the demon dimension with Hulk. Hulk fights for the girl who is called Barbara and as all fans know will become important in the near future. In the process Hulk frees Dr Strange (who was stranded here, remember?) but to make their escape it is Barbara who remains stranded this time.

It sounds pretty crazy, but makes for a good read. The art is by Herb Trimpe. Not normally a fan, but he pulls this one off.

More to come.
 
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Keep 'em coming! I effin' love the Defenders! Most of the superhero games I've run have had a "non-team."
 
By the by, for anyone interested this is coming out November 10th:
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SUB-MARINER #34-#35
This is the big one. The “Titans Three” (Sub-Mariner, Hulk and Silver Surfer) take on the Avengers!

In real time there was a full year gap between the Undying One’s proto-Defenders crossover and this two-parter. Roy Thomas is still the writer, but I don’t really know how much this was all a pre-planned roadmap towards the Defenders or just a semi-random testing of concepts. I am sure this is all documented somewhere.

The story itself is contrived even by comicbook standards. There is a generic, experimental weather machine MacGuffin out of nowhere that threatens the world. This persuades Namor to seek out the help of Hulk and Silver Surfer to stop it. First of all since when does the Sub “Imperious Rex” Mariner think he needs any one’s help? Why seek out two allies with which he has no real history and who are among least gifted diplomats in the MU? Surely reaching out to the Fantastic Four would have been the natural choice. Even Dr Doom would have made more sense for Namor.

But none of that matters, because the real reason we are here is to see a clash of titans and we have Sal Buschema to deliver the goods. Sal is superb on these issues. The art is super crisp, heroic and the panels are always interesting.

I don’t know if I’d call it a Sal Buschema trademark, but he does seem to like to place two opposing teams at different heights. When Sal introduced us to the Squadron Sinister in the Avengers, we saw the above a cliff, looking down on the heroes.
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He uses the same visual device in this story, once on the cover, and in the interiors (though the position of the teams are inverted). It is a very dramatic visual device.
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The big fight is well choreographed, the ending a bit anemic. In the final scene both Hulk and Silver Surfer leave with a grumpy “I’ve had enough of you guys” mood, something will become fairly typical of Defenders stories while Namor ponders on the possible future for this team.

The team would not meet again in real time for another 8 months.
 
MARVEL FEATURE PRESENTS THE DEFENDERS #1

It is here. The first proper story of the non-team, Dr Strange is drawn to the dying bed of one of his foes, Yandroth, the Scientist Supreme (didn’t Hank Pym become the Scientist Supreme at some point? ). He learns that, as the ultimate expression of ego, Yandroth has built a doomsday device, the Omegatron that will blow up the world 15 hours after his death.

Dr Strange (who is no longer burdened by the Stephen Sanders secret identity) summons Namor and Hulk to help him. He also tries to summon Silver Surfer at Namor’s suggestion but fails. There follows an assault on the secret base hosting Omegtron and all the usual traps.

The big twist that in hindsight makes no sense, is that kinetic energy generated by Hulk and Namor to overcome the traps were an essential part of the Omegatron’s activation process! As the doomsday countdown approaches zero, Dr Strange decides to locally freeze time, or at least slow down to a crawl, so that the countdown will never reach zero, proving what every reader knew already, the Master of the Mystica Arts doesn’t really need a lot of help to save the world.

At the very end, Dr Stranger remarks how “Defenders” might be a good name for their team, and the concept that both Hulk and Namor shoot down instantly and they take off in a grumpy “Don’t call me again” mood.

The pencils are by Ross Andru. I don’t like him for the Defenders. The style is too busy and not quite heroic enough. Then again it might be Bill Evertt’s inks that make it look so.

Defender #1 has a short follow up story in which the real Dr Strange takes on the fake Silver Surfer look-alike Dr Strange who turns out to be Baron Mordo. Huh?


MARVEL FEATURE PRESENTS THE DEFENDERS #2

Roy Thomas takes us back to Rutland, Vermont for more super-themed Halloween parade floats and Lovecraftian cultists. Roy and his wife even make a cameo appearance in the comic.

As for the plot, Dr Strange’s body is taken by cultists while astral projecting in a plot to open up our dimension to the dread Dormammu. Clea seeks out Namor and Hulk to rescue him. It’s a solid issue, told with pace and flair.

The art is still by Ross Andru but Sal Buscema did the inking and the results are much more crisp.
 
MARVEL FEATURE PRESENTS THE DEFENDERS #3

A psychic, space-yeti called Xemnu plans to steal human children to repopulate his world using a kiddie TV show. What else can I say, at least it’s different. In a sense this issue foreshadows some of more whimsical elements that would feature prominently during Steve Gerber’s run on the Defenders.

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Xemnu makes for a memorable villain. There is also a curious link between him and Scientology. Quoted from Wikipedia.
“Six years after the release of the original comic, the fictitious alien Xemnu (under the barely altered name Xenu or Xemu) would become a central part of the secret teachings of the new religion of Scientology.[82] Due to L. Ron Hubbard's heavy drinking and drug use[83] at the time, Hubbard may not even have been aware that he was appropriating a Marvel comic book villain to flesh out his scriptures.”

Regardless of whether Wikipedia got this right or not, it still makes for a interesting story,

The issue ends again a grumpy Hulk and Namor storming off.
 
Xemnu is always fun. A powerful alien telepath who's as strong as The Hulk and has a children's TV show with mind controlled astronauts. What's not to like?
 
Xemnu is always fun. A powerful alien telepath who's as strong as The Hulk and has a children's TV show with mind controlled astronauts. What's not to like?

The good news is that Xemnu will be back before the end of Essential Defenders Vol I.
 
He was in the recent Hulk run too.

I used him in my GURPS Marvel campaign where I was trying to dig up every obscure character and reference I possibly could. I told my players, "when you say you want to play in the 616 continuity you have no idea what you're asking."
 
THE DEFENDERS #1
Yes, we have a new Issue #1, just three issues into the series. Collectors rejoice! Marvel Feature Presents would carry on showcasing Ant-Man, Red Sonja and others while The Defenders got their own book. I take that as a vote of confidence by the Maverl editor in chief in the potential of the book... or more Xemnu mental manipulation.

This issue is a proper Defenders #1. It has everything. The Undying Ones return and the Omegatron doomsday countdown is accidentally restarted after Dr Strange tries to cast another time slowing spell. It starts with a bang, or rather a “Kaboom” as Namor crashes to the ground, right at Hulk’s feet.

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This is Sal Buscema treating us to some truly cinematic panels. Steve Englehart has taken over the writing duties and he’s clearly following very closely Roy Thomas’s plot lines. And it feels like a very familiar plot. This time it is Namor’s to be captured to be used in an occult ritual (didn't that just happen a couple of issues ago) while the others seek to rescue him. But the execution is excellent and the final twist is a good. We learn in the final panels that it was Silver Surfer who dropped Namor (Kaboom!) from the sky right at the start of this issue. So rather than instantly disband in the huff, the non-team agrees to go find the Surfer and demand an explanation giving the reader a strong reason to come back next month.
 
THE DEFENDERS #2

The issue title is “The Search For The Silver Surfer” but in actual fact by page two they have already found him. Still it is one hell of a page 2 - a really cinematic, double-spread by Sal Buscema.
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It turns out all this time Silver Surfer has been living in a hidden Himlayan Valley with some non-Xemnu yetis, but it’s all some sort of elaborate, Undying One’s long con.

It feels a bit like a filler issue. What really matters is what happens at the end, when Dr Strange suggests they can bypass the barrier the Galactus placed to exile Surfer on Earth by travelling through alternate dimensions and sets up the next issue. We are also reminded that the Omegatron countdown is ticking. These two elements build up the sense of anticipation for what is coming next.
 
THE DEFENDERS #3

Picking up straight from the previous issue, Dr Strange offers to take the Silver Surfer through some alternate dimensions to bypass the barrier Galactus placed to strand Surfer on Earth which makes a lot of sense. As a reader, it is always rewarding to see characters engage constructively with the setting fiction rather than treat plot devices as plot devices. This sort of thing happens in roleplaying games a lot. Hulk and Namor agree to come along out of fellowship, though the tension between the characters, particularly toward Strange is always there.

Things instantly go wrong. Instead of travelling through some safe, peaceful alternate dimension (is there such a thing?), they have been drawn into a demon dimension which is a gateway to the dimension of the… wait for it... Undying Ones!

Remember Barbara? Back in the Hulk Defender’s prequel, she is the diletante cultist who got stranded here in the demon dimension? She’s still here, held by the mystic trap and a little worse for wear after months of isolation.

Dr Strange mutters a lame apology on the lines of “Oh, yeah, I was planning to come rescue you, but you know how it is”. The Defender free Barbara, but it is all a ruse. Driven mad by loneliness, she had in fact bonded with the Nameless One, leader of the Undying Ones. And so, once again the gate to our dimension is open for invasion.

The Defenders trap the Nameless One with the above mentioned mystic trap, and Dr Strange extracts Barbara from the Nameless One and they all make their escape.

Happy ending? Not so much. Despite their calculations, they have failed to elude Galactus’ barrier but have been returned to Earth. Surfer is still stranded. What is more, Barbara’s mind is completely gone. Strange comes to realise that in her own twisted way, she was happy with Nameless One. This has been a complete failure from start to end and pretty everyone blames Strange.

I’ve poked fun at this story, but actually it is a really good read. The finale really packs a punch. Sal Buscema may at times go a little overboard with his characters’ facial expressions, but in this instance it really helps sell the drama. It’s a great pay off for anyone who may have been following these events carefully over two years and several titles. Of course having it all collected in one volume makes this a lot easier.
 
Just popping up to say I'm thoroughly loving this thread. More, more!
 
One day we'll get a proper Defenders movie. Until then we'll have to settle for the episode of Justice League Unlimited where Doctor Fate, Amazo, Aquaman, Solomon Grundy and Hawkgirl team up to fight demons in another dimension.
 
One day we'll get a proper Defenders movie. Until then we'll have to settle for the episode of Justice League Unlimited where Doctor Fate, Amazo, Aquaman, Solomon Grundy and Hawkgirl team up to fight demons in another dimension.
Yeah, but then we'd have to watch Justice League Unlimited.
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You don’t like that???

I’m also going to go out on a limb and guess that you don’t like Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond or any of the other Timm-verse stuff?
 
Justice League Unlimited was absolutely fantastic. Sure the Warlord episode was weak but they only gave it one episode.
 
THE DEFENDERS #4 - A New Defender

When we last left our heroes. Dr Strange had just teleported the team back to Earth, having failed to free the Silver Surfer, almost put our universe in jeopardy and in a botched rescue attempt cost a civilian, Barbara, the last shred of her sanity. Surfer took off, feeling bitter and betrayed. All in all, not a good day.

The team may be back on Earth, but it’s not the Himalayas , from where the journey started, nor Greenwich Village. The castle in the background tells us this isn’t even Kansas. We are in fact in magical King Arthurland, located I presume somewhere in present day Great Britain. The details of magical King Arthurland are explained in an Avengers issue. I think I have that issue, but I’m not going to check it right now.

The Defenders are taken out quickly by Not-Merlin and the Executioner, and thrown into prison with the Enchantress (who is on a break from the Executioner) and the modern-day Black Knight (Dane Whitman). We learn about how the Enchantress ended up here (again covered in the Avengers).

But here is where it gets interesting. In order to escape The Enchantress needs to imbue the soul of the Valkyrie into the body of Barbara, which she just does despite everyone’s objections.

A lot of superhero characters end up with seriously complicated, messed up backstories due to retcons, retcons of retcons and assorted continuity errors. The Valkyrie’s backstory was messed up from day one. She first appeared as a disguise of the Enchantress in this classic Avengers issue.

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From there it just gets more and more complicated.

Anyway, with Barbara/Valkyrie on their side, the Defenders manage to escape and overcome Not-Merlin and the Executioner. Evil characters, being evil, the Enchantress and the Executioner
make up, both of them betraying their respective, current allies and just to rub it in she turns the Black Knight into a statue with a kiss before making her escape.

Val inherits the Black Knight magic sword and flying horse and Dr Strange teleports our heroes back home. Val, who has no memories, no friends or connections with anyone, anywhere, declares that she will join the Defenders. Namor is quick to protest that The Defenders aren’t a team while Dr Strange rather indelicately asks what can she bring to a team that already has a Hulk and a Sub-Mariner. And in the final panel we are reminded that the Omegatron doomsday device is still ticking.

It’s an eventful and important issue, but too much of it is lost in exposition and visuals of Magical Arthurland are very generic, almost a throwback to 60s comics. The Enchantress is suitably evil, something that doesn’t always come across in other stories.
 
THE DEFENDER #5

Val is on a mission to convince the other Defenders to let her join. Which is a problem because the individual Defenders keep disappearing before her very eyes!

She tracks them down to a lonely lighthouse which turns out to be just a disguise for Yandroth, the Scientist Supreme’s secret HQ, which houses the Omegatron doomsday device (which is still ticking!).

The Omegatron turns into a giant robot. Val’s combination of magical and physical power succeed the mere physical power of Hulk and Namor or magical abilities of Dr Strange fail. She decapitates the robot with a single swing of her sword proving her worth to the team (at least to Namor, Hulk is still in denial about the whole team thing.

Valkyrie’s addition to The Defenders will irrevocably change the non-team’s dynamics (pun intended). There is still a lot of really good stuff to come, but the original concept of the team will fade away. Which makes this a good moment to reflect on what we’ve seen so far.

The combination of Dr Strange, Hulk, Sub-Mariner and Silver Surfer makes so much sense and has incredible chemistry. As different as they all are, they are all vastly powerful, dangerous outsiders. As characters they are also dramatically equals. They are no second stringers. They all have very distinctive personalities, mannerisms and ways of talking.

What is more, if more by accident than design, the coming together of the team was allowed to happen slowly, over time, organically. Outside of the MCU build up to Avengers, I am not sure I’ve seen so much elaborate setup for a team forming.

The Champions, this is not.

On the flip side, I can see the challenges of this format. It must have been hell for the writers finding foes that are worthy of the combined powers of The Defenders month after month. And writers wish to focus on more personal subplots for characters who have their own book was were always going to hit a wall (the Surfer’s appearing and disappearing from the team was largely due to Stan Lee wanting him to get his own book). The non-team structure also meant each month having to explain how the team got together again and show them going off their own way at the end which is already getting a bit tedious.

For all the above reasons, and probably more, gradually The Defenders will mutate into a more conventional team. The focus will shift towards less well known and powerful characters. But that is all in the future. Now we focus on the build up towards the greatest all time crossover, Avengers vs Defenders.
 
THE DEFENDERS #6

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I always liked this cover. But then this run of The Defenders has plent of good covers.

Death Dream, as this issue is titled, is a self-contained story about a second rate wizard who goes full Freddy Krueger on Dr Strange and his allies attacking them in their dreams. It is a fun, well executed story, everything a self-contained issue should be, but ultimately it serves to bring Silver Surfer back in the fold in anticipation of the upcoming clash with the Avengers.

THE DEFENDERS #7

This issue starts with Hawkeye getting smacked by the Hulk. We’re told that he’s been trailing the Hulk after he overheard the Hulk talking about Dr Strange and figuring there must be a mystery there worth investigating. Hawkeye is quickly surrounded by Valkyrie (who he only knows as the Enchantress’s alter-ego) and the Sub-Mariner, who doesn’t have a great rep among heroes either. It’s classic scene Clint describes as a “convention of super-baddies” and one that really gets into the head of the characters. Nicely done Mr Engleheart.

Once everyone has calmed down a bit Hawkeye explains how this all came about. He tells us how he quit the Avengers having struck out romantically with Scarlet Witch and then tried to get back with Black Widow only to find she was now with Daredevil a of other misadventures. This is so true to the Hawkeye character, it's a pleasure to read. In return the others explain what the Defenders are, although they all seem to have different opinions about that means.

But enough chit-chat. A few dramatic moments later we learn Attuma is attacking the surface world again! The Defenders go out to confront him and Namor is taken out by dolphins.

Yes, that’s right, dolphins. I am tempted to scan the panel just to prove I am not joking.

With Namor captured the other Defenders are forced to surrender. We’re taken to Attuma’s underwater base where we learn he’s teamed up with the Red Ghost, who has decided to swap animal mind control from apes to dolphins. The grand plan is to use dolphins to conquer the surface world. Am I the only one who sees a problem there?

Val and Hawkeye manage to escape but in the final, cliffhanger panel, we see the Red Ghost set a mind controlled Sub-Mariner against the other two Defenders. Finally nore, the bottom of the page we're told that The Defenders is turning into a monthly book (it was every other month, not that I realised that ). It goes to show the book is clearly getting some traction among readers.

Joking aside, it’s great issue. Again there is a good chemistry between Hawkeye and the other Defenders. Obviously he’s pretty much at the other end of the power scale, but he’s always been a bit on an impulsive screw up. In a way, when Nighthawk eventually joins, he will fill that same sort of role.
 
THE DEFENDERS #8

Mind-controlled Namor subdues Valkyrie and honorary Defender Hawkeye and takes them to Red Ghost's cosmic mind control device. Meanwhile, after much meditation Dr Strange believes he has found a way to undo the enchantment that has turned Black Knight into a statue.

Strange summons the Defenders but can’t find any mental signature for either Valkyrie or the Sub-Mariner. What I like about this scene is how Engleheart handles it. When Dr Strange expresses his concern for the missing two, Silver Surfer casually shrugs it off with “I am sure they are fine, they can handle themselves” and only then does Hulk care to mention that he saw then getting captured by Attuma the previous day. This isn’t just dialog in service of plot, this tailored to the individual characters.

The rescue mission is mounted, Turns out mind-control over Val isn’t quite complete as her mind is already overcrowded by two personas of Barabra and Burmhilde. Having discovered the nature of the mind is cosmic, Strange gets Surfer to cosmic powers to counter it. I think this is the first time we see in the Defenders the Silver Surfer using cosmic powers are more than just a generic energy blast.

Good guys, bad guys lose but that’s not the end of the story as we cut swiftly to the Prologue. A blind Loki dramatically falling off a cliff is zapped by the dread Dormammu into his dark dimension. We are introduced to the McGuffin for the Avengers vs Defenders crossover, the Evil which appeared, a mystical artifact from Lee/Kirby run on the Fantastic Four. Dormammu needs it to conquer our dimension, but he can’t crossover himself to get it and Loki is blind. As the Evil Eye has been broken down in six different parts, Dormammu wants Loki to trick the Defenders into getting it for him.

If that were not enough,this issue also includes Chapter 1 of the crossover. It is only a couple of pages which shows how Dr Strange makes contact with the Dark Knight astral essence,and how Loki and Dormammu effectively subvert the message and get the Defenders on to the trail of the Evil Eye components.

There is a lot going on in this issue, much of which is just necessary setup for the big event, but I did enjoy how Engleheart still finds the characters and their unique points of view even within these constraints.
 
AVENGERS VS DEFENDERS (Avengers #116.Defenders #9,Avengers #117.Defenders #10)

The substance of the Avengers/Defenders War spans 4 issues in which we see duels between:

Silver Surfer vs Scarlet Witch and the Vision
Hawkeye vs Iron Man
Dr Strange vs Black Panther and Mantis
Valkyrie vs The Sword (typo!)
Sub-Mariner vs Captain America
Hulk vs Thor

I don’t know for sure if this was the first big Marvel crossover event, but it’s got to be up there. The format has been as much a blessing and a curse. On one hand, there is an undeniable excitement about these crossovers, a sense of occasion. And the heroevs hero aspect only adds to this. At some level comic book fans of all ages really seem to want the answers to the question “Who would win in a fight between…” (spoiler: it’s whoever the plot requires to win).

In practice the crossovers aren’t always the best written stories, but you kind of enjoy the ride anyway knowing the “real” stories are going to resume in a couple months.. This is no exception. The writing feels rushed, the locations look generic and the duels are largely resolved by incidental factors, but you are still drawn into it.

In short, the Defenders split up in with each sent to a different ocation to collect a piece of the Evil Eye. Avengers do the same so it all devolves into a series of private duels. The Defender by and large win all the duels, often indirectly, but as things progress Cap and Namor figure out they are being manipulated. The two teams come to their senses in time to prevent Thor and Hulk from turning the whole of Los Angeles into collateral damage.

And just as the components of the Evil Eye are joined together, Dormammu sweeps in an steals it and the stage is set for the grand finale.

Some points of interest:

  • The structure of the Avengers/Defenders war is very familiar. The teams split up to go on separate missions at separate locations in different countries while a villain at the centre manipulates events. It’s exactly the format of Avengers vs Squadron Sinister (the classic Avengers #70) and current Avengers vs original Avengers (also classic Avengers Annual #2).

  • I find it very odd that at no point during this crossover anyone seems to remember the previous clash between the Avengers and the proto-Defenders in Sub-Mariner #34-#35, covered above. How can neither Thor or Iron-Man (I am not sure if Goliath at that stage was Hank or Clint) remember fighting the Hulk, Namor and the Silver Surfer team-up and more crucially how the latter were actually trying to save the world?

  • However memory doesn’t seem to be an issue when it comes to Rutland, Vermont, as both Thor and Dr Strange find time to reminisce about their own respective adventures there.

  • It is at least the second time Hawkeye beats Iron Man (Avengers Annual #2) and both times involve acid arrows.

  • Captain America, as the voice of reason for the Avengers, makes sense. The Sub-Mariner as the voice of reason for the Defenders, less so.

  • The subplots that do get a bit of attention are Valkyrie’s unexplained feeling for the Black Knight (or at least his statue) and Vision’s growing feelings for the Scarlet Witch. The former subplot goes nowhere and will just fizzle out. The later subplot eventually will eventually lead to reality shattering disaster.
 
AVENGERS #118

If the Avengers vs Defenders war delivered less than the hype promised, the grand finale of the story does not disappoint. This is a great, epic adventure.

Armed with the Evil Eye, the dread Dormammu is sucking our lovely dimension into his. This is his cunning plan to conquer our dimension without breaking his vow to Dr Strange never to invade it again. Dormammu has good lawyers.

As the not-invasion begins, people start turning into demons and the whole landscape becomes weird and twisted, very similar to how the X-Men’s Inferno would be portrayed.

Dr Strange takes both Avengers and Defenders into Dormammu’s dimension. We are shown panels with various other superheroes and supervillains everywhere, deal with the invasion, on Earth and elsewhere (even Thanos joins in). The Watcher makes his appearance next to Dormammu, not to interfere but to record the events, leaving the readers in no doubt this is a very big deal.

The dark dimension is suitably trippy. The heroes advance past various obstacles, including the Mindless Ones (I love the Mindless Ones). One by one the heroes are taken out, the Defenders all in one blow (it is after all an Avengers issue). The Scarlet Witch is the last one standing and while Loki distracts Dormammu, she manages to cast her last hex blast that strikes the Evil Eye which in turn consumes Dormammu. In the blast, Loki's eye sight is restored, but the sheer power drives him insane.

The heroes are victorious. Pats on the shoulder for everyone. Dr Strange casts a mega-spell to make people forget about the existence of the Defenders but spares the Avengers out of respect and takes the Evil Eye with which to rescue the Black Knight. There is also a suggestion this spell will undo all the other side-effects of non-Inferno. This magical reset of the status quo feels like a bit of a cop out, but it's not usual in comics.

The Watcher closes the issue with his unique style of profound sounding pronouncements and at the very end we are reminded that the Avengers will be back next month… you guess it, in Rutland Vermont!
 
THE DEFENDERS #11

We return to The Defenders for the epilogue to this Avengers/Defenders War. Armed with the Evil Eye, Dr Strange sets off to revert the spell that has turned the Black Knight to stone. This takes the Defenders smack into the middle of the Third Crusade, or at least a very 1950 Hollywood version of it. Richard the Lionheart has been taken captive and the Muslin forces are aided by INVINCIBLE GIANT GNOMES!

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The Giant Gnomes shrug off anything Dr Strange, Silver Surfer and Hulk throw at them. Unfortunately this is one of the constant problems with The Defender series; for plot reasons they need to be outmatched by their opponents, but when even Giant Gnomes casually brush the attacks of some of Marvel’s most powerful characters, it grates. And no, at no point does Strange use the Evil Eye against the Giant Gnomes. It’s not like it’s one of the most powerful magical artifacts in the Multiverse.

Fortunately, Namor discovers the Giant Gnomes weakness: water. Like the witches in the Wizard of Oz, the Giant Gnomes melt away at the contact with water. The battle is not over yet because Prince John (yes, the Prince John from Robin Hood), also Magna Carta King John for the history buffs) has got the Evil Eye off Dr Strange. But in one final twist Prester John appears from nowhere and claims the Evil Eye (he was the artifact’s guardian back in FF#54).

Black Knight decides he’ll stay in the 12th Century, and once Dr Strange has teleported everyone else home, everyone, but Valkyrie and Dr Strange, quits the Defenders.

THE DEFENDERS #12

Xemnu is back!

We say goodbye to Steve Engleheart as Len Wein takes over writing duties on the book. The story starts with Hulk wandering alone in the woods getting bushwacked. Thanks to a previously unrevealed psychic link between Hulk and Dr Strange the latter is alerted and with Val comes to the rescue.

The rescue leads them to a sinisterly peaceful village where we learn Xemnu has mind controlled the population and disguised his rocket ship as a clock tower. The plan as always is to kidnap people to repopulate his own world.

Valkyrie and Dr Strange are overpowered, mostly because they don’t hurt the mind controlled civilians. Dr Strange however uses his psychic connection with the Hulk to free him and smash Xemnu good.

And that is about all there is to say about The Defenders #12.
 
THE DEFENDERS #13

Having beaten the Avengers (on points, not by knockout) it is only fitting that the Defenders would go on and take on the Justice League, or at least the Marvel equivalent, the Squadron Sinister.

Nighthawk defects from the Squadron Sinister who are now working for cosmic 70’s rock star Nebulon.



Nebulon has bought the Earth from Hyperion (because that is what cosmic 70’s rock stars do, that and trash hotel rooms). He plans to submerge the planet in water using a giant laser to melt the Arctic ice.

Nighthawk explains how he initially sought out the Avenger’s for help, but due to cosmic counter measures Nebulon has taken, he appears completely invisible to any of the Avengers. Luckily he overhears them talking about the Defenders. So we are all caught up.

Dr Strange summons the Sub-Marnier (Hulk and Valkyrie are already with him). Namor does not want to come, as he cares nothing of the affairs of the surface world. Dr Strange teleports him anyway. Namor isn’t happy until Valkyrie explains how, if Nebulon completes his plan, all life on Earth will perish, including Atlantic. Which is odd because isn’t Atlantis already under water?

And that’s the problem with this plot, so little of it even makes comic book sense. Why does seemingly omnipotent Nebulon even need the Squadron Supreme? And what do the Squadron Supreme get out of this?
The Defenders travel to the arctic and defeat the Squadron Sinister is a quick fight only to be overpowered by Nebulon.

THE DEFENDERS #14

The Defenders and the traitor Nighthawk are held in a giant bubble greeted by Nebulon and cast into space. They try in vain to break free until Nighthawk suggests the most original of plans, let’s all hit the same spot, to which Dr Strange remarks “Oh course! I have been a fool!”. Exactly, how could he forget the same plan he has used every other issue so far (see Exhibit A)?

Exhibit A
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Back in the fight, the Defenders are once again outmatched by Nebulon, however Dr Strange’s attack does have the effect revealing Nebulon’s true appearance, not that of a cosmic 70’s rock star but a hideous, tentacled monster (think Galaxy Quest). That, at least, is a good twist.

Nighthawk turns the battle at last by manning the giant ice-melting laser and pointing it at Nebulon, but the ensuing he himself is injured in the blast leaves him dying. Dr Strange determines the only way to save him is for each of the Defenders to share a bit of their lifeforce with Nighthawk (didn’t the X-Men do that too at some stage?).

Nighthawk suggests joining the Defenders. Dr Strange starts with the whole “we’re not really a team” spiel, when Sub-Mariner says he’s happy for Nighthawk to join because this time he is quitting the Defenders for good. Sure you are, Subby.

And that is the end of Essential Defenders Vol 1.
 
FINAL THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed re-reading this Defenders collection. As I mentioned before, one of the most striking features of the Defenders is how right the concept feels (the world’s most powerful outsiders). And the mix of very distinctive personalities in the team does help bring it to life.

I’ve learned to really appreciate Sal Buscema’s art. Let’s be clear, I always liked his work, but I guess mentally he was always for me “the other Buscema". But Sal’s work on this book is outstanding. It’s cinematic and full of drama. Sal’s work carries even some of the weaker stories.

And while I don’t think I will ever forgive Steve Englehart for his run on the Fantastic Four, his writing does bring something special to the Defenders. He manages to get into the individual character’s minds (which doesn’t always happen in team-based books) and helps us view the fictional events from the characters’ point of view, and not just as a means to advance the plot.

I also find I really like Dr Strange as team-leader. He is always respectful and courteous towards his teammates (when he isn’t teleporting them against their will, that is) in a way other notable team-leaders like Reed Richards of Professor X are not (Professor X in particular I find annoyingly patronising).

On the flip side, nobody knows how to handle Silver Surfer’s powers in a team book and that is painfully obvious. And you can see the strains appearing in keeping the non-team concept going in in monthly book format which results in a certain repetitiveness.

Eventually Steve Gerber would take over writing the Defenders. His run on the book is sensational, arguably the signature run of the Defenders. Fresh and often surreal (including the infamoua Elf With A Gun), his stories will put much of the focus on the MU most unlikely and inadequate superhero, Nighthawk.

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