Marvel Read-Through: The Defenders
As a more recent Marvel reader, I only thought of the Defenders as the team of street-level heroes Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones. This lineup aligned with the eponymous Netflix show. It was only a couple of years ago that I learned there was a Defenders team long before the Netflix-inspired one, and it consisted of some of Marvel’s biggest names. I really knew nothing about this team but I’ve learned they were a mainstay of the Marvel universe for over ten years, from 1972 until the Defenders book was cancelled in 1986. They appeared sporadically over the next 30 years before the team was revamped to match the Netflix lineup. Having no prior experience reading of this team, but being a fan of the characters that comprise the classic lineup, I was very excited to dive into it, but first let’s catch up with the players.
First up we have the Hulk; he’s up to his usual stuff. That is until psychiatrist Dr. Leonard Samson joins the cast and forms a plan to cure Bruce of the Hulk and save Betty Ross’ endangered life. It works, but Len secretly experiments on himself with leftover energy from the process, and gains superpowers. He dates Betty, causing Bruce to become jealous and turn himself back into the Hulk to fight Doc Samson. I know Doc Samson goes on to become an important person in Bruce’s life, but there was not much to like about him in his first appearance. He was so full of himself and then was defeated in combat easily. He had all the cockiness of pre-sorcery Dr. Strange, but none of the redemption. Bruce’s decision to become the Hulk again was also stupid. All he’s wanted for years was to cure himself and he throws it away to punch Doc Samson. Safe to say I wasn’t a huge fan of Incredible Hulk #141.
The next major player I caught up with was Namor the Sub-Mariner. I was glad to have him back since it has been so long since he last appeared in my readings. Just as with Hulk, Namor gains a new cast member at this time, his cousin Namorita. I love Namorita. She was a big part of Nova’s life in the 90s when they were on the New Warriors together. I’ve never read anything with her pre-90s and I sure am glad she got revamped with the New Warriors and became much more badass in the 90s. She was still pretty cool here and definitely was a strong and brave warrior, but she was timid and played second fiddle to Namor, something the 90s version of Namorita would never do. The two issues I read were pretty good overall. It’s always nice to see what characters are up to in their solo series so I liked seeing Namor in the aftermath of the death of his betrothed as he fights his old nemesis Byrrah and defends Atlantis. Namor is strong-willed and stubborn; he doesn’t play well with others. I’m excited to see how he fares as a member of the Defenders.
Our third and final character to catch up with, Doctor Strange, does the opposite of the previous two; rather than gain a new supporting character, Strange loses one of his closest allies in a seven-issue arc that blew my mind. Over the course of these seven issues, Strange battles many monsters leading up to the final showdown with the evil Shuma-Gorath, who can only be defeated by Strange killing his mentor the Ancient One. I knew the significance of this arc going into it so the Ancient One’s death was no surprise, but the arc was so intriguing that it really didn’t matter that I knew the outcome. Doctor Strange takes his mentor’s place as the Sorceror Supreme, which is a huge piece of development for the character. This is one important arc. My biggest gripe with it comes in the first five issues, written for one issue by Archie Goodwin and the rest by Gardner F. Fox with a revolving door of artists. These writers had an annoying tendency to have Strange narrate exactly what was going on that can be seen in the art. I love that comics combine text and pictures, and the way they complement each other is one of my favorite things about the medium, so this was grating for me. I don’t need a character to say “I am falling” when I can see that in the pictures. Let the art speak for itself. This slight nuisance was left behind in the final two issues written by Steve Englehart. I wasn’t entirely impressed with Englehart’s direction last time I read his work, but I loved his choices for Strange’s story. Reading Strange decide to kill his mentor to save the world and subsequently question his own worth to wield magic, only to be bestowed the title of Sorceror Supreme by his mentor’s spirit was great. Englehart redeemed himself in my eyes in these two issues. They were also the two best looking issues thanks to Frank Brunner’s excellent artwork. This was some of the craziest, trippiest, most experimental art I have seen in any comic ever and I loved it.
And now for the main event: the formation of super-team The Defenders in Marvel Feature #1. The trio of heroes comes together simply out of circumstance and they don’t really form an official team by the end of the issue. I really liked that contrast to the Avengers who quickly became an established team with a headquarters, official members, by-laws, and more, while the Defenders are just a group of heroes that are forced to work together on multiple occasions. By Defenders #4, the team is still unofficial. They are a non-team in a way, and it is an entirely different dynamic than the Avengers which is what I appreciate about this new team. It’s not a copy of the Avengers where they are friends and teammates, they only work together out of necessity. Stubborn Namor, rage-fueled Hulk, and serious Doctor Strange are not going to get along and it shows. They work together to save the world but have no camaraderie. Taking over writing duties from Roy Thomas, Englehart continues his redemption tour by adding the philosophical Silver Surfer and Asgardian warrior Valkyrie to the mix. I may not have known about this team until recently, but I’m a fan. Sal Buscema’s art is also a standout for me; I can’t quite put my finger on why, but his art just screams 1970s to me and everything was so clear and well-defined.
Defenders #4 connects to Avengers #115 and helps set up the inevitable Avengers-Defenders war. Be here next time when I share my thoughts on it!
Issues Read:
Incredible Hulk #141
Sub-Mariner #50–51
Marvel Premiere #4–10
Marvel Feature #1 (A-story only)
Defenders #2, #4
Favorite Issue: Marvel Premiere #9–10 and Defenders #2 all make a strong case for themselves. If I really have to choose just one I’ll give it to Premiere #9.
