By CBR posted a preview of the new Defenders series by Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire. Surprisingly, I liked it, even though this series is played for laughs, I think they’ve somehow captured the spirit of these unique characters working together. And that led me to wondering, why do I think the Defenders are so damn cool?
The Defenders premiered in Marvel Feature #1 back in 1971. The cover was beautifully drawn by Neal Adams, and it featured the three title characters rocketing towards the viewer: Sub-Mariner, Hulk, and Dr. Strange. Click on this image to expand it; notice the flames in the background, the lamp-post about to fall, and the car turned over on its side. People are fleeing in a panic. When I saw this in the Marvel house ads, it was quite a mystery, you see, because you would think that at least two of these people (Namor and Hulk) would just as soon destroy the world as save it. In Namor’s case he had attacked the surface world a number of times in the Fantastic Four; the Hulk had made several rampages throughout cities in the Marvel Universe. While Dr. Strange was a pretty good guy, we never saw him interact with a lot of super-heroes other Spider-Man. And so when I saw this cover, I had to buy this comic. Only I wouldn’t be to find it until thirty years later at a Wondercon. In truth, the first three Defenders stories in Marvel Feature 1-3 are probably only magical if you’re a kid. In each of them, Dr. Strange is the catalyst for bringing Subby and the Hulk together to aid him on a quest. My favorite one here is Marvel Feature #2: it takes place during Halloween in Rutgers, Vermont, the scene of a parade where Roy Thomas (the creator of the Defenders) actually attended. Dr. Strange’s old foe, Dormammu, attempts to cross-over from his dimension via Dr. Strange’s body. Doc, in turn, uses his astral image to bring Namor and the Hulk to his aid.
In the stories themselves, the trio acted like heroes. Yet to the world around them, they seemed threatening. And despite the occasional guest appearance, mostly to fight the other heroes, these three were quite isolated in the Marvel Universe. This, to me, is what made the Defenders unique: they were all loners. They were outcasts. If Iron Man or Captain America saw the Defenders taking action, they would assume the worst. And unlike the Avengers, the Defenders had no headquarters (although Doc’s mansion was a meeting place), no jet planes, no communication devices, no charter, and no government connection. Almost at the end of every story, the Defenders seemed ready to break up at any given moment. The Hulk and Namor would storm off and tell Strange never to summon them again, but events would dictate otherwise.
