Ewing Relaunching The Defenders

[Digifiend]

Not really. The Bendis book was struggling by the end despite having Bendis as writer and a streaming show in terms of cross-promotion. It pretty much crashed in terms of sales much like the previous iterations such as with Busiek,, Fractions and the Fearless Defenders books. If the numbers were considered okay by Marvel, they wouldn't be cancelling every Defenders book by issue twelve (or retooling/relaunching them with with the Busiek book).

06/17 Defenders #1 - 64,253
06/17 Defenders #2 - 46,158 (-28.2%)
07/17 Defenders #3 - 35,763 (-22.5%)
08/17 Defenders #4 - 31,120 (-13.0%)
09/17 Defenders #5 - 28,489 (- 8.5%)
10/17 Defenders #6 - 49,601 (+74.1%)
11/17 Defenders #7 - 23,133 (- 53.4%)
12/17 Defenders #8 - 22,211 (- 4.0%)
01/18 Defenders #9 - 21,648 (- 2.5%)
02/18 Defenders #10 - 22,744 (+ 5.1%)

That Defenders series wasn't cancelled though. It ended because Bendis left Marvel to go do Superman.

[Oberon]

I have read a little masked raider stuff, whats wrong with him? I don't really know much about him. Why don't you like him?

My hey day of reading nearly everything is long gone, so I don't keep up with much. I was not aware of this character though I'm acquainted with golden age stuff.

But in looking through various wikis I don't find anything about him after his Golden Age run, so what is up with him?

Is he a spirit and why? Since he was in the west closer to 200 years ago now, what is the reason he would be here now?

[DigiCom]

My hey day of reading nearly everything is long gone, so I don't keep up with much. I was not aware of this character though I'm acquainted with golden age stuff.

But in looking through various wikis I don't find anything about him after his Golden Age run, so what is up with him?

Is he a spirit and why? Since he was in the west closer to 200 years ago now, what is the reason he would be here now?

This isn't the original. Ewing has written a bunch of short pieces across various anthology titles that explain his deal (which is why people think he's doing this book), but in brief his mask is a piece of Eternity, and gives the wearer power equal to any opponent they may face (unless they are already stronger than said opponent, of course).

A full breakdown of the mask's history can be found in these books:

Marvel Comics #1000
Marvel Comics #1001
Incoming #1

The current Masked Raider has not been identified, but I read a decent theory that he's Jason Halloway, grandson of the Golden Age Angel.

[dkrook]

I don't know if he had plans for himself. He likes to set up potential plots or teams for whoever may want to pick them up, but unfortunately, almost nobody does.
Some instances: The Champions of Europe, Night Thrasher's return, the "clones" of Ultimate Avengers hunting the Maker, the two White Tiger teaming up, Power Man (Victor Alvarez) and Iron Fist (Max Brashear)...

It's unfortunate, cause the setups are pretty good, but then we never see that transition into those characters being included in a big way.

[inisideguy]

My hey day of reading nearly everything is long gone, so I don't keep up with much. I was not aware of this character though I'm acquainted with golden age stuff.

But in looking through various wikis I don't find anything about him after his Golden Age run, so what is up with him?

Is he a spirit and why? Since he was in the west closer to 200 years ago now, what is the reason he would be here now?

Its not the original. The mask gets passed down through various individuals over the centuries. He seems to be able to mimic others fighting levels when in contact with them. He is basically a normal guy I think. I dig the look.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I'm a big Ewing fan so I'll check it out.

[JudicatorPrime]

Own this. Those Michael Golden covers are absolutely exquisite.

Some collect comics for the characters, but I followed the artists, and Golden was one of them. I owned a ton of comics that I never would have bought had Golden not drawn the covers or interior.

[JudicatorPrime]

I have read a little masked raider stuff, whats wrong with him? I don't really know much about him. Why don't you like him?

There's nothing "wrong" with Masked Raider per se. I blame the Looney Tunes gang. They broke me. I can't hear "Masked Raider" without immediately thinking of the Buckaroo Bugs Bunny cartoon and the "Masked Marauder!!!" nom de crime. Couple that with a character who dons a mask with cosmic level implications, yet one who basically walks around like a cowboy with a six shooter in the 21st century. I can't take the Masked Raider seriously. I just can't. Not my cup of tea. But I do hope that his fans enjoy the recent push to use the character.

[stingray]

And yet they are two entirely different individuals. Different powers, different origins, different in how writers use them, different in feats registered, different everything...well, save for the fact that Void Sentry (but not Bob) and Blue Marvel both get extremely more powerful in negative/antimatter/antiparticle environments. But Blue Marvel has never been in the Negative Zone, so once again, different.

But I get the appeal of Luke Cage. Not one of my personal favorites, but he's the type of character that usually fits in perfectly, since he doesn't threaten the balance of power in any way/shape/form. When Hulk, Namor, Silver Surfer and others show up, they'll still get to play the alphas with Luke on the team. Luke's proper place in the pecking order is most certainly assured to the comfort and contentment of many.

Luke's wasn't one of the cards depicted in the preview, but you never know if Ewing will use him for this series. Anything is possible. You've got a good chance of getting your wish here.

I think he meant that they were shoehorned into past Marvel continuity as if they had always been there. That's really what bothers me about both of them, although Blue Marvel kind of grew on me a bit in 'Ultimates".

[inisideguy]

There's nothing "wrong" with Masked Raider per se. I blame the Looney Tunes gang. They broke me. I can't hear "Masked Raider" without immediately thinking of Buckaroo Bugs Bunny cartoon and the "Masked Marauder!!!" nom de crime. Couple that with a character who dons a mask with cosmic level implications, yet one who basically walks around like a cowboy with a six shooter in the 21st century. I can't take the Masked Raider seriously. I just can't. Not my cup of tea. But I do hope that his fans enjoy the recent push to use the character.

Well I would agree that the is six shooter thing is a little odd. I suppose he got them handed down. I would rather see him with a couple of glocks. Also the artist seem a little confused on his actual style. In one of those comics he has the hat of a 30s crime noir guy. But then in another he has a cowboy hat on. I like the crime noir guy look.

[JudicatorPrime]

I think he meant that they were shoehorned into past Marvel continuity as if they had always been there. That's really what bothers me about both of them, although Blue Marvel kind of grew on me a bit in 'Ultimates".

I get that, but again Blue Marvel had zero impact on the canon by virtue of being forcibly retired for 40+ years. That's not the same thing as Sentry, who in fact did play a significant role affecting Marvel's canon. In the final analysis, no matter how you look at it Blue Marvel and Sentry are two distinct characters. The only thing that links them is casual stereotyping.

[JudicatorPrime]

Well I would agree that the is six shooter thing is a little odd. I suppose he got them handed down. I would rather see him with a couple of glocks. Also the artist seem a little confused on his actual style. In one of those comics he has the hat of a 30s crime noir guy. But then in another he has a cowboy hat on. I like the crime noir guy look.

I honestly haven't thought enough about what would make the character appeal to me. In terms of the classic cowboy look, no one does it better than Night Rider, imho. Perfecto! If they combined Night Rider and the Masked Mara-, er, Masked Raider then maybe I might take to him??? But can't say for sure.

At the end of the day, it just seems like the point of the mask is to permit a heroic archetype to remain relevant. Usually creators do it with magic, as in the case of the Black Knight, but this time they're doing it with the visage of Eternity. It's clear they want characters like the Masked Raider to be timeless and enduring. To that end, I don't see them changing his six shooters. No point in romanticizing history, if they are going to be bothered by simple anachronisms. Ya know?

[inisideguy]

I honestly haven't thought enough about what would make the character appeal to me. In terms of the classic cowboy look, no one does it better than Night Rider, imho. Perfecto! If they combined Night Rider and the Masked Mara-, er, Masked Raider then maybe I might take to him??? But can't say for sure.

At the end of the day, it just seems like the point of the mask is to permit a heroic archetype to remain relevant. Usually creators do it with magic, as in the case of the Black Knight, but this time they're doing it with the visage of Eternity. It's clear they want characters like the mask to be timeless and enduring. To that end, I don't see them changing his six shooters. No point in romanticizing history, if they are going to be bothered by simple anachronisms. Ya know?

Yea I like Night rider to. I don't know I sort of like when Marvel goes back into its western comic history. Its the one American archetype that is cool to draw on. Other than maybe the Daniel Boone, mountain man archetype. I think I am just a sucker for when Marvel goes back into history before the FF in anyway. I like all those types of stories.

[Oberon]

This isn't the original. Ewing has written a bunch of short pieces across various anthology titles that explain his deal (which is why people think he's doing this book), but in brief his mask is a piece of Eternity, and gives the wearer power equal to any opponent they may face (unless they are already stronger than said opponent, of course).

A full breakdown of the mask's history can be found in these books:

Marvel Comics #1000
Marvel Comics #1001
Incoming #1

The current Masked Raider has not been identified, but I read a decent theory that he's Jason Halloway, grandson of the Golden Age Angel.

Well, I did say I wasn't keeping up with a lot of stuff., thanks. sorta intriguing. So what is his mission or goal? Does it depend on who has this mask?

[Oberon]

Its not the original. The mask gets passed down through various individuals over the centuries. He seems to be able to mimic others fighting levels when in contact with them. He is basically a normal guy I think. I dig the look.

So this mask has been around an incredible amount of time or somewhat?