Your Dream Pick Defenders Roster

[johnmahananda]

I also like the idea of a supernatural Defenders.

Me, too. If it were up to me, I'd go with:

Dr. Strange
Clea
Iron First
Valkyrie
Black Knight
Son of Satan
Gargoyle
Brother Voodoo
Blade
Devil-Slayer
Shaman
Elsa Bloodstone
Magik

(The characters in bold are my definites.)

I think all of these characters have some connection to magic. I'd go MAX with this, though, and have it be very dark and creepy. I'd have characters refer to each other by name rather than code name; I'd change the costumes to be more modern, less superhero-ish, kind of grim. And I probably wouldn't use all characters in each arc. I'd have arcs focus on smaller groups.

Then...I'd have an Amalgam battle with Justice League Dark!

As an aside: the love here for Ghost Rider as a Defender blows me away! He's an interesting character, and definitely fits into the mystical Defenders motif...but the motorcycle is just way over the top!!! Which is the point, I'm sure.

[JudicatorPrime]

As an aside: the love here for Ghost Rider as a Defender blows me away! He's an interesting character, and definitely fits into the mystical Defenders motif...but the motorcycle is just way over the top!!! Which is the point, I'm sure.

Well, if the Silver Surfer can have his surfboard, we have to give the devil (the original "Hell's angel") his Harley. ha!

[protege]

Me, too. If it were up to me, I'd go with:

Dr. Strange
Clea
Iron First
Valkyrie
Black Knight
Son of Satan
Gargoyle
Brother Voodoo
Blade
Devil-Slayer
Shaman
Elsa Bloodstone
Magik

(The characters in bold are my definites.)

I think all of these characters have some connection to magic. I'd go MAX with this, though, and have it be very dark and creepy. I'd have characters refer to each other by name rather than code name; I'd change the costumes to be more modern, less superhero-ish, kind of grim. And I probably wouldn't use all characters in each arc. I'd have arcs focus on smaller groups.

Then...I'd have an Amalgam battle with Justice League Dark!

As an aside: the love here for Ghost Rider as a Defender blows me away! He's an interesting character, and definitely fits into the mystical Defenders motif...but the motorcycle is just way over the top!!! Which is the point, I'm sure.

I think the team may be a bit too big, but since I want Black Knight and Valkyrie on a team together, I'm in.

[Draegwolf]

Dr. Strange
Clea
Iron First
Valkyrie
Black Knight
Son of Satan
Gargoyle
Brother Voodoo
Blade
Devil-Slayer
Shaman
Elsa Bloodstone
Magik

A purely Supernatural Defenders pretty much negates any reason for the Midnight Son’s, still as far as the lineup you got going it’s pretty good though I would have either Dr. Strange or Brother Voodoo since having them both there is kinda overwhelming.

Dr. Strange/Brother Voodoo
Iron First
Valkyrie
Black Knight
Blade
Elsa Bloodstone
White Tiger

[edpower]

I go back on forth on who I would pick for a Defenders team, but if I had one of those dream scenarios where Marvel called and asked me to write it (yeah, I know, but hey, I've written a little http://www.gocomics.com/mycage and http://www.amazon.com/Santa-vs-Dracu.../dp/0988226316 , so let me dream ) I'd do the following:

* Have Nighthawk and Hellcat lead it. I have a scene in mind where Kyle is teaming up with the Jim Hammond Torch and Jim tells Kyle that Kyle needs to stop trying to be Captain America and have the Defenders be the Avengers and just be himself. When he thinks about what he wants, he shows up and Patsy's apartment, waking her. When she tells him this better be good, he kisses her. First she's shocked, then kisses him back, when they wake up the next morning they start putting together the next incarnation of the Defenders. I'd love to make the the 'Nick and Nora' of the Marvel U.

* Joe Quesada once said the problem he has with a lot of the Defenders pitches he gets is they seem like a 2nd rate Avengers team to him, and I LOVED that. What a concept! They should just call the book '2nd Rate Avengers' . Just a team of characters happy to be b-grade heroes and show the problems/fun that would go with that.

* I would steal Joe Casey's idea of Defenders being stationed in NJ. That just seems like where the Defenders should be (my home state!). The idea would be villains rob from NJ banks/buinesses etc. because it's close enough to NY they can make some cash and use it to fund their bigger plans in NY to fight the A-grade hereos. Also, some villains would use it almost as pratice for robbing in NYC (which we find out villains consider 'the big leagues').

* I think The Defenders should show a range of hereoes from different genres, so I'd use that to pick members (like maybe Outlaw form Deadpool to represent Western characters, etc). I think that was driven home when I wrote the 'formula' for Defenders line-ups a few of you have been kind enough to use (Thanks, BTW. Nice to see. ).

Anyway, that's what I have so far:

* Nighthawk
* Hellcat
* NJ
* Maybe Outlaw
* Maybe, maybe Jim Hammond (he's really just supposed to be a Superman stand in to Nighthawk's Batman in the one scene, but I could picture him becoming a regular, plus he could rep the GA/WWII era for the team)

[edpower]

I like the Defenders, and this thread. Don't let me have killed it.

[Captain Astounding]

I once made this "formula" for a Defenders roster based on it former members:

Obviously, you could count characters in multiple categories, like Quicksilver could be both the arrogant character and the ex-Avenger.

I'll have a crack at that

Sorcerer/Sorceress- Dr. Strange
Monster/Brute and/or Gamma-powered character Hulk
Royal and/or Aquatic and/or Arrogant "Jerk" character Namor
Non-powered and/or street level hero Nighthawk
Former Avenger/Non-powered and/or street level heroine- Hellcat
Former X-Man/Female warrior- Dani Moonstar
Mystically themed character- Living Mummy
Cosmic hero- Moondragon
International hero- Darkstar

[GrandKaiser]

Bring it back to the New Avengers roster.

Doctor Strange
Mockingbird (replacing Hawkeye)
Luke Cage
Iron Fist
Spider-Man
X-23 (replacing Wolverine)
Spider-Woman
Daredevil (replacing Echo)

[Reviresco]

I go back on forth on who I would pick for a Defenders team, but if I had one of those dream scenarios where Marvel called and asked me to write it (yeah, I know, but hey, I've written a little http://www.gocomics.com/mycage and http://www.amazon.com/Santa-vs-Dracu.../dp/0988226316 , so let me dream ) I'd do the following:

* Have Nighthawk and Hellcat lead it. I have a scene in mind where Kyle is teaming up with the Jim Hammond Torch and Jim tells Kyle that Kyle needs to stop trying to be Captain America and have the Defenders be the Avengers and just be himself. When he thinks about what he wants, he shows up and Patsy's apartment, waking her. When she tells him this better be good, he kisses her. First she's shocked, then kisses him back, when they wake up the next morning they start putting together the next incarnation of the Defenders. I'd love to make the the 'Nick and Nora' of the Marvel U.

What??? Noooo! Namor and Betty Dean are the Nick and Nora of the MU! At least in my headcanon. LOL!

* Joe Quesada once said the problem he has with a lot of the Defenders pitches he gets is they seem like a 2nd rate Avengers team to him, and I LOVED that. What a concept! They should just call the book '2nd Rate Avengers' . Just a team of characters happy to be b-grade heroes and show the problems/fun that would go with that.

I don't know. I never thought of the Defenders as 2nd rate, much less Avengers. They used to handle things that the Avengers probably couldn't, especially the magical threats. I think what you are talking about applies more to Heroes For Hire.

[Pav]

I have a number of different ideas for a Defenders series, depending on the "direction" Marvel might want to take with the series. (Dark supernatural? Weird and psychedelic? Etc? Etc?) However, a few months back I did come up with a rather crazy but, to me, compelling idea. Essentially, I think it'd be cool to have a series that combined the Defenders with the Fantastic Four. Call it Defenders of the Fantastic or Fantastic Defenders or something like that, and include the following characters as major players:

Mr. Fantastic
Dr. Strange
The Hulk
The Thing
The Human Torch
Namor
Insivible Woman
She-Hulk
Hellcat
Hellstorm
Silver Surfer
the Future Foundation

and, obviously, any other characters that might be needed for specific story lines.

It'd be something new and different, while utilizing two comic properties that often don't get the recognition they deserve. I'd like to think there'd be enough sales to keep it going for a while!

Oh, and johnmahananda: I love your profile picture! I'm really enjoying Bandette! Such a fun comic with great artwork.

-Pav, who'd love to see Bandette meet Squirrel Girl...

[Sansomon]

Doctor Strange
Namora
Silver Surfer
Skaar Son of Hulk
Nighthawk
Gargoyle
Angela
Silverclaw
Ghost Rider IV / Robbie Reyes

[edpower]

I go back on forth on who I would pick for a Defenders team, but if I had one of those dream scenarios where Marvel called and asked me to write it (yeah, I know, but hey, I've written a little http://www.gocomics.com/mycage and http://www.amazon.com/Santa-vs-Dracu.../dp/0988226316 , so let me dream) I'd do the following:

* Have Nighthawk and Hellcat lead it. I have a scene in mind where Kyle is teaming up with the Jim Hammond Torch and Jim tells Kyle that Kyle needs to stop trying to be Captain America and have the Defenders be the Avengers and just be himself. When he thinks about what he wants, he shows up and Patsy's apartment, waking her. When she tells him this better be good, he kisses her. First she's shocked, then kisses him back, when they wake up the next morning they start putting together the next incarnation of the Defenders. I'd love to make the the 'Nick and Nora' of the Marvel U.

* Joe Quesada once said the problem he has with a lot of the Defenders pitches he gets is they seem like a 2nd rate Avengers team to him, and I LOVED that. What a concept! They should just call the book '2nd Rate Avengers' . Just a team of characters happy to be b-grade heroes and show the problems/fun that would go with that.

* I would steal Joe Casey's idea of Defenders being stationed in NJ. That just seems like where the Defenders should be (my home state!). The idea would be villains rob from NJ banks/businesses etc. because it's close enough to NY they can make some cash and use it to fund their bigger plans in NY to fight the A-grade heroes. Also, some villains would use it almost as practice for robbing in NYC (which we find out villains consider 'the big leagues').

* I think The Defenders should show a range of hereoes from different genres, so I'd use that to pick members (like maybe Outlaw form Deadpool to represent Western characters, etc). I think that was driven home when I wrote the 'formula' for Defenders line-ups a few of you have been kind enough to use (Thanks, BTW. Nice to see.).

Anyway, that's what I have so far:

* Nighthawk
* Hellcat
* NJ
* Maybe Outlaw
* Maybe, maybe Jim Hammond (he's really just supposed to be a Superman stand in to Nighthawk's Batman in the one scene, but I could picture him becoming a regular, plus he could rep the GA/WWII era for the team)

I was re-thinking this. I was also thinking Defenders should be where different genres of heroes meet. So my new picks are:

Dr. Voodoo (Horror/magic)
Shang Chi (martial arts)
Fin Fang Foom (Monster era)

So right now it'd be:

* Nighthawk (the glue)
* Hellcat (romance comics)
* Outlaw (western comics)
* Jim Hammond (Golden age)
* Dr. Voodoo (Horror/magic)
* Shang Chi (martial arts)
* Fin Fang Foom (Monster era)

And...NJ.

I'm thinking Hippolyta/Warrior Woman, Valkyrie, or Sif as the mythological rep. I need a space character. I'm toying with Kid Gladiator. I'd like someone really alien looking. I''d also like to do what the last New Warriors comic was doing and have, say, an Eternal, a clone, a mutant, etc. Plus, I have to find some newer characters. The list as it is is a little dated looking.

Anyway, that's what I got.

[Master of Sound]

Moondragon
Hellcat
Arachne
Iceman
Cloud
Gargouille
Iron Fist
Luke Cage
Shroud

[Factor]

My main Defenders team I'd keep the same as the one I posted in the second page (Luke, Iron Fist, She-Hulk, Hellcat, Brother Voodoo, Power Man and White Tiger) but I'd add Jessica Jones as well. Their mission would be to protect regular citizens from all the craziness of the MU. In an alien invasion, the'd be the ones on the ground protecting civillians while the Avengers handled the spaceships.

I'd have another, larger in scale Defenders book called Dark Defenders. They'd protect the world from big supernatural threats.
Strange would be team leader and other members would be:
Blade
Clea
Valkyrie
Elsa Bloodstone
Son of Satan
Ghost Rider (Ketch)

[edpower]

I was re-thinking this. I was also thinking Defenders should be where different genres of heroes meet. So my new picks are:

Dr. Voodoo (Horror/magic)
Shang Chi (martial arts)
Fin Fang Foom (Monster era)

So right now it'd be:

* Nighthawk (the glue)
* Hellcat (romance comics)
* Outlaw (western comics)
* Jim Hammond (Golden age)
* Dr. Voodoo (Horror/magic)
* Shang Chi (martial arts)
* Fin Fang Foom (Monster era)

And...NJ.

I'm thinking Hippolyta/Warrior Woman, Valkyrie, or Sif as the mythological rep. I need a space character. I'm toying with Kid Gladiator. I'd like someone really alien looking. I''d also like to do what the last New Warriors comic was doing and have, say, an Eternal, a clone, a mutant, etc. Plus, I have to find some newer characters. The list as it is is a little dated looking.

Anyway, that's what I got.

KAINE! THE SCARLET SPIDER! I wanted a clone and someone who represents the 90's. Kaine's perfect. Plus, I wanted a darker character to play off Nighthawk, who would now be happy, to do a play on the Adam West Batman vs the Frank Miller Batman. I'd put him in a combo of his Scarlet Spider look and his original Spawn-esque costume.

Plus, for my Avenger, I'll go with Monica Rambeau. She's very 80's and THE SINGLE MOST UNAPPRECIATED AVENGER EVER! Plus, she was on the Avengers FOREVER! I'd name her Marvel Woman and stick with it. She'd be the actual leader. If Nighthawk is the 'fun parent', Monica would be the 'responsible parent'.

So now it's:

* Nighthawk (the glue)
* Hellcat (romance comics)
* Outlaw (western comics)
* Jim Hammond (Golden age)
* Dr. Voodoo (Horror/magic)
* Shang Chi (Martial arts/Non-US hero)
* Fin Fang Foom (Monster era)
* Kaine/Scarlet Spider (90's era/Clone)
* Marvel Woman, Monica Rambeau (80's/Avengers-verse)

And...NJ.

Still toying with an X-universe character (Mimic? Warlock? Doop?), a cosmic hero (Kid Gladiator?), a mythical hero (Hippolyta/Warrior Woman, Valkyrie, or Sif), and a comedy hero (Slapstick? Howard the Duck? Squirrel Girl?). I'm also leaning towards Speedball. i think he has a interesting evolution, going from a fun upbeat character, to the WORST of the 'grim and gritty' heroes (Penance) and back to fun again.