Marvel's Non-Team: Defenders Appreciation 2018

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Cover pencils by Sal Buscema with inks by Jim Mooney
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jim-mooney/4040-15983/
http://comicsbulletin.com/jim-mooney...er-everything/

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The Defenders #1 Aug 1972
Slay By The Stars!
Necrodamus attempts to sacrifice Namor to The Nameless One;


Also, Omegatron starts its countdown again.

Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Sub-Mariner begin. See Marvel Feature for first Defenders. Also see Sub-Mariner # 34 & 35

Script by Steve Englehart, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Frank Giacoia

[XPac]

The defenders have often been the most powerful team. The big four of Hulk, Namor, Strange, and Surfer are hard to beat for raw power. The nature of the team pretty much makes whoever fought with them a Defender so that includes most of the 70's- 90's characters.

The roster went through a lot of shifting, but certainly anytime they had Strange and Surfer, they were easily the most powerful team on earth. I guess the big exception might be when Phoenix was on the X-men. Course, I think Avengers 1 mill bc are ready to take that "most powerful" team label away.

[Sutekh]

While the Hulk, Namor, Dr. Strange and the Silver Surfer were certainly the 'big four' heavy hitters of the team, I always liked that they also had room for characters that weren't getting a lot of play outside of the Defenders, and weren't quite as powerful, ranging from Valkyrie, Hellstrom, Dr. Druid and Gargoyle, at the higher end, to Nightwing, Devil-Slayer, Andromeda and Hellcat, at the lower end. (And Moondragon, obviously, but she's past the 'upper tier' and probably belongs with the 'big four' having 'feats' like mind-controlling an entire planet, stopping Thor's hammer with her telekinesis, and piercing Galactus' mental shields with her telepathy!)

[juan678]

[XPac]

While the Hulk, Namor, Dr. Strange and the Silver Surfer were certainly the 'big four' heavy hitters of the team, I always liked that they also had room for characters that weren't getting a lot of play outside of the Defenders, and weren't quite as powerful, ranging from Valkyrie, Hellstrom, Dr. Druid and Gargoyle, at the higher end, to Nightwing, Devil-Slayer, Andromeda and Hellcat, at the lower end. (And Moondragon, obviously, but she's past the 'upper tier' and probably belongs with the 'big four' having 'feats' like mind-controlling an entire planet, stopping Thor's hammer with her telekinesis, and piercing Galactus' mental shields with her telepathy!)

Yeah I think the second tier Defenders (Val, Kyle, Patsy) were in many ways the heart of the first book. They weren't the biggest starts or thr biggest guns, but for me they were the biggest draw. Once Kyle and Patsy were mostly phased out it was never the same.

[Digifiend]

Sutekh, I don't think Dick Grayson was a Defender, lol. You mean Nighthawk, not Nightwing.

[Mike_Murdock]

I always try to pick some comics to read in preparation of a Marvel product. For this, I am not reading Defenders in preparation of Defenders, for obvious reasons. However, I was thinking of reading some Patsy Walker stuff before season two of Jessica Jones. Are there any particularly noteworthy Hellcat stories in Defenders?

[Digifiend]

You could read the current Defenders comic, which has the same team as the show. It's still in its first arc though.

As for Patsy, maybe her 2000 solo mini? It was just after she came back from the dead.
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Hellcat_Vol_1

[Nomads1]

After binge-watching the Netflix Defenders, I'm more convinced than ever that Marvel Knights would have been a much better name for the series.

Peace

[Phoenixx9]

The Defenders #1 Aug 1972
Slay By The Stars!
Necrodamus attempts to sacrifice Namor to The Nameless One;


Also, Omegatron starts its countdown again.

Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Sub-Mariner begin. See Marvel Feature for first Defenders. Also see Sub-Mariner # 34 & 35

Script by Steve Englehart, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Frank Giacoia

I loved the plot of evil Necrodamus! It was also great that Necrodamus looked exactly the same when he next appeared in the Avengers, both as old crone and as man-demon forms.

[Sutekh]

Sutekh, I don't think Dick Grayson was a Defender, lol. You mean Nighthawk, not Nightwing.

Oops. Yeah. Nightwing's cool, too, though.

I'd love to see more of those guys (and gals), no matter how crap I am at remembering their names.

Gosh, the pictures on this page of Dr. Strange in his old mask. So cool. I'd totally forgotten the mask!

[Phoenixx9]

Yeah, I loves me that old school stuff!

[darewithpeace]

yeah yeah yeah cool cool cool

[ed2962]

I always try to pick some comics to read in preparation of a Marvel product. For this, I am not reading Defenders in preparation of Defenders, for obvious reasons. However, I was thinking of reading some Patsy Walker stuff before season two of Jessica Jones. Are there any particularly noteworthy Hellcat stories in Defenders?

I would actually reccomend The Avengers: The Serpent Crown Affair...it's where Patsy makes the transformation into a superhero.

I don't know the issues but there's a storyline in the Defenders that retcons/explains Patsy's past as a teen comedy/romance comic.

Before the Son of Satan ( Patsy's husband) becomes a regular is where I fell off. But they had a fun guest shot in West Coast Avengers.

There's a pretty fun Patsy solo adventure in Marvel Presents from the early 2000's.