Well, I'm not sure about of all time, but probably for their time. They certainly had no problem taking on the Avengers. Loved the Avengers Defenders War!
Namor and Hulk put him through the wringer in that mini-series ... and then Dormammu squeezed him even harder. But that series was meant to be over the top. I don't think Namor and Hulk pushed him that in most the other books.
Wow. Man-Thing. I missed that. Was it the Secret Defenders?
I'm not sure I follow. You mean for adding characters more associated with the Defenders?
Hmmmm. I'm not sure about that, though I see your point. I think it's a concept the general public can embrace, as they've done with any number of supernatural types that are for hire. That said, Heroes for Hire is a more limited group / team (the last incarnation withstanding), whereas Marvel Knights can cover quite a few more characters, like your suggestions.
My problem is that I don't see the need for The Defenders to be reinvented. It's a great concept. As is Heroes 4 Hire. And Marvel Knights is a nice label. I think they are wasting a franchise opportunity by using Defenders for a team that is really something else, and equally valid. IOW, they are getting one franchise, instead of two
Man-thing was never a member. Maybe you can count him as a allie in #98 of the first run but nothing more.
Last edited by joebleau; 05-18-2014 at 12:47 PM.
That was a great lineup. Valkyrie and Moondragon were both heavy hitters. The Defenders, like the X-Men, rarely lacked for strong (and strong-willed!) women.
Gargoyle was also an interesting character that never seemed to find a niche anywhere else, unlike most of the other Defenders, who were poached from X-Men or Avengers lineups (or, like Silver Surfer or Dr. Strange, able to carry their own title on occasion).
I'm not surprised Gargoyle didn't find a niche elsewhere, since the MU seems uniformly pretty. <wink> But he did get a mini-series back in the 80s, I think.
Hmmm. I hadn't really thought of it, but yes, the Defenders usually had a good line up of women. Val has always been one of my favorites.
I think this line up got some flack for being mostly X-Men / Champions, but it's an intriguing mix.
There's a Defenders reunion coming up in July's Silver Surfer #5--the Surfer, Dr. Strange, and Hulk team up to fight Shuma-Gorath!
Cover: http://i60.tinypic.com/zo9hdx.jpg
SILVER SURFER #5
DAN SLOTT (W) • MICHAEL ALLRED (A/C)
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY ARTIST VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE
• The demon, Shuma Gorath, is ready to cast the Earth into Eternal Chaos!
The problem is, if the Silver Surfer, the Hulk, and Dr. Strange CAN find a way to stop him...
• ...it’s Dawn Greenwood who will have to pay the price... with her life.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Awesome news! Definitely looking forward to that!
Corner boxes! The nifty art in the top left corner that told you what the comic was, when they were displayed overlapping each other on the news stand.
This is a trading card insert, which means it is only 2.5 x 3.5 inches in size, and fairly rare, as they didn't come in every box. It's actually a patch stuck between two pieces of plastic. IIRC, it's from the Marvel Premiere set.
This is a re-imagining of the Defenders Corner Box by Jess Harold. It's from a cool site that posts modern takes on Corner Boxes, called, appropriately, Cornered.
http://corneredblog.blogspot.co.uk/2....a8pVirtW.dpuf
But the real find today, was article from The Defenders Fansite showing most of the Corner Boxes from the first run of Defenders. There are several, cause it would change as the roster changed.
http://defendersfan.blogspot.com/200...er-pocket.html