Apr 27
Marvel Team-Up #34 (1974)
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Marvel Team-Up #34 (1974)
Cover of the Day: Defenders #89 (November, 1980) Art by Mike Nasser, Joe Rubinstein, George Roussos
the early 2000s defenders is a favorite of mine actually . i have read so so so much of it . anyways . STRANGEMOR ON MY PAGE??? insane.
Howard 1 : Batman knockoff 0
Venomverse Reborn #4 - "Nighthawk V. Hyperion" (2024)
written by Dan Slott art by Stephen Byrne
The Avengers and The Defenders have a couple of members in common. Hawkeye and Hulk and Beast were all Avengers, but they also ended up as Defenders. Hulk was a founding Defender, in fact. And that's because I feel like the teams fill different niches. The Avengers are a team that has elements of camaraderie and love to them, but they're still a team. To be an Avenger, you have to go through channels. You have to pass inspection and prove you're capable of being on the team.
The Avengers are an official team, one with real due process and channels for suspending their teammates. They're official in their organization. It's been that way since the beginning, and it does make some amount of sense. The Avengers have had a history of taking chances on members who were ex-criminals. But they always vote on the admittance of new members. If a new member doesn't get enough votes, they aren't allowed in. That's the way it's always been.
The Defenders are basically the exact opposite of The Avengers. Their initial membership is predominantly people who seem anathema to teamwork. Hulk, Doctor Strange, Namor and the Silver Surfer. The Defenders are a group that mainly just assemble when they have to. They stick together only because they all have nowhere else to go. Their membership includes some incredibly sad and lonely people. Hulk, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Namor, these are not people with many close friends. The Defenders are a close knit batch of temperamental and strong willed people. If not for Doctor Strange, I think they'd all have broken up long ago.
But The Defenders being so loosely connected (while also being so intimately connected) means that there's no real rules to being a Defender. To be one, you need take no fancy measures. Usually they just work on a policy of welcoming anyone who needs them or helps them in a crisis. They didn't start implementing Avengers style rules and regulations until something like issue #120 or #130 of their own book. For 100 issues, it was just a weird society of misfits. Even after becoming more like a "real" team, they keep those vibes of being very welcoming.
Their members include three X-Men (Angel, Beast and Iceman), some street level heroes (Luke Cage and Daredevil and possibly Moon Knight), some magical and fantastical (Doctor Strange, Daimon Hellstrom, Valkyrie, Gargoyle), some cosmic in scope (Silver Surfer, Moondragon) and even some Avengers (Hank Pym and Hawkeye). The Defenders are an amazing team that deserve more love. If you want something, they probably have it. The live action marvel stuff didn't do them justice. They're so much more than street heroes. The Defenders are heroes for everyone.
Considering I basically stop reading The Avengers with issue #163, it's tempting to say that Wonder Man should've been a Defender instead of an Avenger. So I will say it. When will Wonder Man join the Defenders? Considering I leave off with him still unsure of how he returned from the dead and still adjusting to life, he would've made a prime Defender. He could've joined when Beast did! Come on! Wonder Man was a born Defender!
Happy Holidays everyone!!
Marvel Holiday Maganize 2010 #1
One World Under Doom #4 (Alex Ross Timeless variant cover)