Nighthawks

I'm a fan of Edward Hopper and have seen his 1942 painting Nighthawks affectionately lampooned many times. If I were to create a Defenders rendition of the painting, I would place Nighthawk behind the counter, with Dr. Strange and Valkyrie next to each other, and Hulk seated by himself. This combination of heroes appeared in the upper-left corner of the covers for Defenders #40-46.

Anything Man

Jeff Colt (a.k.a. Anything Man) proved to be an unusual adversary in Defenders #69 (March 1979). When the unassuming veterinarian randomly acquired the power of Omegatron following a game of tennis, the Defenders came to investigate. Convinced that the heroes were there to test his abilities, Jeff attacked Hellcat, Nighthawk, and Valkyrie. He even struck Valkyrie's horse, Aragorn.

Concerned that an angry Hulk would make the situation worse, Dr. Strange apologetically turned his green teammate back into Bruce Banner. Once Jeff came to realize that he had become consumed with power, Dr. Strange returned him to normal with these magical words:

Then in the name of dark Satannish …

… By the mystic moons of Munnopor …

… Let Omegatronic power vanish,

And leave you but a man once more!

Neutral Good: Professor Imam

Believing that his former teammates in the Squadron Supreme were corrupt, Nighthawk sought the help of Professor Imam, the Wizard Supreme of Earth-S. Professor Imam agreed that the Squadron was now a menace but said he needed to conserve his dwindling energy to train his successor. By weighing the needs of the present versus those of the future, Professor Imam exhibited a balanced approach in keeping with an alignment of Neutral Good.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

This panel of Professor Imam comes from Captain America #314 (Feb. 1986).

Chaotic Good: Moonglow

Nighthawk charged his former teammates in the Squadron Supreme with abusing their authority and then enlisted help to defeat them. One of Nighthawk's recruits was Moonglow, a new hero who would infiltrate the Squadron Supreme only to turn against the team. Intensely private, Moonglow felt a certain thrill in the subterfuge. Adding a layer to her undercover work, she used her actual power of illusion—sometimes carelessly—to give the Squadron the misimpression that she had other superpowers instead. Moondglow's covert modus operandi would align with Chaotic Good.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

This panel with Moonglow comes from Squadron Supreme #11 (July 1986).

Introducing Power Man

When Defenders #17 reprinted in Rampage #16, the cover art changed significantly. Instead of picturing Hulk alongside Nighthawk and Dr. Strange, the reprint showed the green goliath deserting his comrades. Of the two versions, the cover of Rampage #16 was more accurate. Within the story, Valkyrie left the non-team (temporarily) to learn about her alter ego as Barbara Norriss. A saddened Hulk then blamed Dr. Strange and Nighthawk for Valkyrie's departure and leapt off to be alone. Only afterward did Dr. Strange and Nighthawk meet Power Man.

Rampage #16 also modified the original cover verbiage to introduce the guest star as "The Menace of Power Man!" Within the story, the hero for hire was guarding Richmond Enterprises and mistook the Defenders for intruders.

Meditation Practices

The Defenders were no strangers to meditation. Dr. Strange had a Chamber of Meditation within his Sanctum Sanctorum, the original headquarters for the non-team. As one of the New Defenders, Moondragon often meditated as well. For all their differences, both characters were fiercely private and relied on meditation for mental clarity.

Dr. Strange shows Nighthawk and Valkyrie his Chamber of Meditation in Defenders #15; Moondragon meditates (and levitates) in New Defenders #136.

Redstone the Redeemer

On the parallel Earth of the Squadron Supreme, Nighthawk so objected to the Utopia Program implemented by his former teammates that he organized a covert group of heroes to infiltrate and overthrow the Squadron. One of these new recruits was Mr. Redstone—known simply as Redstone while in costume (Squadron Supreme #9). When Nighthawk's Redeemers turned against the Squadron, Redstone's superhuman strength proved well-matched against Hyperion.

As for his origin story, Redstone revealed little about his background aside from mentioning that he grew up on a reservation (#12). That biographical detail leads me to wonder whether the name Redstone was intended to allude to the character's Native American heritage. Such racial coding in Marvel Comics had been evident with the Cheyenne hero Red Wolf, especially during his early adventures set during the Old West.

This panel of Redstone, a defeated Hyperion, and Nighthawk comes from Squadron Supreme #12 (Aug. 1986).

Defenders Fan and Games

The closing page of Fun and Games Magazine #11 (July 1980) said the next month's content would include:

Hulk Spider-Woman The Thing Silver Surfer The Defenders

Those characters, and more, did appear in various puzzles within #12 (August 1980). With regard to the non-team, the cover of The Defenders #73 (July 1979) was the basis for an activity titled "What's Missing?" The scene pictured Aragorn, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hulk and Hellcat facing an extra-dimensional foe named Arisen Tyrk.

Cap'n Skragg

When numerous villains joined forces and pretended to be Defenders for a Day, their ranks included Pecos and Joe the Gorilla, two of the henchmen previously known as the Split-Second Squad (Avengers #77). Those characters featured prominently on the cover of Defenders #64, along with a sea captain—apparently Cap'n Skragg, who too had been a member of the Split-Second Squad. Although Cap'n Skragg appeared only in one panel that issue, he connected thematically to the villains' decision to attempt a getaway aboard the Staten Island Ferry.

Nighthawk knocks Joe the Gorilla into Cap'n Skragg in this panel from Defenders #64 (Oct. 1978).

More Fun and Games

Defenders fans had reason to enjoy Fun and Games Magazine #11 (July 1980). One activity showed how to draw Nighthawk. Printed sideways across pages 16-17 was a poster of Valkyrie—easily detachable by removing the staples between the two pages. Mazes and word puzzles featuring other Marvel characters appeared elsewhere in the magazine.

What's Missing?

Fun and Games Magazine #1 (Sept. 1979) repurposed the cover of Defenders #59 (May 1978) to create two panels for a visual puzzle titled "What's Missing?" Valkyrie, Aragorn, Nighthawk and Hellcat featured as prominently as they had on the original cover. Hulk, on the other hand, was all but cropped out of the puzzle.

Changing Corners

Reprinting Defenders stories for readers in the United Kingdom, the weekly series Rampage followed the Marvel Comics tradition of picturing the heads of superheroes in the upper-left corner of each cover. The three founding members of the Defenders—Hulk, Dr. Strange and Sub-Mariner—appeared in there on issues #1-21.

Beginning with #22, the series replaced Sub-Mariner with Nighthawk (matching a change that took place with Defenders #19). In making that switch, Rampage added the names of the featured heroes beside their faces, something the original Defenders series hadn't done in the United States.

Aside from changing the background color behind the characters each issue, Rampage did not make other alterations to the corner design through #34, the final issue of the series.

Fun and Games

Fun and Games Magazine #4 (Dec. 1979) had a lot to offer Defenders fans. The opening page featured Nighthawk above a bird-word puzzle. Among the hidden words were other characters with bird names, including Falcon (of the Defenders for a Day) and Lady Lark (from the Squadron Supreme).

Red Guardian appeared a few pages later with a fill-in puzzle of words beginning with red, plus these similarly named characters: Red Ghost, Red Rajah, Red Raven, and Redwing (Falcon's pet bird).

Another activity used a grid to show readers how to draw Hellcat. A two-page wedding game asked readers to match the first names of various couples, including Buzz and Patsy (Hellcat's alter ego), Jack and Barbara (Norriss), and Glenn and Betty (Talbot).

The wedding image of Patsy Walker and Buzz Baxter shown on the cover of Fun and Games Magazine #4 originally appeared as a flashback in Avengers #144, as the couple had already divorced.

Defenders: Tier C

To continue comparing the power level of Defenders from the original series, this post covers Tier C, which encompasses those heroes who were largely proficient yet did not necessarily stand out among other superhumans. Notable examples would include longtime members Nighthawk and Hellcat. Devil-Slayer functioned here too.

Although Red Guardian had no superhuman powers until she left in Defenders #53, her exceptional fighting skills and athleticism kept her on par with her teammates at Tier C. As a disciple of the mystic arts, Clea remained on the sidelines during much of the original series but her magical powers operated at this tier when she adventured with the non-team.

Among the New Defenders, Iceman and Cloud had powers with great creative potential yet still seemed scaled back to Tier C, in league with Beast and Angel.

These images of the Defenders come from editions of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

I, Robot

When Kyle Richmond became paralyzed during the day, regaining his Nighthawk powers only at night, he employed Luann Bloom as a nurse. An adherent of modern medicine, Luann was skeptical of any attempt the Defenders might make to cure Kyle through mystical means. With Dr. Strange out of town, Clea assured Luann that Kyle's affliction was indeed mystical in nature and required further analysis (Defenders #102).

Luann: What kind of analysis, Clea? The kind that requires a bubbling cauldron and the eye of newt?

Although Luann had Kyle's best interests in mind, she was painfully unaware of her own true nature. As she later learned (#119), Luann was a robot programmed by an extra-dimensional tribunal to covertly collect information about the Defenders. After much analysis, this tribunal would erroneous warn Dr. Strange, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and Silver Surfer against fighting together again (#125).

This panel comes from Defenders #119. The bulk of that issue was a flashback story, showing data that Luann's computer brain had gathered from Nighthawk.

Nighthawk's Rogues

Seeing how Batman developed one of the most recognized rogues' galleries in comic book history, it stood to reason that the version of Nighthawk in the Squadron Supreme would have a rogues' gallery of his own. Although we don't know every supervillain Nighthawk might have faced, Squadron Supreme #7 identified Remnant, Mink, and Pinball as the hero's oldest foes.

• Remnant, the most esoteric of the trio, could pull a magic carpet and other items from the "bottomless pocket" in his costume.
• Mink armed herself with claws and a poisonous perfume spray. A flashback in #9 revealed that Mink had once been a member of the Institute of Evil, a supervillain team that often battled the Squadron.
• With the ability to expand into a rubbery sphere, Pinball had powers similar to the DC hero Bouncing Boy from the Legion of Superheroes.

This image of Nighthawk, Remnant, Mink, and Pinball comes from Squadron Supreme #9. The hero and villains formed an unlikely alliance to end the Utopia Project introduced in #1.

Contemplating the Titans

Conceptually, the Teen Titans and the Defenders have little in common. The founding members of the Teen Titans were sidekicks to adult DC heroes, while the founding members of the Defenders were highly powerful and individualistic Marvel heroes. After hearing the podcast Titan Up The Defense, which discusses classic issues of each team on alternating weeks, I decided to look for commonalities between the two super groups. Here are a few examples:

• Aqualad, a founding member of the Teen Titans, has Atlantean parallels to the Sub-Mariner, a founding member of the Defenders.
• Robin (Nightwing), the original leader of the Teen Titans, was the longtime sidekick to Batman; Marvel Comics patterned Nighthawk after Batman.
• Superhuman strength, weaponry, and a mythological background makes Wonder Girl analogous to Valkyrie.
• Daughter of the demonic Trigon, the mystical Raven corresponds to Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan.
• With green skin and the power of transformation, Changeling (Beast Boy) has superficial similarities to the Hulk.
• Three of the New Defenders began fighting crime as teenage members of the X-Men.

The Brave and the Bold #54 (July 1964) marked the beginning of the Teen Titans, when three sidekicks teamed up. The young heroes soon landed their own series, which ran 53 issues, and then found new popularity with the launch of The New Teen Titans #1 (Nov. 1980).

The Hellcatmobile

In an apparent nod to the Batmobile, Defenders #63 introduced the Hellcatmobile. But where did Hellcat get her new set of wheels?

Defenders #59 showed Hellcat pining for a red vehicle that belonged to Nighthawk (with KYLE 3 written on the back). Since Nighthawk didn't seem inclined to hand the car over to her, there might be a more creative explanation. Defenders #61 showed Hellcat practicing with the Shadow Cloak she had on loan from Devil-Slayer. Perhaps Hellcat used the Shadow Cloak to pull her own Hellcatmobile from another dimension.

This panel featuring the Hellcatmobile comes from Defenders #63.

What if ... Thor Had Joined the Defenders?

Today's blog post takes inspiration from Marvel's classic series that asked, "What if…?" In that vein, I consider how a key decision in the formation of the Defenders might have unfolded differently.

On that fateful day when Dr. Strange formed the Defenders (Marvel Feature #1), Prince Namor was his first recruit. In need of a second ally with great physical strength, the sorcerer reluctantly selected the Hulk. Dr. Strange summoned the green goliath only because Silver Surfer was trapped on Earth and couldn't travel with them to another dimension, and because Dr. Strange presumed that Thor was unavailable. But what if Dr. Strange hadn't jumped to that conclusion? And what if Thor was indeed available? In other words, What if … Thor had joined the Defenders?

In this speculative timeline, Dr. Strange, Namor, and Thor would found the non-team. During their early adventures, the thunder god would prove as capable a Defender as the Hulk had been in the original published stories.

Without the Hulk, however, the events from Defenders #7 would play out differently. In the original story, Hawkeye tried to capture the Hulk and then accepted Valkyrie's offer to join the Defenders. (Valkyrie herself joined in Defenders #4.) Yet if Hulk had no ties to the Defenders, Hawkeye would not have met the non-team at that time, much less join them.

This change in lineup would affect the crossover event spanning Defenders #8-11; Avengers #115-118, when the two teams clashed. As originally published, Thor of the Avengers battled Hulk of the Defenders, while Iron Man of the Avengers squared off against Hawkeye of the Defenders. In this alternate version, Thor of the Defenders would battle Iron Man of the Avengers. In both versions, the teams would put their differences aside at the end of the story. Not everything would balance out so evenly, however.

Nighthawk's membership into the Defenders (#13-14) would inevitably lead the non-team to meet Power Man and then battle the Wrecking Crew (#17-19). Here, fate would change irrevocably. The original story required Hulk to return to his alter ego as Bruce Banner and save the day by deactivating a dangerous Gamma Bomb. Unlike Banner, Thor's alter ego of Donald Blake was a physician, not a physicist. Without Bruce Banner's know-how, the Gamma Bomb would detonate and kill 20 million people. As a result, this story would end in tragedy, just like many tales published in the series What If…?

This panel with Dr. Strange and Bruce Banner comes from Defenders #19.

Mythology Lessons

Defenders #92 placed the non-team into pairs, with each heroic duo searching for various missing persons … missing persons who were in fact personified aspects of the entity Eternity. Mystically teleported by Dr. Strange, the mission took Hellcat and the Son of Satan to a temple in India, and Nighthawk and Hulk to a Russian village.

Meanwhile, Valkyrie and Sub-Mariner traveled to Patras, Greece, where a harpy reportedly had swooped down and carried off one of the missing men. Oddly, though, the flying creature in question resembled a gigantic bird rather than the bird-women of Greek mythology. During their quest, Valkyrie and Sub-Mariner also faced interference from Glaucus, a transformed fisherman from Greek mythology. With his fish-like tail, Glaucus emerged from the water and attacked the two heroes unexpectedly. It was left unsaid whether either hero actually recognized Glaucus or wondered whether the giant bird was technically a harpy.

During their teammates' journeys, Dr. Strange and Clea tried to magically restore Eternity itself.

The Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 92. February 1981. "Eternity … Humanity … Oblivion!" J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin & Pablo Marcos (artists), Diana Albers (letters), George Roussos (colorist), Al Milgrom (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief). The so-called harpy in this story had no connection to the super-villain Harpy.