Heralded as the first limited series, Contest of Champions was also groundbreaking for its appendix of Marvel Super Heroes - 1982. Biographical entries appeared for heroes who had been active up to that point (with sections on inactive and deceased heroes). While recognizing that this material was decidedly concise, in hindsight I am surprised that the listings for Clea and Silver Surfer did not note their membership in the Defenders.
In contrast, however, I am not surprised by the other heroes who had appeared in issues of the Defenders yet weren't described as members. By and large, these characters did not regard themselves Defenders—even within the parameters of a non-team. For example, Thing and Mister Fantastic remained members of the Fantastic Four while assisting the Defenders. Even Hawkeye, who briefly considered himself one of the Defenders, did so largely to spite the Avengers.
With the exception of the Defenders for a Day (who will get their own post), here are the entries for those heroes who appeared in the original series through 1982 and weren't referenced as Defenders in Contest of Champions.
BLACK KNIGHT
(Dane Whitman, physicist) American descendant of Arthurian-age champion who wields the ebony blade of his ancestor, and rides a winged horse. Last seen in Twelfth Century Britain, but is known to be back in the present. Current whereabouts: Britain. Former member of the Avengers. First appearance: AVENGERS #48.
BLACK PANTHER
(T'Challa, tribal leader of Wakanda) Jungle-born African possessing great natural strength, agility, and heightened senses. Former member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: Africa. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #52.
CAPTAIN AMERICA
(Steve Rogers, artist) Recipient of the Super-Soldier formula endowing him with great strength, agility, and stamina. Carries a shield. Member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: AVENGERS #4.
CLEA
(No other name known) Sorceress from an alien dimension with minor mystic abilities. Current whereabouts: her home dimension. First appearance; STRANGE TALES #126.
DAREDEVIL
(Matt Murdock, lawyer) Blind American with heightened senses and incredible agility and fighting prowess. Uses billy club as a weapon. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: DAREDEVIL #1.
HAWKEYE
(Clint Barton, security chief) American who has mastered the art of archery and uses various trick arrows. Occasional member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. First appearance: TALES OF SUSPENSE #57.
MISTER FANTASTIC
(Reed Richards, scientist/adventurer) American possessing cosmic ray-derived power of super-malleability. Able to stretch any part of his body to great lengths and mold his pliant flesh into numerous shapes. One of the great intellects of the world, he is the leader of the Fantastic Four. Husband of the Invisible Girl. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #1.
MOONDRAGON
(Heather Douglas) American-born priestess of Titan, trained in the martial arts, telepathy, and psychokinesis. Daughter of Drax the Destroyer. Occasional member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: vicinity of the Earth. First appearance (as Madame MacEvil): IRON MAN #54. First appearance (as Moondragon): DAREDEVIL #105.
MOON KNIGHT
(Marc Spector, mercenary; alias Jake Lockley, cab driver; Steven Grant, millionaire) American possessing great natural strength and agility and mastery of martial arts. Uses crescent-darts, a truncheon, and glider-cape. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. First appearance: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #32.
PROFESSOR X
(Charles Xavier, headmaster) American mutant with the psionic powers of telepathy and astral projection. Founder of the X-Men. Confined to a wheelchair. Current whereabouts: Salem Center, New York. First appearance: X-MEN #1.
SILVER SURFER
(Norrin Radd) Humanoid alien from Zenn-La with cosmic powers to rearrange molecules and shoot energy-blasts. Rides an idestructible flying surfboard. Former herald of Galactus. Current whereabouts: space. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #48.
SPIDER-MAN
(Peter Parker, college student/freelance photographer) American possessing super-strength, super-reflexes, incredible agility, the ability to stick to virtually any surface, and a danger-detecting "spider-sense." Uses a chemical web-shooting device enabling him to swing from the rooftops entangle persons or things, and create simple objects such as shields and spheres. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #15.
THING
(Benjamin Grimm, adventurer) American possessing super-strength and a rock-like epidermis making him impervious to virtually all harm. Member of the Fantastic Four. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #1.
WASP
(Janet Van Dyne, heiress) American with the ability to shrink to insect-size and fly by means of surgically-implanted membrane-wings. Shoots a bio-electric "wasp's sting." Member of the Avengers. Ex-wife of Henry Pym (Yellowjacket), who concocted her powers. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: TALES TO ASTONISH #44.
WONDER MAN
(Simon Williams, ex-industialist, aspiring actor) American possessing enormous strength and near-invulnerability. The chemical processes of his metabolism have been replaced by some strange form of energy. Former member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: Hollywood, California. First appearance: AVENGERS #8.
INACTIVE
GHOST RIDER
(Johnny Blaze, motorcycle stunt rider) American who through sorcery became the host-body for a blazing skeletal demon who is abile to create objects out of mystic flame, project soul-scalding Hellfire, and is super-strong and nearly impervious to harm. First appearance MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #5. Reason for retirement: Blaze is no longer able to control the demon and force him to use his powers for good.
MS. MARVEL
(Carol Danvers, ex-security agent, freelance writer) American who possessed ability to fly, super-strength, heightened reflexes, and a precognitive Seventh Sense. Former member of the Avengers. First appearance: MS. MARVEL #1. Reason for retirement: loss of powers.
YELLOWJACKET
(Henry Pym, biochemist) American who invented serum enabling him to reduce to insect-size. Used bioelectric "stings." Former husband to Janet Van Dyne (Wasp). First appearance (as Dr. Pym): TALES TO ASTONISH #27. First appearance (as Ant-Man): TALES TO ASTONISH #35. First appearance (as Giant-Man): TALES TO ASTONISH #49. First appearance (as Goliath): AVENGERS #28. First appearance (as Yellowjacket): AVENGERS #59. Reason for retirement: began criminal career.
DECEASED
OMEGA THE UNKNOWN
(Real name unknown) A humanoid "organic robot" from an unspecified planet trained to be a perfect warrior. Possessed super-strength, enabling him to leap long distances, etc. Had empathic link with another organic robot, James-Michael Starling. First appearance OMEGA #1. Died from a gunshot wound in OMEGA #10.
| | Contest of Champions featured a list of Super Heroes of Other Worlds, Other Times included Prester John (pictured here in Defenders #11), as well as members of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Squadron Supreme.Another section listed Quasi Heroes, including Alpha the Ultimate Mutant, Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, Nick Fury, and Rick Jones. |
Giant-Size Defenders #2 reprinted an adventure of the Black Knight originally published in 1955. Set during the time of King Arthur, this version of the character battled treacherous forces while masking his true identity. To throw enemies off guard, Sir Percy of Scandia feigned cowardice under ordinary circumstances … until suiting up as the mysterious Black Knight.
Dieties & Demigods, a sourcebook for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, described King Arthur as the alignment Lawful Good. The Black Knight's clandestine chivalry, on the other hand, would more closely fall under the ethos of Neutral Good, the alignment that Dieties & Demigods ascribed to Merlin the magician. Merlin was the only one who knew Sir Percy was the Black Knight.
The modern superhero Black Knight, who appeared in early issues of the Defenders, was descended from the original version of the character.
Gnomes often appear genteel in popular culture. Not so with Defenders #11. When the non-team traveled back to the Twelfth Century, the time of the Black Knight, the gnomes they encountered were anything but tame.
Described as an earth spirit, just one of these malevolent creatures was strong enough to challenge the Hulk. A gnome's only vulnerability seemed to be water. Because the medeival wizard Chandu had enlarged these gnomes to about the size of the Hulk, it is unclear how tough they would be at their original height.
Chandu has no connection to the mystical Chondu of the Headmen.
Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 11. December 1973. "A Dark and Stormy Knight." Steve Englehart (writer), Sal Buscema (artist), Frank Bolle (inker), Tom Orz (letterer), G. Roussos, (colorist), Roy Thomas (editor).
Dr. Strange #29 began with a telephone call from Yellowjacket describing how a statue of the Black Knight had seemingly come to life (Avengers #157). The phone conversation was a subtle reminder that Yellowjacket had worked alongside the Defenders during a break from the Avengers.
As soon as the call ended, Nighthawk arrived at the Sanctum Sanctorum with an unrelated request for help investigating the mysterious death of a research scientist with ties to Richmond Enterprises. The investigation led Nighthawk and Dr. Strange into battle against the nefarious Death-Stalker.
The most dramatic part of the story came, however, when Clea offered to accompany Nighthawk and Dr. Strange … and Dr. Strange insisted she stay home instead. Clea had successfully worked with the Defenders, so why prevent her from participating in this mission? Was Dr. Strange overly protective of Clea because she was his apprentice? Or because they were romantically involved?
Or were his motives selfishly driven? Was Dr. Strange afraid that Clea might eventually outshine him as a sorcerer? Did he fear that Clea would leave him once her mystical training was through? Either way, the unequal footing within the relationship was driving Clea away.
Dr. Strange. Vol. 1. No. 29. June 1978. "He Who Stalks!" Roger Stern (writer), Tom Sutton (penciler), Ernie Chan (inker), Annette K. (letterer), Petra G. (colorist), Archie Goodwin (editor).
When the evil Enchantress turned the Black Knight to stone in Defenders #4, Dr. Strange tried unsuccessfully to reverse the spell. Left with no other options, the magician kept the statue safely in his Sanctum Sanctorum.
On the heels of a cross-over event that spanned Avengers #115-118 and Defenders #8-11, the Defenders fought alongside the Black Knight in the flesh during a trip to his original time period of the 12th century.
But what became of the statue of Dane Whitman, the Black Knight?
Unexpectedly gaining consciousness in Avengers #157, the stone statue took revenge against his former teammates for forgetting about him. Breaking into Avengers Mansion, the powerful statue single-handedly defeated several of Earth's mightiest heroes. When it came his turn to face the statue, however, the android Vision explained that the statue wasn't truly the Black Knight after all. The soul of Dane Whitman had actually returned to the 12th century when his body turned to stone. After learning the truth, the statue crumbled into pieces.
But what had caused the statue to suddenly gain consciousness? Perhaps it was a delayed side effect of Dr. Strange's earlier attempt to restore the statue to life.
Avengers. Vol. 1 . No. 157. March 1977. "A Ghost of Stone!" Gerry Conway (writer/editor), Don Heck (guest artist), Pablo Marcos (inker), Gaspar Saladino (letterer), Don Warfield (colorist).
Not long before the Defenders formed, the master of the mystic arts sought the help of Black Panther, Hawkeye, and Vision to stop a netherwordly threat (Avengers #61).
One of the highlights of the issue was hearing the characters' interactions with one another. Although Dr. Strange was one of the first Marvel characters introduced in the 1960s, the Avengers assembled in #61 had little knowledge of the sorcerer's powers at the time.
During the story, Dr. Strange performed emergency surgery to save the Black Knight—who then accompanied the other heroes in a fight against the ice demon Ymir and fire demon Surtur.
Although the operation was a success, the doctor's hands shook during the procedure as a sign of the nerve damage that ended his surgical career. The trepidation led to Red Guardian joining the Defenders. Early in the series, Dr. Strange used magic to again rescue the Black Knight (Defenders #11).
I'm glad that Dr. Strange ditched the face mask by the time the Defenders formed; he looked more approachable without it.
Avengers. Vol. 1. No. 61, February 1969. "Some Say the World Will End in Fire … Some Say in Ice!" Stan Lee (editor), Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (artist), George Klein (inker), Sam Roben (letterer).
Five giant-size issues of the Defenders from the 1970s brought readers up to speed on the history of their favorite heroes. Along with new content, these 68-page issues reprinted solo stories that first appeared a decade or more before the Defenders formed.
Giant-Size Defenders #1 framed the reprinted pages within an original story. To help Valkyrie learn more about her teammates, Clea consulted an arcane book she had skimmed, then cast a spell to reveal the early exploits of Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, and Hulk.
Unbeknownst to Clea, the spell inadvertently sent the three men into their own pasts, requiring Dr. Strange's years of training to reverse the magic. In addition to demonstrating the sorcerer's extensive experience, the reprints gave context to other members of the group. Pages from The Incredible Hulk #3 showed how much Dr. Banner and his alter ego had relied on the friendship of teenager Rick Jones before meeting the Defenders. And a Sub-Mariner reprint traced the Atlantean's heroism back to World War II.
Subsequent giant-size issues each began with a new Defenders story, set within the regular series continuity. The reprinted content in those issues then simply ran as a bonus feature, without any magical window-dressing. Giant-Size Defenders #2 even reprinted a story from Black Knight #4 (originally published in 1955), unexplicitly acknowledging the medieval hero's tertiary connection to Valkyrie.
The image at the top appeared on the cover from Strange Tales #121, illustrating Dr. Strange's back-up story that issue. Giant-Size Defenders #4 reprinted that tale of "Witchcraft in the Wax Museum."
Of all the heroes to call themselves Defenders, Valkyrie was the most dedicated to the team. Yet she joined their ranks in the most roundabout way.
Realizing the malevolent intent of a secret ceremony, Barbara Norriss sacrificed herself into another dimension to spare an innocent man that fate. That man was Bruce Banner (The Incredible Hulk #126). Hulk and his non-teammates later rescued Norriss from her otherworldly imprisonment. But they were saddened to find that the horrors she experienced there, in the clutches of the Nameless One, had driven Norriss mad (Defenders #3).
Immediately afterward, the Defenders encountered the unscrupulous Enchantress, who had magically enslaved the Black Knight. The Asgardian sorceress placed the spirit of a valkyrie into the body of Norriss, expecting to control her as well. Yet the reborn valkyrie proved to have a mind of her own. The Enchantress fled, turning Black Knight to stone as she left (#4; Dr. Strange reversed the spell in #11).
Valkyrie assumed custody of Black Knight's winged horse, Aragorn, and sought membership into the Defenders.
- Namor: One minute now! The Defenders have no "members." We have only fought together for common causes. This is not the Avengers!
- Dr. Strange: Further--with all due modesty, we are three of the most powerful people in the world. What could we possibly need you for?
Valkyrie didn't take long to prove herself. When Omegatron (from
Marvel Feature #1) unexpectedly returned, Valkyrie's combination of magical origin and physical force injured the mystical robot in ways the others could not, finally laying the creature to rest (
Defenders #5).
Valkyrie was the only early Defender to stay with the team through the creation of the New Defenders (
#125) and the end of the series (
#152).
Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 5. April 1973. "World Without End." Steve Englehart (author), Sal Buscema (artist), F. McLaughlin (inker), Charlotte Jetter (letterer), Glynis Wein (colorist), Roy Thomas (editor). The illustration of Valkyrie at the top appeared in the fourth issue.