Angst-Ridden

Following a jaunt through some of the most absurd corners of the multiverse, She-Hulk and traveling companion Howard the Duck encountered a band of villains who originally battled the Defenders (Marvel Treasury #12).

Led by the mystical Dr. Angst, the reunited team of villains also included Tillie the Hun, Black Hole, Spanker, and Sitting Bullseye—but with updated costumes (Sensational She-Hulk #16-17).

Together, the obscure criminals sought to dominate the Insipiverse, a world of all-pervasive spiritual torpor, aesthetic monotony, and intellectual inertia.

She-Hulk and Howard foiled the plot.

Steve Gerber wrote The Sensational She-Hulk #16-17 (June-July 1990). Bryan Hitch pencilled those issues.

Daimon and the Duck

Before they became heroes in Marvel Comics Super Special #1, the founding members of the rock band KISS materialized from a young woman under psychiatric supervision.

Called to investigate, Daimon Hellstrom determined that evil forces were not responsible for the unusual occurrence. Rather, the young woman had latent psychic talents that may have caused her to tap into a parallel universe. But Hellstrom assured doctors that the phenomenon was unlikely to reoccur (Howard the Duck #13).

Convinced nonetheless that the young woman was possessed by evil spirits, the misguided Revered Yuc kidnapped her. When Hellstrom came to the rescue, Reverend Yuc mystically removed the hero's chest pentagram and demonic powers. Hellstrom was relieved at first, until he saw that emblem unexpectedly branded on Howard the Duck (#14).

Along with Hellstrom's pentagram, mystic trident, and superhuman powers, Howard also inherited a volatile personality hellbent on retribution (which Hellstrom struggled long to control as the Son of Satan).

Hellstrom chased after the demonically driven duck, and then grabbed the mystic trident from Howard's hands, returning things to normal (or rather, as normal as they had been).

Howard the Duck. Vol. 1. No. 13. June 1977. "Rock, Roll Over, and Writhe!" Steve Gerber (writer/editor), Gene Colan (penciller), Steve Leialoha (inker), Jim Novak (letterer), Jan Cohen (colorist).

Howard the Duck. Vol. 1. No. 14. July 1977. "A Duck Possessed!" Steve Gerber (writer/editor), Gene Colan (penciller), Klaus Janson (inker), Jim Novak (letterer), Irene Vartanoff (colorist).

Runners-Up

The monthly calendars that ran on the back covers of Marvel Age magazine often pictured comic book characters in the squares for holidays—along with many in-jokes.

As a call back to his unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1976, Howard the Duck appeared in the Election Day square for November 6, 1985.

The content in other squares was often random. Meet the Hulks… on November 23, 1985, pictured the Incredible Hulk, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Xemnu (a recurring foe of the Defenders), wrestler Hulk Hogan, and a fifth character who I do not recognize as a "Hulk" from that era.

Howard the Defender

In one of their classic adventures, the Defenders foiled an assassination attempt against Howard the Duck, the 1976 presidential candidate for the All-Night Party (Marvel Treasury Edition #12). Even by then, of course, the Defenders were well accustomed to offbeat occurrences.

Nighthawk: We specialize in weird villains--

Led by Dr. Angst, the self-described master of mundane mysticism, the band of assailants parodied several comic book clichés.

Reminiscent of an early Valkyrie, the powerhouse Tillie the Hun boasted that she could beat any man—and even promised to marry the Hulk if she lost the fight. The green goliath refused to smash a woman but wasn't romantically interested either way.

After he was knocked unconscious early into the adventure, Dr. Strange managed to telepathically guide Howard the Duck to use magic against his would-be assassins. The duck demonstrated such promise that Dr. Strange offered to tutor him in the mystic arts. But Howard wasn't interested.

Marvel Treasury Edition. No. 12. 1976. "The Duck and the Defenders." Steve Gerber (writer), Sal Buscema & Klaus Janson (artists), Joe Rosen (letterer), Marie Severin (colorist).