Spellbook: Mirror Image

While dueling Loki in Strange Tales #123, Dr. Strange sought to fool his opponent by creating five illusionary images of himself. The magical effect closely paralleled the 2nd Level spell Mirror Image that would later appear in Dungeons & Dragons. One important distinction, however, was that Mirror Image could create only 1 to 4 illusionary selves. Loki countered by making all of the illusionary images of Dr. Strange disappear—casting the equivalent of Dispell Magic, the 3rd Level spell from D&D.

These panels first appeared in Strange Tales #123 (Aug. 1964).

Stacking the Deck

Dr. Strange was dead. But before he departed, the sorcerer cast a lingering, final spell that would strong-arm Blue Marvel into leading a new combination of Defenders in a five-issue limited series. A magical Tarot deck would identify who would join this version of the non-team. In addition to Blue Marvel, the desk selected Ms. America Chavez, a young version of Loki, Taaia of the Sixth Cosmos, and Tigra, the Were-Woman (Defenders: Beyond #1).

Although a Ten card from each of the traditional Tarot suits (Wands, Swords, Cups, Coins) would represent four of these Defenders, the card representing Tigra was the Ten of Crowns (a fifth suit that doesn't exist in any other Tarot deck). While a standard Tarot deck has 78 cards in all, we can only imagine how many unique cards might appear in this magical deck—and what that could mean for the Defenders.

This image of Blue Marvel comes from Defenders: Beyond #1 (Sept. 2022).

Asgardian Alignments

A classic Dungeons & Dragons source book titled Deities & Demigods (later Legends & Lore) placed mythological gods and heroes from numerous cultures within the popular game system.

Below are the D&D alignments Deities & Demigods listed for several Norse gods who also had an impact on the Defenders.

Chaotic Good: Thor (thunder god).

Neutral Good: Odin "All Father" (supreme ruler of the gods); this alignment aptly describes the hero Thor during his time as a founding and recurring member of the Avengers.

Chaotic Evil: Loki (god of mischief, strife and fire); he teamed up with Dormammu in the a cross-over event that spanned Avengers #115-118 and Defenders #8-11.

Neutral Evil: Hel (goddess of death); her name is spelled Hela in Defenders #66-68 and other Marvel publications.

Chaotic Neutral: Valkyries "Choosers of the Slain"; the temperament of the hero Valkyrie steadies after #66-68, ending the the inner turmoil between her true self and the spirit of Barbara Norriss.