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.

Fantastic Finances

Power Man and Iron Fist were two of the first superheroes to befriend Rom the Spaceknight, who came to Earth to defeat the shapechanging Dire Wraiths. Seeking further assistance, the trio journeyed to the Baxter Building, headquarters of the Fantastic Four. But how could they be certain that the Fantastic Four weren't Dire Wraiths in disguise?

As a test, Mr. Fantastic would have to recall how much Power Man was paid during his time filling in as a member of the Fantastic Four. A text box within the issue confirmed that Mr. Fantastic answered correctly but didn't print the dollar amount for readers to see (Rom #23). As much as I would have liked to have learned the answer, that information was apparently too sensitive to publish.

Rom. Vol. 1. No. 23. October 1981. "The Thing From Outer Space!" Bill Mantlo & Sal Buscema (writer - storytellers - artist), Joe Sinnott (finisher), Rosen & Zalme (letters), Ben Sean (colors), Al Milgrom (editor), Jim Shooter (prime editor).

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.

Cover Versions: Power Man and Iron Fist

Power Man and Iron Fist #50 changed Luke Cage's solo series into an ongoing team-up with Danny Rand. From that point on, the cover art often appeared symmetrical, giving equal weight to both characters. A handful of examples appear below.

	Cover art for Power Man and Iron Fist #101 pictures Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, recurring characters in the series.
	The cover of #104 is a powerful example of imperfect symmetry.

Chaotic Good: El Aguila

First appearing in Power Man and Iron Fist #58, the vigilante El Águila became a recurring character in the series. Also called the Eagle (translated from Spanish), the swashbuckling character combatted various forms of injustice—from street crime to police brutality (putting him at odds with law enforcement). By following his conscience and maintaining his independence, El Águila embodied the Chaotic Good alignment from Dungeons & Dragons. He even turned down an offer to join Heroes for Hire because he felt some of their clients were unscrupulous.

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

This image of El Águila comes from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

Deadpool: The Postmodern Poster Boy

Deadpool was hard to ignore during his appearances in Secret Defenders #15-17. With constant quips and unrelenting references to pop culture, the anti-hero's dialogue had a stream-of-consciousness quality about it.

As a temporary member of the Secret Defenders, Deadpool accompanied Dr. Druid (now leading the covert team), the mysterious Shadowoman (not to be mistaken for Spider-Woman), and Luke Cage (billed simply as Cage instead of Power Man). Fittingly, Deadpool complained that Heroes for Hire like Cage gave mercenaries like himself a bad name.

For all his insufferable banter, however, Deadpool had a semblance of self-awareness. Consider his opening words from #15.

Deadpool: Now up ahead, on our left … we see a stunning example of post-modernist expressionism! And when it comes to expressionism, you ain't never had a friend like me!

Deadpool's identification with postmodernism made sense. This was the Copper Age of superhero comics, after all, when cosmic-level continuity shifts became commonplace and deceased characters routinely resurrected from the dead. Within this storytelling framework, the stakes weren't as permanent or lasting as they seemed been in the past, and Deadpool's facetiousness reflected that.

Secret Defenders #15 included an insert with three detachable Marvel Cards for the villain Venom, another popular character to emerge during Copper Age of comic books.

Secret Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 15. May 1994. "Strange Changes, Part the First: Strangers and Other Lovers." Tim Brevoort & Mike Kanterovich (writers), Jerry DeCaire (penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), John Costanza (letterer), John Kalisz (colorist), Craig Anderson (editor), Tom DeFalco (mystic harbinger in chief).

X-Factor

Well before the original members of the X-Men formed the group X-Factor, an arcade game titled X-Factor appeared in Marvel Two-In-One #94. Power Man, Iron Fist, and Thing took turns playing the challenging arcade game, which involved outmaneuvering obstacles while navigating through a maze—and had no connection to mutant affairs.

One of the other games seen at the arcade was titled The Invaders, with no apparent ties to the World War II super team by that name.

Marvel Two-In-One. Vol. 1. No. 94. December 1982 "The Power Trap!" David Anthony Kraft (scripter), Ron Wilson (penciler), Ricardo Villamonte (inker), Joe Rosen (letterer), George Roussos (colorist), Jim Saliscrup (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Published the same month as New Defenders #152 (Feb. 1986), X-Factor #1 reunited Angel, Beast, and Iceman with the rest of the original X-Men. A problematic premise of the new series was that Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) was a different character from Phoenix and therefore did not die in X-Men #137.

In the Cards

Power Man & Iron Fist #64 pits the heroic duo against evil brothers Muerte (Death) and Suerte (Luck). Suerte's talents enable him to win a game of poker against other crime bosses within the issue. Although Suerte uses ordinary playing cards in the story, the cover creatively pictures the heroes and villains on a hand of cards. Trying to find irrefutable meaning in the cards, however, is challenging.

As the stars of the series, Power Man and Iron Fist both appear on the cover as Aces. Power Man's suit is Clubs while Iron Fist is Diamonds. (Within the issue, incidentally, Bob Diamond of the Sons of the Tiger describes himself as an "ace" martial artist and a sparring partner to Iron Fist.)

As for the villains, Suerte appears as the Eight of Diamonds—the same suit as Iron Fist. Suerte's pet cat is also an Eight but instead holds the suit of Clubs—the same suit as Power Man. Meanwhile, Muerte appears as the Jack of Spades—a different rank and suit from everyone else on the cover.

Bob Layton illustrated Power Man & Iron Fist #64 (August 1980).

The Best Defense

I am happy to see that plans are underway for the formative members of the Defenders to regroup later this year. Promotional images feature Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer, and Dr. Strange.

The most recent comic book version of the Defenders ended at #10 with Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage re-establishing Heroes for Hire. This should help readers differentiate the two teams.

I recognize of course that viewers of the recent Netflix series will continue to identify the Heroes for Hire and Daredevil as the Defenders even as the comic books veer another direction.

Existentialism

The latest comic book series of the Defenders—chronicling Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist's crusade against organized crime—concluded with Defenders #10.

Making a cameo appearance that issue, Hellcat noted that she remembered every detail of Reed Richards and Sue Storm's wedding yet at times had forgotten events that actually had happened to her. That remark was telling. In a serialized medium with decades of history—and, by the nature of the work, revamped continuity—only so many comic book stories have a lasting impact on the characters or the storytelling universe. Over the years, not every published issue remains key to the ongoing narrative.

On a related note, it's getting hard to keep track of every Defenders relaunch attempted over the last ten years, when I began writing this blog; I don't begin to predict what versions of the team might appear in the future. In the meantime, this blog provides me with space to continue reflecting on their past.

Brian Michael Bendis wrote Defenders #10 (April 2018).

Daredevil Meets Power Man & Iron Fist

The cover may have said Daredevil … Meets Power Man & Iron Fist, but Daredevil #178 (January 1982) wasn't the first time they made each other's acquaintance.

Power Man met Daredevil in Defenders #24 (June 1975).

All three heroes worked together in Marvel Team-Up Annual #4 (1981).

Daredevil #178 was, however, the first of a two-part crossover that continued in Power Man & Iron Fist #77 (January 1982).

Interestingly, when Iron Fist and Daredevil later faced one another in Contest of Champions #2 (July 1982), Iron Fist introduced himself as though they had never met—or as if Iron Fist knew that Daredevil's radar sense enabled the blind hero to detect a silhouette but not see the details of someone's costume.

Losing Power

During a time when Thing lost his superhuman powers and returned to the human form of Ben Grimm, the Fantastic Four hired Power Man to step in as the team's resident heavy-hitter. But how did Power Man's strength compare to that of the Thing?

When Power Man fell under the evil influence of the Puppet Master in Fantastic Four #170 (May 1976), Mr. Fantastic designed an exo-suit to give Ben Grimm the rocky appearance he had as the Thing and increase his strength many times. While wearing the suit, Ben Grimm seemed evenly matched against Power Man.

By Fantastic Four #171 (June 1976), Ben Grimm's strength inside the exo-suit increased even more—now surpassing Power Man and matching 90% of Thing's previous strength. Ben resumed his place among the Fantastic Four and soon transformed back into his rocky form.

From as early as Fantastic Four #12 to as recently as #166, Thing was among a handful of super-strong characters with a long history of holding their own against the Hulk. Power Man, on the other hand, didn't claim to compete with the green goliath. In-story context consistently gave the impression that Hulk was a notch stronger than Thing, and that Thing was stronger than Power Man. As Hulk's estimated strength continued to increase over the years, Thing's relative strength increased as well. Power Man's strength level, meanwhile, didn't escalate.

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (1983) originally noted that Hulk could comfortably lift (press) 90 tons and had been able to lift well over 100 tons while angry, whereas Thing could lift (press) 85 tons in peak condition. Rather than stating how much Power Man could lift, the original handbook instead noted that Power Man could punch through several feet of most modern, conventional building materials such as brick, concrete, and masonry; and with repeated blows, can rupture 4-inch steel plate.

Even though Power Man once filled in for the Thing, comic books and related references have tended to downplay Power Man's superhuman strength while emphasizing his invulnerability instead.

These images from Fantastic Four #170 show Ben Grimm learning about the exo-suit and then wearing the exo-suit while fighting Power Man.

Gun-Shy

Although the current incarnation of the Defenders has few ties to previous versions of the non-team, former member Daimon Hellstrom made a surprise guest appearance in Defenders #5 (November 2017). The issue established that Hellstrom dated Jessica Jones before she became involved with Luke Cage. Based on Hellstrom's hissing reaction to the couple, he's still sore about the breakup with Jones.

One a separate note, the cover nameplate stands out as one of the most creative in Defenders history—with a bullet shooting through the word Defenders, drawing contrast to Luke Cage's bulletproof skin.

Round Up the Defenders

This ad for Booking.com appears on the back cover of Defenders #4 (and other comics with a publication date of October 2017). The scene of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Daredevil vacationing at Big Mountain Ranch is reminiscent of Nighthawk's ranch—home to an earlier version of the non-team.

The Defenders logo at the bottom of the ad, interestingly, comes from a previous run of the Defenders (Volume 4) rather than the current series (Volume 5).

In Name Only

While repurposing the original nameplate, the latest team billed as the Defenders is decidedly dissimilar to the original non-team.

Starring the characters from the new TV mini-series, the comic book features super-powered couple Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (Power Man), as well as Cage's longtime crimefighting partner Iron Fist and informal ally Daredevil.

An in-story interview with Luke Cage at the end of Defenders #1 (August 2017) noted how he had been a member of a few super-teams, including the Defenders. Within the interview, Cage responded that most super-groups are more or less families—including the Defenders. It is unclear if the hero meant the Defenders in general or, more specifically, the latest version of the team. As of #2, the current combination of Defenders have been too busy battling the underworld to stop and discuss a group name.

Metal Men

Given that Luke Cage had steel-hard skin and became crime-fighting partners with Danny Rand, the following letter from Power Man & Iron Fist #88 seemed inevitable.

Dear Denny,

A battle I would love to see is Power Man and Iron Fist against Magneto. Since Luke's skin must have indeed taken on the properties of steel and Danny's "iron fist" may have taken on the properties of iron, both would be susceptible to Magneto's mutant ability.

By the way, Power Man must be a good teacher. He taught Danny to drive in only two days.

John DiMaio
Mineola, NY 11501

Two issues later, the duo squared off against Unus the Untouchable, who had worked with the master of magnetism as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Unus first appeared in X-Men #8.

Pawns of the Purple Man!

With a TV version of the Defenders just around the corner, I've been looking for comic books that mirror the upcoming series centering on Power Man, Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Jessica Jones.

Marvel Team-Up Annual #4 is the closest I've come. This issue featured Power Man, Iron Fist, and Daredevil, along with Spider-Man and Moon Knight. Their foe was Purple Man (later revealed as a nemesis of Jessica Jones in the comics and on her own TV show).

Marvel Team-Up Annual #4 was published in 1981.

Big Shot

Power Man and Iron Fist #112 (Feb. 1985) introduced a physically unassuming character named Gordy, head of Special Mission Intelligence—Law Eenforcement Division (S.M.I.L.E. for short).

Although Gordy typically appeared with red hair, the cover of #114 depicted him with black hair and a striking resemblance to a young Billy Joel. But why?

Seeing how the cover caption described Gordy as very, very dangerous, my best guess is that using Billy Joel's likeness for the leader of the ironically titled S.M.I.L.E. was a subtle nod to these lyrics from his song "Only the Good Die Young" (1977).

You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd
We ain't too pretty, we ain't too proud
We might be laughing a bit too loud
But that never hurt no one

Outside of that cover, there's little evidence that Gordy was created as an homage to the popular singer/songwriter; #114 revealed that Gordy's ex-wife was named Elaine, and lyrics from Billy Joel's song "Big Shot" (1978) made reference to a restaurant by that name. But in the overall scheme of things, I'd chalk that up as a coincidence.

They were all impressed with your Halston dress
And the people that you knew at Elaine's
And the story of your latest success
Kept 'em so entertained

In fact, Billy Joel's first wife was named Elizabeth, and #114 went on sale shortly before his marriage to second-wife Christie Brinkley

"Big Shot" was the first recording on the album 52nd Street (1978). "Only the Good Die Young" was from The Stranger (1977). Graham Geiger illustrated Power Man and Iron Fist #114.

Black Panther vs. Black Dragon

Everett K. Ross, special attaché for the U.S. State Department (and no apparent relation to Betty), awoke one day to find himself mystically transformed into the body of Mephisto. Turning for help, Ross arrived on the doorstep of Dr. Strange (Black Panther #34).

To his surprise, however, Ross was greeted (er, attacked) by the entire non-team from Defenders (Volume 2). Although Ross easily identified Hulk and Namor, he had trouble remembering the correct names for Valkyrie, Hellcat, Nighthawk, and even Dr. Strange—much less Silver Surfer.

As Ross explained that he wasn't really Mephisto, Dr. Strange sensed a spirit force that reminded him of Iron Fist. Just then, a mysterious figure impersonating Ross arrived on the scene and defeated everyone (Black Panther #35). The culprit responsible for the ruse was none other than Chiantang (a.k.a. the Black Dragon), an old enemy of Power Man and Iron Fist.

Not long afterward, Chiantang created a mystic imbalance within Iron Fist that set the hero into battle against Black Panther. (#39). Under this diabolical influence, the green portions of Iron Fist's costumed turned red—a visual phenomenon that harked back to Black Dragon's first attempt to corrupt Iron Fist (Power Man and Iron Fist #119).

Black Panther. Vol. 2. No. 34. September 2001. "Hell(o), I Must Be Going." Priest (writer), J. Calafiore (guest artist), Livesay (guest inker), Sharpefont & Paul Tutrone (lettering), VLM (colorist), Mike Raicht (assistant editor), Mike Marts (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Bill Jemas (president).

Black Panther. Vol. 2. No. 35. October 2001. "Masks." Priest (writer), J. Calafiore (guest artist), Livesay (guest inker), Sharpefont & Paul Tutrone (lettering), VLM (colorist), Mike Raicht (assistant editor), Mike Marts (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Bill Jemas (president).

Payroll

Nighthawk had paid Luke Cage for a period of time to work as a member of the Defenders. So when Nighthawk decided that he needed to hire additional recruits in The Last Defenders #3, he rather poetically approached Erik Josten, the reformed villain who began his costumed career using the alias Power Man.

After losing a fight with Luke Cage over use of the name (Power Man #21), Erik Josten changed his code name to Smuggler and then to Goliath before settling on the heroic identity of Atlas.

In addition to hiring Atlas, Nighthawk also recruited the mercenary Paladin and the anti-hero Junta.

Paladin previously turned down membership to the Defenders specifically because they didn't pay (Defenders #62-63). Appropriately enough, The Last Defenders #3 flashed back to a scene of numerous heroes who did join the non-team (without Paladin) one fateful day.

The Last Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 3. July 2008. "The Movement You Need." A Casey-Muniz-Smith-Comicraft-Fabela-Brennan-Wacker-Quesada-Buckley Production.