At the Ballet

The NBC cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends teamed-up the wall-crawler with Iceman and Firestar (sometimes hyphenated as Fire-Star). The crimefighting trio also appeared in a handful of comic books based on the animated series. Although Iceman (Bobby Drake) had blond hair on the cartoon, comic books based on the show consistently colored his hair brown, the same color his hair typically appeared in Marvel Comics.

One of those comic books starring the Spider-Friends was an advertising supplement to the Dallas Times Herald. In that issue, the heroes had tickets to see the Nutcracker featuring the Dallas Ballet. The performance was almost ruined by the villain Daddy Longlegs (Ramsey Kole), an aspiring ballet dancer once ridiculed for being too short. Out of desperation, he broke into into the laboratory of Giant-Man (Bill Foster) and drank a secret formula to increase his height. The serum tragically enlarged him to 15 feet tall, with disproportionately long limbs. After stopping the towering criminal, the three heroes enjoyed the Christmas-themed ballet.

Spider-Man, Fire-Star and Iceman at The Dallas Ballet Nutcracker. 1983. Jim Salicrup (writer), Jim Mooney (pencils), John Tartag (inks), L.P. Gregory (letters), Stan Goldberg (colors), John Romita (art director), Sol Brodsky (production supervisor). Daddy Longlegs was a relatively new villain at the time, having first appeared in Spider-Woman #47 (Dec. 1982).

Pheromones

When the Defenders faced the villain Mandrill, he led an army of women called the Fem-Force (Defenders #90-91). Mandrill's first female ally, however, was Nekra. Born with chalk-white skin and fangs, Nekra's vampire-like appearance made her an outcast since childhood. As a mutant power, Nekra gained invulnerability and superhuman strength when she felt hate—similar to the way the Hulk became more powerful when angry.

Soon after splitting from Mandrill, Nekra found an enemy in Spider-Woman. In contrast to Mandrill, whose mutant pheromones could allure women, Spider-Woman produced alarm pheromones that made others ill at ease. She received this medical diagnosis—a secret side effect of her spider powers—in her civilian identity as Jessica Drew. Ironically, Spider-Woman's pheromones had an inverse effect on Nekra, inducing in Nekra a sense of trust, which reminded her of Mandrill, which thereby intensified her hatred (Spider-Woman #16).

Nekra's original entry from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe noted that she could lift (press) about 10 tons at peak strength.

Three-In-One

Thing consistently headlined Marvel Two-In-One. But after Black Goliath (later Giant-Man) became a supporting character, the series effectively became a Three-In-One when another superhero also appeared. Nowhere was this more clear than in Marvel Two-In-One #76, guest-starring Iceman. In the story, the three heroes defeated Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime, who had infiltrated an ordinary carnival.

Giant-Man's diagnosis of cancer was a subplot not only in this issue and throughout much of the series. A massive blood transfusion from Spider-Woman would eventually save his life, but Spider-Woman would lose her superhuman Immunity Factor as a result (#85).

Marvel Two-In-One. Vol. 1. No. 76. June 1981. "The Big Top Bandits." Tom DeFalco (plot), David Michelinie (script), Jerry Bingham (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Michael Higgins (letters), George Roussos (colors), Jim Salicrup (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Marvel Two-In-One. Vol. 1. No. 85. March 1982. "The Final Fate of Giant-Man!" Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Wilson (penciler), Chic Stone (inker), Joe Rosen (letterer), George Roussos (colorist), Jim Salicrup (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Stilt Man

Stilt Man made a dramatic debut in Daredevil #8 (June 1965), towering above the street-level hero. The version of Stilt Man to appear in Spidey Super Stories #47 (July 1980), however, was far less intimidating than the original. In place of a full-fledged battle suit, this rendition of the criminal wore a pair of ordinary stilts as he faced Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. Even in a series designed for young readers, it is hard to imagine the reasons for stripping Stilt Man of any semblance of superpowers in that story.

Out of the Shadows

Beginning with Secret Defenders #15, the mysterious Shadowoman became a core member of the team. This led to a recurring question on the series letters page, as reader after reader asked why Shadowoman appeared in the same red costume previously worn by Spider-Woman (specifically Jessica Drew).

The web-gliders on the sides of Spider-Woman's uniform were the key distinctions between the two characters.

The costume confusion ended with Secret Defenders #22 as Shadowoman not only adopted a new black uniform but also changed her codename. The character now called herself Sepulcre, a variant spelling of the word sepulchre, which hinted at the cryptic nature of her powers.

The cover of #22 showed the character's figuratively transform from her original Shadowoman costume into Sepulcre.

The Day the Defenders Stood Still

Although it read like a farce, Defenders for a Day became a defining moment in the team's history. This is the first of several posts discussing the foreshadowing and impact of that fateful day.

Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Hellcat, and Hulk were the core members of the group in Defenders #62. But when a well-intentioned TV documentary explained that the team lacked an official roster, numerous heroes arrived at the Richmond Riding Academy to announce their membership.

However, half of the superheroes featured on the cover of #62 didn't show up in the story. For starters, Spider-Woman and Human Torch were not Defenders for a Day. Neither was Angel, although he later joined in #125.

Power Man, a former Defender, did not return for this issue either. But his business partner, Iron Fist, was a Defender for a Day without him. A flashback in Last Defenders #3 (2008) pictured Luke Cage's future wife (Jessica Jones) among the Defenders for a Day. This was one of several attempts to situate her heroic alias into the history of the Marvel Universe.

As for the rest, Captain Mar-Vell, Falcon, Jack of Hearts, Nova, and Hercules were Defenders for a Day, along with many heroes not pictured on the cover of Defenders #62.

Iron Man finally arrived in #63. But instead becoming one of the Defenders, he alerted them that swarms of villains also had declared their membership!

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 62. August 1978. "Membership Madness!" David Kraft (dashing dialogue), Sal Buscema and Jim Mooney (pandemonius pictures), J. Costanza (lively letters), B. Sharen (cozy colors), Bob Hall (enthusiastic editing), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).