Realms of Magic

The Realms of Magic supplement for the Marvel Super Heroes role-playing game included a section on Magic Schools, more or less adhering to the three alignments popularized in early editions of Dungeons & Dragons: white magic = good; gray magic = neutral; black magic = chaotic/evil. A character could learn a particular school of magic yet violate those teachings. This would account for the villain Druid (Strange Tales #144-145), who is decidedly evil even though Realms of Magic (and D&D) describes druidic magic as neutral. Voodoo, on the other hand, is a white magic that can be perverted into chaotic magic.

The Pink Riddler

For my birthday this week, I received an action figure of the Riddler that I had been eyeing for some time. I have relatively few collectibles, but this particular figure is notable for depicting the Riddler in the pink costume that he wore during the opening sequence of The New Adventures of Batman, an animated TV series from 1977 that I watched as a kid. Outside of the opening, the villain didn't appear within any episodes of the cartoon.

Since the Riddler traditionally wears green, I don’t know how much demand there is for this obscure rendition of the character. And yet, it was that very novelty that sparked my interest in the figure, which made for a memorable birthday gift.

I alluded to the Riddler in an early blog post about Defenders #124. I have considered devoting more attention to DC characters, at times, even though they might veer outside the scope of a Defenders blog.

Classic John Byrne

My favorite scene from Deadpool & Wolverine occurs relatively early in the film. In that scene, Deadpool encounters a version of Wolverine sporting a brown costume (rather than the yellow suit he wears throughout most of the picture). Deadpool describes the brown costume as "classic John Byrne" … just before Hulk moves into frame and pummels the wisecracking Deadpool.

In comic book history, Wolverine first wore that brown costume in X-Men #139 (although the cover still depicted him in yellow). In that issue, Wolverine returned to Canada to reconnect with members of Alpha Flight who were on the trail of the monstrous Wendigo. That story contained flashbacks to Wolverine's first encounter with Wendigo from Incredible Hulk #181. Because Wolverine wore his original yellow uniform in the flashback panels, the new brown costume helped to delineate the past from the present.

Illustrated by John Byrne, this panel from X-Men #139 shows an unmasked Wolverine in his new brown costume. Beside him are Vindicator and Snowbird of Alpha Flight.

Lawful Evil: Badoon

The Badoon had green hides when they originally appeared in the pages of the Defenders. When those stories reprinted in the U.K. magazine Rampage, however, the militaristic extraterrestrials were red instead. No matter how they looked, the Badoon likely prescribed to the alignment of Lawful Evil while conquering the galaxy during the 31st century.

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

Redstone the Redeemer

On the parallel Earth of the Squadron Supreme, Nighthawk so objected to the Utopia Program implemented by his former teammates that he organized a covert group of heroes to infiltrate and overthrow the Squadron. One of these new recruits was Mr. Redstone—known simply as Redstone while in costume (Squadron Supreme #9). When Nighthawk's Redeemers turned against the Squadron, Redstone's superhuman strength proved well-matched against Hyperion.

As for his origin story, Redstone revealed little about his background aside from mentioning that he grew up on a reservation (#12). That biographical detail leads me to wonder whether the name Redstone was intended to allude to the character's Native American heritage. Such racial coding in Marvel Comics had been evident with the Cheyenne hero Red Wolf, especially during his early adventures set during the Old West.

This panel of Redstone, a defeated Hyperion, and Nighthawk comes from Squadron Supreme #12 (Aug. 1986).

Redesigning Wrecker

When material from Defenders #18-19 reprinted for U.K. readers in Rampage #17-18, a curious coloring change occurred. The Wrecker, who originally wore a purple and green costume, instead appeared in burnt orange on the cover of each reprint. Meanwhile, the other members of the Wrecking Crew retained their original color schemes. When comparing both sets of covers side by side, I think the coloring change helped the Wrecker stand out.

Like other issues in the U.K. series, interior pages of Rampage #17-18 ran in black-and-white.

Covering the Champions

Marvel Comics used various approaches when picturing heroes on team book covers. The Champions, for example, displayed only Hercules in the upper-left corner of covers throughout most of the series. The color of Hercules' headband changed from red to brown to green as the series progressed, but otherwise the illustration remained consistent. Not until #16 did the corner picture all five founding members of the team.

Hercules Black Widow Angel Ghost Rider Iceman

The corner image of Ghost Rider changed slightly in #17, the final issue of the series.

Fun and Games

Fun and Games Magazine #4 (Dec. 1979) had a lot to offer Defenders fans. The opening page featured Nighthawk above a bird-word puzzle. Among the hidden words were other characters with bird names, including Falcon (of the Defenders for a Day) and Lady Lark (from the Squadron Supreme).

Red Guardian appeared a few pages later with a fill-in puzzle of words beginning with red, plus these similarly named characters: Red Ghost, Red Rajah, Red Raven, and Redwing (Falcon's pet bird).

Another activity used a grid to show readers how to draw Hellcat. A two-page wedding game asked readers to match the first names of various couples, including Buzz and Patsy (Hellcat's alter ego), Jack and Barbara (Norriss), and Glenn and Betty (Talbot).

The wedding image of Patsy Walker and Buzz Baxter shown on the cover of Fun and Games Magazine #4 originally appeared as a flashback in Avengers #144, as the couple had already divorced.

Becoming Blue Eagle

While Nighthawk was the only member of the Defenders with a direct counterpart in the Squadron Supreme (a group pf heroes from a parallel Earth), other similarities existed between the teams. Although the two would never meet, Red Guardian—a Soviet crimefighter who joined the Defenders during the Cold War—had a politically contrasting counterpart in the Squadron.

Introduced in Avengers #85 (Feb. 1971), the Squadron Supreme included a headstrong hero originally called American Eagle. Upon meeting the Avengers, American Eagle jumped to the conclusion that the Avengers were enemy Communists.

American Eagle: I think they're a bunch of Reds--or at least Commie-symps!

The Squadron Supreme limited series would provide more background about the patriotic character, whose given name was James Dore. He was in fact the second hero on his Earth called American Eagle, as his father fought crime under that alias in an earlier group of crimefighters known as the Golden Agency. The limited series alluded to a falling out between the father and son, which could account for the younger character's decision to adopt a non-political costume and change his alias to Cap'n Hawk (as seen in Avengers #148; Defenders #112-114).

After his father's death (Squadron Supreme #1), Cap'n Hawk changed his costume and codename once more, now calling himself Blue Eagle (a nod to his original name of American Eagle and, indirectly, to his early distrust of Reds! Blue Eagle died in combat against the Redeemers, a band of heroes and villains who challenged the Squadron's Utopia Program (Squadron Supreme #12).

This image of Blue Eagle (left) comes from the deluxe edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Interestingly, the original entry for the Squadron Supreme in TOHOTMU #10 (Oct. 1983) listed James Dore as Condor, a codename he never used in the comic book stories. The preliminary design for Condor resembled the costume the character would wear as Blue Eagle.

Flag Waving

The baron of Yinsen City was dead. Hostile invaders from Mondo City were invading the utopian metropolis, and the Defenders were all-but stripped of their powers.

Only through the diplomacy of outsider Captain Britain (Dr. Faiza Hussain) did the two domains achieve a state of peace (Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders #2).

Out of appreciation, the Defenders gave Captain Britain a flag, with a design drawn out of their own fragmented memories. Yet the heroes had no clear recollection of Great Britain or the symbolism of the British flag.

Captain Britain: … Right now we all get to decide what it means.

Had their memories been intact, the heroes might have known that the flag of Britain combined the red cross of St. George (patron saint of England), the white saltire of St. Andrew (patron saint of Scotland), and the red saltire of St. Patrick (patron saint of Ireland). Each of these saints is steeped in lore, such as the legend of St. George slaying the dragon and the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.

Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders. No. 2. October 2015. "… And Mine Is a Faith in My Fellow Man." Al Ewing (writer), Alan Davis (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Wil Quintana (colorist).

Silver Lining

Members of the Defenders with a solid white appearance had extraterrestrial origins and began as reluctant villains. This held true for Silver Surfer as well as Cloud.

Moon Knight was more a friend of the Defenders than an actual member. But he, too, had an all-white costume with an astronomical motif.

Iceman did not follow this mold. Beneath his frozen white armor, Iceman's actual costume consisted of a pair of light blue shorts and boots during his time with the New Defenders. This image of comes from New Defenders #132.

Purple Problems

Hulk and Gargoyle, the two Defenders with the most monstrous appearances, both wore purple.

Other heroes who wore purple had only temporary membership in the Defenders. Clea was the apprentice to Dr. Strange but seldom adventured with the non-team. Andromeda so idolized Sub-Mariner that she joined the New Defenders—just barely before the group disbanded.

Hawkeye, too, wore prominently purple. His short-term stay with the Defenders served largely to create conflict with the Avengers during an eight-issue crossover event among the two teams (Avengers #115-118; Defenders #8-11).

Jealous over the relationship between the Scarlet Witch and Vision, Hawkeye had resigned in Avengers #109 but would later rejoin.

Green with Antipathy

Hulk's skin. Prince Namor's swim trunks. Moondragon's costume. Among the Defenders, the color green was inherently suspect. Heroes in green had a tendency to change sides and turn on their allies.

Underlying the dualism of each of these green-clad characters was a recurring frustration with puny humans, surface dwellers, or mere mortals. Through this lens, it's not surprising that the New Defenders refused to let Frog-Man join their team (New Defenders #131).

Perfectionistic to a fault, Moondragon long considered herself morally beyond reproach (Avengers #149; #211; #219-220). When Odin felt Moondragon finally learned humility, he removed the headband that limited her powers (New Defenders #139). Within comics, changing costumes often symbolizes a change of heart. True to form, Moondragon temporarily replaced her green costume with a black-and-white costume (#140).

But the lesson of humility was short-lived, as Moondragon ultimately betrayed her teammates just the same.

This image comes from New Defenders #128.

Orange and the Occult

The color orange carried a unique subtext among the Defenders. Devil-Slayer and Gargoyle, the two Defenders with unmistakable amounts of orange in their appearance, both had origin stories tied to the occult—and both were intent on battling demons.

Daimon Hellstrom, the begrudging Son of Satan, had similarly colored hair when he made his debut in Marvel Spotlight #12.

Although Hellstrom appeared blond in Marvel Spotlight #13-19, his hair color was consistently red (a.k.a. orange) from that point on, including his appearances with the Defenders.

Reading Red

As many comic book readers have already observed, superheroes tend to wear primary colors while villains tend to wear secondary colors.

Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, and Hellcat are among the heroes who follow this pattern, as each of their costumes happens to consist largely of red, yellow, or blue. Red Guardian also follows suit, although her color scheme was decidedly patriotic rather than incidental.

Plenty of villains, of course, have draped themselves in primary colors as well. Dr. Strange once assumed the diabolical identity of the Red Rajah when a mystical presence seized control of his body and sought control over all human consciousness (Defenders #44-46). On a superficial level, the red costume was a nod to a ruby metaphysically tied to the Red Raja persona. Yet when Red Guardian stood against the Red Rajah, the color red came to represent the underlying struggle between individual freedom and social control.

This is the first in a series of posts examining the topic of color symbolism among the Defenders.

This panel comes from Defenders #45.

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).

Hulk, Hulk, Gray Hulk

Bruce Banner's irritable alter ego had gray skin during his initial transformations in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), and then began turning green with #2. Throughout his early exploits and quarrelsome dealings with the original Avengers, Hulk was befuddled at times but remained reasonably articulate nonetheless.

By the time the Defenders formed in Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971), however, Hulk's vocabulary was simplistic. This held true throughout his lengthy membership with the non-team (outside of the rare occasion when Hulk retained the brains of Bruce Banner).

When Banner later began transforming regularly into the gray-skinned Hulk, his verbal skills returned to the level they had been during Hulk's first appearances. This gray variation of the character was now distinct from stupefied green Hulk.

Yet the gray version of Hulk retained a modicum of loyalty to Sub-Mariner and Dr. Strange just the same. When the three heroes teamed up in The Incredible Hulk #370-371 (June-July 1990), they considered the adventure a reunion of the original Defenders.

In making their re/acquaintance, gray Hulk took to referring to Stephen Strange as Steve instead of calling him Magician as green Hulk had done.

It's Not Easy Being Gray

Before she became Hellcat, Patsy Walker was Beast's only friend during a time of crisis.

After Hank McCoy first transformed into his furry form, he suffered amnesia and act out in a violent state of confusion (Amazing Adventures #11). At this time, the Beast's fur was gray and his misanthropic disposition resembled that of the Hulk (who coincidentally had gray skin during his debut in Incredible Hulk #1).

When newlywed Patsy (Walker) Baxter found Beast wounded on her doorstep, she was well aware that authorities pegged Beast as a new menace (unrecognizable as the X-Man he once was). Believing that any creature deserved compassion, Patsy harbored Beast long enough for him to recover (Amazing Adventures #15).

As Patsy watched over the sleeping Beast, he murmured that his real name was Hank McCoy and uttered other details about his past. In front of Patsy's eyes, Beast's fur changed from gray to black (suggesting that his mental state was linked to his appearance at the time).

When Beast awoke. Patsy told him all she had overheard. With Beast's memory now intact, Patsy kept his true identity a secret even from her husband.

But Patsy's motives didn't remain altruistic. Once Beast gained acclaim as an Avenger (and his fur turned blue), Patsy needled Beast to use his connections to make her a superhero too.

As Beast now opted to make his true identity publicly known, Patsy embraced the opportunity to develop her own double-identity as Hellcat (#144).

Amazing Adventures. Vol. 2. No. 15. November 1972. "Murder in Mid-Air!" Steve Englehart (scripter), Tom Sutton, Frank Giacoia, John Tartag (artists), Jean Izzo (letterer), Roy Thomas (editor).