The Case of the Missing Mutants

In Defenders #124, Beast reminded Iceman an an early plot orchestrated by the Secret Empire.

Beast: Or have you forgotten how the Empire kidnapped you, me, and half the mutants in the Western Hemisphere a few years back--and tried to tap our X-energies for their own ever-so nasty ends?

Beast wasn't exaggerating. After the Irish mutant Banshee feared that he might be the next one abducted (Captain America #172), Professor X, Cyclops and Marvel Girl of the X-Men enlisted the help of Captain America and Falcon to rescue the following mutants from the clutches of the Secret Empire:

Angel Beast Blob Havok Iceman Mastermind Mesmero Unus Lorna Dane (not yet Polaris)

Concluding in Captain America #175 (April 1974), the suspenseful storyline explained the X-Men's absence at a time when their own title published only reprints. The number of known mutants from the Eastern and Western Hemispheres would increase drastically in the year ahead, with the return of all-new X-Men stories in their series.

These images come from Captain America #172 (above) and #175 (below).

X-Defenders

Polaris and Havok warrant joint attention as Defenders for a Day. After all, both heroes had been on-again, off-again members of the X-Men and remained overshadowed by related characters.

Although her mutant green hair made Lorna Dane visually distinct, Lorna's magnetic powers intrinsically linked her to the X-Men's earliest foe, Magneto. As a result, Lorna received the monicker "Magneto's daughter" well before she adopted the heroic name Polaris. Similarly, by the time Alex Summers became Havok, his older brother, Cyclops, already held the mantle of field leader of the X-Men.

Joining the Defenders, even for a day, presented Polaris and Havok with an opportunity to continue their crimefighting careers without comparison to other mutants. To this point, the two heroes did not even interact with one another directly during their appearances in Defenders #62-65, prompting others to respond to them individually and not as a pair.

On the topic of individuality, #62 spelled Havok like the word havoc (ending in c). This was not a lasting change, however, as #63 returned to the established spelling of his codename (ending in k).

Lorna Dane appeared on the cover X-Men #50, with interior text hailing her as the daughter of Magneto. X-Men #97 pitted Cyclops against Havok in a story titled "My Brother, My Enemy!"

Even More Marvel Super Heroes - 1982

To round out coverage of the Marvel Superheroes - 1982 biographies from Contest of Champions, this post reproduces the profiles of those heroes known in hindsight as Defenders for a Day. Keep in mind that, by the time of publication, Black Goliath had become the second Giant-Man, and Marvel Man had changed his name to Quasar. Also, while the profile for Tagak mentions the leopard Opar, and the profile for Falcon mentions the bird Redwing, neither of these animals accompanied the heroes as Defenders for a Day.

For good measure, I've included the profiles for Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Paladin (who, arguably weren't Defenders for a Day). Profiles for Ms. Marvel and Son of Satan link to related posts where they also appear.

CAPTAIN ULTRA
(Real name unrevealed) Would-be hero possessing flight, strength, and other powers but has a vulnerability to fire. Nationality unknown. Current whereabouts: unknown. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #177.

FALCON
(Sam Wilson, social worker) American who uses an anti-gravitic suit with wings to fly, and has a nigh-telepathic link with his falcon Redwing. Former member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: CAPTAIN AMERICA #117.

HAVOK
(Alex Summers, archaeology student) American mutant whose body generates cosmic energy that can be siphoned off into explosions. Brother to Cyclops. Occasional member of the X-Men. Current whereabouts: Rio Diablo, New Mexico. First appearance: X-MEN #58.

HERCULES
(Uses no regular alias) Olympian born man-god possessing super-strength. Son of Zeus. Former member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: Hollywood, California. First appearance: THOR ANNUAL #1.

IRON FIST
(Daniel Rand, investigator/bodyguard) American-born trained in the martial arts in the dimension city of K'un-Lun, master of the "iron fist" technique. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: MARVEL PREMIERE #15.

JACK OF HEARTS
(Jack Hart, student) American endowed with strange energy, enabling him to fly and shoot energy rays, and computer-analyze machinery at a glance. Current whereabouts: Earth. First appearance: DEADLY HANDS OF KING-FU #22.

PALADIN
(Real name unknown) American mercenary possessing great agility and fighting prowess. Wears a bullet-proof vest and carries a gun. Current whereabouts: New York environs. First appearance: DAREDEVIL #150.

POLARIS
(Lorna Dane) American mutant with the ability to control magnetism. Current whereabouts: Rio Diablo, New Mexico. First appearance: X-MEN #49.

QUASAR
(Wendell Vaughn, security chief) American wielding a pair of power-bands from Uranus, capable of tapping any power source and transforming that energy into solid objects or force-beams. Also enables him to fly. First appearance (as Marvel Man): CAPTAIN AMERICA #217. First appearance (as Quasar): HULK #234.

SON OF SATAN
(Daimon Hellstrom, occult expert) American whose father is an arch-demon. Possesses supernatural strength and wields a trident and rides a chariot driven by fiery horses. Occasional member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #12.

STINGRAY
(Dr. Walter Newell, oceanographer) American who uses special deep-sea suit, enabling him to breathe underwater, withstand the ocean's pressure, swim with great speed, and glide through the air for short distances. Also uses an electrical sting-blast. Current whereabouts: Hydrobase, Atlantic. First appearance: SUB-MARINER #19.

TAGAK THE LEOPARD LORD
(No other name known) Extra-dimensional humanoid with great athletic ability and fighting prowess. Though blind, he is able to see by telepathic link to his pet leopard, Opar. Current whereabouts: his home dimension. First appearance: DAREDEVIL #72.

TORPEDO
(Brock Jones, ex-football player, ex-insurance agent, high school coach) American who wears strength-enhancing suit enabling him to fly at great speeds. Current whereabouts: Clairton, Virginia. First appearance: DAREDEVIL #126.

INACTIVE

GIANT-MAN II
(Bill Foster, physicist) Black American who could mentally stimulate growth in height and mass up to about twenty-five feet. First appearance (as Bill Foster): AVENGERS #32. First appearance (as Black Goliath): POWER MAN #24. First appearance (as Giant-Man): MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #55. Reason for retirement: radiation poisoning weakened body.

MS. MARVEL
(Carol Danvers, ex-security agent, freelance writer) American who possessed ability to fly, super-strength, heightened reflexes, and a precognitive Seventh Sense. Former member of the Avengers. First appearance: MS. MARVEL #1. Reason for retirement: loss of powers.

NOVA
(Richard Ryder, student) American who possessed super-strength and the ability to fly. First appearance: NOVA #1. Reason for retirement: loss of powers.

PROWLER
(Hobie Brown, window washer) Black American who used various gimmicks to fight crime. First appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #78. Reason for retirement: voluntarily gave up costumed identity to devote time to civilian life.

WHITE TIGER
(Hector Ayala, student) Puerto Rican who used mystic amulets to grant heightened strength, speed, agility, and fighting ability. First appearance: DEADLY HANDS OF KING-FU #22. Reason fore retirement: loss of amulets granting power.

DECEASED

CAPTAIN MARVEL
(Mar-vell, captain in Kree militia) Alien humanoid of the Kree Empire who had superhuman strength and fighting skills, photonic powers enabling him to fly, and a zen-like "cosmic awareness" which enabled him to perceive things extrasensorily. First appearance: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #12. Died from cancer in THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL graphic novel.

This panel from Contest of Champions #1 spotlights the three founding members of the Defenders: Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and Dr. Strange. The background features Human Torch, Thing, and Quasar (formerly Marvel Man).