The Evolution of Mutant Force

Fans of the Defenders might recognize Burner, Lifter, Peeper, Shocker, and Slither as Mutant Force … but that wasn't the group's original name. When they first appeared in Captain America Annual #4 (1977), they were billed as Magneto's all-new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!

It wasn't until they began working for Mandrill in Defenders #78 (Dec. 1979) that the five henchmen adopted the name Mutant Force. The team remained Mutant Force when they changed leaders once again, working next for Mad-Dog, who incidentally was not a mutant.

As of Captain America #342 (June 1988), Slither left Mutant Force and became a member of the Serpent Society, a group of super-villains unified by their reptilian powers rather than mutant status. Meanwhile, the rest of Mutant Force altered their code names and started wearing matching costumes to mask their previous identities. Calling themselves the Resistants in #343 (July 1988), they fought against the Mutant Registration Act, which now required mutants to register with the U.S. government.

• Burner, sporting fire powers, changed his name to Crucible.
• Lifter became Meteorite and used his power to negate gravity in a novel way, transporting the Resistants on a floating chunk of rock.
• Peeper, who had telescopic vision and optic blasts, chose Occult as his new secret alias.
• Shocker, with an electro-touch strong enough to render someone unconscious, became Paralyzer. With the new uniform, Paralyzer wore metal gloves and boots to hide that his hands and feet resembling pincers; these physical mutations were visible in his previous costume as Shocker.

Several other mutants joined the Resistants by their next appearance in Captain America #346 (Oct. 1988). The Mutant Registration Act described in this story was a colloquial term for the proposed Mutant Affairs Control Act referenced in New Defenders #142.

The cover of Captain America #343 shows Burner, Meteorite, and Oracle using their powers, and incorrectly pictures Paralyzer with ordinary hands. The cover of #346 depicts the unique gloves and boots covering the character's mutant pincers.

Measuring Up to Mantis

New Defenders #138 ended in a cliffhanger, as the team witnessed Moondragon in hand-to-hand combat against the former Avenger known as Mantis. An even bigger surprise came in #139, when the New Defenders discovered that they were merely seeing a mental projection of Mantis that Moondragon had created to face some festering resentments.

Moondragon's bitterness harked back to Giant-Size Avengers #4, when she and Mantis were contenders for the title of Celestial Madonna. Both women were well-versed in the martial arts and had unique psionic abilities. Mantis also had a sense of humility that Moondragon lacked, and that absence of humility was the deciding factor that cost Moondragon the title.

Moondgragon handled the disappointment by eventually proclaiming herself a goddess free the moral confines of good and evil. Moondragon's acts of hubris in Avengers #219-220 led the Norse god Odin to hinder her powers with a mystic headband and sentence her to the custody of Valkyrie effective New Defenders #125.

Silently observing from Asgard, Odin determined that Moondragon finally learned humility in battling the image of Mantis; he mystically removed the headband at the end of #139. The lesson was short lived, however, as Moondragon's thirst for power continued.

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

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.

Symptoms

Feeling uncharacteristically under the weather, Spider-Man dropped by the home of Dr. Strange for a magical check-up. The master of the mystic arts diagnosed that Spider-Man's dizzy spells and upset stomach were signs of fowl play connected to the reptile cult they faced in Marvel Team-up #111.

In their investigation, Dr. Strange and Spider-Man joined forces with Scarlet Witch and Thing to overthrow at plot at Project: PEGASUS (Potential Energy Group/Alternate Sources/United States), where the metaphysical Serpent Crown had seized control of the hero Quasar and the entire research facility.

Marvel Team-Up Annual. Vol. 1. No. 5. 1982. "Serpent Rising." Mark Gruenwald (script), Jim Mooney (embellishment), Diana Albers (letters), Bob Sharen (colors), Tom DeFalco (editor), Jim Sooter (editor-in-chief).

The Fantastic News from 1967

My string of posts about 1967 wouldn't be complete without mentioning Fantastic Four King-Size Special #5 (a.k.a. Annual #5).

Promising to announce the biggest surprise of the year, the main story began with Susan Richards fainting—raising concern from her friends and family. The suspense ended later that issue with news that Sue was going to have a baby. Born in King-Size Special #6 (Nov. 1968), the son of the Invisible Girl and Mr. Fantastic came to signify how much time had passed in the lives of Marvel characters from that point forward.

In less surprising news, King-Size Special #5 also included a backup story starring the Silver Surfer.

Fantastic Four King-Size Special #5. Nov. 1967. "Divide and Conquer!" Stan (The Man) Lee and Jack (King) Kirby. Inked by Joltin' Joe Sinnot. Lettered by Swingin' Sammy Rosen.

The One and Only

Back in the days when comic book series routinely added a king-size stand-alone issue once per year, the Defenders had only one "annual" of their own.

Published in 1976, Defenders Annual #1 opened with the team watching a videotape of agent Jack Norriss describing uncharacteristic emotional reactions on the part of the heroes ever since their encounter with the Headmen in Defenders #33.

That call to action prompted Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Red Guardian, and Power Man to investigate a series of unusual political turnabouts across the globe. With help from the Hulk, they thwarted the Headmen's bid for world domination in the process.

But the Headmen weren't the only threat at hand.

Having surmised that Nebulon might be responsible for some of the international upheaval, Dr. Strange held his ground against the extraterrestrial instigator during a climactic battle of wits. While Nebulon told of his plans to mentally reprogram humanity into a state of "liberation," the sorcerer maintained that "free will" was a necessity for the people of Earth.

Dr. Strange: We attain our most glorious heights when we admit our ignorance … and force onward to surmount it. Perhaps this classes us as anomalies in the universe, but--

Nebulon: Enough, Strange! I concede! Your race is beyond redemption! And so I hereby abandon my efforts--to--

Although Nebulon disappeared at the end of the debate, he became one of the Defenders' most persistent foes.

Defenders Annual. Vol. 1. No. 1. 1976. "World Gone Sane?" Steve Gerber (writer), Sal Buscema & Klaus Janson (artists), John Costanza (letterer) D. Warfield (colorist), Archie Goodwin (editor).

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Seems Like Old Times

The prophecy that forced the four earliest Defenders to leave the team in #125 turned out to be in err, allowing them to later join forces again as they routinely had done in the past. Why anyone believed the psychopathic Elf to begin with was never adequately explained.

Of all the attempts to bring back the non-team, my favorite was the four-part "Return of the Defenders" storyline that ran through the 1992 annuals of the Incredible Hulk, Namor, the Silver Surfer, and Dr. Strange.

These heroes had faced extra-dimensional entities countless times in the past. But for a welcome change of pace, throughout much of the cross-over adventure, Sub-Mariner's mind was trapped within the body of Rick Jones, adding room for humor and giving Hulk's first friend a well-deserved place among the Defenders. Meanwhile, Prince Namor's true form was under an evil magician's control.

What also made this reunion memorable was the way the characters interacted like old friends instead of reluctant allies. Their bickering bellied a level of comaraderie they'd seldom shown in the original series.

The Marvel Mediumweights

Two years before The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe stated precisely how much each character could lift/press, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15 (1981) included a lighthearted back-up feature ranking many popular heroes by their physical strength.

Here's a list of the characters who fell at Spider-Man's strength level and below, along with some of their retorts to the web-slinger. It wouldn't take long for Marvel to establish that Colossus and She-Hulk truly belonged among the Heavyweights.

SUPER-MEDIUMWEIGHTS
Colossus: I am still a teenager, Tovarisch. You wait until I am grown.
Ghost Rider: Blazes to you all!
Giant-Man/Black Goliath: I may not be the strongest hero in town, but I am the biggest.
Power Man: Jiminy Christmas--I've got better things to do than stand around posin' with these turkeys.
She-Hulk: Wait until you know me better, Spider-Man. You'll change your mind about my power.
Silver Surfer: I need not rely on super brute strength, for mine is the power cosmic.
Spider-Man: This is my strength class folks.
Valkyrie: I am the foremost warrior-goddess of Asgard--and you presume to mock my might by ranking me here?

MEDIUMWEIGHTS
Aquarian: The greatest strength of all is the strength to refrain from violence.
Beast: (looking at Spider-Woman) Hubba-Hubba.
Captain Britain: As the embodiment of the fighting spirit of ancient Britain, my power is many times human level.
Nighthawk: By night I'm twice as strong as any human--by day, I'm an invalid.
Spider-Woman: Spider-Man, you have some nerve putting me in a class beneath yours.
Tigra: I'll show you my strength if you'll show me yours.
Werewolf by Night: Grrrr.

A final category included heroes at peak-human strength: Black Panther, Captain America, Daredevil, Falcon, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Ka-Zar, Moon Knight, Shroud, Wolverine, and Ant-Man (Scott Lang).

This back-up feature carried the title: "Just How Strong Is … Spider-Man?" Script and Layouts: Mark Gruenwald.

Defenders vs. Avengers

The cover of Avengers Annual #11 asked a good question: Why do the Avengers battle the Defenders?

In this case, the heart of the conflict was a lovers' quarrel between Nebulon and wife Supernalia, who tired of Nebulon's ongoing attempts to take over the Earth (since his debut in Defenders #13-14).

While Nebulon psionically influenced four Avengers to come to his aid, Supernalia persuaded four Defenders to prevent Nebulon's latest scheme.

When the super teams faced each other in battle, they seemed destined for a stalemate, with each pair of combatants about evenly matched.

• Valkyrie vs. Thor
  
• Silver Surfer vs. Iron Man
• Beast vs. Captain America
• Gargoyle vs. Wasp

Alas, the Defenders and Avengers finally stopped fighting each other and joined sides against Nebulon when Supernalia revealed the Ennui Device that Nebulon intended to use to conquer Earth. The issue ended with Nebulon and Supernalia struck by a deflected beam from the energy-draining machine. The attack was fatal.

The couple's last words revealed that Nebulon finally saw the error of his ways, and Supernalia believed that by sparing the Earth they were dying for a higher purpose.

As a back-up feature, this annual printed the never-before-seen charter of the Avengers, signed by the founding members, with two pages of accompanying by-laws. The informal Defenders, of course, never drafted such a document.

Avengers Annual #11 marked an important turning point for one of the Defenders. Following a trip to Asgard in Defenders #109, Valkyrie returned to Earth near the start of the story in her true Asgardian body (instead of the body of human Barbara Norriss, where her mind had resided since Defenders #4). Now aware of her place as leader of the valkyries, she re-introduced herself as Brunnhilde (her previously-unknown real name). For years the Defenders had treated "Val" as her de facto first name.

Avengers Annual. Vol. 1. No. 11. 1982. "In Honor's Name." J.M. DeMatteis (scripter), Al Milgrom (penciler), Jack Abel and Crew (inkers), Janice Chang (letterer), Carl Gafford (colorist). Mark Gruenwald (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Who's the Strongest of Them All?

When an extraterrestrial boxing champ wanted to go one-on-one against the super-strongmen of Earth, the competition that ensued told as much about the heroes' personalities as it did about their powers (Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7).

During the training period before the first match, Doc Samson was eliminated for lacking the stamina of the rest. Immediately afterward, the Prince of Atlantis announced that he would not participate in the competition. A coincidence? I think not.

Since the early days of Marvel Comics, Sub-Mariner was heralded as the strongest man of the sea. In this case, Namor's uncooperativeness may have spared him the embarrassment of being deemed too weak to compete on dry land, without a nearby water supply to replenish his strength against the alien Champion.

Usually described as the strongest man on Earth, with his strength increasing with rage, the Hulk was expelled for precarious reasons.

Hulk: Hulk hates puny alien! Hulk smash.

Champion: No! I shall not waste my time on a mindless brute!

In other words, the Champion wouldn't fight the Hulk because the Hulk could have won. Thor, meanwhile, was disqualified for using his hammer during his boxing match.

Sasquatch, Colossus, and Wonder Man each fared reasonably well, but Thing ultimately held out the longest against the Champion.

The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men made guest appearances this issue. Even with Hulk and Sub-Mariner summoned into the competition, the rest of the Defenders did not guest star. As a non-team, they sometimes were overlooked.

Marvel Two-In-One Annual 7. 1982. "And They Shall Call Him … Champion!" Tom DeFalco (script), Ron Wilson (pencils), Camp, Esposito, Giacoia, Green, Gil, and Stone (inkers), Jim Novak (letters), George Roussos (colors), Jim Salicrup (editor), Jim Shooter (referee).

The Somber Surfer

A backup story reprinted in Giant-Size Defenders #1 helped explain the brooding disposition of one of the team's strongest affiliates.

"The Peerless Power of the Silver Surfer" opened with the cosmic champion waxing philosophical as he rode across the skyline. Speaking to himself, in his customary style, the hero in exile projected his own frustrations onto the inhabitants of Earth. Adding to the Surfer's own despondence was this seldom-discussed hypersensitivity to the feelings of others.

Silver Surfer: Thru how many ages shall they be condemned to dwell--like insects in a hive--never knowing the glories of the endless universe? … I cannot endure being near them for more than a few of their minutes--the waves of human emotion which I sense are overwhelming! Fear--envy--greed--and hatred engulf me in ever-increasing torrents!!

Sensing a specifically inhuman torment, the Surfer discovered Quasimodo, the living computer with human-like emotions who longed for his abandoned master, the Mad Thinker.

Wielding cosmic energy, the Surfer forged a robotic body to liberate Quasimodo. But with powerful arms and legs, Quasimodo returned to his original programming and set forth on a destructive rampage. The Surfer felt responsible for the outcome.

As the robot tried to escape, the Surfer again enveloped Quasimodo in cosmic energy, this time transforming him into a motionless statue, resting on a clock tower. Because his best intentions had backfired, the Surfer questioned his own ability to understand or act in the defense of others. No wonder he felt most comfortable alone.

This story originally appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #5 (1967). Stan (The Man) Lee and Jack Kirby (King) Kirby, F. Giacoia (inking), Artie Simek (lettering). The illustration of Quasimodo appeared in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

By the Seven Circles

During a surprise party at X-Mansion, Nightcrawler received a sabotaged gift on his 21st birthday, triggering a mystical explosion that rendered him unconscious. Called in as a consultant, Dr. Strange diagnosed the condition: someone had taken Nightcrawler's soul (X-Men King-Size Annual #4). The story that followed played off many of the themes prevalent in the Defenders.

Although Dr. Strange initially pegged Nightcrawler as half-demon, the Eye of Agamotto revealed that there was nothing supernatural about the mutant's appearance. Accepting a metaphysical challenge to save the young hero, Dr. Strange accompanied members of the X-Men through a magic portal and into the Inferno from Dante's Divine Comedy.

The heroes fought harpies and other threats as they traversed down the Seven Circles. Yet all along Dr. Strange doubted they were in true hell, as he did not sense evil, just a strong anger toward Nightcrawler.

At the center of the Inferno, Dr. Strange detected that the giant creature calling itself Satan was part of an elaborate illusion created by Nightcrawler's foster mother, Margali. The powerful sorceress wanted to punish Nightcrawler for murdering his foster brother shortly before joining the X-Men. But Margali had a change of heart after discovering that her biological son had become violently crazed, prompting Nightcrawler to stop him.

The X-Men were glad to have their friend restored to health, and Dr. Strange pondered why he was only now learning of Margali, whose powers rivaled his own.

X-Men King-Size Annual #4. 1980. "Nightcrawler's Inferno." Chris Claremont (writer), John Romita Jr. and Bob McCleod (artists), Tom Orzechowski (letterer), Glynis Wein (colorist), Louise Jones (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief). The Nightcrawler image comes from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.