Telepaths of Titan

If I hadn't started blogging about the Defenders back in 2008, I might have selected the Legion of Super-Heroes instead. Had that happened, I would be much more knowledgeable about the DC universe of the 30th century than I am today. Here's an interesting piece of trivia linking the two teams: Saturn Girl, a telepath and founding member of the Legion, comes from Titan, the same moon of Saturn where Moondragon honed her telepathic powers.

To date, my only prior blog reference to the Legion came when comparing super-hero Bouncing Boy to Pinball, an enemy of Nighthawk from the Squadron Supreme. If I run low on Defenders content, I might post more thoughts about the Legion.

This page about Saturn Girl originally appeared in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe.

Defensor

Defensor was never a Defender but his similar-sounding name warrants attention. The shield-bearing hero first appeared in Contest of Champions #1, which gathered superheroes from across the globe. During that challenge, Defensor fought alongside She-Hulk and Captain Britain on the side of the Grandmaster. Although Defensor was shown in Argentina immediately before the contest began, he revealed his secret identity as Gabriel Carlos Dantes Sepulveda, of Brazil (#2).

Later, heralding from South America rather than a specific nation, Defensor was among the countless heroes to celebrate amnesty for the Incredible Hulk (#279). But like several other international heroes from this period, Defensor was all but forgotten after this point.

This entry for Defensor originally appeared beside the entry for the Defenders in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. That entry told much more about Defensor's origin and weapons than his comic book appearances ever revealed.

Ins and Outs

Bringing together mutant heroes and supernatural crimefighters, the Champions was an antecedent to the New Defenders—just set in Los Angeles instead of the Southwest. A source of internal conflict arose, however, when Darkstar became the group's new recruit (Champions #10).

Already feeling like an outsider, the demonic Ghost Rider resented how quickly his teammates trusted Darkstar. On more than one occasion, Ghost Rider refused to let Darkstar help him in combat, misinterpreting her cooperativeness as a sign of pity (#14). Ultimately, neither character felt at home in the Champions, prompting them both to resign and leading to the dissolution of the superteam (#17).

The following entry for the Champions originally appeared in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

What's Up, Doc?

The title Doctor can be confusing in comic books. Whereas Dr. Strange and Dr. Druid both earned medical degrees (Strange was a surgeon and Druid a psychiatrist), that wasn't a given. In the case of Dr. Spectrum of the Squadron Supreme, the hero's alter ego Joseph Ledger was an astronaut with no suggestion that he held the title Doctor out of costume.

In contrast, the Squadron's enemies in the Institute of Evil included Dr. Decibel (a physician). Additionally, the secret identity of Dr. Spectrum from the Squadron Sinister was Dr. Obatu (Iron Man #63), revealed slightly before his first battle against the non-team (Defenders #13-14).

Under the entry for the Squadron Supreme, the original edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe listed Dr. Spectrum's profession as teacher.

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.

Every Which Whizzer

The Squadron Supreme entry from the original edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe introduced several details about the team. The Squadron's 12-issue limited series, however, would later contradict some of the information from the handbook. Whereas the handbook listed Whizzer as Hiram Arnold, chemist, his identity would instead become Stanley Stewart, mail carrier. Squadron Supreme #8 further established that Whizzer gained superhuman speed after jogging through a dense, slightly luminescent fogbank—distinguishing the hero's origin story from the Golden Age version of the Whizzer.

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe included this image of the Whizzer in the original entry for the Squadron Supreme.

Shrunken Bones

Dr. Jerold Morgan was the weakest member of the Headmen. Like his three teammates, Morgan was highly intelligent. But he lacked the superhuman powers of Dr. Arthur Nagan (a.k.a. Gorilla-Man), Chondu the Mystic, or Ruby Thursday. On top of that, the scientific accident that had permanently altered Morgan not only reduced the size of his skeleton but also left him with noticeably loose skin.

Adding insult to injury, the Headmen entry in the original edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe referred to Morgan as Shrunken Bones, a codename he hadn't used.

This illustration originally appeared in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

In Summary

Published weekly in the United Kingdom, the series Rampage reprinted early issues of the Defenders. With the covers promising a complete Defenders story each issue, the series took a novel approach to the multi-part Avengers-Defenders War. Instead of reprinting the historic event over the course of several issues, Rampage #10 (Dec. 21, 1977) summarized the events from Avengers #115-118/Defenders #8-10 as two pages of background text and then reprinted Defenders #11 (Dec. 1973), the closing chapter of the crossover.

On the cover of Rampage #10, Dr. Strange refers to his teammates as comrades. When the word balloon originally appeared on the cover of Defenders #11, he called them Defenders.

Tigra's Tagline

Tigra effectively inherited her own series in Marvel Chillers #3-7 (Feb.-Oct. 1976), when she received cover billing as Tigra, the Were-Woman. Perhaps because she gained her powers through scientific means and not lycanthropy, the character received a new tagline in Marvel Premiere #42 (June 1978), headlining instead as as Tigra, the Feline Fury.

For curiosity's sake, I decided to see what Advanced Dungeons & Dragons had to say about weretigers at this time. In keeping with Tigra, the Lycanthrope entry in the Monster Manual described weretigers as most often female and very rare to encounter. Werewolves, on the other hand, were relatively common by comparison.

Monstrous Alignments

The Defenders encountered their share of monsters. As such, recent posts about the alignment system from Dungeons & Dragons prompted me to look up the alignment of various creatures as described during the formative years of the game. In doing so, I consulted a softcover introductory rulebook for D&D (1974) and the hardcover Monster Manual (1977) for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Although there was general agreement between the two publications, I was surprised to see different alignments listed for several monsters. With Aragorn in mind, I saw in the introductory rulebook that Pegasi were Lawful Good and served only Lawful Good characters. Meanwhile, the Monster Manual entry for Pegasus listed the winged horses as Chaotic Good and willing to serve characters of any good alignment.

While reflecting on Dracula, I found another example of varying interpretations of alignment. The Vampire entry from the introductory rules listed Lawful Evil as the monster's alignment while the corresponding Monster Manual entry began, "The most dreaded of the chaotic evil undead is the night-prowling vampire." These different perspectives about certain monsters showed the subjective nature of the alignment system, especially when describing those with nuanced or complex behavior. I imagine that I'll revisit the topic of alignment again with respect to the Defenders.

Paint Monk's Library Referral

Thanks goes out to Paint Monk's Library for promoting The Defenders Fansite as a featured blog on their site. The accolade is much appreciated!

Friends of Ol' Defenders

Short for Friends of Ol' Marvel, FOOM ran for five years in the mid-Seventies as a periodical for comic book enthusiasts.

FOOM #19 (Fall 1977) was a special issue devoted to the Defenders. Highlights included a history of the non-team written by Ralph Macchio, along with reflective essays by Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart, Len Wein, Steve Gerber, and David Kraft about their work on the series.

A detailed checklist included publication dates, page counts, and credits for Defenders #1-60 plus the giant-size issues.

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Marvel Super Heroes - 1982

The Contest of Champions limited series of 1982 began by showing what numerous heroes active on Earth were were doing at the moment they unexpectedly transported away for the cosmic challenge.

Although Beast was making recurring appearances in the Defenders by this point, the opening of Contest of Champions #1 found him visiting his old teammates from the Avengers. Beast remarked that the Defenders didn't have anything like the training facilities at Avengers Mansion.

Published the same months as Defenders #108-110, the three-issue contest concluded with an exhaustive listing of Marvel super heroes, including subsections for the inactive and deceased. Given the large number of heroes who had guest starred with the Defenders over the years, or who joined the non-team for only a few issues, the appendix took a staid approach when listing group affiliations.

Here are the entries for Beast (who was not listed as a Defender) and those characters whose entries did reference the Defenders.

BEAST
(Henry McCoy, biochemist) American mutant with furry-skin and incredible agility and strength. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. Former member of the X-Men and Avengers. First appearance: X-MEN #1. First appearance mutated to current state: AMAZING ADVENTURES #11.

DEVIL-SLAYER
(Eric Simon Payne, ex-marine, ex-hitman) Telepath who uses a transdimensional shadow cloak to teleport and to procure weapons from its pocket-dimensions. Current member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. First appearance: MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #33.

DOCTOR STRANGE
(Stephen Strange, ex-surgeon) The sorcerer supreme of Earth, commanding the greatest share of Earth's magical energies. Also uses a cloak of levitation and the amulet of Agomotto permitting him to see in persons souls. Current member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: STRANGE TALES #110.

GARGOYLE
(Isaac Christians, ex-mayor) American turned into a monster by a demon. Flies by means of wings and is able to sap or restore persons' life forces. Current member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. First appearance: DEFENDERS #94.

HELLCAT
(Patsy Walker) American with fantastic acrobatic abilities, agility, and battle prowess. Former member of the Avengers, current member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. First appearance: AVENGERS #144.

HULK
(Robert Bruce Banner, physicist) Gamma-radiated American possessing super-strength which increases in geometric proportion to anger. Former member of the Avengers, occasional member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New Mexico. First appearance: HULK#1.

NIGHTHAWK
(Kyle Richmond, industrialist) American who took a serum to give him double human strength at night. Uses a jet-pack and wings. Occasional member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New York vicinity. First appearance: AVENGERS #70.

POWER MAN
(Luke Cage) American possessing great strength and nearly-invulnerable skin. Partner of Iron Fist in Heroes for Hire. Former member of the Fantastic Four and Defenders. First appearance: HERO FOR HIRE #1.

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.

SUB-MARINER
(Prince Namor, ruler of Atlantis) Hybrid Atlantean-human possessing super-strength, the ability to breathe underwater, super-speed, and the ability to fly through the air for short distances by means of his ankle-wings. Occasional member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: Atlantis. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #4.

VALKYRIE
(No alias currently used) Asgardian goddess possessing great strength. Wields a sword and rides a winged horse, Aragon. Formerly a member of the Valkyrior, the Choosers of the Slain. Current member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance (Enchantress possessing her form): AVENGERS #83. First appearance (in Barbara Norriss's mortal body): DEFENDERS #4. First appearance (in own body): DEFENDERS #109.

INACTIVE

PRESENCE
(Sergi — scientist) Russian mutant who gained vast cosmic powers through exposure to radiation. First appearance: DEFENDERS #52. Reason for retirement: left Earth to seek destiny.

RED GUARDIAN
(Dr. Tania Belinski, neurosurgeon) Russian possessing great agility and martial skills. Used discuses as weapons. First appearance: DEFENDERS #35. Reason for retirement: left Earth to seek destiny with the Presence.

The Presence and Red Guardian went into space in Defenders #55.

The top images come from Contest of Champions #1.

Strange Heroes

Timed to coincide with the relaunch of the Defenders series, The Defenders: Strange Heroes works as a partial companion guide to the non-team.

Following the encyclopedia-style format of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, this 64-page volume provides an historical overview of the various incarnations of the Defenders, with updated individual entries on Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Namor, Red She-Hulk, and Silver Surfer.

Rather than showcasing other prominent heroes, The Defenders: Strange Heroes tends to focus on lesser-known villains and supporting characters. Case in point: The entry on Nighthawk describes the Earth-S counterpart who briefly assisted the Defenders, not the longtime member of the team.

While the end result might feel more like a grab bag than an exhaustive resource, I was particularly happy to find entries on the Chorus, the land of Here (and There), and Gargantua (called Leviathan when he battled the New Defenders).

Full entries also appear on the following:
Aleta, Andromeda Attumasen, Ardina, Belathauzer, Cyrus Black, Cloud, Doctor Spectrum (Squadron Sinister), Dollar Bill, Dolly Donahue, Eel (Stryke), Foolkiller (Salinger), Jake Fury, Gamma Spores, Geatar, Lorelei (Asgardian), Mad-Dog, Manslaughter, Jerry Morgan ("Shrunken Bones"), Nebulon, Jack Norriss, Richard Rory, Rose of Purity/Wasteland, Sea Urchin, Seraph (Tolsky), Slorioth, Solarr, Star of Capistan, Trish Starr, Torpedo (Jones), and Zusommin (viral swarm).

These characters receive half-page entries:
Blowtorth Brand, Dafydd ap Iowerth, Ludberdites, Papa Hagg, Sunshine Gross, and Tapping Tommy.

Fansite Hits #100

To celebrate this 100th post of the Defenders Fansite, I've decided to list when Marvel's earliest superhero titles reached their centennial issues, as originally published in Marvel Age #100 (May 1991).

As the star of Journey into Mystery, Thor technically tops the chart. Hulk and Sub-Mariner tie for second place, as the featured heroes from Tales to Astonish.

1. Journey into Mystery #100 (January 1964)
2. Tales to Astonish #100 (February 1968)
3. Captain America #100 (April 1968)
4. Fantastic Four #100 (July 1970)
5. Amazing Spider-Man #100 (September 1971)
6. Avengers #100 (June 1972)
7. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #100 (July 1972)
8. Daredevil #100 (June 1973)
9. X-Men #100 (August 1976)
10. Iron Man #100 (July 1977)
11. Conan the Barbarian #100 (July 1979)
12. Marvel Team-Up #100 (December 1980)
13. Master of Kung-Fu #100 (May 1981)
14. The Defenders #100 (October 1981); this centennial cover appeared in the fansite's second post.

As Fred Hembeck pointed out in Marvel Age #100, Patsy Walker (the future Hellcat) reached issue #100 (April 1962) of her own series before any of the superhero titles above.

Patsy Walker #100, appropriately enough, highlighted her fan club.

The Marvel Heavyweights

Hulk and Sub-Mariner, the two physically strongest members of the Defenders, were also two of the hardest heroes to pin down in terms of strength.

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (first edition) placed Hulk lifting up to 90 tons when he was calm, with the ability to lift more than 100 tons when angry. Prince Namor, meanwhile, was slated with the ability to lift 40 tons on land and 75 tons underwater.

Two years earlier, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15 (1981) made an initial attempt to classify heroes by their physical strength. Breaking the fourth wall, the humorous back-up feature also included many of the heroes' reactions to their ranking.

THE SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHTS
Hulk: Bah, Hulk should be in a class by himself!
Thor: Forsooth, there is not a match for my mighty thews in all midgard!
Hercules Nay, friend Thor, if Hercules be on Earth, thou art but a close second!
Iron Man: With a potent enough energy source I can charge my armor to this power level--for about two seconds.
Wonder Man: Er … I want to be an actor, not a super guy!

THE HEAVYWEIGHTS
Black Bolt: (empty word balloon)
Doc Samson: I am as strong as a calm Hulk--too bad the Hulk is never calm.
Sasquatch: I haven't met Spider-Man yet, but I once took on the Hulk for fun. (See Incredible Hulk Annual #8.)
Sub-Mariner: Beneath the sea, Namor's strength is supreme. On land, I am still a force to be reckoned with!
Thing: Of all the bum raps I ever got, this beats 'em all! I ain't no crummy second-rater!
Thundra: If I ever run into that web-headed fool, I will squash him for having dared to place me in this category.
Vision: At my maximum density, my strength is most devastating.

Spider-Man and several Defenders fell among the Super Mediumweights or below.

Edward Hannigan illustrated the first-edition covers for The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (1983).

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.