This is their first “old order changeth” issue. The roster of Defenders is constantly in flux, but they’ve never had an issue that was “about” recruitment. In this story every B- and C-list hero in the 616 shows up to play after Dollar Bill (the Defenders’ nonpowered equivalent of Marvin and Wendy from The Superfriends) films a recruitment commercial/documentary.
We get to see regular Defenders hangers-on like Son of Satan and even a few A-Listers like Iron Man and Angel. New-to-the-partiers like Nova, Falcon, Hercules, Power Man, Iron Fist, Stingray, Quasar, Goliath, White Tiger, Jack of Hearts, Torpedo, and others…And lots of similarly middle-class villains: Electro, The Blob, Batroc the Leaper, and, again, many others…
We even see Captain Ultra, who previously appeared in one page in Fantastic Four #177, when he was trying out for the Frightful Four. Ultra actually gets an extended scene…
I do like him calling Jack “poker face.”
If you’re looking for a fun “name the character” arc, this is for you.
And the best part is in the end, when the city is destroyed and the cops are pointing fingers, everyone decides they don’t want to be a Defender after all.
Actually, the best part is watching Hulk play poison frisbee.
Quote,”But the panel I picked (and there were many great ones) was about sports. I love it when superheroes play sports. Someday I hope to do a feature on it.”
THAT would be an interesting post! Look forward to reading it someday. Like this page you picked from The Defenders. Vaguely recall the character who catches the frisbee from Hellcat in the second panel, but this wasn’t one of the comics I collected or read regularly so I’m not very familiar with it (pity that).
This was a fun three issues. Every B lister on both sides of the coin appeared. Everyone was a Defender for a day. Even the bad guys. One of my favorite all time Defender arcs. Watching the Blob take on that arrogant loudmouth Hercules was worth the price of admission. Hercules always did make me want to hurl when he boasted about how tough he was. Nighthawk was kind of a jerk himself but you couldn’t blame him. Loved the assortment of bad guys. Beetle, Boomerang, Porcupine, Plant-Man to name a few lead by the LMD Zodiac Libra and Sagittarius.
The original Defenders is a cult classic comic, like Power Man and Iron Fist.
This was a very silly and unnecessary story involving an incredible number of established, and usually respectable and serious super-jocks all acting very highly out of character, like a bunch of grade-school children!! The only good thing about these issues- and this is pushing it- is Our Pal Sal Buscema’s ever-reliable, sturdy and clean pencils! Just love his stuff! ( wonder how he’s doing these days-?? ) In re the observation “…..and even a few A-listers like Iron Man, and the Angel.” Well. I appreciate the compliment, Mr. Ekko, but my understanding of the definition of the ‘A-list’ is characters who have held down their own solo series since the advent of the Silver Age, and are still going strong! Guys like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America, Superman ,Batman, and the Flash. That’s the ‘A-list’. The ‘B-list’ are made up of very popular characters who cannot maintain their own solo series- guys like Dr, Strange, the Ghost Rider, the Sub-Mariner, the Vision, Hercules, and the individual members of the Fantastic Four. ( why the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic cannot maintain solo series of their own has always been one of the Great Mysteries of the Marvel Universe to me! ) The ‘C-list’ are guys who will most likely NEVER headline any type of series of their own! These are guys like the Torpedo, the Jack of Hearts, the various individual X-Men like Cyclops, Iceman, the Beast, Havok, Polaris, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Dazzler, ( never, ever, again!! ) Colossus, Professor X, the Banshee, and, as much as it absolutely kills me to admit this- the Angel! 🙁 🙁 🙁 And I oughtta know!! And don’t even get me on the ‘D-list’- Woodgod, Forget-Me-Not, the Frog Man, Captain Ultra, the Golem, It, the Living Colossus, ( another ‘Colossus’ not going anywhere ) the Hellcat/Cat, Werewolf By Night, the 3-D Man, and the rest of their nowhere ilk. Oh- did I mention the disaster that was Woodgod-??! I did-?? Okay- just makin’ sure!