In this issue, and the three that follow, The Defenders team up with the 1969 lineup of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was the first time that team was featured in a major ongoing book.
Their presence in “our” time causes all kinds of disasters to occur–which is a really cool way of showing The Butterfly Effect. Most of the time, time travel happens and we don’t really see a big effect.
This is the first appearance of Starhawk…
After resolving the temporal anomaly, the team goes forward to the year 3015 (this is the first time we learn the actual year in the future where the Guardians exist) to help in a war with the Badoon.
Starhawk shows up as a healer, who saves a wounded Valkyrie during a battle with the badoon race. And he’s not humble about it, saying clearly that she is in his debt now.
The Badoon capture The Defenders…And use tubes!
Yondu and Hulk are forced into a gladiator-like game show. Yet another precursor to planet hulk.
Although this is a long arc with lots of sidestories–as Gerber is prone towards–it’s also fairly straightforward as a big future/space epic.
The story actually ends in #29, but I’m not covering #30 here. It’s a terrible fill-in by Bill Mantlo and Sam Grainger.