DEFENDERS #31-33 (1976)

Lots and lots of character moments in this issue.  It starts with Valkyrie doing her best to get to know her husband.  Or, at least, the man who married the woman who used to occupy her body.

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Then Hulk happens upon some hunters in the forest and kicks the shit out of them for killing a deer (above). He takes the deer back to Dr. Strange’s house, not knowing that Chondu the sorceror has put his mind in the deer’s body–to enable him to infiltrate the Sanctum Sanctorum.

Good stuff.

The rest of the story involves The Headmen getting literally into Nighthawk’s head.

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The Defenders have to fight through his psyche to save him, and they bring in Son of Satan to help.  The Headmen also get a girl to help them.

She gets to be in the group because she has the weirdest head of them all…

Nebulon is still working with the Headmen, too.

Yeah, lots going on. All good.

Issue #32 spends a lot of time on Nighthawk’s back story, including telling us that as a youth he killed his girlfriend, Mindy Williams, while driving drunk. Only she’s not dead and will return years later.

But the most important thing about this is another appearance by the random assassin who keeps killing innocent people…

This is part of the “Headmen” saga, which is the third-best Steve Gerber story ever.

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