The Defenders was a reworking of a Roy Thomas grouping, the "Titans Three", launched just at the point where the Bronze Age began. Described somewhat paradoxically as a non-team, Marvel's most powerful outsider heroes banded together against (primarily mystical) menaces. These were some of the most egotistical, anti-social figures in the fledgling Marvel Universe. I was always surprised former Kree spy, Captain Mar-Vell wasn't a Defender.
The early issues, which I didn't read until their late-70s b/w UK reprints, are by Thomas ( and include a satire about the Krofft Brothers tv shows) and Steve Englehart, who elaborated on Thomas's themes with more melodrama. JLA alumnus Len Wein then took over, making the non-team more of a team.
I was very late to the party with this title. The first US issue I got was in the cafe at the Victorian Stonehouse Hospital, my mum's home town in Lanarkshire. The cafe was a rare haven for colour Marvels in the early 70s.
My next two issues were an introduction to Luke Cage and the Son of Satan. Circa 1978, a kid left our village and my brother fell heir to his comics, including an "old" Defenders. I was crazy about the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants ( and villain teams in general) so this largely vanilla superhero title really appealed to me.
When colour US Marvels began to be distributed more widely in the autumn of 1975, the Defenders became a regular buy. In my early teens, I was very receptive to the bizarre, satirical tone of Gerber's writing, the introspective writing of rock fan D.A. Kraft and the intricate designs of a young Keith Giffen.
At the end of the 70s, I continued to pick up the odd issue here and there but a long, long dry spell with Hannigan and Trimpe put me off the title. Compared to Marvel comics from creative teams like Claremont and Byrne or Michelinie and Perez, the Defenders had very little appeal.
During the early 80s, my former school friend Graham Sim followed the Defenders every month. I read his comics and he read mine but the navel-gazing mysticism and tormented characters didn't grab me. Nor did I care for Don Perlin's pencils. The popularity of the X-titles led to a Defenders line -up as awkward and destined for obscurity as Justice League Detroit. Eventually The Defenders were dissolved and replace by the "ghostbusters" version of X-Factor, I suppose.
Busiek and Larsen revived the Defenders in the late 90s with a playfully retro series and there was a further comical take by the" Bwahaha" Giffen-Matteis-Maguire team over a decade ago. There were also "Last Defenders" and "Fearless Defenders" titles but I didn't sample either of them.
Last year, I really enjoyed Matt Fraction's stylish Saul Bass-flavoured take on Hawkeye and the pulp swagger of his run on Iron Fist. I thought, therefore, that I would try the first collection of Fraction's Defenders. Unfortunately, it wasn't as satisfying an experience.
Dr. Strange, the Red She-Hulk, Namor, the Silver Surfer and Iron Fist discover a huge conspiracy involving Prester John ( a very obscure FF/Kirby character); the New Men of Wundagore; Captain Nemo and the enigmatic Concordance Engines. None of the characters are very likeable and Iron Fist feels an odd fit. While he replaces Nighthawk as off-kilter billionaire, IF has worked well as a team member before in the Marvel. Ultimate and animated tv continuities and feels very misplaced,
I don't think I will buy further collections since the tone is obscure rather than bizarre. Nor does the series even offer the kind of vanilla superheroics that Len Wein delivered. This iteration is pretty indefensible, I'm afraid.
Coming soon: The Prisoner and Dark Shadows
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