Not my favorite.  The mask needed more refining, if anything.  The full facemask, underneath the ornamentation, didn't work. 

Defenders #110



Creative Team: JM DeMatteis-writer, Don Perlin & Mike Esposito-art, Shelly Leferman-letters, George Roussos-colors, Al Milgrom-edits

Synopsis: This is a solo effort, for Devil-Slayer. he is in the Negative Zone, with the lifeless body of Sunshine, looking to die. however, Sunshine's spirit comes forward and leads Eric through a fevered journey through his troubled past, though Sunshine appears and disappears. Eric ends up in a bar, trying to drown his sorrows, as Sunshine gives him his own words about seeking solace outside the self. He tries to confront his old mob boss, frightening the man's innocent family, and is faced with killing being his own decision. He meets an old Vietnam buddy, who lossed a leg, yet has peace and family that Eric never had. Finally, he comes to Jerusalem and finds Cory, who, ultimately, helps him find what is missing in his soul, as Sunshine departs. The story ends with an epilogue, via a letter from Cory to Dr Strange, telling how Eric surrendered to the authorities for his crimes as a hit-man and how he has found a faith, that Cory helps nurture.

Thoughts: This is a character-driven story of the search for redemption. Devil-Slayer was enver a particularly heroic figure and JMD narrows in on that and takes him through a journey of his sordid past, to find a spark that can make him whole. It's an interesting piece, underdone by some rather mediocre art.



There are moments; but, the whole is lacking.

There is an interlude where we see Kyle Richmond as the President of the United States. It comes out of left field, leaving us pondering "What the hell?" There is also an interlude of Kyle's nurse learning of his death and vowing to get to the truth about it and the Defenders. So, aside from bringing closure to Devil-Slayer, this sets up future issues. Good character work, poor visuals. This book needs an artistic shot in the arm.

What is interesting here is the ending, where Cory helps lead Eric to Faith to find peace.  This is the same company that shot down the idea of Jesus aiding Ghost Rider.  It is rather surprising that we have a story where a character has a blatantly religious awakening (rather than a more secular spiritual awakening).  JMD handles it well.

Defenders #112-114



Squadron Supreme, baby!

Creative Team: JM DeMatteis-writer, Don Perlin-pencils, Mike Gustovich-inks, Shelly Leferman-letters, George Roussos-colors, Al Milgrom-edits

Mike Gustovich was coming off of creating his own Justice Machine, at his own Noble Comics. He did some inking for Marvel and First, before returning to the Justice Machine, at Comico. Gustovich was never a strong penciller; but, was a pretty good inker, which helps these issues.

Synopsis: Issue 112 finds the Defenders having a party in the brownstone, after the events of Avengers Annual #11 (where they fought nebulon, alongside some of the Avengers). Vison & Scarlet Witch are there, when they become concerned about not hearing from DR Strange. Well, speak of the devil and he contacts them and the next thing you know, they are whisked to another world, where Nighthawk is alive and Hyperion, of the Squadron Sinister, is deathly ill...



Psych! This is the alternate Earth of the Squadron Supreme, as seen in the Avengers (in a great Englehart/Perez run of issues), where Nelson Rockefeller was president and messing with the Serpent Crown. Only now, he is gone and Kyle Richmond, aka Nighthawk, ended up as president, after Rockey stepped down. He welcomed in the Overmind, last survivor of an alien race. Well, everything seemed hunky-dory, until Pres. Richmond started talking about foreign conspiracies, declared martial law, and started rounding people up without due process.



The Squadron confronted him, found out he was under the control of Overmind and then got their hinders whooped. Hyperion escaped; but found himself branded a traitor, his Tower of Isolation destroyed, and argonite (his kryptonite) beams being used against him. He stripped down the vacant Rcoet Central, aka the Squadron's orbital satellite HQ, to use the lead shielding to get past the argonite and construct the underground center, where he resides now, having recorded all of this info.



Now, it seems that Overmind has a whole fleet of faster-than-light spacecraft being built on the moon, to launch the conquest of space.

Issue 13mfinds Overminded directing the Squadron in the construction project, while August Masters, the CIB agent, who tried to launch a psychic attack on the USSR, has found himself pulled, along with Kyle, into this nightmare earth and he is hiding and losing his s@#$. Meanwhile, Daimon heals Hyperion enough for his own ssytem to take over and Silver Surfer realizes he isn't bound to this Earth. he and Vision, who doesn't require oxygen, travel via surfboard, to the moon. While that happens, Banner gets frustrated and Hulks out. The Defenders meet up with the disembodied conscious of Mindy Masters and the telepaths, who then transport the other Defenders.



Surfer and Vision get past orbital defenses, but get spotted by Dr Spectrum and it's on! The mass of the Squadron attack; but, Mindy shows up with the rest of the Defenders and we get a pseudo-JLA/Defenders crossover battle.



Things turn in the Defenders favor, until Overmind gets involved.



Then, August Masters turns up and shoots Pres. Ruchmond in the head, killing him and releasing, Null, the Living Darkness from his body, as Overmind collapses.



Issue 14 finds the defenders battling Null and not being powerful enough. The Squadron has been released from control; but, physical might can't beat mental power. however, Masters' shooting of Pres. Richmond released Null before he was ready, so he is vulnerable. The Mindy construct unites the minds of the Defenders and Squadron and battles Null in a psychic throwdown, from which it emerges victorious and then takes over the vacant mind of Overmind, to use his body for a permanent base. Masters finds Richmond's body disintegrating, that it was fake and, as gets hinted earlier by Null, Kyle finally taps into the secret that he is not the Nighthawk of the Defenders' earth, but Kyle Richmond/Nighthawk of the Squadron Supreme!





Thoughts: Well, that was a change of pace! This is a bit more up my alley, vs the supernatural stuff. Also, it allows Perlin and Gustovich to stretch the action muscles. JMD gets to play with the Justice league, a few years before he and Kieth Giffen got to create the next generation of the team. It's a bit of fun, except for the whole Null thing. We were doing fine with Overmind being the villain controlling the president and the Squadron; but, we had to add another puppet master and turn it all cosmic and get this whole convoluted Real Kyle/Fake Kyle/Wrong Earth Kyle mindf@#$. I think JMD went a step too far in this; but, on the whole, it's an exciting trio of issues, with one of my favorite pastiches. This acts as a sort of cap on the Englehart story, with the Serpent Crown, while also setting up mark Gruenwald for the future Squadron Supreme maxi-series, which will be his crowning glory. These were the next to last defenders issues I bought, largely due to the Squadron. For me, this was the crowning glory of the post-Gerber and post-DAK Defenders, an honest to goodness epic that didn't fall flat, though, as I say, I'm not wild about the Null element. After next issue, I never returned to the series, for various reason, though mainly because it didn't have the same fun I felt about the earlier material.

If I enjoyed this so much, why did I leave? Well, Nighthawk was my favorite member and he was taken out of the book. Then, we end up with more supernatural and with the defenders turned into the hangout for the old X-Men. I didn't read any issues; but, covers and characters portrayed on the covers didn't attract me. I also pulled back from a lot of comics, as I was in high school and gearing up for my senior year, come the fall. by this point, I was less enamored of most DC and Marvel, apart from things like the New Teen Titans, X-Men and Legion of Superheroes. X-Men ended with Paul Smith, for me and I discovered First Comics and Jon Sable and American Flagg. I dabbled a bit with other things; but, until college, not many and little Marvel (apart from Daredevil and Miller was coming to an end, there). No, soon it would be Crisis and the DC Renaissance and indie comics, with Classic X-Men being my sole regular Marvel title, for several years, sampling the odd mini and graphic novel or specialty project (like Nick Fury vs Shield and a bit of the Streets of Poison-era Captain America).

ps. Nuke and Arcana were introduced in Defenders #112, reflecting the changes in the JLA, since the previous Avengers storyline period (ie Firestorm and Zatanna becoming members). Poor Elongated Man and red Tornado, Bronze Age mainstays of the JLA, get not Squadron lovin'.

It's a pity Jim Starlin couldn't have drawn the interiors as well as the cover.

Defenders #117



Creative Team: Jack Abel on inks, all others the same.

Synopsis: The team has a memorial service for Nighthawk, since he is definitely dead (Definitely, yeah, definitely). The Mindy consciousness, within Overmind, makes amends...



Overmind (the psychic collective that inhabits the alien body) decides that it must make peace with the various pasts of the collective; but, Isaac tells them they should do so with company, so he and Dr Strange go with them, as they bring closure to their past lives.

The first is a boy, Phillip, who sees his friends playing basketball. He goes to see them and they run away, except his closest friend, who tells him that he is dead, that it isn't the same; his voice and look are different. he tells him they won't forget him; but he is dead. Phillip goes to his house and his parents are grieving. he appears to his father, who thinks its a trick. Dr strange puts the man asleep and he and Isaac tell Phillip that they were all reported dead and that the families are adjust, letting go, which he must do.

Next it is Ursula Richards, an African-American woman who returns to the tenement, where she grew up, in deep poverty. In her anger at the past, she destroys the building, though Doc stops her before she nearly kills two children, playing inside. She has to let go of the anger.

In the end, they return to the Defenders brownstone, where they accept the loss of the past and the Defenders become new friends.

Meanwhile, Val and Patsy have gone off to talk about Kyle and Patsy's grief. They are interrupted by a robbery, which Val stops; but, when Patsy leaves, Val grabs her hand and gets an unexpected reaction...



Patsy tears off; but Val foolows and forces her to come out with it. patsy tells her that her mental abilities have allowed her to peak in Val's mind and she isn't the same person and she is frightened of her. Val has had enough and grabs Patsy and carries her off to a place where she can't run, so she will listen. She takes her to the lighthouse where the Defenders fought Omegatron. Val tells of being stripped of her identity but finding friendship in the Defenders. She has regained her true self, yet she still cherishes that friendship and that part of the former Val is still there.



They embrace and return home, to join in extending friendship to Overmind.

There is an interlude of the Elf driving Luann Bloom to an old barn, in South Carolina, to provide evidence of a link between the Defenders and the death of Kyle.



The Model T car drives into the barn and travels up a beam of energy.

Thoughts: More character stuff, further sewing up dangling threads, as we prepare for a new storyline. The theme is letting go of the past, both as part of the maturation process but also the process of grieving. JMD handles it well and the quieter moments allow Perlin and Abel to do some character work. Again, is isn't going to bring superstar status; but, it is in service to the story.

JMD is really focusing on character in his stories, which is great; but, without something for the characters to do, it isn't going to be commercial. Time will tell if their next adventure will show if he can produce something as memorable. Still, he is inhabiting his characters with more depth than most of the writers working at Marvel, at the time, and more than this series has seen in a while. That is a plus for this series. What has worked against it is serviceable, if unspectacular art, in a visual medium, and not-so-memorable threats. The Squadron Supreme story was a step in the right direction, though the revelation of Null kind of underwhelmed me. JMD continues to focus on supernatural or cosmic-themed threats, mixed with character development, which kind of leaves the action/adventure side of things wanting. It would be nice to have something more in that vein, as a change of pace.

Defenders #119



Gee, this looks familiar....



Creative Team: Stephen Grant-writer, Sal Buscema-pencils, Jack Abel-inks, Diverse Hands-letters, George Roussos-colors, Al Milgrom-repurposing inventory story, Jim Shooter-making the trains run on time.

This is actually a fill-in story written way back, which was put aside when Grant was asked to wrap up Omega, within the Defenders. It has been repurposed now, to set up the next big storyline.

Synopsis: Luann makes her report to the Tribunal. It turns out that she is a robot, who recorded their activities...



She tells of an adventure, taking place between issues #68 and 69. She tells of a female Yandroth, attacking the Defenders...



Yandroth was the future scientist/sorcerer who was responsible for bringing the Defenders together and building the Omegatron. Now, he is a she and she defeats the Hulk, and takes control of his mind. One by one, she does the same to the other Defenders. Yandroth was left incorporeal, after his last defeat and took possession of the mind of a woman and went about his revenge. He takes out Dr Strange, who is the focus of his plan. He goes to destroy Doc's mind; but, he is in astral form and can fight back. Namor turns up and attacks the Hulk, which wakes him up and it ends up with Hulk, Namor and Val against Kyle, Clea and Patsy. Doc is able to use his magic to turn the tables on Yandroth and force him out of the woman's mind

The Tribunal isn't impressed by the story and makes a declaration...



Thoughts: JMD is credited with an assist, which must be the framing sequence. The rest has no bearing on the upcoming story. It is, essentially, your average Defenders fight, with the best collection of members (in my book). It is fine as a single story; but doesn't really serve much purpose, other than to help the schedule get on track. Nice to see Sal on the book again, after the more "house" style of Perlin. Sal was kind of a "house" stylist too; but, his era had a more dynamic style, for my tastes. At least something happens in this one, besides character building. We needed a little action, for a change of pace.

We are coming up on a storyline that will run a few issues, which addresses a lot of what JMD has been doing, for about a year. It will include Kim Demulder's first pairing with Perlin (before it was a regular teaming).