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Secret Defenders (collected editions) #1
Doctor Strange and the Secret Defenders
The Master of the Mystic Arts revives the original non-team - and this time they're more secret than ever! To save the world from the threats they'll never know existed, Doctor Strange uses magical tarot cards to select the perfect team for every mission - and he's stacked the deck with all the greatest and grittiest heroes of the nineties to draw from! Wolverine! Spider-Man! Captain America! Hulk! Scarlet Witch! Silver Surfer! Punisher! War Machine! Darkhawk! Sleepwalker! By the Vishanti, they're all here - and plenty more besides - to face down macabre menaces both demonic and otherworldly. Evildoers like Roadkill, Dreadlox and Xandu wielding the Wand of Watoomb! It's the Sorcerer Supreme and a gathering of heroes, defending the Earth - just don't tell anybody!
Collecting: Secret Defneders 1-11
Collecting: Secret Defneders 1-11
188 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2016
About the author
Roy Thomas
4,589 books279 followersRoy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 19, 2023
Even with a team as good as this on paper and including Wolverine, Spider-Woman and Nighthawk, these Secret Defenders stink as does Roy Thomas's writing (I didn't know he was still writing in the 1990s!). Sorry but this is pretty banal! 3 out of 12, lone One Star read. My original review written as I read this in 2017 was - 25 issues of naked money grabbing with 'cool' guest stars, with most issues including Wolverine and The Punisher early on. The second half of the series gets caught up in Dr Druid and some ongoing mystical and internal battle which just didn't grab my attention at all! Floppity flop 3 out of 12, One Star read.
2017 read
2017 read
August 16, 2017
Once upon a time, Roy Thomas created an un-team called The Defenders. It was a team of B- and C-listers that fought against strange, weird, and often mystical foes. But after 15 years they finally came to an end.
Twice upon a time, Roy Thomas created a new un-team called The Secret Defenders ... except they're not really a team at all. Instead, The Secret Defenders is essentially a Dr. Strange team-up comic, where he brings together a new team of heroes for each (short) arc. The deficit of this is of course that you lose all the character arcs, which were a big part of the original Defenders and much of what made it intriguing.
The first eight issues of The Secret Defenders are by Roy Thomas, and they're thoroughly mediocre. Three teams of Secret Defenders fight against three very forgettable villains, without much plot beyond the fighting. The stories are thus just as forgettable.
The last three issues in this volume are by Ron Marz. He's saddled by what may be the ugliest artist I've ever seen working for Marvel, and his stories aren't any better. If anything, they're even more troublesome, because they're so suddenly focused on the cosmic comics of the time such as Silver Surfer and some Star*Brand crossover, and thus don't make a lot of sense without that context. At least we get somewhat memorable villains, but they're part of a big boring bashes.
Of course the real joy of this volume is seeing all of the B-list and C-list superheroes of the '90s. We get some stars like Wolverine and Spider-Man, but also some really '90s characters like Dark Hawk, Nomad, Sleep Walker, and Thunderstrike. The saving grace of Thomas' stories are the great characterization of these heroes. (Not so much in Marz's stories, which are relatively characterization-free.)
Overall, not worth the read, not worthy of the Defenders legacy, and not worth picking up the next volume (which is Deadpool and the Secret Defenders).
Twice upon a time, Roy Thomas created a new un-team called The Secret Defenders ... except they're not really a team at all. Instead, The Secret Defenders is essentially a Dr. Strange team-up comic, where he brings together a new team of heroes for each (short) arc. The deficit of this is of course that you lose all the character arcs, which were a big part of the original Defenders and much of what made it intriguing.
The first eight issues of The Secret Defenders are by Roy Thomas, and they're thoroughly mediocre. Three teams of Secret Defenders fight against three very forgettable villains, without much plot beyond the fighting. The stories are thus just as forgettable.
The last three issues in this volume are by Ron Marz. He's saddled by what may be the ugliest artist I've ever seen working for Marvel, and his stories aren't any better. If anything, they're even more troublesome, because they're so suddenly focused on the cosmic comics of the time such as Silver Surfer and some Star*Brand crossover, and thus don't make a lot of sense without that context. At least we get somewhat memorable villains, but they're part of a big boring bashes.
Of course the real joy of this volume is seeing all of the B-list and C-list superheroes of the '90s. We get some stars like Wolverine and Spider-Man, but also some really '90s characters like Dark Hawk, Nomad, Sleep Walker, and Thunderstrike. The saving grace of Thomas' stories are the great characterization of these heroes. (Not so much in Marz's stories, which are relatively characterization-free.)
Overall, not worth the read, not worthy of the Defenders legacy, and not worth picking up the next volume (which is Deadpool and the Secret Defenders).
May 4, 2019
Wish I could recommend this: it suffers from the genre excesses of Marvel Comics in 1990s. Lots of craft to empty resolution. And I bought the issues upon publication then...
Seek out and find other work by these creators or characters, including the Defenders or Doctor Strange, or Rascally Roy Thomas, instead. I recommend the 1970s issues of Defenders by Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema featuring villains Ruby Tuesday and the Headmen...
Seek out and find other work by these creators or characters, including the Defenders or Doctor Strange, or Rascally Roy Thomas, instead. I recommend the 1970s issues of Defenders by Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema featuring villains Ruby Tuesday and the Headmen...
July 30, 2022
I thought there were some good ideas in here, but the execution was only OK.
There were three major story arcs here. The first three issues featured a team going to Phoenix to investigate a rash of bank robberies. The second arc (another three issues) featured a team of Defenders investigating murders on Route 66. In another arc, Strange led a team against Xandu, who wanted to combine the realms of the living and the dead.
These stories had a supernatural feel, and it was interesting to see how the ordinary crimes led to something darker. This feeling couldn't be maintained for long, though.
Doctor Strange went on some of the adventures, and not others. This gave these stories an arbitrary feel. That continued when you consider the premise, taking sometimes lead characters (like Wolverine, Punisher, Captain America, and Spiderman) out of their main runs to pursue these odd missions. This was probably a marketing ploy to put such characters on the cover.
Then, some of the characters didn't seem to have much purpose. I wasn't sure what Nomad or Scarlet Witch contributed to their squads. Sleepwalker (who apparently had his own title in the 1990s but now doesn't appear in a printed Marvel encyclopedia) was gone for the whole arc and then comes in only at the end. Cap had to be left behind on earth for strange reasons, really more to have a hero on earth, probably. Wolverine popped his claws a lot, but he rarely shredded anyone; oddly, he seemed to punch with his claws retracted. These teams didn’t really function as teams, but more like an assemblage of brands. It also didn't feel like the writing took full advantage of the personalities or powers of these big stars.
Then, there were odd moments that I think were intended to be funny. Wolverine tried calling Strange at a pay phone, got Stephen's answering machine, and then destroyed the phone booth out of frustration. Spidey made a paddle ball out of webs; wasn’t he a little old for that? Nomad sometimes appeared with a kid on his back, but then sometimes dropped him off at some kind of superhero day care.
On top of all this, the dialogue became grating, which had do more with Roy Thomas's style. It seemed like an older style, where characters have to explain everything that's going on in the panel and talk to each other during fights. Villains throw out taunts or their own explanations in their panels, too. It reminded me of Silver Age writing, the kind I think Thomas was a fan of and grew up with, as I understand it. Andre Coates did good pencilling work, as I felt he captured the action clearly. The page layouts were dynamic, but just verging on chaotic sometimes.
Thomas wrote issues 1-8 here; Ron Marz wrote the other 3, and whereas the stories by Thomas at least did have interesting premises, those by Marz felt flat and uninteresting. The last issue (#11) didn't have any supernatural plot at all, really. Stephen, serving as a magical livery driver, merely helped bring Nova and Northstar together. Those two bickered in an unheroic way while battling some big robot for unknown reasons, until Marz threw in the Hulk to wrap up the story, in one of the worst issues I have ever read. Tom Grindsberg's art, while functional in supporting the narrative, was also weird. The characters' heads were out of proportion to their hulking, overly muscled bodies. But hey, that was the 90s!
It's interesting that 30 years ago Marvel was changing creators much like they do now. Without Thomas, the series started to lose its purpose and its way, and the series soon apparently was cancelled at issue 25 (this volume goes up to 11, after the creative teams switched).
As a coda to this review, series like this one remind me of the dreck that choked the shelves of the comic book stories I grew up with. It's strange to revisit heroes like Nomad, Darkhawk, and Sleepwalker, who I never knew existed, that had their own title runs, but who also kind of fell out of favor somewhere along the way. Such heroes, and comics like those in this volume, are a reminder of the ephemeral nature of comics.
For every A-lister, there are heroes like these who faded into the background or died a quiet publishing death. Perhaps they were too much like other heroes in an industry that often lacks originality and just repackages the same superhero concept in different form. At the same time, I feel sorry for Sleepwalker fans; surely their hearts were broken when that series ended?
Or, maybe this was a case of making more first issues for the speculator market. I certainly was susceptible to this myself, having bought a Wild Dog #1, probably because he was like The Punisher, but also hoping it would be worth something some day. In any case, I am now intrigued by Sleepwalker, who seems different and maybe even original but who didn't see continued publishing success, lost in the comics ether like last night's dream.
There were three major story arcs here. The first three issues featured a team going to Phoenix to investigate a rash of bank robberies. The second arc (another three issues) featured a team of Defenders investigating murders on Route 66. In another arc, Strange led a team against Xandu, who wanted to combine the realms of the living and the dead.
These stories had a supernatural feel, and it was interesting to see how the ordinary crimes led to something darker. This feeling couldn't be maintained for long, though.
Doctor Strange went on some of the adventures, and not others. This gave these stories an arbitrary feel. That continued when you consider the premise, taking sometimes lead characters (like Wolverine, Punisher, Captain America, and Spiderman) out of their main runs to pursue these odd missions. This was probably a marketing ploy to put such characters on the cover.
Then, some of the characters didn't seem to have much purpose. I wasn't sure what Nomad or Scarlet Witch contributed to their squads. Sleepwalker (who apparently had his own title in the 1990s but now doesn't appear in a printed Marvel encyclopedia) was gone for the whole arc and then comes in only at the end. Cap had to be left behind on earth for strange reasons, really more to have a hero on earth, probably. Wolverine popped his claws a lot, but he rarely shredded anyone; oddly, he seemed to punch with his claws retracted. These teams didn’t really function as teams, but more like an assemblage of brands. It also didn't feel like the writing took full advantage of the personalities or powers of these big stars.
Then, there were odd moments that I think were intended to be funny. Wolverine tried calling Strange at a pay phone, got Stephen's answering machine, and then destroyed the phone booth out of frustration. Spidey made a paddle ball out of webs; wasn’t he a little old for that? Nomad sometimes appeared with a kid on his back, but then sometimes dropped him off at some kind of superhero day care.
On top of all this, the dialogue became grating, which had do more with Roy Thomas's style. It seemed like an older style, where characters have to explain everything that's going on in the panel and talk to each other during fights. Villains throw out taunts or their own explanations in their panels, too. It reminded me of Silver Age writing, the kind I think Thomas was a fan of and grew up with, as I understand it. Andre Coates did good pencilling work, as I felt he captured the action clearly. The page layouts were dynamic, but just verging on chaotic sometimes.
Thomas wrote issues 1-8 here; Ron Marz wrote the other 3, and whereas the stories by Thomas at least did have interesting premises, those by Marz felt flat and uninteresting. The last issue (#11) didn't have any supernatural plot at all, really. Stephen, serving as a magical livery driver, merely helped bring Nova and Northstar together. Those two bickered in an unheroic way while battling some big robot for unknown reasons, until Marz threw in the Hulk to wrap up the story, in one of the worst issues I have ever read. Tom Grindsberg's art, while functional in supporting the narrative, was also weird. The characters' heads were out of proportion to their hulking, overly muscled bodies. But hey, that was the 90s!
It's interesting that 30 years ago Marvel was changing creators much like they do now. Without Thomas, the series started to lose its purpose and its way, and the series soon apparently was cancelled at issue 25 (this volume goes up to 11, after the creative teams switched).
As a coda to this review, series like this one remind me of the dreck that choked the shelves of the comic book stories I grew up with. It's strange to revisit heroes like Nomad, Darkhawk, and Sleepwalker, who I never knew existed, that had their own title runs, but who also kind of fell out of favor somewhere along the way. Such heroes, and comics like those in this volume, are a reminder of the ephemeral nature of comics.
For every A-lister, there are heroes like these who faded into the background or died a quiet publishing death. Perhaps they were too much like other heroes in an industry that often lacks originality and just repackages the same superhero concept in different form. At the same time, I feel sorry for Sleepwalker fans; surely their hearts were broken when that series ended?
Or, maybe this was a case of making more first issues for the speculator market. I certainly was susceptible to this myself, having bought a Wild Dog #1, probably because he was like The Punisher, but also hoping it would be worth something some day. In any case, I am now intrigued by Sleepwalker, who seems different and maybe even original but who didn't see continued publishing success, lost in the comics ether like last night's dream.
October 12, 2020
I can see why
Doctor Strange and the Secret Defenders
did not work as an ongoing series. I remember reading this when I was younger and getting excited about the prospect of Dr Strange putting together teams of heroes to combat enemies. The first story arc being Nomad (one of my favourites) with Spider-Woman and Darkhawk. The second story arc had the Punisher (another of my favourites) with Namorita and Sleepwalker. The third story with Spiderman (a favourite) with Scarlet Witch and Captain America. The fourth with Thunderstrike (War Machine and Silver Surfer) and the fifth with Hulk (along with Nova and Quicksilver). That's what drew me to this comic when I was younger.
Now, after reading it again, I am thoroughly disappointed and questioning what I liked about the comic (other than the heroes - there wasn't much else). From my older and wiser vantagepoint, there are so many plot holes in all the stories and the characters that were used could have been anyone!
The premise was that Doctor Strange looks through his magical tarot deck and it reveals heroes he should choose to combat a great threat. Sounds great! There's so much potential with a comic like this! But then...
Story Arc #1: Dr Strange gets Spiderwoman, Nomad and Darkhawk to help him against a threat that could destroy the world - a group of villains that are not of this world (one called Dreadlox) is coaxing the homeless, elderly people off the street and making them younger. As payment for their youth, they need to commit crimes, like robbery, and bring the money back to the group, because the group does not want to be seen.
Back then me: "Wow! It's so cool that these superheroes are in a team together!"
Now me: "Why would a group of villains from another dimension want to steal American money? Why would these aliens state that they want to remain in hiding from people and then put themselves in front of a group of homeless and order them to steal said money? Why would a group of villains wanting to take over the world want to hide and even if they did want to hide, why not change their costumes and blend in? Why was Dreadlox unable to inflict her power of causing visions of the thing a person dreads to the heroes on one page, only to be able to inflict it on the homeless people on the very next page in the same scene?" And the list would go on.
I won't go through the other storylines, but rest assured it does not get any better - nor does the artwork, as we hit issue #9 and #10 (which is the second last story in the graphic novel).
It's a shame that so much potential for a title went to waste.
Now, after reading it again, I am thoroughly disappointed and questioning what I liked about the comic (other than the heroes - there wasn't much else). From my older and wiser vantagepoint, there are so many plot holes in all the stories and the characters that were used could have been anyone!
The premise was that Doctor Strange looks through his magical tarot deck and it reveals heroes he should choose to combat a great threat. Sounds great! There's so much potential with a comic like this! But then...
Story Arc #1: Dr Strange gets Spiderwoman, Nomad and Darkhawk to help him against a threat that could destroy the world - a group of villains that are not of this world (one called Dreadlox) is coaxing the homeless, elderly people off the street and making them younger. As payment for their youth, they need to commit crimes, like robbery, and bring the money back to the group, because the group does not want to be seen.
Back then me: "Wow! It's so cool that these superheroes are in a team together!"
Now me: "Why would a group of villains from another dimension want to steal American money? Why would these aliens state that they want to remain in hiding from people and then put themselves in front of a group of homeless and order them to steal said money? Why would a group of villains wanting to take over the world want to hide and even if they did want to hide, why not change their costumes and blend in? Why was Dreadlox unable to inflict her power of causing visions of the thing a person dreads to the heroes on one page, only to be able to inflict it on the homeless people on the very next page in the same scene?" And the list would go on.
I won't go through the other storylines, but rest assured it does not get any better - nor does the artwork, as we hit issue #9 and #10 (which is the second last story in the graphic novel).
It's a shame that so much potential for a title went to waste.
March 27, 2021
"A Gathering of Heroes is a great Avengers story, a great Wolverine story, a great Darkhawk story, a great Defenders story, a great Doctor Strange story, and a great Midnight Sons story all rolled up into one. There's something in this for everyone."
November 4, 2022
Surprisingly when I started this book, I was not too thrilled with it. It was just a random collection of super-heroes that barely knew each other, let alone how to work together. The overall premise of Doctor Strange needing to find people to battle an evil that he wasn't even sure of himself.
It was rather messy and continued that way through Thomas giving up the reigns to Marz, then again, it was just battle upon battle and that gets boring--character and interaction with different characters is what makes one fall for the whole comic.
I am surprised that this Secret Defenders lasted as long as it did, although Thanos and then Deadpool might have beefed up the stories, not sure though.
It was fun to see Nomad, Darkhawk, and Thunderstrike in this collection.
Nest up THANSO COSMIC POWERS (and Secret Defenders thrown in there as well.)
It was rather messy and continued that way through Thomas giving up the reigns to Marz, then again, it was just battle upon battle and that gets boring--character and interaction with different characters is what makes one fall for the whole comic.
I am surprised that this Secret Defenders lasted as long as it did, although Thanos and then Deadpool might have beefed up the stories, not sure though.
It was fun to see Nomad, Darkhawk, and Thunderstrike in this collection.
Nest up THANSO COSMIC POWERS (and Secret Defenders thrown in there as well.)
April 15, 2019
Secret Defenders è stata una delle serie più scarse della Marvel anni '90.
L'idea di base era che un Dr. Strange depotenziato riuniva gruppi eterogenei per le missioni più diverse affidandosi ai tarocchi. Questo volume raccogli i primi 11 numeri della serie, nel complesso quelli disegnati meglio. Certo, questo meglio non raggiunge la sufficienza, ma ciò che è venuto dopo, con Thanos brevemente, col Dr. Druido trattato malissimo e poi con una accozzaglia di personaggi neanche da serie z era molto ma molto peggio.
Quindi sì, 1 stella basta e avanza.
L'idea di base era che un Dr. Strange depotenziato riuniva gruppi eterogenei per le missioni più diverse affidandosi ai tarocchi. Questo volume raccogli i primi 11 numeri della serie, nel complesso quelli disegnati meglio. Certo, questo meglio non raggiunge la sufficienza, ma ciò che è venuto dopo, con Thanos brevemente, col Dr. Druido trattato malissimo e poi con una accozzaglia di personaggi neanche da serie z era molto ma molto peggio.
Quindi sì, 1 stella basta e avanza.
February 5, 2017
Even as a kid Dr. Strange was one of my favorite characters and this book was a trip down memory lane for me as I haven't read a Doc Strange in a while. Overall it was a good book, the only problem I had was with the Secret Defenders, there was a lot of other superheroes and not as much Dr. Strange. But it's still a good read for fans of the good Doctor.
June 8, 2017
When Doctor Strange can't face a foe on his own, he summons up those who will be needed. Each time the group is different, but it is always an adventure. Great drawings and fun action make this a simply must read comic/graphic novel to add to everyone's collection.
December 30, 2022
Classic Dr. Strange but a product of it’s time. The excess of the 90’s.
July 5, 2026
Fun '90's cheese.
March 25, 2017
Fun to read for fans of Doctor Strange. Quick, with the known Marvel formula and art style.
June 9, 2024
This was the first comic I read. Pretty good
May 2, 2017
It starts off wobbling around mediocrity with Roy Thomas writing and Andre Coates doing art, and then nose-dives when Ton Marz comes aboard with Tom Grindberg's terrifyingly blocky and blotchy work. The collection finally grinds to a halt with a single issue entry in a long-forgotten crossover centered on the 616 Universe's version of the Starbrand from the New Universe. A sad entry in Defenders canon.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews