Doctor Strange, the Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, the Silver Surfer and Valkyrie. They are the dynamic Defenders, comics' greatest "non-team," and they do not rely on bylaws and butlers. They join together in moments of utmost crisis to face incomprehensible enemies like Dormammu, the Nameless One and the Enchantress. When they encounter heroes of a more conventional stripe, it's war-the watershed hero vs. hero Avengers/Defenders War, no less! This massive Omnibus also introduces Hawkeye, the Black Knight, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Son of Satan and Nighthawk as Defenders in classic adventures. It's a must-have edition collecting the complete Defenders runs of Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart and Len Wein in one beautifully restored volume.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
The origin of the Defenders is such a curious tale that just couldn't occur in modern-day comics. An initial team-up comes about because Dr. Strange's comic is cancelled, and then an additional one because Thomas likes the idea of bringing together three "titans". It's only afterward that the non-team is born from these team-ups (and thankfully we get all those formative stories in this collection).
The actual Defenders comics in this volume are drawn from three authors. Thomas pens the initial Marvel Features issues, then Steve Englehart writes the first year and Len Wein the half-year after that. Each of the authors has their own charm. Thomas gets the weirdness of the group from the start; Englehart introduces the comic's most intriguing member, Valkyrie, but then gets mired down in the Avengers-Defenders War (which was surely much more amazing back in that day before crossovers were common); and Wein introduces another mainstay, Nighthawk, and shifts the comic back to weirder, less super-heroey stories.
The strength of these stories was always the characters, with Kyle and Valkyrie standing out even in their early issues here. The weakness? Too many fights and too much attention toward villains like The Red Ghost and The Wrecking Crew. It's when the comic moves over to weirdness like Nebulon that it really soars.
A very nice collection of one of Marvel's more interesting superhero comics of the 70s and 80s.
3.25 stars. So this starts off with the three issues that the Doctor Strange omnibus vol 2, I just read, ended with. The Doctor Strange, Submariner and Hulk issues that set up the Defenders. Then we get into some of their adventures. So they call this the team that’s not a team and I can now see why. After every team up, Namor made sure he reminded everyone that they were not a team. Then once Valkyrie came along, she mentioned joining their Defenders and once again, Namor and maybe even Strange now stopped her like, no ma’am, we are not a team. So funny. Plus we get the first appearance of her sword, Dragonfang. Also loved how Hulk was portrayed in this. So funny although he wasn’t trying to be. Always calling Doctor Strange dumb magician. He’d always get mad for some reason or another and leave saying he’s done with them just to get roped back to helping in the next issue. Silver Surfer only popped in here and there. After the Avengers/Defenders war, him and Submariner were done with the squad. This was around the time Nighthawk joined up. The Avengers/Defenders war was the best stuff from this book in my opinion. It spanned 8 issues between the Defenders title and the Avengers. The two teams got duped and manipulated by Dormammu and Loki which lead them into fighting each other. There were a lot of fun battles throughout that. Of course, eventually they learn what’s really going on and team up against Loki and Dormammu. The rest of the stories vary from just ok to pretty decent. We will see if Marvel ever makes a volume 2 of this omnibus.
I always found the original Defenders lineup intriguing — Doctor Strange, Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer felt like a Marvel "supergroup," but rougher around the edges. I was always curious how they compared to teams like the Avengers, the Champions, or the Invaders. Picking up The Defenders Omnibus Volume 1 finally gave me the chance to dive in.
The book kicks off with solo issues from Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange, and Hulk that lay the groundwork, then quickly moves into Marvel Feature and the early Defenders series. Roy Thomas launches it, Steve Englehart carries it through its first year, and Len Wein settles in toward the end. The big centerpiece is the Avengers/Defenders War, one of Marvel’s first major crossovers. Watching Doctor Strange face Black Panther, Valkyrie battle the Swordsman, and Hulk and Thor trade blows shows just how ambitious early ‘70s Marvel could be, long before crossovers became an annual event. Even with shifting writers, the tone stays surprisingly consistent — weird, mystical, and often defiantly offbeat compared to Marvel’s more polished teams.
Sal Buscema handles most of the art, bringing a clean, dynamic energy even when the scripts get heavy. Earlier issues also feature contributions from Ross Andru and Gene Colan, giving the series a slightly more eclectic feel before Sal fully settles in. His storytelling stays strong throughout, and splash pages like the Silver Surfer and Namor team-up really pop.
Character dynamics are what really make the book work. Hulk storms off half the time, Namor constantly reminds everyone they're not a team, and Valkyrie and Nighthawk bring some much-needed grounding. Silver Surfer floats in and out, keeping things unpredictable. The villains can be hit or miss — some Silver Age leftovers feel a little dated — and Hulk’s power levels swing wildly from scene to scene. But the series’ rough charm and weirdness carry it through.
The Defenders Omnibus Volume 1 captures a team that was never really meant to be a team — a loose, often reluctant alliance held together by necessity more than mission. That rough-edged, unpredictable energy is exactly what makes these early stories so compelling. There's a sense of Marvel experimenting in real time, letting mismatched personalities collide and seeing what sticks. It’s that very unpredictability that lays the foundation for even stranger turns ahead. The next volume, with Steve Gerber stepping in, takes full advantage of what this first run establishes — and I'll have more to say about that in a separate review.
(Zero spoiler review) 3.5/5 A strong collection of stories that shows (mostly) the stronger side of the silver age, despite the cheese creeping in just a little bit too much for my liking. This one started out strong, taking a very Dr. Strange centric approach, which was absolutely the smart money approach. He provides the lynchpin for the book, with a number of slightly more peripheral characters rotating around him. And whilst Valkyrie (the other standout) and Namor were welcome additions to the book, The Hulk, despite it his inclusion being rather obvious., was for me, the biggest detractor of this book. (When they weren't pitted against your very forgettable and frustrating silver age villain of the week). Constantly leaving Bruce in Hulk mode is quite simply, one dimensional and boring, and unfortunately dragged down the book more than it deserved. The cosmic stories centered on Dr. Strange were outstanding and would have garnered close to full marks should they have made up the entirety of this book. Dr. Strange Clea and Valkyrie driving around in a clapped out old van solving mysteries in skimpy lingerie... somebody go back several decades to when comics were great and write that for me, please! Speaking of when comics were good, the line up of creators here is little short of stunning. Every time I lamented a departure from this book, their replacement was as good if not better. I mean from Thomas, to Englehart to Wein. Find me three writers in a row that can measure up to those three men. The art was also a highlight, with Sal Buscema eventually taking the reigns and doing the bulk of the work here. It did waver slightly depending on who his inker was, but overall, a consistently good looking book throughout. I really should give this four stars, as its been a while since a silver age book has interested me this much. A reread with a third of the cheesy issues cut out would be a damn solid read. 3.5/5
The Defenders was a non team back when they first started. Gathered because of need first by Doctor Strange, the Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer were the "non-team", but because Stan Lee basically controlled Silver Surfer (he had written ever issue of Volume 1 ), Doctor Strange replaced him and the Defenders were truly born in Marvel Feature and then their own mag.
The stories tended to be about mystical things still Steve Englehart took over and Silver Surfer reappeared as a guest in some issues and the Valkyrie became a member. At that point, and Nighthawks turn from villain to hero and of course Hawkeye's guest staring (where has Hawkeye shown up? He and Spider-Man have practically been in almost every other heroes comics, plus he is the man whore of the marvel universe--even I think surpassing Tony Stark--he has been with every super heroine in the universe!)
By this time the Avengers/Defenders Clash (War) turns the Defenders into more of a team and a few less mystical villains. (Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Wrecking Crew, Squadron Sinister).
I remember hating how Hulk as treated, but at the same time, the dumb Hulk never was a favorite of mine. Valkyrie treated him better than Doc Strange and even Namor treated him better, but the dub Hulk --for me -- has always been exhausting to read and inconsistent in his own abilities. I mean one minute he wallops someone, then he gets his ass handed to him. It just doesn't work for me. Speaking of wish, Doctor Strange being able to transport everyone anyone in many of the issues, then when they need to to that, he says that he can't do it. Where were the editors? Convenient for the issue, but inconsistent for the character and their powers.
Still, I like the Defenders and will continue to read their stories.
Dr estranho #183 (roy Thomas e Gene colan ) estranho vai em auxílio de um antigo amigo q é prisioneiro de 3 demónios
Sub mariner #22 (thomas e marie severin) namor é convocado por estranho para o ajudar numa missão
Hulk #126 (Thomas e herb trimpe ) Hulk é capturado e enviado para lutar contra o vigilante noturno acabando por libertar estranho do mundo dos imortais
Namor #34 - 35 (Thomas e sal buscema) encontro entre namor , Hulk e surfista prateado , primeiro lutam entre si e depois confrontam a tropa do ditador de san pablo e de seguida confrontam os vingadores
Marvel feature #1 - 3 (Thomas e ross andru) origem com estranho namor e Hulk conta o fim do mundo, luta contra dormammu , e ainda xemnu o titã
Defenders #1 - 11 (steve englehart e sal buscema) continuação da trama dos demónios imortais e seu minion q necessita do sacrifício de namor, a busca pelo surfista e confronto com calizuma e os guerreiros feiticeiros, o inominável, o executor - encantor - cavaleiro negro - vila casiolena e a criação da valquiria , o omegatron , cyrus “o demónio encantado” , juntos com gavião arqueiro contra attuma e o fantasma vermelho , crossover com os vingadores (gavião vs homem de ferro) (estranho vs pantera e mantis) (Hulk vs Thor) , vão a era medieval tentar salvar o cavaleiro negro
#12 - 19 (len wein e sal buscema) o retorno de xemnu , vs o esquadrão sinistro e nebulon, namor sai da equipa e entra pássaro da noite ex-esquadrão sinistro , prof x junta se para combater a irmandade de mutantes, luke cage junta se a estranho e pássaro da noite para combater a gangue da demolição
Vingadores #115 - 118 (englehart e bob brown) faz parte do crossover com os defensores onde lutam entre si manipulados por loki e dormammu (surfista vs visão e Vanda) (espadachim vs valkyria) (capitão vs namor) , luta final contra dormammu
Giant size #1 (tony isabela e jim starlin) mostra as origens do Hulk , namor e estranho englobado numa trama actual
#2 (wein e Gil kane) crossover com daimon hellstrom contra asmodeus
The Defenders was one of the Marvel Comics I didn't read as a kid, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this omnibus. I had a vague idea of them being a "non-team," but that was it. I was really surprised at how good this collection is.
Starting off with individual issues of Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, and the Hulk, the omnibus then proceeds to Marvel Feature and the Defenders book itself. Roy Thomas wrote the first few issues, then Steve Engelhart, then Len Wein, with Sal Buscema providing most of the art in the book.
As Marvel reprints the letter columns, it was interesting to read these fifty year old letters arguing for this or that character to be added to the Defenders, and why Sub-Mariner or the Hulk should be left alone.
Being early 70s Marvel, there is a lot of "archaic" speech, which can make things a bit hard to follow at first, but becomes easier at the book proceeds. Thomas is particularly wordy, but once the transition is made to Engelhart, the reader gets a bit of a break from the exposition.
I'm looking forward to the next volume of this series.
Classic Defenders, includes the Avengers vs Defenders battles, all classic great fights. Black Panther chasing down Dr Strange thru that farm, Swordsman vs Valkyrie, Cap vs Subby, Thor vs Hulk, worth every penny.
I started really getting into comics at the start of Defenders/Avengers war. So the true origin of Defenders had not been read by me...so new comics for me, kinda. I will take it.
Taking three characters with little, if anything, in common and drawing them into a fragile but long-lived team structure, here are the Defenders. Weitten and illustrated by a succession of talented comic storytellers, this omnibus re-presents their earliest teamings and their group evolution. Most often these stories strove to exceed the standard hero-vs-villain formula common at the time, and delved into a deeper, richer character dynamic. The best example of this was the progression of Valkyrie’s story, but can also be seen in the development of Nighthawk, who grows from villain to hero. An excellent addition to any collection of omnibus’.