A Long, Long Time Ago in Defenders #1

When existence itself faces extraordinary threats, it needs an extraordinary defense! That’s when you call…The Defenders! Doctor Strange and the Masked Raider take a non-team of Marvel’s weirdest, wildest heroes on a mission that will uncover the hidden architecture of reality itself! This cosmos was not the first to exist…but if the Defenders can’t track Marvel’s oldest villain through the deepest trenches of time — it might be the last! Al Ewing & Javier Rodriguez (storytellers), Alvaro Lopez (inks) and Joe Caramagna (lettering) bring us Defenders #1!

Mark Turetsky: … and once again, the fates have thrust us together… FOR THE FIRST TIME! Quick, Justin! There’s no time! Drink this!

Justin Partridge: Oh, goodness, thank you so much, Mark! It gets AWFUL hot here in Texas and I will never turn down a free drink from a peer! 

Justin takes the vial and uncorks it. As he does the “steam” from the bottled tincture floats up and into the form of a ticking clock. Settling only for a moment only then to evaporate into the ether, once more.

He drinks it…suspiciously fast.

Justin: BOY that hit the spot. I am veeeeerrrrrryyyyyyyyyyy reeeeeeeefereeeeessshsshhhheedddddd.

Time distorts and wavers around our heroes as Justin continues to try and speak through the howling gales of temporality. They fall and twist and stop suddenly in a new location. The Sanctum Sanctorum. But not the one today’s audiences will recognize. This is the classic, Roy Thomas Sanctum. We can tell because news-print dots pepper our new perception of the space (and because Strange’s old weird masked “Steven Saunders” costume hangs up in the corner). Justin blinks heavily and looks toward Mark, who hasn’t moved a muscle and looks almost pointedly normal. 

Justin: Well, I suppose we should expect this sort of thing regularly now that we are covering Marvel’s “Greatest Non-Team”, right?

Mark: What are you talking about, Justin? We’ve gotta review this Defenders comic, quit screwing around.

The Magician and The Hierophant

Justin: OH HA HA, never mind. Just…comics, huh?! They can surely get trippy. And we are probably covering the “trippiest” comic in Marvel’s history right? Outside of Silver Surfer, and hell, he’s even HERE! My mind melting aside, this is a book both Mark AND I have been very excited about and if the tracers I am seeing through my typing right now is indication, this brand new Defenders #1 has exceeded my expectations. Or at least my psychotropic tolerance at the present moment. 

BUT before we get into all that, I wanted for us to get maybe a “baseline” for our Defenders pedigrees for this first column. Mark, you and I have talked a little “off page” (JEALOUS?!) about our history with this team, but for the Marvel Zombies at home, can you tell us a little bit of your own history and connection with the Defenders? 

Mark: Yeah! I read that classic Bendis/Marquez run, so I’m intimately familiar with the team.

Justin: *snorts* I was actually wondering when and if the weird “streetization” of the team would come up and I’m truly glad it’s hitting THIS early. Mark’s levity aside, I AM a giant fan of the older school (ie: tripping balls) team and have always had some kind of contact and connection with the team’s title. Throughout, even, yes, the weird turn into being a Marvel Knights title basically.

But it is TRULY funny and appreciative to me that this new #1 just flatly IGNORES basically all of that. Picking up threads from the recent Marvel #1000 which found a new Masked Raider teaming up with Dr. Strange to build up a new roster of this team that really isn’t a team at all. All to maybe fix time, possibly?! A far cry away from Turk with an Infinity Gem, right, Mark?

Mark: It’s amazing to me that, at this point in Al Ewing’s career, having had multiple small and medium sized successes (in terms of popularity, mind, not quality, as they’re all pretty great), he’s developed such a sprawling niche canon of his own that he can pull from. And yes, this comic is very much following up on Marvel Comics #1000, but in a way I don’t think anyone was really expecting. The setup at the end of that issue (and the follow-up, Marvel Comics #1001), heavily implied that he’d be following up with the Three X’s trying to find out the identity of The Masked Raider. Now, they showed up in the Incoming one-shot, but have been largely missing since then. 

Instead, this is a purely classic Defenders story, with The Masked Raider as the catalyst. It doesn’t really ignore, but sets aside for now the story elements that Ewing had set up in Marvel Comics #1000.

Justin: OH ABSOLUTELY! And you totally nailed it! “Classic”! There is a big, weird problem and only a very specific set of people can solve it. So, naturally, Stephen nearly breaks reality in order to make people hang out with him again. It’s really hard for Stephen to make friends, you see.

Wong: It REALLY is. ::he says from the corner, setting out tea placements.::

Justin: Yeah, see, but I digress. It’s interesting that Ewing is keeping this so contained for the moment. We have really only threads presented from the #1000 one-shots, but everything else is shockingly user-friendly. Even with Ewing keeping the roster focused strictly on former Defenders and Secret Defenders (with equal parts touchstones to Strange’s own twisted and lore-filled continuity).

BUT you are also absolutely right. This just wholly FEELS (and reads) like an Al Ewing cult-classic in the making. It’s tersely worded, but immensely in-character for the whole cast. It’s got a massive hook at its center, but it’s presented in such a way that it feels digestible instead of didactic. And BEST of all, it’s positively SOAKED in some truly weird Marvel magic (and Cosmic) nonsense! I wish I could buy every cover, to be totally honest. ::Wong serves out the tea finally:: Ah, bless you, Wong, you truly undervalued and wonderful supporting character.

Mark: Not to mention that for a comic that, for the most part, takes place in one location and features two characters getting each other up to speed, it is utterly enthralling thanks to Rodriguez and Lopez’ artwork. Now, if you’ve been following them at all, it’s not surprising that Rodriguez consistently delivers the most outlandish and eye-catching layouts, but this comic, in other hands, could have just been a couple of static talking heads, but instead, we get… this!

Justin: OH BIG TIME! We get tarot card inspired layouts. Plenty of cosmic flavored shenanigans. AND gorgeous colors and expressionism, to boot! AGAIN, their works here just feel absolutely on brand for the Defenders. It’s all very showy and highly weird, but it never once lets us forget that there are “real” people at this story’s center. All of which have some stake in this reality and for the reputation of “Defenders”. 

I know I kind of (sometimes rightfully) take on the reputation of the “overzealous and overemotional one” in these discussions, but Defenders #1 looks so good it makes me excited for comics IN GENERAL again. Not to say that I’ve lost my “mojo” or whatever or am growing colder on the medium overall, I am totally not. I just sometimes need issues to kick me in my astral projected butt once and awhile to remind me why I love comics in the first place.

Defenders #1 is precisely that kind of issue. One that is immensely dorky, while still being a great introduction that also happens to look phenomenal. Really the best possible scenario you want with a debut issue. And Ewing and his art team have, once again, delivered one belter of a #1. I truly don’t understand how Ewing is so good at them. Must be all that 2000AD runnin’ through his pens and veins. 

Adam-IV, Michael I

Mark: So, I lied a little bit; it’s not precisely just two guys talking. A lot of this issue is devoted to a flashback, with the Masked Raider telling the story of what he’s been up to since Marvel Comics #1000, which serves to recap what happened in that one-shot as well as continuing the story. We see him attacking the final member of the original Scientists Guild/Enclave, Dr. Carlo Zota, who’s on the brink of unleashing Michael Korvac (most people forget the “Michael” but I think it’s important) on the world. Last I remember, Michael Korvac was a time traveler from the far future who was an enemy of the 3000AD Guardians of the Galaxy, who famously led to Iron Man riding a municipal bus. The editorial caption says to check out Iron Man if you’re curious about Michael Korvac. So what’s his current deal, because I have not been reading that title?

Justin: MY TIME HAS FINALLY COME! 

So, basically, Defenders #1 stands somewhat parallel with Iron Man #2 of this current volume. While much of that title has been devoted to Tony trying to get “back to basics”, his new/old antagonist Michael Korvac is anything BUT basic. 

Resurrected for study by the Enclave, Korvac was meant to just be a lab rat again, hoping to finally give the Enclave a true mixture of science and magic, all in one WASPy as hell body. But, obviously, Korvac has a higher calling, opting instead to basically murder every member of Enclave in order to escape upon his re-awakening, make his way back to TAA II, and drink deep from the soul of Galactus in order to ascend to full god-hood. All in order to rework our fleshy world into something more ordered and “perfect” in Korvac’s eyes. 

It’s wonderful to see this new incarnation of Defenders not only have their own stuff going on, but is opening with a story that is at least tangentially connected to the larger narrative sphere of the 616.

But we have only really scratched the surface of this new debut! We’ve got the return of Cloud. We’ve got some time-travel fuckery (which Strange even separates from “scientific time-travel” which is, apparently, “more accurate”). And we’ve gotten about 1000 words into this and we haven’t even talked about how FREAKING HOT AND TALL Galactus’ mom is!

That’s right. Defenders #1 delivers unto us a cosmic-level MILF. How can you NOT love a debut issue with a cosmic-level MILF in it?!

Mark: Taaia (her name according to the solicit for issue #2) is indeed a Magic-Inimical Lawful Friend! 

Justin: With a body that would make even the stoutest of Dungeons & Dragons: 3rd Edition Paladins jealous!

My Cosmic-thirst aside, I am just so pleased as punch this issue is as weird as it is. Yes, it’s also pretty functional as a first issue and new-reader friendly, which are absolute pluses. But I was slightly worried that the new “brand identity” of the Defenders, influenced heavily by the Netflix miniseries and the recent turns toward adding street-level heroes to the roster, would be slightly diluted. Or at least moving more away from the Roy Thomas/Steve Gerber flavored energy that I want from a Defenders run.

Thankfully, Ewing and this art team, if anything, make it MORE weird. Sure we are dealing with a lot of “classic” Defenders characters, but I wasn’t expecting this first issue to go quite as hard as it did. That’s totally a feature and not a bug, in my opinion. 

But do you think this might alienate some readers, Mark? Especially those whose sole “idea” of the Defenders is a team led by Jeph Loeb’s C-string?

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Creation

Mark: I’m not sure that they’re really the ones this book is marketed to. And I think the major draw for that book was the creative team behind it. 

There are some specifics in this issue that I’d like to dive into, though. First off, in the Masked Raider’s flashback sequence, the pages of the spellbook, and the wisps of magic smoke coming out of the candles are specifically cyan, magenta and yellow. For magic that’s going to be messing with the fundamental stuff of this universe, it’s extremely meta to make the forces be the basic colors of the printing process that will make the comic.

There’s also some interesting stuff in Strange’s reading of the tarot cards that summon his team. Particularly interesting to me is his reading of The Masked Raider, represented by the reversed Hierophant, “Challenge to the Status Quo, rejection of what was previously accepted.” Compare that to Jimmy Woo’s reading of the Eternity Mask as an artifact in the story “Rebels and Judges” from Marvel Comics #1000 (Ewing, Risso, Bellaire, Lanham), “In American culture, black masks are for the lawless. Criminals and rebels. On the Chinese stage, a black mask is a sign of integrity. The impartiality of a judge.” Now, obviously, these are from the same writer, and to a certain extent Ewing is familiarizing new readers with the character and the mask. But in another way, the Eternity Mask is literally woven from the very fabric of their reality, so it’s made an impact on what the color black means to different cultures throughout (Marvel Universe) history as well as the Tarot. 

When you think about this in terms of what Ewing has been interested in with his other cosmic books (I’m thinking S.W.O.R.D., Ultimates, Contest of Champions, Royals), it really shows a preference for probing those primordial Kirbons of this fictional cosmos. And, with this issue’s reference to Sise-Neg, and its tacit acknowledgement of the events of Slott/Allreds’ Silver Surfer, and Hickman/Ribic’s Secret Wars, we might see yet another angle on the birth of the 7/8th incarnation of the 616 universe (not to mention it’s right there in the title of this issue, “Eighth Cosmos: The Magician.”)

Justin: Dude, you just absolutely wrinkled my BRAIN.

Some of these connections and elements I caught onto. The coloring of Masked Raider’s eyes and the shoutout to the Slott era of Surfer especially. But all this other stuff…just…sometimes? Every once and a while? Comics are just fucking incredible to me. 

But you are right. It seems like Ewing is not only working within the entire confines of what a “Defenders Book” can be, but he’s also taking the opportunity to to just further ingratiate his own take on Marvel and how malleable it’s universes are, under his own direction. I truly madly deeply love that he’s trying to build out his own shingle basically, but using all these cult characters and highly weird plots (and subplots connecting to his OWN works and others) to do it. 

Like, it’s ALL there, if you have the wits and will to get there. But also it just stands as a wholly entertaining and gorgeous looking #1 all on its own. I completely expected to like Defenders #1. Hell, I even thought maybe I would love it! But I absolutely DID NOT expect to already be covering what’s probably my Issue of the Year. It’s just everything I want Marvel Comics to be. I am going to be very hard pressed to find an issue I like more than this one.

Unless, of course, Defenders #2 is even better (which it actually may well be!)

Mark: There’s one bit I didn’t quite grasp: Strange describes Red Harpy as, “a Defender of old– but in a timeline that no longer exists.” I assume this is in reference to the Fraction/Dodsons run. Was that run erased from the timeline?

Justin: It was indeed! One of my favorite modern Defenders runs as well. I have a lot of love for this incarnation as I pulled it as it was coming out, much to the chagrin of the shitty shop owner I was having to deal with at the time, who always called it “stupid”. JOKE’S ON HIM THOUGH.

But Stephen is correct. In that volume, the team, consisting of Strange, The Surfer, Namor, Iron Fist, Betty as Red She-Hulk, Ant-Man Scott Lang, and Black Cat are thrown throughout Marvel history thanks to the damaging of the Concordance Engines. Their journey comes to a head once the Death Celestials, fearing the Engines’ power, descend upon a future Earth and force the Defenders to basically undo 11 issues worth of adventures by sacrificing this “necrotic” timeline in order to save ALL realities.

The end result being, nobody in that volume remembers that they were in that volume (save for Strange) who again has to bear the weight of their choice and the loneliness that comes with being a Defender. It’s inclusion here is interesting! Mainly because Fraction always talked about that book like it was a “missed opportunity” and seemed sad that some of his bigger plans for it never saw the light of day. It also didn’t sell particularly well, despite serving as one of America’s major introductions to Jaime McKelvie, who became the series’ regular artist for a spell.

So as one of the 20 people who bought every issue of it and stumps for it pretty hard in casual conversation, I am happy to see it getting a “second life” backing the inclusion of Betty as the new Red Harpy (which fucking rules VERY hard).

So if y’all were unclear on this, I REALLY loved Defenders #1 and I cannot wait to be covering it here with Mark. The miniature Fin Fang Foom that’s been sitting here with me as I type is also very excited about it too. Either that, or I am peaking again. What was IN THAT vial, Mark? 

Mark: It was the very essence of the movement of the spheres itself: TIME ITSELF! Which we’re running short of once more!

Marvelous Musings

• “Welcome to the Defenders, Stephen Strange. There are no rules.” What an amazing statement of intent!
• Will the Eternity Mask even work in a different incarnation of Eternity? Guess we’ll find out!
• We haven’t even mentioned OMNIMAX! Pure Kirby crossed with Lovecraftian tentacles.
• I think there’s someone else in this review with us… someone… I can barely see out of the corner of my eye…
• The Impossible Isn’t Coming.
• The Impossible Is Already Here.
• #everythingyoulovedies #shuttheenginesdown #fighttosaveeverything

Mark Turetsky

Mark Turetsky is an audiobook narrator and voice actor who sometimes writes about comic books. Originally from Montreal, Canada, he now lives in Northern Louisiana.