Namor the Barbarian

Several earlier posts have described members of the Defenders as character classes from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. After giving the topic even more thought, I'd like to suggest that Sub-Mariner would be a fitting candidate for the Barbarian subclass introduced by Gary Gygax in Dragon Magazine #63 (July 1982). Originating from a remote area, Barbarians often fight without armor and have an aversion to magic. Additionally, Sub-Mariner's pointed ears and Atlantean background could make him a half-elf, specifically aquatic elf (even though these early rules state that only humans can be Barbarians).

Robert E. Howard deserves credit for creating Conan, the archetypical barbarian from sword & sorcery literature. Drawing inspiration from Howard's novels, Conan the Barbarian was a long-running Marvel title.

Announcing Aragorn!

The Black Knight began riding his winged stallion in Avengers #48, but not until #54 did he settle on the name Aragorn. The hero would shout, "Away, Aragorn!" or "Down, Aragorn!" when commanding the horse to fly or land.

The Black Knight and Aragorn faced the Masters of Evil in Avengers #54 (July 1968).

The Origin of Aragorn

Technically speaking, Aragorn made his debut in Avengers #48 (Jan. 1968). In that issue, however, the Black Knight called the winged horse Pegasus. Not until later appearances was the horse renamed Aragorn. The name change made sense, as Aragorn had no relation to the flying horse from Greek mythology. In fact, the Black Knight described his winged stallion as a mutant. The mutation was not accidental but instead resulted from months of research.

Aragorn was in good company. When the original X-Men encountered a technological wizard called the Warlock, he too described his winged horses as mutants—the products of science rather than magic X-Men #30 (March 1967).

This image of the Black Knight riding Pegasus (Aragorn) comes from Avengers #48.

The Pink Riddler

For my birthday this week, I received an action figure of the Riddler that I had been eyeing for some time. I have relatively few collectibles, but this particular figure is notable for depicting the Riddler in the pink costume that he wore during the opening sequence of The New Adventures of Batman, an animated TV series from 1977 that I watched as a kid. Outside of the opening, the villain didn't appear within any episodes of the cartoon.

Since the Riddler traditionally wears green, I don’t know how much demand there is for this obscure rendition of the character. And yet, it was that very novelty that sparked my interest in the figure, which made for a memorable birthday gift.

I alluded to the Riddler in an early blog post about Defenders #124. I have considered devoting more attention to DC characters, at times, even though they might veer outside the scope of a Defenders blog.

Jealousy

This panel from Patsy Walker #32 (Jan. 1951) shows a teenage Buzz Baxter jealous that Patsy might be dating someone else. The devil on his shoulder is oddly prophetic, as one day Buzz will crash Patsy's wedding to Daimon Hellstrom, a.k.a. the Son of Satan (Defenders #125). By that time, Patsy and Buzz will have married, divorced, and become Hellcat and Mad-Dog.