Definition of a Non-Team

Promoted as a non-team throughout most of the original series, the Defenders never agreed on what being a team even meant.

During a chance encounter with the Hulk, Hawkeye was confused to learn that the green goliath was on his way to see Dr. Strange (Defenders #7). But Valkyrie and Sub-Mariner were around the corner, ready to explain their different perspectives about how the unlikely allies now worked together.

Valkyrie: That's easy, Hawkeye. Stephen Strange is our leader in the Defenders!

Namor: Hold, Val! Jump to no conclusions, Archer--the Defenders is merely a name, and no more. At times we battle together against a common foe--but the Defenders is not an alliance … There is no leader, no rules, no charter such as in your Avengers.

Valkyrie: At any rate, Hawkeye, we were also going to Stephen's Sanctum. Why not join us?

Namor: For the walk only, Archer!

Had they contrasted themselves to the X-Men or Fantastic Four—rather than the Avengers—the differences between the teams wouldn't have seemed so great. Of course, even those similarly informal groups had a shared origin or standardized uniforms—for more cohesion than the Defenders usually had.

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 7. August 1972. "War below the Waves!" Steve Engelhart and Len Wein (plot and script), Sal Buscema (art), Frank Bolle (inker), June Braverman (lettering), Glynis Wein (color), Roy Thomas (editing).

A Tale of Three Titans

When a powerful weather-controlling device threatened to destroy not only Atlantis but the entire planet, Prince Namor sought out the help of Silver Surfer and Hulk (Sub-Mariner #34-35).

Even though the Surfer wasn't an original member of the Defenders, this previous alliance—dubbed the Titans Three—helped grandfather him in as a foundational Defender.

Given their menacing pasts, the titanic trio drew suspicion when a group of Avengers spotted them riding over the ocean on the cosmic surfboard. Old hostilities and misunderstandings caused a fight to break out between the two teams, fueling an us-versus-them rivalry that bled into the early Defenders.

During the encounter, long-time Avenger Clint Barton wondered if he should retire his giant-size powers as the hero Goliath and return to his earlier guise as an ordinary-sized archer. Given this set-up, it's no surprise that he soon reclaimed the name Hawkeye and for a short time even called himself a Defender.

Sub-Mariner. No. 34. February 1971. "Titans Three!" Stan Lee (editor), Roy Thomas (writer), Sal Buscema (artist), Jim Mooney (inker), Art Simek (letterer).

Sub-Mariner. No. 35. March 1971. "Confrontation!" Stan Lee (editor), Roy Thomas (writer), Sal Buscema (artist), Jim Mooney (inker), Jean Izzo (letterer).

Seems Like Old Times

The prophesy that forced the four earliest Defenders to leave the team in #125 turned out to be in err, allowing them to later join forces again as they routinely had done in the past. Why anyone believed the psychopathic Elf to begin with was never adequately explained.

Of all the attempts to bring back the non-team, my favorite was the four-part "Return of the Defenders" storyline that ran through the 1992 annuals of the Incredible Hulk, Namor, the Silver Surfer, and Dr. Strange.

These heroes had faced extra-dimensional entities countless times in the past. But for a welcome change of pace, throughout much of the cross-over adventure, Sub-Mariner's mind was trapped within the body of Rick Jones, adding room for humor and giving Hulk's first friend a well-deserved place among the Defenders. Meanwhile, Prince Namor's true form was under an evil magician's control.

What also made this reunion memorable was the way the characters interacted like old friends instead of reluctant allies. Their bickering bellied a level of comaraderie they'd seldom shown in the original series.

The More Things Change...

After their eventful wedding in Defenders #125, newlyweds Daimon Hellstrom and Patsy Walker had planned to lead so-called "normal" lives.

But honeymoons are often short-lived for superheroes, and it was only a matter of time before the couple joined earth's mightiest heroes against the netherworldly forces of Master Pandemonium (West Coast Avengers #14-16).

Yet Daimon softened his image with his reintroduction. Instead of "Son of Satan," he called himself "Hellstorm" while sporting a more conventional costume than the shirtless uniform he'd worn in the past.

Patsy, meanwhile, kept her longstanding Hellcat costume, which had more context this adventure than usual. The Avengers story marked her long-awaited team-up with Tigra, who had worn the original Cat suit years before.

The above image of Hellstorm first appeared in a volume of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.