Dedicated to the definitive superhero non-team.


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A Defender Apart

With a magic sword, the power to travel through dimensions, and a knack for fighting demons, Devil-Slayer worked better as a solo character than as a member of the Defenders (where various teammates already possessed each of his identifiable traits).

Marvel Team-Up #111 gave Devil-Slayer a chance to shine more or less on his own, while acknowledging his affiliation with the non-team. In that story, while the rest of the Defenders were captured, Devil-Slayer joined Spider-Man in foiling a plot by the Serpent Cult.

To trick the two heroes into helping them secure a magic lizard-totem from the hands of a Spider-God statue, six members of the cult mystically disguised as Sub-Mariner, Dr. Strange, Gargoyle, Hulk, Valkyrie, and Clea. But Spider-Man outsmarted the cultists into revealing their true, reptilian forms.

The real Defenders escaped at the end of the issue.

Marvel Team-Up. Vol. 1. No. 111. Nov. 1981. "Of Spiders and Serpents!" J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Herb Trimpe (penciler), Mike Esposito (inker), Diana Albers (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist), Tom DeFalco (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

1 comment:

Cease said...

Oh, I missed you coming back!! This was one of the first two comics I bought on my own, and I just got a new copy after twenty five years!! I remember trying to draw that cover, well.

Way to keep that Devil Slayer spoiler under wraps...

A friend noted: J.M. was way into "Hell" stories in that era. D&D/ heavy metal, huh?