The Ruby of Domination

Roll Call: Valkyrie, Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, Hellcat, Daimon Hellstrom, Hulk, and Gargoyle.

Dr. Strange summoned an assortment of Defenders to the Sanctum Sanctorum to see if one of them might draw out Bruce Banner's mind within the Hulk, who Dr. Strange temporarily subdued with a spell of somnambulance (Marvel Fanfare #20).

As Dr. Strange stepped into his study, the evil wizard Xandu trapped Dr. Strange in another dimension and mystically prevented him from calling any of the Defenders to his aid. But all was not lost. With time in short supply, Dr. Strange created a magical portal to contact Thing.

Using the powerful Ruby of Domination, Xandu magically coerced Hulk into battling Thing. Unable to overpower the green goliath on his own, Thing instead destroyed the Ruby of Domination—thereby weakening Xandu and freeing Dr. Strange. The ordeal left Dr. Strange too fatigued to further pursue any magical means of bringing peace of mind to the Hulk (Marvel Fanfare #21).

Thing guest-starred in Defenders #20 but still regarded himself as a member of the Fantastic Four during that appearance.

Portfolio Page

Marvel Fanfare #20 (May 1985) closed with several stand-alone pages of artwork by Charles Vess. The portfolio included this full-page image of the New Defenders.

Roll Call: Gargoyle, Iceman, Valkyrie (riding Aragorn), Cloud, Angel, Beast, and Moondragon.

Mental Block

In Dr. Strange #59 (June 1983), the master of the mystic arts learned that Dracula was again at large. The disturbing news jogged the sorcerer's memory of his initial encounter with Dracula in Dr. Strange #14 (May 1976).

Seven years in real time elapsed between the publication of those two issues, but characters within the world of comics tend to experience time at a slower rate. According to Dr. Strange's account in #59, barely two years had passed since he met the Lord of Vampires in #14.

Yet only after summoning the all-seeing Eye of Agamotto from his mystic amulet did Dr. Strange recall a more recent encounter from Defenders #95 (May 1981), when Dracula had invaded the Sanctum Sanctorum under the influence of the Six-Fingered Hand. How could Dr. Strange have forgotten such a pivotal event? The sorcerer suspected that Mephisto was responsible for obstructing his memory and numbing his awareness of Dracula.

Dire Consequences

The New Defenders joined forces with several other super teams to stop the extraterrestrial Dire Wraiths from conquering the Earth in Rom #65.

In the aftermath, Valkyrie was the first to ask how the captured Dire Wraiths should be punished. While other heroes hemmed and hawed, Rom the Spaceknight ultimately followed his modus operandi by using his Neutralizer Beam to banish the Dire Wraiths to Limbo (#66).

ROM. Vol. 1. No. 66. May 1985. "The Day After!" Bill Mantlo (story), Steve Ditko & Steve Leialoha (art), Janice Chiang (letters), Petra Scotese (colors), Mike Carlin (editor), Jim Shooter (editor in chief).