Wonder Valkyrie

Under orders of Odin, the valkyries of Valhalla began capturing Amazons of Paradise Island shortly after World War II. These valkyries had wings but also rode wingless flying horses. Odin sought to turn the impressive Amazons into valkyries, but the Greek goddess Aphrodite restored the Amazons to their usual selves (Wonder Woman #23).

Wonder Woman. Vol. 1. No. 23. May 1947. "Seige of the Savage War Maidens" by Charles Moulton.

Aligning with Galactus

Charged with saving the life of Galactus, Mr. Fantastic found himself on trial in an extraterrestrial court room (Fantastic Four #262). In his defense, Mr. Fantastic made an appeal to alignment, more ore less. Because there is order in the universe, he argued, Galactus must be part of that order and therefore is truly Neutral. If that is the case, Galactus' actions as a devourer of worlds are not Evil but part of some greater Good. With the Watcher as defense counsel, Odin testified on behalf of Mr. Fantastic, comparing Galactus to a natural force like a super-nova or the solar wind.

I have a hard time seeing Galactus as Neutral in this way. It was Silver Surfer, a former herald of Galactus, who discovered that Mr. Fantastic was apprehended (#261). Silver Surfer could not attend the trial, however. As the Surfer reminded Invisible Girl more than once, he remained trapped on Earth due to the will of Galactus.

I could understand of Mr. Fantastic had argued that all sentient beings, including Galactus, have a right to live. But Silver Surfer's own words would contradict an interpretation of Galactus as naturally Neutral.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

This page comes from Fantastic Four #261 (Dec. 1983).

Defenders Dialogue: Odin's Eye-Patch

New Defenders #126 published this thoughtful letter and editorial reply concerning a scene with Odin and Valkyrie from #122 and upcoming limited series spotlighting other members of the Defenders.

Dear Gang,

DEFENDERS #122 was fantastic but (there's always a "but", isn't there?) I did find a Major Mistake. On page 15, panels 1 and 2, where we see Odin consoling the Valkyrie, one would notice that the All-Father has an eye-patch on his left eye. But we all know the eye-patch goes over his right eye (it even says so in MARVEL UNIVERSE #8).

But never fear. I have an explanation. Odin's visual image to Brunnhilda could have been like a trick-photographic image in which all things are reversed. Therefore, the mixed-up eyepatches. This does entitle me to a No-Prize, right guys? Guys? Guys?

Kevin Pfluger
Cherry Hill, NJ

P.S. Having the Gargoyle in his own mini-series would be excellent! How about Iceman getting one, too?

Iceman's getting one, Kevin — courtesy of the creative team that brought you this very issue of THE NEW DEFENDERS: J.M. DeMatteis and Alan Kupperberg. Look for it some time in '84. And, yes, Kevin, the No-Prize is on the way. We were inundated with letters from irate eye-patch watchers and yours was the only one to offer a solution. Thanks, pal — we really needed you on this one.

Measuring Up to Mantis

New Defenders #138 ended in a cliffhanger, as the team witnessed Moondragon in hand-to-hand combat against the former Avenger known as Mantis. An even bigger surprise came in #139, when the New Defenders discovered that they were merely seeing a mental projection of Mantis that Moondragon had created to face some festering resentments.

Moondragon's bitterness harked back to Giant-Size Avengers #4, when she and Mantis were contenders for the title of Celestial Madonna. Both women were well-versed in the martial arts and had unique psionic abilities. Mantis also had a sense of humility that Moondragon lacked, and that absence of humility was the deciding factor that cost Moondragon the title.

Moondgragon handled the disappointment by eventually proclaiming herself a goddess free the moral confines of good and evil. Moondragon's acts of hubris in Avengers #219-220 led the Norse god Odin to hinder her powers with a mystic headband and sentence her to the custody of Valkyrie effective New Defenders #125.

Silently observing from Asgard, Odin determined that Moondragon finally learned humility in battling the image of Mantis; he mystically removed the headband at the end of #139. The lesson was short lived, however, as Moondragon's thirst for power continued.

This image of Mantis comes from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

Asgardian Alignments

A classic Dungeons & Dragons source book titled Deities & Demigods (later Legends & Lore) placed mythological gods and heroes from numerous cultures within the popular game system.

Below are the D&D alignments Deities & Demigods listed for several Norse gods who also had an impact on the Defenders.

Chaotic Good: Thor (thunder god).

Neutral Good: Odin "All Father" (supreme ruler of the gods); this alignment aptly describes the hero Thor during his time as a founding and recurring member of the Avengers.

Chaotic Evil: Loki (god of mischief, strife and fire); he teamed up with Dormammu in the a cross-over event that spanned Avengers #115-118 and Defenders #8-11.

Neutral Evil: Hel (goddess of death); her name is spelled Hela in Defenders #66-68 and other Marvel publications.

Chaotic Neutral: Valkyries "Choosers of the Slain"; the temperament of the hero Valkyrie steadies after #66-68, ending the the inner turmoil between her true self and the spirit of Barbara Norriss.

Green with Antipathy

Hulk's skin. Prince Namor's swim trunks. Moondragon's costume. Among the Defenders, the color green was inherently suspect. Heroes in green had a tendency to change sides and turn on their allies.

Underlying the dualism of each of these green-clad characters was a recurring frustration with puny humans, surface dwellers, or mere mortals. Through this lens, it's not surprising that the New Defenders refused to let Frog-Man join their team (New Defenders #131).

Perfectionistic to a fault, Moondragon long considered herself morally beyond reproach (Avengers #149; #211; #219-220). When Odin felt Moondragon finally learned humility, he removed the headband that limited her powers (New Defenders #139). Within comics, changing costumes often symbolizes a change of heart. True to form, Moondragon temporarily replaced her green costume with a black-and-white costume (#140).

But the lesson of humility was short-lived, as Moondragon ultimately betrayed her teammates just the same.

This image comes from New Defenders #128.

Moonstruck

When an alien planet was in the midst of war, Moondragon stepped in to intervene as only she could … by mentally seizing control of the entire population.

Any pretense that she was acting in the planet's best interest fell flat, seeing how she brought along Thor as her brainwashed love slave (Avengers #219-220).

When the Avengers defeated Moondragon, and Thor returned to his senses, the thunder god brought his abductor to Asgard to stand in judgment before his father.

But discerning that Moondragon had the capacity to accomplish good—in spite of her narcissistic need for control—Odin was sympathetic when issuing punishment. Moondragon would wear a headband to greatly limit her power until she learned to live respectfully among others.

Yet in the circular reasoning of Moondragon's mind, the fact that a god took pity on her confirmed that she was indeed godlike and therefore justified in her self-righteous actions. Moondragon was a piece of work.

Under the surveillance of Valkyrie, Moondragon's path to humility would become an underlying narrative in the New Defenders.

Jim Shooter wrote Avengers #219-220. Bob Hall pencilled those issues.