The Case of the Missing Mutants

In Defenders #124, Beast reminded Iceman an an early plot orchestrated by the Secret Empire.

Beast: Or have you forgotten how the Empire kidnapped you, me, and half the mutants in the Western Hemisphere a few years back--and tried to tap our X-energies for their own ever-so nasty ends?

Beast wasn't exaggerating. After the Irish mutant Banshee feared that he might be the next one abducted (Captain America #172), Professor X, Cyclops and Marvel Girl of the X-Men enlisted the help of Captain America and Falcon to rescue the following mutants from the clutches of the Secret Empire:

Angel Beast Blob Havok Iceman Mastermind Mesmero Unus Lorna Dane (not yet Polaris)

Concluding in Captain America #175 (April 1974), the suspenseful storyline explained the X-Men's absence at a time when their own title published only reprints. The number of known mutants from the Eastern and Western Hemispheres would increase drastically in the year ahead, with the return of all-new X-Men stories in their series.

These images come from Captain America #172 (above) and #175 (below).

The Secret of Seraph

Introduced as a formidable operative of the Secret Empire, Seraph led a mission to kidnap the Vision in Defenders #123. Yet in a surprising turn of events, Seraph then helped the Defenders defeat the Secret Empire in #129-130. Here, Seraph revealed herself to be a Soviet agent who had infiltrated the Secret Empire to thwart the criminal organization's plot to manipulate the United States and Soviet Union into starting the next world war.

While undercover, however, Seraph had used her psionic powers to give Cloud false memories that the Secret Empire had killed her parents, turning Cloud's loyalty away from the Secret Empire and to the side of the Defenders. Cloud's complicated true past remained unknown until #149-150.

This panel of Seraph comes from New Defenders #130.

Lawful Evil: The Secret Empire

The Secret Empire was a recurring enemy of the Defenders as well as Captain America. With its rigid chain of command, jingoistic aims, and a pattern of abducting and manipulating super-humans, the subversive organization easily met the criteria for Lawful Evil under the early alignment classifications from Dungeons & Dragons.

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

In this panel from Defenders #106, Daredevil, the Son of Satan, and Dr. Strange are disguised as Secret Empire guards while infiltrating the organization's headquarters.

The Harder They Fall

Reading almost like an epilogue, Captain America #338 found the title character (then John Walker) and Buck (Lemar Hoskins) on assignment to recapture the escaped Professor Power and mop up any other at-large lackeys of the Secret Empire.

The biggest threat the duo faced was Leviathan (accurately shown here with black hair, as opposed to the white-haired rendition from the cover of New Defenders #126).

In the heat of battle, Captain America (Walker) killed Professor Power (who was already at death's door following his defeat in New Defenders #130). Ashamed at what he had done, the patriotic hero questioned whether he even deserved to wear the uniform of Captain America.

Captain America. Vol. 1. No. 338. February 1988. "Power Struggle." Mark Gruenwald (writer), Kieron Dwyer (penciler), Tom Morgan (inker), John Morelli (letterer), Gregory Wright (colorist), Ralph Macchio (editor), Tom DeFalco (the boss).

Missing in Action

At a time when the extraterrestrial Dire Wraiths became a matter of international concern, most costumed super-teams headquartered in the United States could not be reached for help. At the bottom of an image of the missing heroes (Rom #53), a footnote asked readers to turn to the Secret Wars limited series for details.

But not all of the heroes pictured as missing actually participated in the Secret Wars. The New Defenders, rather, were in the clutches of the Secret Empire while numerous other heroes were away during Secret Wars.

The same issue the New Defenders escaped from the Secret Empire, interestingly enough, they received official government clearance as a super-team (New Defenders #130). One can only imagine how the inability to reach the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men during a crisis time of might have factored into this decision.

New Defenders #130 and Rom #53 both had a cover date of April 1984. It's worth noting that Kitty Pryde (lower right) also was not involved in Secret Wars.

Tag Cloud

Like many blogs, this fansite features a Tag Cloud of labels for searching content (in the purple column on the right). The panel shown here from New Defenders #127 looked like a fitting image to place there as well.

No longer a pawn of the Secret Empire (#123), Cloud came to the Defenders for help. Gargoyle and Valkyrie were suspicious of Cloud's motives at first, but Moondragon knew they could trust her.

More Coming Attractions

Building on the popularity of an earlier post about Coming Attractions, here are additional teasers from the pages of Marvel Age.

Marvel Age #3 (June 1983):

• DEFENDERS #123—Written by J.M. DeMATTEIS. Pencils by DON PERLIN. Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer, and the Submariner are trapped in time and must relive the most traumatic points in their lives—and this time they might not survive.

Marvel Age #9 (December 1983):

• DEFENDERS #129—It's the beginning of the end of the Secret Empire Saga, as the New Defenders—aided and abetted by Cloud and the mysterious Seraph—try to stop Professor Power's plans to topple both the United States and the USSR! It's not as simple as it sounds, though—not when the New Defenders must also battle the New Mutants—sort of! "Countdown" is written by J.M. DeMatteis, penciled by Don Perlin, and inked by Kim DeMulder.

Marvel Age #23 (February 1985):

• THE DEFENDERS #141—Just when the Defenders had totally forgotten them, the gamma ray spores seen in issue #132 are back—and have spread into everything! If the spores cannot be stopped, they will destroy the Defenders! "All Flesh is Grass!" written Peter B. Gillis, penciled by Don Perlin and inked by Kim DeMulder. 60¢.

Marvel Age #26 (May 1985):

• THE NEW DEFENDERS #144—The evil Dark Dragon offered her almost limitless power—and Moondragon took it! Now she's a rampaging emissary of evil whose first task is to slay her friends, the Defenders! "Dragon Midnight!" written by Peter B. Gillis, penciled by Don Perlin and inked by Kim DeMulder. 65¢.

Marvel Age #32 (November 1985):

• THE NEW DEFENDERS #150—The New Defenders are in space. The galaxy destroying Star Thief is why. Even with the help of The Cosmic Cube and the aliens Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp, will the New Defenders be able to stop him? "The Stars in Their Courses" is written by Peter B. Gillis, penciled by Don Perlin and inked by Randy Emberlin and Alan Kupperberg. A double-sized issue! $1.25.

The image of Moondragon's attack against Valkyrie in New Defenders #144 also appeared in the Coming Attractions section Marvel Age #26.

State of Mind

Defenders #129 opened with a jarring predicament. The seasoned heroes found themselves under attack by the New Mutants, teenage students at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

Angel, Beast, and Iceman were decidedly passive during the fight. As original members of the X-Men, they spent their youth battling older and more experienced opponents. Now, years later, they were reluctant to attack the newest students at their alma mater.

Gargoyle dissuaded Valkyrie from slaying the New Mutants until Moondragon saw through the troubling situation. The entire battle was an illusion. In reality, the Defenders were in holding cells, captives of the Secret Empire, and resisting attempts to be brainwashed.

Led by Professor Power, this latest incarnation of the Secret Empire intended to broadcast subliminal messages prompting the United States and the U.S.S.R. to enter into nuclear war—so a dystopian empire might emerge from the ruins. Several Defenders had been imprisoned by the Secret Empire before (Captain America #268). But this time there was a personal reason for manipulating the heroes.

Professor Power's son was traumatized as a result of his experiences fighting in the Vietnam War. When Professor X was unable to reverse the son's condition, Power sought to get back at Xavier by taking revenge on three of his earliest students, along with their latest allies. To hold his own in combat, Professor Power had his own mind psionically transferred into the body of his physically healthy (but comatose) son—land equipped himself with a battlesuit.

By tapping into Gargoyle's energy-draining abilities, Moondragon psychokinenically freed the team.

When time came to face Professor Power, Moondragon had her own turn at revenge. She caused Power's conscious mind to suffer the repressed mental anguish of his son (Defenders #130).

J.M. DeMatteis wrote Defenders #129-130 along with Marvel Team-Up #118 and #124, which established Professor Power's background and motivation.

And Then There's Cloud

On a break from their crimefighting careers, Scarlet Witch and Vision planned a quiet get-together with Gargoyle, Beast, and Iceman (Defenders #123). Over dinner, Scarlet Witch made a telling remark about her experience as a reformed criminal.

Scarlet Witch: Strange how time changes things, isn't it, Bobby? It seems like only yesterday that my brother, Quicksilver, and I battled your original X-Men as members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

No sooner did the heroes clear away the dinner plates than the group came under attack by three agents of the Secret Empire. Their objective was to capture the Vision.

The trio of attackers consisted of Seraph (with super strength and eye beams), Harridan (with a near lethal touch), and Cloud (with transformation powers suited for her name). As dangerous as they were, in-fighting contributed greatly to the villains' defeat. It would come as no shock when Cloud, the most sympathetic of the bunch, later changed sides herself and joined the Defenders.

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 123. September 1983. "Of Elves and Androids" (J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin (penciler), Kim De Mulder (inker), Janice Chiang (letterer), Christy Scheele (colorist), Carl Potts (editor), Jim Shooter (tall guy with a big office).

Captain Crossover

Back when there was still only one X-book, any comic that promised to showcase the original X-Men had immediate caché. But beneath the cover of Captain America #264 was the beginning of a storyline with major implications for the Defenders.

When the Secret Empire forced a group of telepaths to project false memories into the mind of Captain America, the star-spangled Avenger experienced alternate realities where world history took different turns. Hence the cover scene of Nazis rounding up mutants long after World War II.

One of the captured psychics was strong enough to resist the Secret Empire's controls, embedding enough mental messages into the illusions to help Captain America return to his senses.

In the midst of the Cold War, the leader of the secret organization then taunted Captain America by suggesting that he might support their nationalistic aims to level a psychic assault on the U.S.S.R. That didn't go over very well (#268).

Captain America: You twisted lunatic!!! What I've worked for has been based upon understanding--not death! I present the American Dream! A dream that has precious little to do with borders, boundaries and the kind of blind hatred your ilk espouses!

Also captured by the Secret Empire, Gargoyle, Hellcat, Valkyrie, and Nighthawk joined the fight to stop the extremist organization from starting World War III. In a surprise turn of events, the story reintroduced Nighthawk's long-ago girlfriend (from Defenders #32) as one of the abducted psychics. When Nighthawk merely thought the team needed the help of Dr. Strange, she sent out a telepathic cry for help to the master of of the mystic arts.

The story moved to Defenders #106, as Dr. Strange assembled a rescue team with Daredevil, Daimon Hellstrom, and Beast (one of the original X-Men who appeared in Captain America's illusionary world, and an increasing part of the Defenders).

Captain America. Vol. 1. No. 264. December 1981. "The American Dreamers!" J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Mike Zeck (penciler), Quickdraw Studios (inker), Jim Novak (letterer), Don Warfield (colorist), Jim Salicrup (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Captain America. Vol. 1. No. 264. April 1982. "Peace on Earth--Good Will to Man." J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Mike Zeck (penciler), John Beatty (inker), Jim Novak (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist), Jim Salicrup (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Defenders. Vol. 1 No. 106. April 1982. "War to End All Wars!" J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Perlin, Trapani, Magyar, Abel and Milgrom (artists), Shelly Leferman (letterer), George Roussos (colorist), Al Milgrom (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).