By Any Other Name

Many heroes use nicknames from time to time, but Hulk stood out for assigning descriptive names to other Defenders.

Here are the unique names Hulk largely settled on for a handful of his teammates.

• Dr. Strange = Magician
• Hellcat = Cat-Girl
• Nighthawk = Bird-Nose
• Red Guardian = Star-Girl
• Sub-Mariner = Fish-Man
• Valkyrie = Sword-Girl (or simply Girl before other women joined the Defenders)

Not everyone received a consistent moniker, mind you. For example, Hulk referred to Hawkeye as Purple-Man and Stick Man (Defenders #7). And he called Silver Surfer both Shiny-Face and Silver-Face (Defenders #8).

Since the green goliath clearly remembered the names of other people he knew (such as Jarella), his almost exclusive use of monikers for costumed adventures may have been a way to maintain emotional distance among those who might act as Hulk's friends one moment but then try to stop him the next.

The above image comes from the closing page of Incredible Hulk #206.

Millie the Metaphor

Guest appearing in Defenders #65, Millie the Model caught up with Patsy Walker and offered her a chance to work at her modeling agency—seemingly oblivious to Patsy's costumed career as Hellcat.

In turning down Millie's job offer, Patsy figuratively gave up a chance to return to the relatively simple existence she once had in the world of of romance comics, where both women began as characters.

Remaining in the Defenders as Hellcat meant proceeding as a three-dimensional character, with all the personal turmoil that might entail.

Patsy Walker entered the world of superheroes innocently enough by observed the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm in Fantastic Four Annual #3. Patsy's friend Hedy Wolfe suggested that Millie the Model was there as well.

Unhappily Ever After

Married life is seldom easy for superheroes. Just ask Patsy Walker and Daimon Hellstrom. Following their wedding, the couple tried to lead a "normal" life as paranormal investigators and sometime-superheroes. But existing without his darksoul since Defenders #120 eventually took its toll on the so-called Son of Satan, as told in the protagonist's solo series titled Hellstorm: Prince of Lies.

With Daimon on the brink of death, Patsy bargained with her malevolent father-in-law to restore Daimon to health—darksoul and all. Her traumatic dealings with the netherworld left Patsy catatonic for an extended period of time (Hellstorm #3). Former teammate Gargoyle stayed in the Hellstrom household, acting as a caregiver to Patsy and a butler to Daimon.

Concern that Daimon had slipped into a state of moral debauchery prompted a visit from Dr. Strange in Hellstorm #2. On the subject of debauchery, the series also revived Daimon's sister, Satana.

Preferred Customer

During a visit last month to a bookstore where I buy new comics and back issues, the owner noticed that my Preferred Customer Discount Card was well worn and asked if I wanted a new one. Given to regular customers, the card provides 10% off most purchases. My card carried an expiration date of 12-31-07 (a few months before I started writing this blog), so it had its share of use. Since the store staff still honored the card, it seemed unnecessary to get a new one. If anything, the frayed card was a fond reminder of the years I've frequented that particular store.

When I stopped in earlier this week, the owner again pointed out that my card was badly worn and suggested giving me a new one. Since replacing my card seemed like a priority to him, I accepted the offer. In comic book lingo, my old card was in Fair condition. The new one is in Near Mint condition right now. The new card has an expiration date of 12-31-13. But as I learned, it really expires when the owner insists I get a new one.

… Try, Try Again

To save the Earth from annihilation, Wolverine went back through time to kill Henry Pym before he could build the artificial intelligence called Ultron (Age of Ultron #6). Accompanied by the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four, Wolverine arrived as Pym (then Goliath) originally examined the artificial construct known as Dragon Man (circa Avengers #41).

Following Pym's death, Wolverine and Invisible Woman returned to the present. But the divergent timeline that unfolded was no better than the apocalyptic reality they had hoped to prevent (Age of Ultron #7).

Led by Dr. Strange, the Defenders on this grizzled Earth included Thing, Star-Lord (from the Guardians of the Galaxy), Captain Marvel (formerly Wasp), Cable (formerly Cyclops), Hulk (with the mind of Bruce Banner), Colonel America (formerly Captain America), and Wolverine. The group operated out of Defenders Sanctorum (Age of Ultron #8), also referred to as Defenders Headquarters (Fearless Defenders #4AU).

In yet another time-travel attempt, Wolverine went back to stop himself from assassinating Pym. This time, Wolverine suggested that Pym follow through with his idea to build Ultron yet add a time-release program to prevent Ultron from one day devastating the world (Age of Ultron #9).

I would have liked to have seen more of the Defenders from this alternate reality before the timeline was more-or-less restored.