Princess Satana

First introduced in Vampire Tales #2 (July 1973), Satana Hellstrom might be the best-known comic book character with that first name, but she isn't the first. Marvel Boy encountered a Princess Satana of the planet Satania back in Astonishing #3 (April 1951). In the story "The Runaway Planet," inhabitants of Satania believed that their planet was heading into the Sun. Science from Marvel Boy's adopted home world of Uranus, however, proved that they were mistaken. As an aisde, there's no evidence that Princess Satana had a brother named Daimon.

Bill Everett illustrated this panel from Astonishing #3 (April 1951).

Some Enchanted Evening

Dazzler #2 felt like it should have included the Defenders. Jealous of her musical success, the evil Enchantress decided to sabbotage one of Dazzler's performances not only by attacking the singer/heroine but also by unleashing a horde of demons. The audience that night happened to include Spider-Man, along with members of the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Avengers. Although the heroes prevailed, the mystical nature of the threat would have been right up the Defenders' alley.

Even at this early stage in her career, Dazzler was already thinking of getting rid of her signature blue makeup, which she described as a gimmick. She stopped wearing stage makeup altogether by the time of the Beauty and the Beast limited series.

Dazzler. Vol. 1. No. 2. April 1981. "Where Demons Fear to Dwell!" Tom DeFalco (writer), John Romita, Jr. (penciler), Alfredo Alcala (inker), K. Klaczak (colorist), Jim Novak (letterer), Louise Jones (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Heart Shaped Wreckage

I was a fan of the show Smash, which aired on NBC more than a decade ago. For some time now I've thought about posting how a song from the show titled Heart Shaped Wreckage reminds me of the relationship between Daimon Hellstrom and Patsy Walker during their time as Defenders. I'll skip a lengthy explanation, as the lyrics from the first two verses of the duet speak for themselves.

I'm not scared to tell the truth
I've been to hell and back and I went with you
Remind me what we were before
When we said, "You are mine and I am yours"

I don't know much but I know myself
And I don't want to love anybody else
So let's break the spell and lift the curse
Remember where we fell for each other, head first

Nighthawks

I'm a fan of Edward Hopper and have seen his 1942 painting Nighthawks affectionately lampooned many times. If I were to create a Defenders rendition of the painting, I would place Nighthawk behind the counter, with Dr. Strange and Valkyrie next to each other, and Hulk seated by himself. This combination of heroes appeared in the upper-left corner of the covers for Defenders #40-46.

Namor the Barbarian

Several earlier posts have described members of the Defenders as character classes from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. After giving the topic even more thought, I'd like to suggest that Sub-Mariner would be a fitting candidate for the Barbarian subclass introduced by Gary Gygax in Dragon Magazine #63 (July 1982). Originating from a remote area, Barbarians often fight without armor and have an aversion to magic. Additionally, Sub-Mariner's pointed ears and Atlantean background could make him a half-elf, specifically aquatic elf (even though these early rules state that only humans can be Barbarians).

Robert E. Howard deserves credit for creating Conan, the archetypical barbarian from sword & sorcery literature. Drawing inspiration from Howard's novels, Conan the Barbarian was a long-running Marvel title.