X-Men vs. Defender

The original X-Men faced an unexpected enemy when the Puppet Master took mental control of Mimic, who could replicate the heroes' mutant powers. Guarding the Puppet Master's criminal lair was a formidable android called the Defender (X-Men #27).

To prepare for a looming mutant menace, Professor X invited Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to join the X-Men. They declined. The siblings had previously discussed that possibility but became Avengers instead (Avengers #16). Quicksilver, in particular, wanted to distance himself from any reminder of their early days in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

These panels with the android Defender come from X-Men #27 (Dec. 1966).

Mutant Coverage

Defenders #15-16 pitted the non-team against the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Yet when the two-part story reprinted in Rampage #14-15, the new covers billed the opposing team as the Mighty Mutants or more generally as Mutants. To be fair, the interior pages retained the original text and specifically called the villains the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Assisting the Defenders was Professor X, leader of the X-Men.

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 Evolution of Mutant Force

Fans of the Defenders might recognize Burner, Lifter, Peeper, Shocker, and Slither as Mutant Force … but that wasn't the group's original name. When they first appeared in Captain America Annual #4 (1977), they were billed as Magneto's all-new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!

It wasn't until they began working for Mandrill in Defenders #78 (Dec. 1979) that the five henchmen adopted the name Mutant Force. The team remained Mutant Force when they changed leaders once again, working next for Mad-Dog, who incidentally was not a mutant.

As of Captain America #342 (June 1988), Slither left Mutant Force and became a member of the Serpent Society, a group of super-villains unified by their reptilian powers rather than mutant status. Meanwhile, the rest of Mutant Force altered their code names and started wearing matching costumes to mask their previous identities. Calling themselves the Resistants in #343 (July 1988), they fought against the Mutant Registration Act, which now required mutants to register with the U.S. government.

• Burner, sporting fire powers, changed his name to Crucible.
• Lifter became Meteorite and used his power to negate gravity in a novel way, transporting the Resistants on a floating chunk of rock.
• Peeper, who had telescopic vision and optic blasts, chose Occult as his new secret alias.
• Shocker, with an electro-touch strong enough to render someone unconscious, became Paralyzer. With the new uniform, Paralyzer wore metal gloves and boots to hide that his hands and feet resembling pincers; these physical mutations were visible in his previous costume as Shocker.

Several other mutants joined the Resistants by their next appearance in Captain America #346 (Oct. 1988). The Mutant Registration Act described in this story was a colloquial term for the proposed Mutant Affairs Control Act referenced in New Defenders #142.

The cover of Captain America #343 shows Burner, Meteorite, and Oracle using their powers, and incorrectly pictures Paralyzer with ordinary hands. The cover of #346 depicts the unique gloves and boots covering the character's mutant pincers.

Metal Men

Given that Luke Cage had steel-hard skin and became crime-fighting partners with Danny Rand, the following letter from Power Man & Iron Fist #88 seemed inevitable.

Dear Denny,

A battle I would love to see is Power Man and Iron Fist against Magneto. Since Luke's skin must have indeed taken on the properties of steel and Danny's "iron fist" may have taken on the properties of iron, both would be susceptible to Magneto's mutant ability.

By the way, Power Man must be a good teacher. He taught Danny to drive in only two days.

John DiMaio
Mineola, NY 11501

Two issues later, the duo squared off against Unus the Untouchable, who had worked with the master of magnetism as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Unus first appeared in X-Men #8.

Kangaroo Court

When a special tribunal of the International Court of Justice charged Magneto with crimes against humanity in Uncanny X-Men #200, the scope of the legal proceedings hinged on the time Mutant Alpha reverted the master of magnetism from an adult to an infant (Defenders #16).

Prosecuting the case against Magneto was Sir James Jaspers, attorney-general of England. Leading the defense, Gabrielle Haller argued to strike all criminal counts that happened prior to that incident with Mutant Alpha.

Gabrielle Haller: As I was saying -- at that time, Magneto was reduced to infancy, returned to a state of grace. His life can be said to have begun again. The man that was, at that moment, ceased to exist. In effect. he died. Which is, of course, the ultimate penalty for any crime.

James Jaspers: Objection! This is the most preposterous perversion--!

Building her defense, Gabrielle Haller noted that Magneto was an adolescent during his internment at a Nazi concentration camp. Yet, decades later, medical testimony would now place the mutant criminal in his early 30s instead of his much older chronological age.

James Jaspers: That's irrelevant! He committed those crimes, regardless of his age!

After a long deliberation, the court found in favor of the defense, restricting the indictment to those crimes committed after Magneto's "resurrection" (the court's term, not mine).

I, on the other hand, would have sided with the prosecution. For starters, Magneto did not die at the hands of Mutant Alpha. And once restored to physical prime through the actions of Eric the Red (X-Men #104), Magneto retained his full memories and mental faculties. His biological age may have altered back and forth, but he was the same person as before.

The Uncanny X-Men. Vol. 1. No. 200. December 1985. "The Trial of Magneto!" Chris Claremont (writer), John Romita Jr. & Dan Green (artists), Glynis Oliver (colorist), Tom Orzechowski (letterer), Ann Nocenti (editor), Jim Shooter (editor in chief).

Days of the Year 2013

Featuring one of the most influential stories of its day, Uncanny X-Men #141 flashed forward to the year 2013 to show the possible fate of mutantkind.

On Halloween 1980, the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants intended to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly, who was leading a national inquiry to assess the threat that super-powered mutants posed to humanity. But if the Brotherhood were to succeed, anti-mutant hysteria would in fact intensify all the more … building toward a future in which government-issued Sentinel robots would eradicate almost all superhuman beings and then assume control of the United States.

In the year 2013 of that possible future, only a handful of mutants remained. To curtail this fate, a mutant named Rachel telepathically sent the mind of Kate Pryde more than three decades back in time.

Mentally in the body of her younger self, "Kitty" Pryde warned the other X-Men of the Brotherhood's plans. The mutant heroes thwarted the assassination attempt in Uncanny X-Men #142. Angel was the only original student of Professor Xavier who was a member of the "new" X-Men at this point.

Angel: Professor, we saved Senator Kelly. Kitty's mind has been returned to her body. Does that mean we changed the future?

Professor Xavier: I do not know, Warren. Cliche though it sounds, only time will tell.

History repeated itself when Senator Kelly appeared in New Defenders #142, speaking about the need for a Mutant Registration Act. This time, Iceman and Beast protected Senator Kelly by holding off an attack by Adrian Castorp, a mutant who accused the senator of instigating racial persecution against mutants.

The image here of Senator Kelly comes from X-Men #142 (February 1981).

Coming of Age

The end of Defenders #16 left five members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants transformed into infants. Yet when the evil mutant Blob next faced the Defenders (#63), he was an adult again. What happened to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the time in between?

Following his transformation into an infant, Magneto went in captivity at the mutant-research facility on Muir Island, off the coast of Scotland. When the villain Eric the Red used an energy ray to restore him to adulthood, the master of magnetism broke free (X-Men #104).

Held inside a neighboring cell, other members of the Brotherhood inadvertently returned to adulthood as well. But they did not rejoin Magneto. Instead, Blob, Lorelei, and Unus teamed up with Vanisher, who concocted a plot to keep them free (Champions #17).

Chased by a trio of mutant-hunting Sentinels (secretly controlled by Vanisher), the escaped members of the Brotherhood sought refuge in headquarters of the Champions. Since Angel and Iceman of the original X-Men were members of the Los Angeles super-team, Vanisher gambled that the Champions would sympathize with their fellow mutants and agree to harbor them.

The first part of the plan paid off beautifully, as Black Widow, Hercules, Ghost Rider, Angel, Iceman, and Darkstar trounced the Sentinel robots. But instead of taking in the evil mutants, the Champions captured the band of criminals.

Mastermind, a founding member of the Brotherhood who too became an infant in Defenders #16, did not regroup with his teammates in Champions #17. But the master of illusions must have returned to his true age with the others, as he would become the lynchpin in the Dark Phoenix saga in the pages of the X-Men.

Champions. Vol. 1. No. 17. January 1978. Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska (artist), John Byrne (embellisher), John Costanza (letterer), Phil Rachelson (colorist), Archie Goodwin (editor). This was the last issue of the Champions series.

Namor, the Evil Mutant

After several former X-Men found their way into the Defenders, the non-team seemed to veer away from its mystical roots.

So it's easy to forget that Sub-Mariner, a founding member of the Defenders, had once called himself a mutant. Well at least for an issue (X-Men #6). What else could explain why the man from Atlantis had feathers on the side of his feet?

When the criminal Magneto informed Prince Namor of his homo superior genetic status and offered him a spot in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Namor took the invite in stride. After all, Namor already considered himself superior.

Ultimately, though, it was his hatred of the surface world, not his connection to mutantkind, that prompted Sub-Mariner to join the Brotherhood … just long enough to see that he had no interest in following Magneto's orders or taking sides in the mutant struggle.

X-Men. Vol. 1. No. 6. July 1964. "Search for the Sub-Mariner!" Written: with the flair of Stan Lee. Drawn: with the air of Jack Kirby. Inked: with the care of Chic Stone. Lettered: on a dare by S. Rosen.

What if Wolverine Had Killed the Hulk?

Although Hulk's temper stayed largely in check around the Defenders, his rampages continued when left on his own. It was only a matter of time before new heroes popped up to drive off the Hulk. Enter: Wolverine.

Their historic first encounter established that the Canadian hero was tough enough to keep fighting after Hulk tossed him around, and that Wolverine's claws were sharp enough to penetrate Hulk's gamma-tough skin (Incredible Hulk 180-181). There was a chance Wolverine might win.

Further, the battle was interrupted by the cannibalistic man-monster called Wendigo, then cut short when a villain's magic spell put Hulk and Wolverine to sleep. The set up was ripe to consider what might have happened if the heroes hadn't been forced into a mystical draw. More specifically, "What if Wolverine Had Killed the Hulk?"

Faced with murder charges after fatally wounding the green goliath in self-defense, the clawed Canadian in this storyline fled from authorities. Recruited by Magneto into the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Wolverine's first assignment was to infilterate the X-Men.

Wolverine trained in the Danger Room with most of the original team, and proved himself against the Sentinels. So when time came to double-cross the mutant heroes, he instead turned on the master of magnetism. The story ended in a tragic draw, with Wolverine and Magneto killing each other (What If? #31).

For continuity lovers, this hypothetical tale hinged on the premise that Incredible Hulk #181 (October 1974) ended before Defenders #15 (September 1974), when Professor X turned to the Defenders to stop Magneto and Alpha the Ultimate Mutant. Len Wein wrote both of those classic stories.

During the 1990s, Hulk and Wolverine worked together briefly as Secret Defenders.

What If ? Vol. 1. No. 31. February 1982. "What if Wolverine Had Killed the Hulk?" Rich Margopoulos (script), Bob Budiansky (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Bob Sharen (colors), Karin Nemri (letters), Tom DeFalco (edits), Jim Shooter (chief).

The Ultimate Mutant

With the original X-Men on assignment (Marvel Team-Up #23), Professor Xavier turned to the Defenders for help. The result was one of the most important tales in mutant history (Defenders #15-16). The Defenders accompanied Professor X to the technologically equipped caves that Magneto and his latest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were using as a base. The battle that transpired emphasized the strengths and weaknesses of each character.

• After learning that Mastermind's monsters weren't real, Dr. Strange still responded defensively to the convincing illusions, creating mystic mirror-images of himself to avoid getting hit.
• When punching alone didn't harm the Blob, Hulk was smart enough to uproot his grounded foe.
• Valkyrie's mystical blade could not penetrate the force field surrounding Unus the Untouchable, but she easily knocked Unus backward when he let down his guard.
• Nighthawk and Professor X were immobilized by the siren song of Lorelei, a woman Magneto had technologically mutated. But Xavier had enough willpower to reach over and activate Nighthawk's new jetpack, propelling Nighthawk into Lorelei.

The heroes might have won, were it not for Magneto's latest creation, Alpha the Ultimate Mutant. The brutish being withstood all attacks, then teleported the evil mutants away. Since Magneto had already sealed off the exits, Hulk tunneled a new way out. The escaped heroes soon found Magneto and company threatening the United Nations.

Naïvely obeying Magneto's commands, Alpha levitated the U.N. building into the sky while Magneto proclaimed that it was his mutant birthright to rule humanity. When the heroes approached, Alpha used his vast power to freeze the Hulk in place, spin Nighthawk in a whirlwind until he blacked out, and turn Valkyrie's legs to putty. As Dr. Strange readied to cast a spell, Professor X intervened. Instead of fighting, Xaviar challenged Alpha to use his growing intellect to discern if Magneto was truthful or deceptive.

After contemplating the situation, Alpha set the U.N. building back in place and announced that he would leave Earth while his abilities continued to evolve. Before flying into space, Alpha punished the evil mutants by turning them into infants. The villains eventually recovered, but the event became a turning point in X-Men continuity. Magneto's rebirth accounted for his increased stamina and progressively sympathetic disposition in later years, and even came up during his landmark trial in Uncanny X-Men #200.

In Defenders #15, Professor Xavier harnessed mental energy from the Defenders to break through an electrical barrier in Magneto's lair. This panel noted Hulk's reduced intellect while asserting his desire to work with the team. Lein Wein wrote #15-16. Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson illustrated the two-part tale.