Elven Kind

The serial killer known as Elf with a Gun made several seemingly random appearances in the pages of the Defenders. Beginning with the Elf's debut in #25 (July 1975), the sound effect BLAM would fill the final panel of any sighting of the Elf, denoting that he shot his victim and seemingly teleported away.

Through a string of coincidences, the mutant hero Nightcrawler developed several similarities to the homicidal Elf.

Introduced in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975), Nightcrawler too had the ability to teleport. Nightcrawler's next appearances added the signature sound effect BAMF whenever he would teleport away.

A flashback in X-Men King-Size Annual #4 (1980) elaborated on Nightcrawler's origin, telling how his foster brother had been a crazed serial killer in the village of Winzeldorf, Germany. After Nightcrawler unintentionally killed his brother while trying to stop him, the villagers blamed Nightcrawler for all of the murders his brother had committed.

Early on, other heroes often joined the general public in mistaking Nightcrawler for a demon based on looks alone. By the early 1980s, however, some of the X-Men warmed up to Nightcrawler well enough to give him the friendly moniker of "elf" (or "fuzzy-elf").

On a separate tangent, an elf named Indel was a member of an adventuring party featured in a series of ads for Dungeons & Dragons that ran inside comic books during the early 1980s. Although Indel could not teleport, he did vanish through a trapdoor during one of the stories. There were no sound effects, but Indel did cry out, "Help!" The rest of the party eventually found the unlucky elf as the serial continued.

The BLAM panel comes from Defenders #25 (July 1975). The panels of Nightcrawler come from Uncanny X-Men #148 (Aug. 1981).

Hard-Rock Heroes

With unique stage costumes and face makeup to mask their identities, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss of the rock band KISS became comic book heroes in Marvel Comics Super Special #1 (1977).

The foursome gained their super-powers from the Box of Khyscz, which held mystical properties understood by a man identified as Dizzy.

At the Sanctum Sanctorum, Dizzy met with Dr. Strange and a group of the Defenders consisting of Daredevil, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Son of Satan, Hulk, and Red Guardian. The Defenders, along with other established super teams, decided not to intervene as the members of KISS embarked on an inter-dimensional adventure that pitted them against Dr. Doom.

KISS returned in Marvel Comics Super Special #5 (1978). This go-around the group encountered the infamous Elf with a Gun while entering the Land of Leftovers, where symbolic figures of the 1960s lived out that decade indefinitely. Stever Gerber wrote Marvel Comics Super Special #1 and #5 after his tenure as writer of the Defenders.

Seems Like Old Times

The prophecy that forced the four earliest Defenders to leave the team in #125 turned out to be in err, allowing them to later join forces again as they routinely had done in the past. Why anyone believed the psychopathic Elf to begin with was never adequately explained.

Of all the attempts to bring back the non-team, my favorite was the four-part "Return of the Defenders" storyline that ran through the 1992 annuals of the Incredible Hulk, Namor, the Silver Surfer, and Dr. Strange.

These heroes had faced extra-dimensional entities countless times in the past. But for a welcome change of pace, throughout much of the cross-over adventure, Sub-Mariner's mind was trapped within the body of Rick Jones, adding room for humor and giving Hulk's first friend a well-deserved place among the Defenders. Meanwhile, Prince Namor's true form was under an evil magician's control.

What also made this reunion memorable was the way the characters interacted like old friends instead of reluctant allies. Their bickering bellied a level of comaraderie they'd seldom shown in the original series.

Something Old, Something New

Weddings usually spell trouble in the world of comics. So when Patsy Walker and Daimon Hellstrom decided to tie the knot, they should have expected some unwelcome guests (Defenders #125).

Now known as Mad-Dog, ex-husband Buzz Baxter led the villain group Mutant Force in an attack on the bride and groom.

But there were also more heroes on hand than anyone had expected. Beast (arriving with guests Iceman and Angel), Valkyrie (now in custody of the headstrong Moondragon), and Gargoyle soon defeated the intruders.

Like other super couples before them, the happy-go-lucky Hellcat and the so-called Son of Satan now wanted to hang up their costumes and try to lead normal lives. They weren't the only ones to say goodbye to the team.

In response to a cryptic prophesy by the murderous Elf, Doctor Strange, Prince Namor, Hulk, and Silver Surfer announced their departures as well. If certain visions of the future held true, the Earth would lay in ruins unless the four earliest Defenders vowed never to work together again.

After such an official changing of the guard, the six heroes who remained formed the New Defenders.

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 125. November 1983. "Hello, I must be going." J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don Perlin and Kim De Mulder (artists), Christie Scheele (colorist) Carl Potts (editor), Jim Shooter (chief).

The above image by Mike Zeck comes from Defenders #130, during a rematch against Mutant Force.

Defenders Dialogue: Elf

The Defenders faced several serial killers over the years. But few villains garnished as much mail as the inexplicable gun-toting elf. Here's an editorial note from Defenders #43 and the letter that followed.

The elf sub-plot has been one of the most controversial in the history of the DEFENDERS mag. Fan mail has been split almost down the middle as to whether it should ever have been started in the first place. But Paul Butler kind've put the situation in a very appropriate tongue-in-cheek perspective. It gave the Bullpen a big laugh, and we think it'll give you some snickers.

Dear Marvel,

Report on the elf phenomenon by the Univac 1108 computer.

A: Elf appeared in DEFENDERS #25, #31, #38, #40. NO APPRECIABLE PATTERN.

B: Victims of elf were Tom/Pritchett, Charles Lester, Stewart (no last name given), and an unidentified woman. NO APPRECIABLE PATTERN.

C: Locations of crimes were a mobile home park in California; Las Vegas, Nevada; the Grand Canyon in Colorado; somewhere in the southwestern United States. CRIMES WERE COMMITTED IN THE WESTERN HALF OF THE UNITED STATES.

D: Activities of the victims at the time of death were singing, gambling, exploring, hiding. NO APPRECIABLE PATTERN.

@Conclusion. Steve Gerber is suffering from a severe mental disorder which zorf gglmf ndjb. BLAM!

The Univac 1108 computer is unable to complete its report due to an unidentified elf with a gun! But all seriousness aside, when is this thing coming to a head?

Paul Butler
Madison, WI

This image of the Elf comes from Defenders #25. Long after his killing spree, the Elf returned in an equally ambiguous subplot that convinced early members of the team to step aside, making way for the New Defenders.