Hank Pym, the Ultimate Defender

The Defenders never had it so bad as they did in Ultimates 2. Set in an alternate reality, #6 of that series depicted the Defenders as a group of struggling vigilantes with high hopes of stopping crime.

Misrepresenting their skills, resources, and connections, the group recruited Dr. Henry Pym into their ranks. With the ability to shrink as Ant Man or grow 60-feet-tall as Giant Man, he was actually the only member of these Defenders with any superhuman powers.

The 34-year-old biochemist soon found himself in a burgeoning romance with Barbara, a 19-year-old teammate who called herself Valkyrie. But that relationship made the sting all the more harsh when Hank learned that he he'd been misled.

Hank: You people don't really know Dr. Strange at all, do you?

Barbara: Nope. Or Iceman. Or Colossus. Or any of the other X-Men we kind of hinted might be signing up.

Having long felt like a second-class superhero, Hank's heart sank all the more when Barbara asked if he could dress up like Captain America.

Roll Call: (back) Nighthawk, Giant Man, (front) Power Man, Valkyrie, Son of Satan, Hellcat.
Not Pictured: Black Knight.

Ultimates 2. No. 6. July 2005. "The Defenders." Mark Millar (story), Bryan Hitch (pencils), Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary inks), Laura Martin (colors), Chris Ellopoulos (letters), Tom Valente (production), Nicole Wiley & John Barber, Ralph Macchio (editor), Joe Quesada (editor in chief), Dan Buckley (publisher).

Nine Lives

Published in cooperation with The Electric Company public television series, Spidey Super Stories teamed-up the web-slinger with other Marvel heroes each issue.

Created for young readers, these stories took place outside of the standard Marvel Universe and altered some of the characters in age-appropriate ways.

In standard Marvel Comics, the crimefighter originally known as Cat transformed into Tigra the were-woman in Giant-Size Creatures #1 (July 1974).

But that didn't prevent Cat, with her original yellow costume and black hair, from making a guest appearance in Spidey Super Stories #12 (Sept. 1975).

When Tigra did guest star in Spidey Super Stories #21 (Feb. 1977), she wore a full-piece costume, relatively conservative when compared with the two-piece outfit she wore in most of her other comic book appearances.

Don't be fooled by appearances. The heroine on the cover of Spidey Super Stories #39 (March 1979) had red hair that matched that of Patsy Walker (who as Hellcat was an active member of the Defenders by that time), but within that super story she still answered to the sanitized name of Cat.

Had the version of Cat from Spidey Super Stories #12 transformed into Tigra but then returned to human form? Or was the character in #39 a version of Patsy Walker who inherited the Cat costume and kept the "hell" out of her name?

Who had time to address such matters? After all, Thanos was overhead in a helicopter!

Spidey Super Stories. Vol. 1. No. 39. March 1979. "The Cat and the Cosmic Cube!" Nick Sullivan, Michael Siporin, Jim Salicrup (writers), Win Mortimer, Mike Esposito (artists), A. J. Hays, Deborah November (editors), Jim Shooter (Marvel consultant), Marie Severin (art director). The issue also included the story "Women's Day 1979," guest-starring Ms. Marvel, and "The Impossible Visitor from Outer Space," featuring the Impossible Man.

Out of the Shadows

Beginning with Secret Defenders #15, the mysterious Shadowoman became a core member of the team. This led to a recurring question on the series letters page, as reader after reader asked why Shadowoman appeared in the same red costume previously worn by Spider-Woman (specifically Jessica Drew).

The web-gliders on the sides of Spider-Woman's uniform were the key distinctions between the two characters.

The costume confusion ended with Secret Defenders #22 as Shadowoman not only adopted a new black uniform but also changed her codename. The character now called herself Sepulcre, a variant spelling of the word sepulchre, which hinted at the cryptic nature of her powers.

The cover of #22 showed the character's figuratively transform from her original Shadowoman costume into Sepulcre.

The One and Only

Back in the days when comic book series routinely added a king-size stand-alone issue once per year, the Defenders had only one "annual" of their own.

Published in 1976, Defenders Annual #1 opened with the team watching a videotape of agent Jack Norriss describing uncharacteristic emotional reactions on the part of the heroes ever since their encounter with the Headmen in Defenders #33.

That call to action prompted Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Red Guardian, and Power Man to investigate a series of unusual political turnabouts across the globe. With help from the Hulk, they thwarted the Headmen's bid for world domination in the process.

But the Headmen weren't the only threat at hand.

Having surmised that Nebulon might be responsible for some of the international upheaval, Dr. Strange held his ground against the extraterrestrial instigator during a climactic battle of wits. While Nebulon told of his plans to mentally reprogram humanity into a state of "liberation," the sorcerer maintained that "free will" was a necessity for the people of Earth.

Dr. Strange: We attain our most glorious heights when we admit our ignorance … and force onward to surmount it. Perhaps this classes us as anomalies in the universe, but--

Nebulon: Enough, Strange! I concede! Your race is beyond redemption! And so I hereby abandon my efforts--to--

Although Nebulon disappeared at the end of the debate, he became one of the Defenders' most persistent foes.

Defenders Annual. Vol. 1. No. 1. 1976. "World Gone Sane?" Steve Gerber (writer), Sal Buscema & Klaus Janson (artists), John Costanza (letterer) D. Warfield (colorist), Archie Goodwin (editor).

.

Speaking Volumes

Since newer comics do not include the volume number on the copyright page, as comics of earlier years had, I checked the Marvel Comics Database to see that the latest Defenders series (bringing Iron Fist and Red She-Hulk into the fold) is indeed Volume 4.

Volume 1 was the original run of the Defenders that began in the 1970s, with Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, and Hulk as founding members. The Silver Surfer was the first of numerous heroes to unofficially join the non-team.

Because the issue-to-issue numbering stayed consistent, the series remained Volume 1 even when the title changed to the New Defenders (issues #125-152).

Volume 2 was most notable for giving Samantha Parrington a chance to reprise the role of Valkyrie and work with the Defenders. In this twelve-issue limited series from 2001, she shared the spotlight with six of the most recognized members of the team: Nighthawk, Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer, Hellcat, and Hulk.

Volume 3 brought back Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, Hulk, and Silver Surfer for a dimension-hopping limited series. The ever-dreaded Dormammu was the group's primary adversary during this five-issue adventure from 2005.

Series with variant titles (including Secret Defenders and Last Defenders) were each published as Volume 1 in their own right.