Lawful Good: Beast

Don't let his boisterous demeanor fool you. Of the nine alignments popularized in Dungeons & Dragons, the bouncing blue Beast was Lawful Good by the time he joined the Defenders.

Following an impressive run as a member of the Avengers, Beast began to adventure regularly with the non-team beginning in Defenders #104. But instead of accepting the Defenders as an informal group of heroes who happened to work together, Beast was responsible for molding them into the New Defenders, with an official leader, government clearance, and advanced security system.

In short, the longer Beast was with the New Defenders, the more they looked like the Avengers.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

Beast's time with the Avengers spanned #137-#211.

Chaotic Good: Non-Team

To keep in step with an online meme, this is the first in a series of posts looking at the Defenders through the lens of the nine alignments popularized in early editions of Dungeons & Dragons.

The first word of an alignment tells if a character favors Lawful (social order) or Chaotic (individualism). The second word describes a character as Good or Evil. The option of Neutral falls between each pair, with True Neutral in the middle.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

In a conversation from Defenders #6 (Vol. 2), Sub-Mariner asked Nighthawk why he remained so loyal to the group. Nighthawk explained that being part of the Defenders allowed him to work on the side of good without all the rules and regulations of a team like the Avengers.

Heroes with a variety of alignments may have joined the Defenders over the years, but this loosely structured non-team approach that so encapsulated the Defenders was inherently Chaotic Good.

Defenders. Vol. 2. No. 6. "Rumble in the Sky." August 2001. Kurt "Ugly-Man" (dumb writers) Erik "Funny-Head" Larsen (puny artists) Al "Big-Ears" Gordon, Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Gregory Wright & Tom Smith's Color Arts (colors), Marc Sumerak (hates Hulk), Tom Brevort (hounds Hulk), Joe Quesada (won't leave Hulk alone), Bill Jemas (leave Hulk alone—or Hulk will smash!)

The Slayer

Politics took center stage when Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Nomad (Jack Monroe) faced the Slayer in Captain America #294.

Wearing Devil-Slayer's costume (stolen from Project: PEGASUS *), the Slayer was remarkably adept at using the mysterious Shadow Cloak to teleport and draw arsenal from other dimensions.

Yet this wasn't the real Devil-Slayer (Eric Payne). Defenders #110 had closed with an epilogue indicating that Devil-Slayer had turned himself into the authorities for crimes he'd previously committed.

Instead, it was David Cox, a conscientious objector who was brainwashed by super-villains into attacking the heroes. Even under this mental manipulation, the Slayer's deep-rooted principles as David Cox did not allow him to kill Nomad when given the chance.

With reflection, Captain America noted that becoming a pacifist can require more courage than choosing to fight. This was a perspective that Nomad hadn't considered.

* A government energy research center. (That's how the footnote within the issue identified the project, rather than spelling out Potential Energy Group/Alternate Sources/United States.)

Captain America. Vol. 1. No. 294. June 1984. "The Measure of a Man!" J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Paul Neary (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Diana Albers (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist), Mark Grunewald (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

Now -- Get Six Titles For the Price of Five!!

This ad for comic book subscriptions appeared in Defenders #64 and other Marvel titles with a publication date of October 1978, the same month cover prices began saying STILL ONLY 35¢.

The ad stands out for giving Nighthawk equal prominence as Iron Man and Conan, who each had solo titles at the time.

Big Shot

Power Man and Iron Fist #112 (Feb. 1985) introduced a physically unassuming character named Gordy, head of Special Mission Intelligence—Law Eenforcement Division (S.M.I.L.E. for short).

Although Gordy typically appeared with red hair, the cover of #114 depicted him with black hair and a striking resemblance to a young Billy Joel. But why?

Seeing how the cover caption described Gordy as very, very dangerous, my best guess is that using Billy Joel's likeness for the leader of the ironically titled S.M.I.L.E. was a subtle nod to these lyrics from his song "Only the Good Die Young" (1977).

You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd
We ain't too pretty, we ain't too proud
We might be laughing a bit too loud
But that never hurt no one

Outside of that cover, there's little evidence that Gordy was created as an homage to the popular singer/songwriter; #114 revealed that Gordy's ex-wife was named Elaine, and lyrics from Billy Joel's song "Big Shot" (1978) made reference to a restaurant by that name. But in the overall scheme of things, I'd chalk that up as a coincidence.

They were all impressed with your Halston dress
And the people that you knew at Elaine's
And the story of your latest success
Kept 'em so entertained

In fact, Billy Joel's first wife was named Elizabeth, and #114 went on sale shortly before his marriage to second-wife Christie Brinkley

"Big Shot" was the first recording on the album 52nd Street (1978). "Only the Good Die Young" was from The Stranger (1977). Graham Geiger illustrated Power Man and Iron Fist #114.