Ringer

Introduced in Defenders #51, Ringer had the trappings of a one-shot foe. While stealing money from Richmond Enterprises, Ringer regarded himself as too insignificant to attract the attention of a superhero. Nevertheless, Nighthawk (a.k.a. Kyle Richmond of Richmond Enterprises) did take time to stop him.

Spidey Super Stories #51 saw more potential in Ringer. Published in conjunction with The Electric Company public television series, these stories had a different continuity from most Marvel titles, such as The Defenders and Amazing Spider-Man.

Ringer designed a costume with the power to launch solid rings as weapons. He could also use chains of rings for grappling and climbing, making him a suitable adversary against Spider-Man's webs and wall-crawling. After committing robbery in Spidey Super Stories, the inventive villain even used his rings as roller skates while making a getaway … that is until Spider-Man caught him, with the help of Mary Jane Watson (Peter Parker's girlfriend).

Just as Spider-Man could run out of web fluid, Ringer could run out of rings!

Spidey Super Stories. Vol. 1. No. 51. March 1981. "The Ringer's Big Rip-Off." Sim Salicrup/Steve Grant (writers), Winslow Mortimer (penciler), Esposito & Villamonte (inkers), Raymond Holloway (letterer), George Roussos (colorist), Caroline Barnes/Deborah Walker (editors), Jim Shooter/Jim Salicrup (Marvel consultants), Bob Budiansky (art director).

Discerning Dr. Druid

Previous posts on this site have looked at several members of the Defenders, and even Man-Thing, in context of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Given his name, Dr. Druid is another character worth considering from this perspective.

First things first: the mystical hero bears almost no resemblance to a Druid as described in D&D or other literature. The incongruency arose when the character's name changed from the original (albeit vague) Dr. Droom to Dr. Druid.

If not a Druid then, where might he fall within the game? Dr. Druid's power of hypnosis and cerebral school of magic map closely to the spells available to an Illusionist, a Magic-User sub-class from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. In his earliest adventures, Dr. Druid demonstrated the exceptional intelligence and dexterity required of Illusionist characters.

Although an Illusionist could follow any philosophical alignment within the game, Druid characters would automatically identify as Neutral, seeing good/evil, law/chaos as balancing forces in nature. With regard to his own moral compass, the shadowy Dr. Druid could be hard to pin down.

This image of Dr. Druid comes from The Office Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

Droom Patrol

Defenders #27 (Sept. 1975) took the non-team to the year 3015 A.D. In that future timeline, Dr. Strange, Hulk, Nighthawk and Valkyrie teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to battle the Badoon, a species of green-skinned extraterrestrials that had conquered the Earth. Leading the Badoon was a despot named Droom.

That character's name caught my attention for historical reasons.

Amazing Adventures #1 (June 1961) introduced Dr. Droom, a physician from the United States who learned magic in Tibet. The magician's amazing adventures continued each month through issue #4 (Sept. 1961), but Dr. Droom did not become part of the extended superhero universe that cemented with Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961).

That changed, in a way, with the publication of Weird Wonder Tales #19 (Dec. 1976), which reprinted that tale from Amazing Adventures #1 with minor revisions.

The original story depicted Dr. Droom as gaining a stereotypical Asian mustache and slanted eyes as a result of learning magic. The reprint, on the other hand, inked over the original artwork and gave the character a beard and consistent facial features throughout the story.

The reprint also changed the hero's surname from Droom to Druid. Revised versions of other Dr. Droom stories appeared with the renamed Dr. Druid each month through Weird Wonder Tales #22 (March 1977). That issue included an introductory paragraph that gave more cohesion to the eclectic character:

My name is Anthony Druid, and in my time I have been many things. I have the skills of a Yogi—the wisdom of a Lama—and the powers of the ancient Britons! I dwell in a dark, shadowy world—destroying evil, protecting the innocent. Danger is my task … Justice, my goal! DR. DRUID. MASTER of the UNKNOWN!

Madame Olga

Experiencing something of a mid-life crisis, a melancholic Adam Henderson sought guidance from a carnival soothsayer named Madame Olga. Adam had worked as a high school English teacher for eight years but dreamed of being a professional musician.

Madame Olga, on the other hand, was a charlatan who only pretended to have psychic powers; her crystal ball was a prop she'd purchased for $1.98. So Madame Olga was understandably shocked when her so-called "mystic crystal" filled with images as Adam sat down to speak (Ghost Rider #71).

Adam described how a race of winged beings called the S'raphh had ventured into space in search of the reason for being. The S'raphh never found the ultimate truth, however, and their despair led them to a point of racial suicide. The negative emotions from the collective unconsciousness of the S'raphh brought forth the evil being called Null—the Living Darkness!

Originally defeated in Defenders #103, a bitter Null traveled to Earth in energy form to merge with a human. With his despondent disposition, Adam Henderson proved to be a compatible physical host.

Null proceeded to go on a minor rampage until the hero Ghost Rider used his hell-fire powers to banish Null from Adam's body. Following the experience, Adam gained new appreciation for life and for his dedicated wife, Maureen.

Ghost Rider. Vol. 1. No. 71. August 1982. "The Tears of Adam Henderson." J.M. DeMatteis (scripter), Don Perlin (breakdowns), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Diana Albers (letterer), George Roussos (colorist), Tom DeFalco (editor), Jim Shooter (chief).

Null would return much more powerful in Defenders #113.

The Avenging Wasp

Almost any issue of the Defenders shows the non-team defending themselves against something or another. In contrast, however, how much avenging do the Avengers actually do?

Seeing how it was Wasp who suggested the group name in Avengers #1, the cover of Marvel Team-Up #59 stands out. Here we see Wasp promising to avenge the death of her husband, Yellowjacket. Though not identifiable from the cover, the villain at hand is Equinox (previously seen in #23).

For better or worse, Yellowjacket is merely presumed dead in #59. The hero safely returns the following issue with a rather complicated account of escaping death.

Marvel Team-Up. Vol. 1. No. 59. July 1977. "Some Say Spidey Will Die By Fire … Some Say By Ice!" Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (artist), Dave Hunt (inker/colorist), B. Patterson (letterer), A. Goodwin (editor). Dedicated—with respect and admiration—to Roy Thomas.