Even More Fun and Games

The cover of Fun and Games Magazine #2 (Oct. 1979) pictured Spider-Man and Hulk on a puzzle displaying the names of various supervillains. I understand including the likes of Juggernaut, a prominent foe of both the original and new X-Men. But I wonder how many readers recognized Droom as the name of a Badoon leader from Defenders #27 (Sept. 1975).

Inside the magazine, a feline word find featuring Hellcat was a more identifiable nod to the Defenders.

Cap'n Skragg

When numerous villains joined forces and pretended to be Defenders for a Day, their ranks included Pecos and Joe the Gorilla, two of the henchmen previously known as the Split-Second Squad (Avengers #77). Those characters featured prominently on the cover of Defenders #64, along with a sea captain—apparently Cap'n Skragg, who too had been a member of the Split-Second Squad. Although Cap'n Skragg appeared only in one panel that issue, he connected thematically to the villains' decision to attempt a getaway aboard the Staten Island Ferry.

Nighthawk knocks Joe the Gorilla into Cap'n Skragg in this panel from Defenders #64 (Oct. 1978).

Neutral Evil: Moondragon

Moondragon makes a compelling subject for the alignment system of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Originally introduced as Madame MacEvil (Iron Man #54), she soon joined the ranks of the Avengers as Moondragon. Even as a hero, though, Moondragon seemed driven to prove her own superiority above all else. For all her claims of transcending the mortal constraints of good and evil, Moondragon arrogantly followed a Neutral Evil alignent long before she joined the New Defenders as a villain under duress.

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

This image of Madame MacEvil comes from Iron Man #54. As Moondragon, the color of her costume changed to green.

Mission: Impossible

Whenever Dr. Strange uses Tarot cards to select a team of Defenders, I think of the television series Mission: Impossible. During early episodes, the show's formula included a scene zooming in on the dossier of each character selected for that week's mission. A comic book adaptation published by Dell closely adhered to the show's tone but often excluded that signature scene.

This panel from Mission: Impossible #4 (Oct. 1968) included the dossiers, which were a mainstay on the television show.

Shrunken Bones

Dr. Jerold Morgan was the weakest member of the Headmen. Like his three teammates, Morgan was highly intelligent. But he lacked the superhuman powers of Dr. Arthur Nagan (a.k.a. Gorilla-Man), Chondu the Mystic, or Ruby Thursday. On top of that, the scientific accident that had permanently altered Morgan not only reduced the size of his skeleton but also left him with noticeably loose skin.

Adding insult to injury, the Headmen entry in the original edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe referred to Morgan as Shrunken Bones, a codename he hadn't used.

This illustration originally appeared in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.