Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities The Defenders

Don't get too attached to this lineup- as it's changing fairly early in the series. Three more characters are being added or are taking the places of departing intitial members. (I hope Blazing Skull sticks around.)

Atlas (of THUNDERBOLTS fame), Paladin and Junta (never heard of this last guy) are joining Nighthawk's team.

Atlas is an interesting choice-- still want Val and Gargoyle, though.

Mystery Lad, the rotating lineup interests me a bit.

I rather have Gargoyle as well but I'm a big Paladin and Junta fan!

http://phonogram.us/comics/crew/danny.htm

I hope Paladin isn't written as a jerk as some writers do. Junta on the other hand is somewhat of a jerk. He's like a trickster secret spy.

Speaking of cubans and spy vs. spy lately. Junta is from a south american country that Priest said is very cuba like. He is not a hispanic stereotype. He's white, light hair, etc. By the cover it looks they changed that already. I hope not he was a great character by Priest.

He also has a WIKI entry.

I read it at the store. I thought it was meh. Tries way too hard. Blazing Skull is obnoxious, and the rest of the characters as written here are not much better.

I'm waiting for reviews before I pick this up, so if anyone is trying to sell me on this, now is your chance. I'm semi-interested but not enough to buy. Not digging the line-up at all (which is the main reason).

BTW, no matter what you think about T'Challa and Storm subbing for Reed and Sue it all comes down to how it was executed. Which, IMHO, I think was very poorly. Nothing memorable with no really good stories. Similar to the current JLA line-up, while good on paper, it fails in execution and won't be memorable at all for me...

If 'Defenders Defenestrate' as a warcry tickles your fancy, then you'll probably like this.

There's some shadowy goings-on that seem to be hinting at a deeper purpose for the Defenders as a team in a larger sense. So, that might pique your curiosity.

Oh, and Gargoyle and Son of Satan are getting some nice background scenes. With promises of more.

But we know what promises are worth to a comics fan, don't we?

I liked it. Nighthawk's feelings echoed many of the Defenders fans. Questioning the lineup. Nighthawk wanted an old school team and Stark didn't.

I think in the end Defenders fans will be happy.

Or like that character was saying when he analyzed past Defenders teams: There's something in the mix that hasn't quite worked in the past, but it's a matter of the right elements coming together.

Am I the only one who imagines Blazing Skull's voice being the same as Bender's? (Futurama) I find the series more enjoyable that way...

I ended up quite liking Junta. I was expecting a street-level guy and was pleased that he has actual super-powers.

Sadly, I don't think any of these cats will be clawing this scratching post for long, as a very quickly shifting, not even rotating, cast seems to be the order of the day.

Which is a veiled reference to the future appearance of one Patsy Walker, Hellcat (and won't the fur fly when she inevitably meets up with her ex-hubby, who seems to be going the super-heroic route again).

The Last lineup's on the #6 cover (so avoid it if you don't want spoiled). All have appeared by this point of the mini, and you may be able to guess it.

This is pretty much undercut by a 'New Defenders' appearing in FANTASTIC FOUR. That group is most likely from another Earth/dimension/reality or something, though.

I'm underwhelmed. I liked the way Son of Satan and Krang are worked in-- I wouldn't mind if they stuck around in any future incarnation of the team (the 'Last' could easily be ignored in future stories... IMO) She-Hulk, though? I'm still not convinced. Let's see-- she's an Avenger, no- wait, she's a Defender. Next month, she's a Lady Liberator. And a Friend of Miss America.

And travelling around the country collecting bounties. Yeah, right.

I guess my expectation for a Defender comic is just out of line with what Marvel keeps coming back to. I could care less about the 'original three/four' as an ongoing team. One or two of them should most likely be around, but it's still Valkryie, Hellcat, Nighthawk, etc. that I want to see on covers beneath the 'DEFENDERS' title. Not She-Hulk. Not a new Nighthawk (though that could be interesting as events progress in the MU post-SI). Or, at least, not the latter characters in *stead* of the former. Alongside? Sure. Bring back Atlas and Junta, too.

Time Travel-- gimmicky here? I tend to think so, but I'm not sure yet. Time and future DEFENDERS appearances will have to do their job to reveal just what role this mini plays in the history of the non-team.

A new DEFENDERS series is starting- initially with Doc Strange, Silver Surfer, Red She-Hulk, Ant-man aaaand I'm forgetting someone, I think.

Anyway, that's just an initial line-up- as the promotional material makes it sound as if various characters will weave in and out as the overarcing story, well, arcs.

FEAR ITSELF THE DEEP features what's either a glimpse back, ahead or both when Dr. Strange summons Defenders from all eras to aid the DEEP team of Strange, Surfer, Namor, Loa and Lyra as they face the fear-hammer wielding Attuma. It's quite an assemblage. I was really excited to see characters like Gargoyle, Cloud(!!!), and many others... then disappointed that they really didn't get dialogue or exploration about where they've been/are in the MU.

Are the fear-hammer wielders going to be Marvel's 'other' answer to the Green Lantern Corps? (Since the Nova corpse sort of already fills that role...)

Strange claims his summoning spell (based on the one from the next-to-last series, I believe) even brought forth 'Defenders for a Day'... but I didn't see Havok, Polaris, or many others there.

Still, it was a nice nod-- and a groovy way to present some of the characters avialable for the new series as it perambulates around the MU. Hope the writers/artists/editors were paying attention.

Mystery Lad - you forgot Iron Fist! He's the main reason I'll be interested in this new iteration of the team. (although I wish he'd go back to wearing some kind of green costume) The fact that they're looking to be front and center of the "Point One" EVENT in 2012 makes it a lock.