During the first run of The Defenders, the original lineup of Dr. Strange, the Sub-Mariner, and the Hulk, as well as the Silver Surfer (who some still tenaciously claim was one of the original members) would depart the book twice. The reasons for their doing so were twofold, and turned out to be the same in each case. In the first instance, occurring at the end of the Avengers-Defenders war at the end of 1973, Strange would stay on while the Hulk, the Surfer, and Namor followed Hawkeye out the door--Hawkeye, to continue pursuing a solo career, while the others resumed their own affairs. I didn't know the Hulk had affairs to resume--maybe he just liked his alone time in the wide open spaces more than cooling his heels in Strange's sanctum. But being the book's only reliable moneymaker, the character would return immediately in the next issue, though Strange would finally making his own departure in 1977.
But there were shifting lineups behind the scenes, as well, with Len Wein taking the writing reins from Steve Englehart. And in 1983, there were more assignments changing hands when the book was taken in an entirely new direction, with only one early-'70s Defender remaining to provide the team with a semblance of familiarity to readers.
The transition took the form of a hard sell that sought to introduce the "New Defenders" even before the new lineup had been formed. As Strange and the others were involved in their final adventure in these pages, their penultimate issue was practically sweeping them out the door while taking the opportunity to usher in the new Defenders-to-be in a flagrant promotional appearance in the story's final panel.
And for good measure, the issue's letters page featured only two letters (and a house ad) which competed for space with a flurry of F.Y.I. information blurbs that announced... well, what didn't they announce?
That leaves us with the reasons why the Defenders themselves wish to shake up their lineup in '83, ten years after they first did so. It's been touched on previously that the Beast wanted to formalize the Defenders as a team and eject the "non-team" designation, which explains why he's brought the Angel and the Iceman into the fold--while Moondragon's appearance follows up on her power play from a previous Avengers story. But why have Strange and the others decided to turn in their non-membership cards?
From what we've seen so far, it appears that the answer has something to do with the infamous "Elf with a gun," an inexplicable assassin created by writer Steve Gerber who was injected into Defenders stories in the mid-'70s and began targeting and taking out random innocents in carefully planned kills with a revolver--the character's purpose, until Gerber decided to give us more. With Gerber's departure from the book, we never did find out who or what was behind the Elf's random shootings, if anyone. But when the mysterious Tribunal begins its activities in the book, we're finally presented with an explanation--one which will include the death of the human race, the end of the world, and a fateful decision by the Defenders.
Continued »»»
