For some reason, at some point I was positive I had an almost complete collection of
Defenders, which doesn't make any sense, since I've never been able to read the last two years of the title! The "New Defenders" stuff with Beast, Angel, and Iceman; after Dr. Strange, Namor, and the Hulk are all written out? Never been able to get into it; I'm not sure why. This guy's tenure on the team was up around about then, anyway: from 1983,
the Defenders #117, "The Gift" Written by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Jack Abel.
The
Over-Mind had originally been (and would be again...) an alien Eternal with a billion minds collected within it; but those consciousnesses were believed either destroyed or suppresed, and now six dead telepaths, the Chorus, resided within. After a memorial service for Kyle (Nighthawk) Richmond, they realized they would need closure on their past lives, since they lived in a ten-foot-tall ginger now...sounds like the worst season of
the Real World yet!
Meanwhile, Valkyrie wonders what's wrong with her best pal, Hellcat; who seems suddenly cold to her: Val had been restored to her own body, but was so different she was like a stranger to Patsy. Val pretty much picks up Patsy's ass and sets her straight: they were still besties. They get back to Dr. Strange's in time to welcome Over-Mind to the team...but, he would leave by the New Defenders era, and be a bad-guy again by his appearance in
Quasar (a four-issue stretch, he wouldn't appear on the covers once!) so whatevs.
How far did you get exactly when it came to collecting The Defenders?
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to figure out why Beast, Angel and Iceman were drafted to the "new" Defenders team? I'm guessing since Beast wasn't in the Avengers anymore and the writer at the time didn't feel like adding him back in, he was in limbo with Angel and Iceman, since they too were direction-less team-wise all that time after the Champions title was cancelled. I guess X-Factor wasn't even a gleam in Shooter's eye yet.