Classic Review: Marvel Masterworks- Defenders Vol. 2
Quick Summary
Pros: The Avengers/Defenders War may be worthwhile from a historical standpoint. Some of the collection’s closing stories are interesting and feel unique.
Cons: The majority of the book’s stories are not that interesting and fail to do much outside of provide flashy action.
Overall: This volume has a few positive points but also has plenty of negative ones as well. The book’s biggest flaw comes from the fact that the majority of its stories are lackluster and are not really that worthwhile. There are a few exceptions to this rule but, for the most part, the collection is just average. In the end, this book is for readers who are really interested in the history of this team and are willing to overlook the mundane stories, not for readers just looking for good stories from this era.
Story
The story in Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 2, by Steve Englehart and Len Wein, has a few bright spots but, for the most part, ends up being just average. Many of the stories here are lackluster and fail to define themselves as something unique. Even the Avenger/Defenders War ends up being a bit too contrived and fails to do much outside of moments of flashy action. A few solid chapters at the end of the book prevent the volume from sinking too deep into its own mediocrity. However, as a whole, this volume ends up being a bit more troubled than one would hope.
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The majority of the stories in Defenders Vol. 2 are pretty mediocre. The trip to Atlantis has a few interesting moments of action but is not all that captivating. Later on, the Black Knight’s trip to the past and the return of Xemnu both fail to seriously raise interest levels and feel like forgettable chapters in this series.
The Avengers/Defenders War stands out a little more, mostly because of its fame as part of the Avengers and Defenders’ history. However, outside some highly flashy action, it does not make for that great of a read. The crossover relies on miscommunication and random chance to advance the plotline far too often, making the overall narrative feel pretty contrived. It also feels very by the numbers and doesn’t do much to make itself stand out, besides throwing random heroes at one another.
Luckily, Defenders Vol. 2 improves a bit as it goes on. The fight against the Squadron Sinister and Nighthawk’s defection are unique and interesting plot points for the series. Meanwhile, the Alpha mutant’s role in the volume’s final chapters leads to an equally unique and interesting conclusion to that story arc. If the series continues to focus on plotlines like this, it may end up being more worthwhile in the future.
However, throughout the collection, it feels like the characters never have a chance to develop into interesting individuals. The concept of a “non-team team” is unique but the way it is handled here prevents almost any development from taking place among the team’s characters. Hulk develops a stronger friendship with a few people and aspects of Valkyrie’s character are teased, but nothing substantial happens. Meanwhile, in Avengers, characters are growing and changing as they come across problems and learn to deal with enemies. Hopefully, future volumes of this series will have the core structure of this team experience some sort of growth, even if the members continue to rotate.
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Art
The artwork in Defenders Vol. 2 ends up being one of the most positive aspects of the volume. Sal Buscema’s work looks great on nearly every page. It is structured well and allows the action of the book to flow in a satisfying way. It also looks particularly positive in a few places where larger spreads fully depict the epic events of the moment, such as in the fight between the Hulk and Thor. Plus, Jim Starlin’s work on Giant-Size Defenders #1 gives the chapter some eye-candy to make up for the relatively mundane storyline. In general, the visuals in this volume are solid and help the reading experience as a whole.
Continuity
Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 2 continues the story from Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 1 (Review).
The story here continues in Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 3.
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- Defenders #7 mentions a number of recent events from Hawkeye’s life.
- He left the Avengers and, temporarily, teamed up with Champion in Avengers #109, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 (Review).
- He went off to visit Black Widow across Avengers #110 and Daredevil #99, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 (Review).
- He fought Zzzax in Incredible Hulk #166, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 9.
- The Avenger’s encounter with a different Valkyrie occurred in Avengers #83, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 9 (Review).
- Defenders #7 references Doctor Strange’s role in Marvel Premiere #9, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 5.
- Defenders #7 references Namor’s conflict with Attuma from Sub-Mariner #37, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 5.
- Hulk went into a submarine back in Incredible Hulk #164-165, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 9.
- The Red Ghost was last seen in Iron Man #16, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 6.
- Defenders #8 references the Unicorn’s activities after Iron Man #16. These actions take place in Iron Man #57-58, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 9.
- The prelude to the Avenger/Defenders War shows the aftermath of Thor #207, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Thor Vol. 12 (Review).
- Dormammu was banned from Earth’s dimension in Strange Tales #126-127, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 1.
- The Evil Eye was destroyed back in Fantastic Four #54, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 6 (Review).
- The Avengers #116 chapter collected in this volume continues the story from the previous issue of the Avengers series. This issue is collected in Marvel Masterworks Avengers Vol. 12 (Review).
- Loki has been “denied” Asgard since Thor #194, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 10 (Review).
- Silver Surfer has been trapped on Earth since Fantastic Four #50, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 5 (Review).
- The Swordsman had previous interactions with South America back in Avengers Annual #1, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review).
- Hawkeye’s breakup with Black Widow took place in Avengers #76, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 8 (Review).
- Iron Man mentions that Hawkeye was a villain in the past. He fought Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #57, #60, and #64, all of which are collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 2 (Review).
- Namor mentions fighting Captain America in the past. This happened in Avengers #4, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1 (Review).
- An editor’s note mentions that Sunfire was previously seen in Sub-Mariner #54, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 7.
- Hulk mentions that he was previously an Avenger. He served as a member of the team from Avengers #1-2, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 1 (Review).
- Thor mentions fighting Hulk in the past. This happened in Journey into Mystery #112, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Thor Vol. 3 (Review).
- Asti, the All-Seeing was previously seen in Strange Tales #144, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 2.
- In Avengers #118, Nick Fury’s injuries are the result of the events taking place in Captain America #165 collected in Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 8.
- Loki’s shape-changing power was previously seen in Journey into Mystery #108, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Thor Vol. 2 (Review).
- A note in The Defenders #11 references a change in Namor’s uniform. This change takes place in Sub-Mariner #67, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 8.
- The Black Knight’s connection to his ancestors is explained back in Marvel Super-Heroes #17, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 7 (Review).
- Prester John was last seen in Fantastic Four #54, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 6 (Review).
- Giant-Size Defenders #1 republishes stories from:
- Incredible Hulk #3, also collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 1.
- Sub-Mariner Comics #41, also collected in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Heroes Vol. 3.
- Strange Tales #145, also collected in Marvel Masterworks Doctor Strange Vol. 2.
- Defenders #13 references Nighthawk’s criminal past. This past is shown in Avengers #69-70, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 8 (Review), and Daredevil #62, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 6.
- Defenders #13 also references Doctor Spectrum’s conflict with Iron Man from Iron Man #63-66, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 9.
- Defenders #15 mentions that the X-Men are currently on a mission. This mission is shown in Marvel Team-Up #23, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Team-Up Vol. 3.
- Magneto was captured by the Avengers back in Avengers #111, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 (Review).
- Magneto previously visited in UN in Avengers #49, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 5 (Review).