Defenders (2001) #4 NM Erik Larsen

Doctor Strange—the Sorcerer Supreme! The Sub-Mariner—the Avenging Son of Atlantis! The Hulk—the Green-Skinned Goliath! The Silver Surfer—the Rider of the Spaceways! It’s 2001, and comics’ only non-team is back—thanks to the efforts of writers Kurt Busiek (Avengers) and Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon) and artists Larsen and Klaus Janson (Daredevil)! What’s a non-team? In this case, it’s a group of super-heroes who do not necessarily want to work together, but when the fate of the world hangs in the balance, what can they do other than put their differences aside and kick some major butt?

The Defenders’ first adventure way back in Marvel Feature #1 pitted Strange, Hulk, and Namor against an other-dimensional sorcerer called Yandroth, and this series launches with Yandroth’s return and his plan to imprison Gaea and ravage the Earth. Busiek and Larsen also use the non-team’s first foe to give the four big guns of the Defenders a real reason to continue working together…whether they like it or not—something that was missing from the non-team’s previous series. Longtime fans will also enjoy appearances by Nighthawk, Hellcat, and the Valkyrie.