By [ad_1]
Doctor Strange has just assembled an all new team of Defenders that consists of a wild, eccentric line-up quite different from previous incarnations.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Defenders #1, available now from Marvel Comics.
The life of Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, just got a lot more complicated with the arrival of a mysterious new visitor bearing a dire warning. To combat the latest threat to reality, Strange has just assembled a new team with a very familiar name in Defenders #1, by Al Ewing, Javier Rodriguez, Alvaro Lopez, and VC’s Joe Caramagna. Unfortunately, it isn’t entirely up to Strange to decide who joins his new team, and he is left fighting alongside a very unique group of heroes that he could not have expected.
Doctor Strange’s evening was interrupted by the appearance of the Masked Raider, who comes through a magical portal. After a brief skirmish, the mysterious Raider explains that he only wishes to carry on the war that his predecessor had been waging against the dreaded Enclave, a clandestine group of occultists turned super scientists who now pose a grave threat to the universe.
First seen in 2019’s “The Mask and the Raider” by Al Ewing and Mike Deodato Jr. in Marvel Comics 1000, this Masked Raider has continued Blind Justice’s battle against the Enclave with his wits, the power of the Eternity Mask, and a little bit of cosmic awareness. Doctor Strange might not know the Raider by name, but he knows the truth when he hears it, and he quickly begins working with his new visitor.
In a manner very similar to the way he gathered the Secret Defenders, Strange looks towards the Tarot of the Secret Flame to help him choose and summon his new allies. The cards first reveal himself and the Masked Raider quite clearly enough before judgment is turned over, calling forth the Silver Surfer along with it. The Silver Surfer and Strange have long history together, with both being members of the original Defenders. The Surfer may have once been a Herald of Galactus, but in the years since then, he has shined bright as one of the universe’s greatest heroes, even if he finds himself in a moment of doubt right now.
Strange’s next guest is Betty Ross, albeit in the monstrous form of Red Harpy acquired after her most recent resurrection via the Green Door. As one of the premier gamma mutates, Betty provides the sort of muscle that few others can, and she backs it up with the same immortality as the rest of her irradiated ilk. There is no question that Betty, who served on a little-known Defenders team in the 2000s, is an incredible asset to the new team, although she isn’t pleased with having been dragged into Strange’s latest team-up. With neither time to explain nor send her back, the Sorcerer Supreme then reveals the final card that calls forth Cloud.
Marvel’s New Defenders Series Spins Out of 2019’s Incoming! One-Shot
Cloud, another former Defender, is a sentient nebula m with no present corporeal form. Cloud’s initial arrival on Earth in search of help from its heroes led to a subsequent loss of memories and they fell victim to the devious Secret Empire. After regaining their true identity, Cloud joined the Defenders until eventually returning to the stars.
As Cloud threatens to obliterate the world upon their arrival, Strange uses his magic to avert catastrophe as Cloud takes a human form. Setting magic free to its own devices is hardly an act without consequences, however, and just as his Secret Defenders were almost entirely subject to the whims of fate, so are the members of his latest team as they are pulled upwards into a vortex of energy.
There might not be anything new about Doctor Strange letting his tarot cards decide which heroes are best suited to the task at hand, but it’s still a thrilling callback to the classic 90s team. The Secret Defenders proved capable of tackling any threat no matter how surprising the selected lineup turned out to be, and it doesn’t look like that trend will be changing anytime soon. With cosmic powerhouses, supernatural gunslingers, and even an enraged Gamma Mutate at his side, it’s hard to think of anything that could stand in the way of this new team of Defenders.
About The Author
[ad_2]
