Re-Enter: The Squadron Sinister!

With his departure from The Defenders, writer Steve Englehart also decided to arrange for the departure of most of the core members of the non-team--the Silver Surfer, the Sub-Mariner, and the Hulk--and have them go their separate ways, leaving only Dr. Strange and the Valkyrie to carry on. Since the Defenders were a loose-knit gathering, technically there was no group to disband, and so no historic marking of the occasion was really needed; yet the book itself had become a popular title, mostly on the strength of the characters that had made steady appearances in the comic for nearly a year. It stood to reason that with a growing readership plunking down 25¢ an issue, every effort should be made to accommodate them.

But what to do? New scripter Len Wein was tasked with picking up where Englehart left off, but he was basically handed a blank slate since there were no Defenders to speak of. And you couldn't just reinsert the Hulk and the others into the book as if their dramatic exits never happened.

Oh, really?

The Squadron Sinister sure make for one heck of a homecoming.

The prior issue of The Defenders already had Wein returning the Hulk to its pages, with Strange and the Valkyrie joining forces to face the return of Xemnu, the Titan--but as we can see, the following issue quickly brought the other Defenders (minus the Surfer) back into the fold, while stacking the deck with the return of the Squadron Sinister. And thanks to artist Gil Kane's striking cover, it was probably safe to say that no one was complaining about whatever circumstances caused Namor and the Hulk to once again be grouped under the Defenders banner, though one voice was raised in strong dissent--but more on that in a moment.

Not having seen the Squadron collectively since their first appearance as part of the Grandmaster's contest involving Kang the Conqueror and the Avengers, Wein was bound to have a hit issue with readers from the start. But instead of coasting on having the Squadron simply face off against the Defenders in a contrived manner, Wein plots their involvement in the story well--starting with the explosive entry of Nighthawk, who would later go on to enjoy a long tenure in the Defenders but greets them in his villainous guise to enlist their aid against his partners.

Through Nighthawk's recounting of the past week, we and the Defenders learn of his summons to an observatory where waited three figures of his criminal past--and one other who not only helped them to reform their ranks, but with whose aid now puts a plan in motion that presents a danger to the entire planet.

Nebulon, as well, would establish his own history in the book with later encounters with the Defenders; but in Part 1 of this story, he remains an enigma, one that the Squadron has taken full advantage of to gain their revenge.

Hyperion's statement is enough to send Nighthawk on his way, rejecting his former partners as having become little more than a group of lunatics; but with a gesture, Nebulon forces him to stay and hear the details of their plan. Yet in relaying those details to the Defenders, Nighthawk pays the price for seeking their help in putting a stop to it.

Given that the ice cap in the North Pole alone covers a range of over seven million square miles, and that Nebulon seeks to have it melted in a single day, we have to take Nighthawk at his word when he says the laser device that will melt the ice is "unlike any ever before seen on Earth" with "more than enough power" to melt the entire region, even though the unit is small enough to be operated by an average-sized man and fires with a single turret that could probably fit in a standard hangar. For the sake of argument, let's say that once the device acts on even a massive, dense sheet of ice, it's melted nearly instantaneously, with artist Sal Buscema's rendering of its operation mostly a symbolic representation and not done to scale.

With Nighthawk presumed dead, Strange mobilizes the Defenders at hand--while also sending a summons to the Sub-Mariner, who unfortunately has other priorities and, in any case, wants nothing to do with the schemes of what he labels the "self-serving maniacs who dwell upon the surface." Strange, not known for hesitating to assert his will, rejects Namor's answer and transports him to his sanctum against his wishes, which provokes a violent response--one that is eased when the Valkyrie shares with him the tale described by Nighthawk.

It's a tense and riveting scene crafted by Wein which pays due deference to the spirit and temperament of the Sub-Mariner as we've come to know those qualities in him. Yet Namor's cooperation hinges on a single flaw in the Valkyrie's argument--the assertion that Atlantean life will perish when the globe is inundated and overrun by water, of all things, which is absurd. Namor only needed to voice a single word in rebuttal: "So?" (With an appropriate expression thrown in for good measure.)

At any rate, with the Sub-Mariner on board, the Defenders make all due haste in traveling to the Arctic (good thing they chose the right pole!), where we see that Nighthawk has only been transported and not slain, though helpless to interfere--unlike those who have their first meeting with foes who had, until now, only challenged the Avengers.

The pairings are divvied up as you might expect--the Hulk against Hyperion, and Dr. Strange vs. Dr. Spectrum, leaving the Sub-Mariner to face the Whizzer (though for kicks I would have liked to see how resourceful Namor might prove against Hyperion)--while the Valkyrie moves to free Nighthawk. None of the Defenders seem to have blinked an eye at seeing Nighthawk alive--though admittedly, while facing three quarters of the Squadron Sinister, they're a little too occupied with fending off their foes.

Yet in their struggles, the Defenders have neglected to account for the other player in this drama--Nebulon, who closes out Part 1 of our tale with a deadly threat in the face of the Defenders' defiance.

Sentiments which the Squadron no doubt wholeheartedly support.

NEXT:

THIS PLANET IMPERILED!

(Where we might even learn how much the Squadron made off the sale of our world!)

The Defenders #13 Script: Len Wein Pencils: Sal Buscema Inks: Klaus Janson Letterer: John Costanza