This Evil Aborning!

 

The early 1980s were not especially kind to Heather Douglas--better known to Marvel readers as Moondragon, who had left the Avengers and the planet Earth following the saga of the Celestial Madonna to seek out her father, Art (whose passed-on human spirit had been merged with the new body of Drax the Destroyer--some family tree, eh?), in deep space. Late 1981 held promise, however, for father and daughter, reunited at last and resolved to rebuild their relationship; but just six months later, the pair turned up on the war-torn world of Ba-Bani, where the Avengers discovered that Moondragon had brought peace to its inhabitants but went further by mentally taking control of not only Drax but also Ba-Bani by imposing her psychic presence on its population and setting herself up as their "peace goddess." When Moondragon's deception was finally exposed, the Avengers were forced to depose her, but not before she dealt a mortal blow to her father who had fiercely resisted her attempt to stop the Avengers and himself from seizing her.  (Or, likely, worse--the man is named "the Destroyer," after all.)

Subsequently, Thor took custody of Moondragon and brought her before one who would both pass judgment on her actions and dispense justice. And given this particular god's imposing stature, it indeed appeared that our "goddess of the mind" would receive a comeuppance that would at last rein in her tendency to subjugate others by "divine right."

It's a shame that we were never privy to Moondragon's no doubt contemptuous replies to any charges or judgment directed toward her, since it's hard to imagine that she would remain cowed or awed even in the presence of Odin.

Yet we can at least follow up on the proceedings by fast-forwarding to the fall of 1983, where the Valkyrie, in the company of the Defenders, receives a summons to return to Asgard, and thereafter be charged with the supervision of an individual who is to be returned to Earth in order to serve her "sentence."

Moondragon appears none the worse for wear in the time since she was last seen--though it appears she's taken to wearing an accessory that's been fitted to her head, the purpose of which is yet unknown. Yet its binding, physically and otherwise, is at Odin's decree--nor is it the only change to her life, as she soon joins the Valkyrie in a new grouping of Defenders following the original team's decision to disband.

There's a good deal we'd learn about Moondragon during her time with the Defenders--but let's start with the obvious, as we "head" into a new

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Marvel Trivia Question

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What's the story behind Moondragon's god-given headband?

 

To find the answer, we should start at the beginning: Moondragon's introduction to the Defenders, and a vivid reminder to her of the headband's power.

It's surely a humiliating ordeal for this self-styled goddess bent on establishing her exalted status in this group (while spouting a virtual truckload of deceit in the process) to so swiftly be literally brought down before their eyes and appear so helpless, despite her claim to godhood. However, with Dr. Strange, the Silver Surfer, the Sub-Mariner, and the Hulk still dealing with the Tribunal, the status of the "new" Defenders as a group is still in question.

But those who stand and wait carry on, nonetheless--and so they travel to Ohio to attend the wedding of Patsy Walker and Daimon Hellstrom (respectively, the Hellcat and the Son of Satan), only to encounter the vengeance of Patsy's ex, Buzz Baxter, whom Roxxon has transformed into a vicious fighter named Mad-Dog, with his team the Mutant Force joining him. Moondragon, as some of you may recall, had at one time taken Patsy to the moon of Titan and trained her in the powers of the mind, only to later strip those powers from her--so when Patsy is endangered by Mad-Dog's bloodthirsty attack, Moondragon steps in to protect her. Yet with her power curtailed by the headband, the struggle is a fierce and painful one for her.

Though lacking the power he once wielded since giving up his demonic darksoul, Hellstrom perseveres and floors Mad-Dog, while the other Defenders have had success in defeating the members of the Mutant Force.

With the wedding proceeding to finally take place, the Beast, the Iceman, and the Angel move afterward to formalize the "New Defenders" as a fighting team, with both the Gargoyle and the Valkyrie agreeing with the motion--and to everyone's surprise, Moondragon decides to join, as well. As if on cue, the original team suddenly appears and, given their compliance with the findings of the Tribunal, decide to pass the torch to the Valkyrie and the others and extend their best wishes before departing. (This is, what, the third team that Hank McCoy and his X-Men buddies have signed onto a new team, with a fourth (X-Factor) waiting in the wings?)

As for Moondragon, she remains a grating presence in the Defenders--and following one such off-putting instance, we learn one or two additional details on Odin's decision regarding her penance.

Nor does Moondragon's behavior during a meeting on leadership choices go down any easier with her new comrades--in fact, anyone would likely agree that her next infraction easily crosses the line.

What the Defenders will also come to realize is that Moondragon has attempted to make use of any means available to manipulate them into removing her headband, including:

• Drawing foes toward their dwelling/H.Q. by low-level telepathy, who might prove useful in the headband's removal;
  
• Sending out subliminal sexual impulses to team members (Angel and Iceman, and their new member, Cloud, being the most responsive) in order to entice love and thereby gain their help to remove the band;
  
• Pointing out during any desperate battle situation that she would be more help if her headband didn't handicap her abilities--the team's struggle with the homicidal villain known as Manslaughter being one such example:

The circumstances are similar when an evil magician captures and possesses Isaac Christians, the Gargoyle, whose free will is subjugated when he is forced to destroy his teammates in the defense of his new master. Once more, Moondragon sees an opportunity to be free of her accursed headband--but Isaac's fears of Moondragon's potential threat are only confirmed by what he sees when she attempts to prove that her soul is untainted by evil.

The Defenders manage to at last succeed in their efforts to defeat the magician and save their friend. But the injured Isaac remains conscious long enough to deliver a warning regarding the manipulative Moondragon--and during his recovery, when Cloud pins him down on the subject, details emerge which build on what we know of Moondragon's origin but this time is told in the shadow of a danger which still lurks.

And so the name "Moondragon" now takes on an ominous portent, even as it becomes apparent that the woman herself could sway either way in fighting the malevolent dragon's influence. And in a shocking development, it seems her meditation has paved the way for the surprising appearance of none other than Mantis, the woman who was chosen over Moondragon to become the Celestial Madonna and who now begins to taunt her informal rival for that role with the knowledge of her failure to attain the heights that Mantis reached. Yet just as shockingly, Mantis also brutally attacks Moondragon, while again reminding her of her inferiority.

It's a crucial moment that Moondragon has reached--and it attracts the attention of the god who at last turns his gaze back to her at this time of crisis.

But there turns out to be more--or, in this case, less to Mantis than meets the eye, as the Beast deduces. But the episode has pushed Moondragon to reaching her breaking point on her treatment by the Defenders... by everyone... and if she is indeed fated to learn humility, then the inevitable shattering of her cool facade which follows may well be a precursor to that moment, should it ever arrive.

Nor do readers have long to wait (over a year that this story has spanned is arguably long enough!), as the Defenders (along with Red Wolf) soon find themselves in a conflict with Asgardian trolls, and Moondragon sees a chance to finally rid herself of her mental "leash" at last--if she'll only take it. If she'll only take it. It's the definitive moment in this saga--and the choice, as it always has, rests with her.

The trolls receive their just deserts, thanks to the wrath of the Valkyrie--and when the dust has settled, the Defenders, all the Defenders, have cause to believe that the worst is behind them, when a certain item falls to the ground almost unnoticed, its purpose apparently fulfilled. From that day, it could be said that the Defenders have a new member in their ranks, in more ways than one.

Yet what we have seen in this innocent and uplifting gathering is perhaps the calm before the storm, as the Defenders--and one in particular--will soon face their ultimate point of no return in this matter.

COMING UP: The Dragon of the Moon, Unleashed!