History ComicBook / TheDefenders

In November 2013, it was announced that Marvel would be producing a Defenders TV series for {{Creator/Netflix}}. Confirmed characters include [[InNameOnly such familiar faces as]] ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}}, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, [[Comicbook/{{Alias}} Jessica Jones]], and [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]]. While it uses the Defenders name, it's more akin to Marvel's short lived Marvel Knights team, which focused on street-level and darker heroes.

'''The Defenders''' is a MarvelComics superhero team.

As mentioned, the Silver Surfer was quickly written out after his brief tryout with the team,(as at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet character and was not keen on letting other writers use him) and new characters were introduced to flesh out the roster. Nighthawk, originally a CaptainErsatz for Batman but then reinvented as one for ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}; Daimon Hellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; Hellcat, originally a character from Marvel's comedy/romance comics reinvented as a Cat-themed heroine (using the costume of The Cat, who herself had become [[CatGirl Tigra]]); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The Valkyrie, a Norse goddess trapped in the body of a woman known to Hulk and Strange were brought onto the team,[[DemotedToExtra while Sub-Mariner was soon demoted to a recurring character within the title as opposed to being a consistent member.]] The group itself had loose guidelines for membership, as technically, everybody who helped them was a 'Defender' (this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a story where a membership drive -- started without their permission or knowledge -- led to a mess as both heroes wanting to join, and villains trying to pretend they were Defenders, ran into each other.) Still, the heroes listed above were the most commonly associated with the team. They tended to meet in Doctor Strange's New York brownstone, and later, in the wealthy Nighthawk's estate.

In November 2013, it was announced that Marvel would be producing a Defenders TV series for {{Creator/Netflix}}. Confirmed characters include [[InNameOnly such familiar faces as]] ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}}, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, [[Comicbook/{{Alias}} Jessica Jones]], and [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]].

** Then there is the poorly-recieved book ''Secret Defenders'', which was essentially Dr. Strange getting various heroes together to fight a particular threat each issue, effectively placing every hero in the Marvel Universe at the time as a member. At one point, a group of villains including {{Thanos}} and Comicbook/{{Venom}} were even chosen.

* DemotedToExtra: This happened to '''all''' of the original members (plus Silver Surfer,) at one point or another in the original volume. Surfer was the one that got hit hardest, barely appearing in the book after joining the team for a few issues early on, but the others suffered from it too. [[PutOnABus Namor left in #14, while Doctor Strange left after the first Annual,]] and [[TheBusCameBack while both of them showed up again,]] [[CommutingOnABus it took a while for them to become as prominent as they used to be.]] Hulk didn't have as much as this as the others, being a consistent member well until #94, but after that, he didn't appear as much as he used to. While the book may originally been about Hulk, Strange, and other A-Listers, it ended up being more about C and D-listers like Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, and others, all of which got more focus than the founding members by the end of the group's original incarnation.

In the early 1980s, Marvel decided to revamp the book. Nighthawk was killed off (later upgraded to a ConvenientComa), Hellcat and Daimon Hellstrom married and retired, and a (bogus?) prophecy that Doctor Strange, Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer would bring about the end of the world led them to leave the team. Valkyrie and Gargoyle reformed the group with three of the founding member of the ComicBook/{{X-Men}} (The Beast, The Angel and Iceman), along with the morally ambiguous Moondragon, the young Atlantis warrior Andromeda, and Cloud, a gas based alien who shape-shifted into both a man and woman during its time with the Defenders. Based in Colorado, in Angel's mansion, this incarnation lasted two years before the title was canceled so that the X-Men characters could be be freed up for the upcoming ''Comicbook/{{X-Factor}}'' series. The entire team, save for Angel, Beast, and Iceman, [[HeroicSacrifice died saving a possessed Moondragon]].)

* RedScare: Averted with the team's temporary member Red Guardian, who was a Soviet counterpart to CaptainAmerica.

** During the "Defender for a Day" story, around ''twenty'' heroes joined, from BlackWidow to Tagak the Leopard Lord. The list of people who have been on both ComicBook/TheAvengers and ComicBook/TheDefenders is very long.

In the early 1990s, Marvel attempted to revive the Defenders as "Secret Defenders". This new series would have Doctor Strange organize squads of random heroes (including {{Wolverine}}, SpiderMan, ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}, the second Spider-Woman, Comicbook/GhostRider, Hulk, Luke Cage, {{Deadpool}}, and many others) for one-off missions. Despite being considerably hyped by Marvel, the series did not do well and with the title launching coinciding with the launching of the more successful "Midnight Sons" horror sub-line (in which Doctor Strange could not take part due to Secret Defenders), it was decided to remove him from the book so that his title could be folded into the Midnight Son line. The title was then revamped with Doctor Druid as the new leader and a group of new heroes, but this new direction did little to revive interest in the book and it was quietly canceled by the end of its second year.

** Flash Thompson comes across as the most petty when it comes right down to it, especially when it's revealed [[spoiler: he's mad that Annabelle Riggs, who is now sharing Valkyrie's body, essentially cockblocked him.]]
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: At times. The inner four (Strange, Namor, Hulk, and Surfer) are all strong personalities who are used to working alone and none of them likes to admit that they need help.

The Defenders have a long and varied history. The team grew out of a couple of team-ups between Comicbook/DoctorStrange, the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk, Namor the Comicbook/SubMariner, and the ComicBook/SilverSurfer in the early 1970s. The first three became the team's founding members; it should be noted that all of them were among the most powerful of Marvel's heroes who did not belong to a team yet. However, this was an unlikely alliance, as all three (and the Surfer, who briefly joined later,) were more used to acting alone, especially Hulk and Namor, both of whom are more correctly [[AntiHero antiheroes]].

* ActionGirl: Valkyrie, Hell Cat, SheHulk, Red She-Hulk, Black Cat, and every member of the Fearless Defenders besides Annabelle.

As mentioned, the Silver Surfer was quickly written out after his brief tryout with the team,(as at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet character and was not keen on letting other writers use him) and new characters were introduced to flesh out the roster. Nighthawk, originally a CaptainErsatz for Batman but then reinvented as one for ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}; Daimon Hellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; Hellcat, originally a character from Marvel's comedy/romance comics reinvented as a Cat-themed heroine (using the costume of The Cat, who herself had become [[CatGirl Tigra]]); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The Valkyrie, a Norse goddess trapped in the body of a woman known to Hulk and Strange were brought onto the team, [[DemotedToExtra with Sub-Mariner eventually being demoted to a recurring character within the title as opposed to a constant member.]] The group itself had loose guidelines for membership, as technically, everybody who helped them was a 'Defender' (this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a story where a membership drive -- started without their permission or knowledge -- led to a mess as both heroes wanting to join, and villains trying to pretend they were Defenders, ran into each other.) Still, the heroes listed above were the most commonly associated with the team. They tended to meet in Doctor Strange's New York brownstone, and later, in the wealthy Nighthawk's estate.

As mentioned, the Silver Surfer was quickly written out after his brief tryout with the team,(as at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet character and was not keen on letting other writers use him) and new characters were introduced to flesh out the roster. Nighthawk, originally a CaptainErsatz for Batman but then reinvented as one for ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}; Daimon Hellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; Hellcat, originally a character from Marvel's comedy/romance comics reinvented as a Cat-themed heroine (using the costume of The Cat, who herself had become [[CatGirl Tigra]]); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The Valkyrie, a Norse goddess trapped in the body of a woman known to Hulk and Strange were brought onto the team, [[DemotedToExtra with Sub-Mariner eventually being made to a recurring character within the title as opposed to a constant member.]] The group itself had loose guidelines for membership, as technically, everybody who helped them was a 'Defender' (this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a story where a membership drive -- started without their permission or knowledge -- led to a mess as both heroes wanting to join, and villains trying to pretend they were Defenders, ran into each other.) Still, the heroes listed above were the most commonly associated with the team. They tended to meet in Doctor Strange's New York brownstone, and later, in the wealthy Nighthawk's estate.

As mentioned, the Silver Surfer was quickly written out after his brief tryout with the team,(as at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet character and was not keen on letting other writers use him) and new characters were introduced to flesh out the roster. Nighthawk, originally a CaptainErsatz for Batman but then reinvented as one for ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}; Daimon Hellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; Hellcat, originally a character from Marvel's comedy/romance comics reinvented as a Cat-themed heroine (using the costume of The Cat, who herself had become [[CatGirl Tigra]]); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The Valkyrie, a Norse goddess trapped in the body of a woman known to Hulk and Strange were brought onto the team, with Sub-Mariner eventually being recurring character within the title as opposed to a constant member. The group itself had loose guidelines for membership, as technically, everybody who helped them was a 'Defender' (this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a story where a membership drive -- started without their permission or knowledge -- led to a mess as both heroes wanting to join, and villains trying to pretend they were Defenders, ran into each other.) Still, the heroes listed above were the most commonly associated with the team. They tended to meet in Doctor Strange's New York brownstone, and later, in the wealthy Nighthawk's estate.

As mentioned, the Silver Surfer was quickly written out after his brief tryout with the team,(as at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet character and was not keen on letting other writers use him) and new characters were introduced to flesh out the roster. Nighthawk, originally a CaptainErsatz for Batman but then reinvented as one for ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}; Daimon Hellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; Hellcat, originally a character from Marvel's comedy/romance comics reinvented as a Cat-themed heroine (using the costume of The Cat, who herself had become [[CatGirl Tigra]]); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The Valkyrie, a Norse goddess trapped in the body of a woman known to Hulk and Strange were brought onto the team along, and Sub-Mariner became a recurring character within the title, often making sporadic appearances. The group itself had loose guidelines for membership, as technically, everybody who helped them was a 'Defender' (this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a story where a membership drive -- started without their permission or knowledge -- led to a mess as both heroes wanting to join, and villains trying to pretend they were Defenders, ran into each other.) Still, the heroes listed above were the most commonly associated with the team. They tended to meet in Doctor Strange's New York brownstone, and later, in the wealthy Nighthawk's estate.

As mentioned, the Silver Surfer was quickly written out after his brief tryout with the team,(as at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet character and was not keen on letting other writers use him) and new characters were introduced to flesh out the roster. Nighthawk, originally a CaptainErsatz for Batman but then reinvented as one for ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}; Daimon Hellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; Hellcat, originally a character from Marvel's comedy/romance comics reinvented as a Cat-themed heroine (using the costume of The Cat, who herself had become [[CatGirl Tigra]]); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The Valkyrie, a Norse goddess trapped in the body of a woman known to Hulk and Strange were brought onto the team along with Doctor Strange, and Sub-Mariner became a recurring character within the title, often making sporadic appearances. The group itself had loose guidelines for membership, as technically, everybody who helped them was a 'Defender' (this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a story where a membership drive -- started without their permission or knowledge -- led to a mess as both heroes wanting to join, and villains trying to pretend they were Defenders, ran into each other.) Still, the heroes listed above were the most commonly associated with the team. They tended to meet in Doctor Strange's New York brownstone, and later, in the wealthy Nighthawk's estate.

The Silver Surfer was quickly written out (as at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet character and was not keen on letting other writers use him) and new characters were introduced to flesh out the roster. Nighthawk, originally a CaptainErsatz for Batman but then reinvented as one for ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}; Daimon Hellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; Hellcat, originally a character from Marvel's comedy/romance comics reinvented as a Cat-themed heroine (using the costume of The Cat, who herself had become [[CatGirl Tigra]]); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The Valkyrie, a Norse goddess trapped in the body of a woman known to Hulk and Strange were brought onto the team along with Doctor Strange, and Sub-Mariner became a recurring character within the title, often making sporadic appearances. The group itself had loose guidelines for membership, as technically, everybody who helped them was a 'Defender' (this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a story where a membership drive -- started without their permission or knowledge -- led to a mess as both heroes wanting to join, and villains trying to pretend they were Defenders, ran into each other.) Still, the heroes listed above were the most commonly associated with the team. They tended to meet in Doctor Strange's New York brownstone, and later, in the wealthy Nighthawk's estate.

The Defenders have a long and varied history. The team grew out of a couple of team-ups between Comicbook/DoctorStrange, the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk, Namor the Comicbook/SubMariner, and the ComicBook/SilverSurfer in the early 1970s. These became the team's founding members; it should be noted that all four of them were among the most powerful of Marvel's heroes who did not belong to a team yet. However, this was an unlikely alliance, as all four were more used to acting alone, especially Hulk and Namor, both of whom are more correctly [[AntiHero antiheroes]].

In November 2013, it was announced that Marvel would be producing a Defenders TV series for {{Creator/Netflix}}. Confirmed characters include [[InNameOnly such familiar faces as]] LukeCage, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, [[Comicbook/{{Alias}} Jessica Jones]], and [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]].

In November 2013, it was announced that Marvel would be producing a Defenders TV series for {{Creator/Netflix}}. Confirmed characters include [[InNameOnly such familiar faces as]] LukeCage, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, [[Comicbook/{{Alias}} Jessica Jones]], and [[ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]].

The Silver Surfer was quickly written out (as at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet character and was not keen on letting other writers use him) and new characters were introduced to flesh out the roster. Nighthawk, originally a CaptainErsatz for Batman but then reinvented as one for {{Hawkman}}; Daimon Hellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; Hellcat, originally a character from Marvel's comedy/romance comics reinvented as a Cat-themed heroine (using the costume of The Cat, who herself had become [[CatGirl Tigra]]); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The Valkyrie, a Norse goddess trapped in the body of a woman known to Hulk and Strange were brought onto the team along with Doctor Strange, and Sub-Mariner became a recurring character within the title, often making sporadic appearances. The group itself had loose guidelines for membership, as technically, everybody who helped them was a 'Defender' (this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a story where a membership drive -- started without their permission or knowledge -- led to a mess as both heroes wanting to join, and villains trying to pretend they were Defenders, ran into each other.) Still, the heroes listed above were the most commonly associated with the team. They tended to meet in Doctor Strange's New York brownstone, and later, in the wealthy Nighthawk's estate.

In November 2013, it was announced that Marvel would be producing a Defenders TV series for {{Creator/Netflix}}. Confirmed characters include LukeCage, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, [[Comicbook/{{Alias}} Jessica Jones]], and [[ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]].

As part of the MarvelNOW relaunch, the Defenders flag was flown by Valkyrie at the head of the all-female ''Fearless Defenders'', a title which originated in the ''Comicbook/FearItself'' tie-in, ''The Fearless'' but it was cancelled at issue 12.

* ShoutOut: Two episodes of the ''JusticeLeague'' animated series were homages to the original Defenders, with Doctor Fate standing for Doctor Strange, Aquaman for Namor, Solomon Grundy for The Hulk, Amazo for the Surfer, and Hawkgirl for Valkyrie or Nighthawk.

** The comic artwork featuring Vera Gemini is homage to the BlueOysterCult. [[http://www.comicvine.com/images/1300-2901377 this picture]] explicitly invokes the inner sleeve artwork of ''Agents of Fortune''. (On which is found the track ''The Revenge of Vera Gemini''). The five band members appear as the earthly manifestations of the Demon Lords. Vera herself occupies the position as croupier which on the original album photo is taken by PattiSmith. Captions, as well as the in-universe cult ''Harvester of Eyes'', are Shout Outs to BOC tracks.

The 2011 crisis crossover ''ComicBook/FearItself'' teased a Defenders reunion in tie-in series "The Deep," where Strange, Namor, and Surfer (together with the mutant Loa and Lyra, Hulk's daughter) joined forces to stop Attuma, one of the eight Worthy. The tease was followed up by an announcement that Matt Fraction would be behind a new Defenders book debuting at the end of 2011 with the additions of [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]] and Red She-Hulk to the classic lineup. Unfortunately, this book ended after twelve issues.