History Comicbook / TheDefenders

** ''Doctor Strange: The Oath'' included a throwaway gag about Strange still being on the Defenders' group ''health insurance'' policy.

After the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', Joe Casey wrote a new mini-series called "The Last Defenders", which had Nighthawk struggling to rebuild the team after being assigned to the state of New Jersey by Iron Man. The series itself explored the fan notion of the "lameness" of the original team's later members versus the bonds that existed between them: heroes assigned to the team quit on Nighthawk due to them not wanting to be associated with the "Defenders" brand and Iron Man himself constantly refused Nighthawk's attempts to recruit past Defenders like Valkyrie on the basis that said past members did not have the necessary star quality. Though the roster of the group would be finalized at the end of the mini-series, later writers (including Dan Slott, who wrote She-Hulk's ongoing book at the time) ignored it and the group vanished from sight until a Casey series called Vengeance debuted in 2011.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The core Defenders really only have two things in common: they're some of the most powerful characters in the MarvelUniverse, and they usually work alone. The heroes they attract to their banner tend to be... idiosyncratic as well. Perhaps they get together because no one else can put up with them?

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 ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, ComicBook/SpiderMan, ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}, the second ComicBook/SpiderWoman, Comicbook/GhostRider, Hulk, ComicBook/LukeCage, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, and many others) for one-off missions. The team made their first appearance in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' #374 when Spider-Man, desperate to bring in the Human Torch for arson and everyone is having poor luck doing so, turns to Dr. Strange for help, who reassembles the rest of the "New Fantastic Four" (Hulk, Wolverine and Ghost Rider) to fight the Fantastic Four. 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.

This age of the series was famous for its bizarre stories and villains; most notably: The Headmen, a group of villains with weird heads; The Elf With A Gun, a mysterious elf-like character who went around shooting people for no reason (and whom The Defenders never actually met!) and Vera Gemini, a demonic cult leader who was based on Music/BlueOysterCult's songs! These stories were largely written by Creator/SteveGerber and David Anthony Kraft, who shepherded the group for the 1970s and early 1980s.

The Defenders have a long and varied history. The team grew out of a couple of team-ups between Comicbook/DoctorStrange, ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk, 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]].

* OffModel: Secret Defenders took this to ludicrous extremes. You'd swear everybody in those comics ate a huge stack of pancakes before entering the comic!

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/LukeCage, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, ComicBook/JessicaJones, and Comicbook/IronFist. 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. In January 2017, a comic book based on that same roster was announced, which will be written by Creator/BrianMichaelBendis. Tropes for that series should go [[ComicBook/TheDefenders2017 here.]]

* PlanetLooters: Nebulon the Celestial Man, before underwent MotiveDecay and became obsessed with getting revenge on the Defenders.

* SquishyWizard: Downplayed. Strange is adept at martial arts and can hold his own in a fight better than most humans can - but he is still physically the weakest member of the team. Nighthawk comments on this in an issue where the team had been knocked out by energy weapons and captured. Valkyrie is getting worried since Strange hasn't woken up even long after the others recovered. Kyle points out that unlike the rest of them he doesn't have a superhuman body and would take longer to recover.

* TrespassingToTalk: In issue #57, Ms. Marvel breaks into Nighthawk's apartment to warn him about an incoming AIM attack.

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 ''ComicBook/SonOfSatan''; [[Comicbook/PatsyWalker 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 ComicBook/{{Tigra}}); Gargoyle, an elderly man who, while trying to cheat death, ended up trapped in the body of a demon; and The ComicBook/{{Valkyrie|MarvelComics}}, 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.

Not to be confused with the AnimatedSeries ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'', or with the 1960s TV show ''The Defenders'', which was about a group of lawyers. Or, for that matter, another TV show called ''The Defenders'', which is also about lawyers[[note]]This is merely about a Satanic cult, bathed in impenetrable ancient ritual involving pitiless human sacrifice, scheming for world domination out of lust for money and power. So no room for confusion, then.[[/note]], but semi-related to the Creator/{{Netflix}} mini-series ''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}'' for reasons explained below.

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/IronFist and [[ComicBook/BettyRoss Red She-Hulk]] to the classic lineup. Unfortunately, this book ended after twelve issues.

Not to be confused with the AnimatedSeries ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'', or with the 1960s TV show ''The Defenders'', which was about a group of lawyers. Or, for that matter, the more recent TV show ''The Defenders'', which is also about lawyers[[note]]This is merely about a Satanic cult, bathed in impenetrable ancient ritual involving pitiless human sacrifice, scheming for world domination out of lust for money and power. So no room for confusion, then.[[/note]], but semi-related to the Creator/{{Netflix}} mini-series ''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}'' for reasons explained below.

This age of the series was famous for its bizarre stories and villains; most notably: The Headmen, a group of villains with weird heads; The Elf With A Gun, a mysterious elf-like character who went around shooting people for no reason (and whom The Defenders never actually met!) and Vera Gemini, a demonic cult leader who was based on an actual rock and roll band (Music/BlueOysterCult)'s songs! These stories were largely written by Creator/SteveGerber and David Anthony Kraft, who shepherded the group for the 1970s and early 1980s.

* BadassInDistress: In issue #57, an AIM robot manages to capture the Hulk.

* GirlsBehindBars: Happens to Valkyrie during the 70's Creator/SteveGerber run.

* TheNicknamer: The childlike Hulk had his own names for the rest of the team.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: At times. The original three (Strange, Namor, and the Hulk,) plus the Surfer are all strong personalities who are used to working alone and none of them likes to admit that they need help.

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. Beast (having already joined up a while back,) Valkyrie and Gargoyle reformed the group with two of the other founding member of the ComicBook/XMen (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/XFactor'' series. The entire team, save for Angel, Beast, and Iceman, [[HeroicSacrifice died saving a possessed Moondragon]].)

* ''ComicBook/BestDefense'' (2018): a series of five one-shots connecting to form a larger story.
* ''ComicBook/{{Defenders|2021}}'' (2021) #1

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Between the various teams, there are a lot of people that can claim to have been a Defender.
** During the "Defender for a Day" story, around ''twenty'' heroes joined, from Black Widow to Tagak the Leopard Lord. The list of people who have been on both ComicBook/TheAvengers and ComicBook/TheDefenders is very long.
** Then there is the poorly-received 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 ComicBook/{{Thanos}} and Comicbook/{{Venom}} were even chosen.

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. ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}} (having already joined up a while back,) Valkyrie and Gargoyle reformed the group with two of the other founding member of the ComicBook/XMen (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/XFactor'' series. The entire team, save for Angel, Beast, and Iceman, [[HeroicSacrifice died saving a possessed Moondragon]].)

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 ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, ComicBook/SpiderMan, ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}, the second Spider-Woman, Comicbook/GhostRider, Hulk, Luke Cage, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, and many others) for one-off missions. The team made their first appearance in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' #374 when Spider-Man, desperate to bring in the Human Torch for arson and everyone is having poor luck doing so, turns to Dr. Strange for help, who reassembles the rest of the "New Fantastic Four" (Hulk, Wolverine and Ghost Rider) to fight the Fantastic Four. 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.

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

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

* TheWorfEffect: ComicBook/SilverSurfer spends a issue or two being held hostage by Prester John in the 2011 series.

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]].

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

* BodyHorror: The Headmen was consisted of villains that featured body parts with peculiar, if not largely bizarre, modifications.

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}}; ComicBook/DaimonHellstrom, the horror-themed hero "Son of Satan"; [[Comicbook/PatsyWalker 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 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. ComicBook/{{Beast}} (having already joined up a while back,) Valkyrie and Gargoyle reformed the group with two of the other founding member of the ComicBook/XMen (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/XFactor'' series. The entire team, save for Angel, Beast, and Iceman, [[HeroicSacrifice died saving a possessed Moondragon]].)

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 [[ComicBook/BettyRoss Red She-Hulk]] to the classic lineup. Unfortunately, this book ended after twelve issues.

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/LukeCage, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, ComicBook/JessicaJones, 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. In January 2017, a comic book based on that same roster was announced, which will be written by Creator/BrianMichaelBendis. Tropes for that series should go [[ComicBook/TheDefenders2017 here.]]