Secret Defenders #1: Phoenix Sons or Midnight Suns?

 Secret Defenders #1
“A Gathering of Heroes”
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Andre Coates
Inker: Don Hudson
Letterer: Clem Robbins
Colorist: John Kalisz
Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
Released: Jan. 12, 1993

I don't know what it was exactly that drew me to “Secret Defenders” #1 back in 1993. I doubt it was the connection to the original Defenders series, of which I'd only read one issue – #73, bought at the same flea market I acquired “Eternals #15. It would be years before I would discover, through Marvel's black-and-white Essential collections, how wonderfully weird that series was.

Maybe it was the concept of a rotating team of heroes assembled by Doctor Strange, although I'm not sure I knew that was the premise going in. Maybe it was just the oddball lineup. Maybe it was Darkhawk.

Maybe it was the shiny red holofoil.

Whatever the case, I bought and read the first six issues of the series but stalled out after that. I don't remember having an internal debate about whether to keep getting it; maybe I just fell behind. But that rotating roster idea stuck with me, and I remember jotting down some ideas for Marvel Super Heroes Role-Playing Game sessions where Nick Fury and a conscripted-for-the-good-guys Mad Thinker would pick unlikely teams of heroes for specific missions.

Eventually, “Secret Defenders” became one of those series I tried to complete, scouring boxes at shows and comic shops. I assumed most of them would be cheap – but hadn't figured on Deadpool's presence in some of the latter issues hiking up prices. I'm still on the lookout for eight of the 25 issues, but the whole run is available on Marvel Unlimited, so I figured a read-through was in order. Or would at least be fun.

The first issue opens with a nine-panel grid, even before that was the go-to for Serious Comics Storytelling (it can work, but it's become so common that some of the impact is lost). It's Doctor Strange sussing out a mystical threat, and the heroes he needs to thwart it, using a custom deck of tarot cards, guided by his “mystical intuition.”

With a quick bit of exposition and some asterisk-marked editors' notes, we learn Doc needs a little more help than usual due to recent events in the “Rise of the Midnight Sons” crossover and his own title.

The scene shifts to Phoenix* and a trio of young bank robbers pushing their way through a group of homeless people. They're stopped by Nomad, the former Bucky who fights crime with guns, a mullet, sunglasses and a baby girl he calls Bucky strapped to his back. I'm really only familiar with him from covers on comic shelves and spinner racks and Marvel trading cards. He's soon joined by Spider-Woman, the Julia Carpenter incarnation who I'm guessing will be the character Dakota Johnson plays in the upcoming Madame Web movie; Darkhawk, who I've always liked for being a character created during my fandom rather than before it; and Wolverine, because it's Wolverine.

All four were summoned to Phoenix by Strange, for reasons. Relatively new to the superhero game, Darkhawk and Spider-Woman are eager to assist the good Doctor, while Wolverine and Nomad are skeptical and grumpy, which seems pretty on-brand. Knowing only that the mystic threat has something to do with the bank robbery and the homeless, they go to the jail to interrogate the robbers.

There they learn there's been a rash of cries committed by youngsters with no criminal records. But when they go to question one, he's aged decades and drops dead of a heart attack. The three they apprehended earlier are mum, though one offers Spider-Woman an address as a clue.

The group splits up, and the rest of the issue focuses on Wolverine and Spider-Woman, with the new West Coast Avenger getting some pointers from Logan. This checks out, since every female Wolverine encounters seems to either find him irresistible or become his sidekick.

Scoping out the hotel room the girl tipped them off to, Spider-Woman notes they don't talk or act like one would expect of people their age. The sleuthing is interrupted by the arrival of Decimator and Tokamak, who are kind enough to immediately call each other by their codenames. Action ensues, and the heroes are able to best the newcomers.

Before they can question them, they come face to face with Dreadlox, who appears to have raided Dagger's closet before striking a pose in this particular Phoenix alley. A caption tells us we'll also meet someone who goes by Macabre in the next issue, and that's that.

I enjoyed revisiting this issue for the first time in ages. The story itself isn't particularly gripping; it's a pretty standard part one of a magical comic book mystery, with only a handful of clues dropped. The concept and the interactions between characters you didn't normally see interacting back then (with the exception of Nomad, they've all been Avengers now) is the issue's strength.

Writer Roy Thomas shares some hints about what's to come where a letters page would normally be and explains the ever-changing nature of the cast. He invites readers to send in suggested lineups, and I remember that being a fun feature of the letters page. In future installments, I'd like to highlight the best or weirdest of those speculative squads.

There were no letters for the first issue, but Thomas provides the roster he originally planned for the issue: Sabretooth (whose attempted heroic turn in the X-books was still a bit off in the distance), the Punisher (who appeared in as many or more books than Wolverine and Spider-Man in those days), Sleepwalker (who I liked even more than Darkhawk) and Spider-Woman. So they'll be our first Suggested Secret Defenders of the Week.

* the city, not Jean Grey**

**Or Rachel Summers***

***Or Echo