Secret Defenders #2: Dreadlox and, Technically, Morbius

Secret Defenders #2
“Second Chance”
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Andre Coates
Inker: Don Hudson
Letterer: Clem Robbins
Colorist: John Kalisz
Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
Released: Feb. 9, 1993

(Check out the start of the series here, and for an alternate perspective, listen to a discussion by noted Ravage 2099-deniers Jesse Starcher and Chris Armstrong on the Unspoken Issues podcast)

Issue 2 starts with Wolverine and Spider-Woman furiously... critiquing Dreadlox's codename. I mean, he's a college mascot and she stole someone else's name, but OK.

Maybe it was a strategic choice as Dreadlox starts to demonstrate her power, which has more to do with “dread” than the “lox,” although she is touching her hair, so maybe her hair has the mojo. Either way, Wolverine descends into a berserker rage with surprisingly little provocation, while Spider-Woman sees her daughter Rachel dying repeatedly, eliminating any advantage she had over Nomad by not bringing a child on her adventure.

Seems Dreadlox can make people feel as though they're living out their worst nightmares. For Wolverine, that entails losing control and killing the X-Men, something he's only done twice that I can think of off the top of my head, but this may have been the first time he thought he did. With the hotel they attacked last issue going up in flames, Dreadlox, Decimator and Tokamak choose not to press their advantage and the combatants go their separate ways.

Meanwhile, Nomad and Darkhawk question the homeless folks who encountered the bank robbers in issue 1, and manage to turn up a clue after scaring them. Seems one of the young thieves called the woman “Grannie,” which happens to be her nickname because she's not as old as she looks. Also, they confirm that the once-young-then-suddenly-old corpse at the jail is their peer Lester. So, maybe the young thugs are de-aged homeless people. (I thought this was obvious last issue, but I have read the story before, so maybe I'm not as smart as I think.)

Unsure of what to do next, they decide to seek advice from Doctor Strange, since he's the guy that dropped them in Phoenix in the first place. With the group unsure how to contact the Sorcerer Supreme, Wolverine draws upon his extensive experience as a superhero, soldier and secret agent and calls him on a payphone. If you think that's dated, check out Wolverine's rage at connecting to an answering machine.

So they try to reach Doc Psychically since that's how he first communicated with them. It works but drops them smack dab in the midst of a battle between Strange and Nightmare in the mind of Morbius, the Living Vampire. (We learn this from an editor's note. Morbius does not, technically, appear in the issue, but since his movie is finally coming out this week, I'm going to type Morbius a few times and hashtag him in the Twitter post. A blogger's gotta do what a blogger's gotta do. Morbius.)

See? Morbius.

Booted back to reality, Wolverine punches a camera out of the hand of a Phoenix resident hoping to get his picture taken with superheroes. We don't get a thought balloon to confirm it, but I bet Wolvie was wondering why humans hate and fear mutants.

The erstwhile team decides to follow the only two leads they have. Darkhawk checks out the Second Chance Institute, a certificate from which they found in the hotel room where one of the robbers, Tabitha, was crashing, while the rest of them surreptitiously spring the robber and follow her to see where she goes.

Tabitha heads back to the Second Chance Institute, where Darkhawk has broken in and switched back into less-suspicious-looking teenager Chris Powell. A crowd of people, apparently de-aged, are getting a briefing from a cloaked figure with a skull for a face. Chris is discovered and stopped from escaping by another costumed figure, Stasis, who looks like Johnny Blaze might have if he'd gotten an actual super suit while he was sidekicking for Danny Ketch and has the most common power of the '90s, redirecting kinetic energy.*

The other Secret Defenders burst through a wall, a stray brick from which KO's Dreadlox. But the skeletal lady, who guys by Macabre, threatens to kill Chris and Tabitha if the team doesn't surrender. She gives them to the count of three, and the issue ends on two.

This recap sounds a little extra sarcastic, but that's not because I didn't have fun. There are some strained moments, but it's a lot like the first issue. The story is a bit pedestrian but by no means bad. Once again, the concept and unusual team-ups carry the day. It feels a bit odd that we still don't really know what's going on, and the first story arc is wrapping up next issue.

Renaissance cliffhanger?

Dreadlox was established as a formidable opponent, so the errant brick KO felt a like a letdown. Chris' inability to change back to Darkhawk jogged my memory a bit from when I was reading that series and, just like the references to Strange's book last issue and the drop-in to the mind of Morbius (y'know, Michael Morbius, the Living Vampire?), clued the reader into the wider goings on of the Marvel Universe without requiring a working knowledge of the other titles. That's how continuity should be – understandable, accessible if you want to learn more, but not mandatory.

I thought the Suggested Secret Defenders of the Week would be a fun feature, but this is only the second issue and, as it was released in the age of pay phones, answering machines and cameras that were just cameras, the book hadn't received any letters yet. But if I think back to who young Evan would have liked to see in those days, I would probably have suggested: Sleepwalker, Gambit, Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and Firestar.

Oh, and Morbius.

* I kid. The most common power in the '90s was guns.