Secret Defenders #3: Viral Villainy

Secret Defenders #3
“Swarm Song”
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Andre Coates
Inker: Don Hudson
Letterer: Clem Robins
Colorist: John Kalisz
Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
Released: March 9, 1993

(Apologies for the day's delay in posting. The real world was hassling me in the form of a plumbing mishap.)

Issue 3 picks up right where #2 left off, with Macabre reminding Nomad, Spider-Woman and Wolverine that she's counted to two and she's going to hit three, really, any second now, and oh boy, you do NOT want to see what happens then. It's just extending the cliffhanger into the start of the issue, but it reminds me of those times when I've started counting to three with my kids maybe a little too soon, and it's clear they aren't going to do or stop doing whatever the particular action of contention is, but I really haven't thought about the next step.

Maybe that's not what Macabre's doing though, because she's not from around here, as the Secret Defenders deduce when she refers to them as “Earthspawn.” When they agree to back off, Macabre has Tokamak blast them unconscious, since Dreadlox is too disoriented from getting hit with that errant brick last issue to use her powers. But she recovers quickly enough to dread-blast the crowd of recently young-i-fied (youth-a-nized? Wait, no) homeless folks who are a little put off by their benefactors KO'ing superheroes.

When said heroes awaken, they're trapped in a force field generated by Macabre and helpless as she begins to monologue.

Seems the arrival of Lilith and her demons in “Rise of the Midnight Sons” weakened the walls of reality (as Dr. Strange generally posited back in #1) and allowed a viral swarm that had overwhelmed its home dimension to burst through to good old Earth 616. It arrived on this plane in a basement where some of Phoenix's homeless were gathered. The virus took over the bodies of five of them, transforming itself into individuals for the first time, specifically Macabre, Decimator, Dreadlox, Stasis and Tokamak. Trying a different tactic than devour and destroy everything, Macabre decides to... make the other homeless younger and have them steal stuff so the viral swarm could “survive undetected.” I mean, not everything has to be end-of-the-world stuff. And points to them for taking a stab at sustainable parasiting.

The first to be transformed was Tabitha, real name Wilhemina or “Willie.” She and Darkhawk (in his human form of Chris Powell) have awakened and she tells him she's really 68. Without Macabre to keep her young, she starts looking her age fast and going downhill, like the guy who died in the jail in issue 1.

An angry Chris successfully transforms into Darkhawk and attacks Macabre and company, forcing her to drop the force field imprisoning the other heroes. Just as Dreadlox is about to put the whammy on them, a homeless lady intervenes and reflects her power back onto the villain. It's Dr. Strange in disguise, and he really went all out to sell it, saying just before the reveal that he's “too old to be afraid of that young guttersnipe!” Acting!

Satisfied that Macabre isn't human and therefore not a lady, Wolverine tears into her while the other heroes deal with the rest of the crew. But as Macabre starts to fall apart, she reabsorbs the others and they turn briefly into a flaming Ghost Rider head before exploding into green blobs of other-dimensional sentient virus.

Because this pre-dates COVID-19 by nearly 20 years, the heroes don't mask up, social distance or get vaccinated. Instead, they mystically give Dr. Strange their good vibes and he magics the virus back to its home dimension, ensuring this three-issue arc remains the villains' only appearance.

Willie dies, and the heroes wax a bit philosophical about the problem of homelessness. It feels a little heavy-handed but nevertheless sincere. The next issue box teases a new lineup and a new villain called Roadkill.

It's been ages since I read this, so I forgot the big bad turned out to be a virus. What a terrific choice of escapist entertainment these days!

As familiar as some of the elements of the story were, the otherwordly virus angle felt unique. It seemed a little rushed to have it all in the third issue of a three-part story, but the Grumpy Old Fan aspect of me rebutted that by saying, “At least this wasn't a six-issue arc with a companion mini-series showing the virus' destruction of its world.”

I wondered if we would get a set of events that showed just why this team had to be the one Strange assembled. He says he couldn't have defeated this threat without their help, but the only insight we get into what specifically they each bring to the table is when they're supporting Strange as he casts the final spell – it's Nomad's determination, Wolverine's rage, Spider-Woman's love for her daughter and anger at the thought of her in danger and Darkhawk's... armor (though his compassion with Willie was admirable too. Unless he was just trying to impress what he initially thought was only a slightly older woman).

There were a couple instances of word balloons and dialogue not matching the panel, and pre-transformation Macabre looked an awful lot like Willie/Tabitha. But I brushed that off with the same nostalgia-tinted glasses through which I read the first couple issues. It's not the stuff of legend, but it's a fun comic, with a great concept, where superheroes do superhero stuff and take on weird villains.

I remember issues 4 and 5 very fondly and am looking forward to seeing how they hold up. But before we do that, there's a Secret Defenders guest appearance I thought would be fun to check in on first.

And there's still no letters page, but there is a full-page ad for the series (odd choice since one would assume if you're reading this issue you're aware the Secret Defenders are a thing). So I'll make them our Suggested Secret Defenders of the Week – Maverick, Darkhawk, Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze (not Nomad as I thought for a second) and Wolverine.