Secret Defenders #13
“Holy War”
Writer: Ron Marz
Penciler: Tom Grindberg
Inker: Don Hudson
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: John Kalisz
Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Group Editor: Ralph Macchio
The Pope: Tom DeFalco
Released: Feb. 1, 1994
You might recall from last issue that in a blatant disregard for international copyright law, Thanos co-opted Doctor Strange's Secret Defenders gimmick and recruited an unlikely crew of Nitro, Rhino, Super-Skrull and Titanium Man, to be led by none other than Geatar to abduct the Oracle of Ancient Knowledge from an order of monks on the planet H'aarg. Issue 13 opens with the team surrounded by a host of the heavily armed and allegedly holy men, backed into a literal corner (and the narration actually referring to the team as “Secret Defenders”).
They approach the Oracle who is revealed to also be a robot, which is somehow shocking to the group? Or maybe they're trying to figure out why he looks so familiar. I was reminded of the Titanian supercomputer I.S.A.A.C. (who, outside of indirect references in comics I primarily know from his Heroclix figure that looks to be wearing kung fu pajamas*) or {shudder} Box from “Logan's Run.”
Turns out he's neither of those; just an automaton with delusions of godhood and a whole lot of data Thanos wants. Once the crew clobbers the 'bot, Thanos himself teleports in, takes possession of his prize and reveals: a) he needed the team to disable the Oracle so he could teleport in, b) the impending holy war he warned about and vast riches he promised they could plunder were lies, and c) he blew up their ship and is leaving them there.
Super-Skrull and Rhino start to lose their cool, but Geatar tells them to get their acts together and they prepare to fight their way through the monks.
For the first post on this storyline, I focused more on who Thanos didn't pick than who he ended up choosing. In-story, it's because these guys had some skills but were easy to manipulate. From a meta perspective, I have no idea why Marz selected this lineup. Maybe they're second- or third-tier villains for whom he has a particular fondness, which I can respect.
Super-Skrull and Geatar are the only ones who seem to have much off-planet experience, though I was reminded Rhino accidentally took a trip with the Hulk to Counter-Earth back in the day and his Fandom wiki demonstrates that he has seen some stuff. He appears to take all the aliens and whatnot in stride and even marches right up to Thanos to air his grievances. I don't know if it's in character, out of character or if he's just too dense to realize how far over his head he's in... but I kind of like it.
I'm not overly familiar with Nitro, except as the guy who helped kill the original Captain Marvel and set off the first superhero Civil War by blowing up the New Warriors and a school. Based on the former, I assumed he had some cosmic entries on his resume, but other than getting his powers from some Kree baddies, not so much. Nitro doesn't really do his trademark exploding and reforming this issue and mainly serves as the team's big mouth and punching bag. By the time they're ready to make an exit, he's unconscious and being carried by Rhino.
Titanium Man has always been, to me, the Russian Iron Man Who Isn't Crimson Dynamo and looks like he has an armor kilt? He acquits himself well in this issue, even delivering the K.O. to the Oracle's guardian. Super-Skrull is about what I expected, while Geatar moves from Nebula's second banana to a guy who seems capable of doing what Thanos wanted him to do.
No letters page this issue, so no team pitches, but there's roughly eleventy-four we haven't touched on from issue 9, so let's go back to that well. This post's Suggested Secret Defenders of the Week are: Hulk, Red Guardian, Deathlok and Wasp, an eclectic mix of well-known and obscure heroes.
* Integral Synaptic Anti-Anionic Computer
Comments
Post a Comment
No profanity, no bullying, no harassment. Feel free to disagree, but do it respectfully and politely.