Secret Defenders #23: Brought to You by the Letter D

Secret Defenders #23
“Heaven's Albatross”
Writers: Tom Brevoort and Mike Kanterovich
Penciler: Bill Wylie
Inker: Tony DeZuniga
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Jim Hoston
Cover: Penciled by Bill Wylie, inked by Michael Bair
Editor: Craig Anderson
Marvel's Albatross: Tom DeFalco
Released: Nov. 8, 1994

Two-thirds of Doctor Druid's latest Secret Defenders lineup have a mini-Maximum Carnage reunion on a dark and stormy night in the town of Starkesboro. As Dagger and Deathlok wonder what's brought them here, the answer materializes in the form of a surlier-than-usual Druid, accompanied by Cadaver and Sepulcre. The only callback we get to last issue's dramatic revelations and tension is Druid's hesitation before saying the former Shadowoman's new codename.

It turns out Druid didn't summon Dagger, Deathlok and the yet-to-arrive Drax because he enchanted the “D” volume of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. He needs to deal with Slorioth, the namesake of the statue in which Jillian/Shadowoman/Sepulcre's shadow spirit resides when she's not given substance by a piece of Druid's soul. Seems some magic-users imprisoned Slorioth 15,000 years ago, but the spell is breaking down and the Sorcerer Sufficient needs three beings who are pure of spirit to bypass “the mystic sealanters* that cap the spell.”

That makes sense for Dagger; Deathlok, though? The cyborg's internal monologue emphasizes his refusal to kill, which I vaguely remember from the back of some Marvel trading cards. Then Drax drops in through the skylight, his childlike, store-brand Hulk nature at this point making him more or less innocent. Druid assures them he and his companions “have grown too tainted” to do the job.

The rather trusting trio enter a magical door Druid conjures and start floating through a shifting mystical realm, where they are soon attacked by Dagger's partner Cloak, out of control of his darkforce powers; a vicious, smart Drax; and an all-computer Deathlok that kind of reminds me of my Masters of the Universe Extendar** action figure. It's their worst fears realized, and the resulting fights are pretty much a stalemate until MegaDeathlok starts shooting all over the place and Regular Deathlok seemingly sacrifices himself to save Dagger. This prompts her to blast everything with a “Phoooom” of pure light, and the combination of that power and Deathlok's nobility apparently shatter the illusions. It's a shame a Drax saxophone solo wasn't also needed to bypass those pesky sealanters.

These events have been mixed with interludes in which Joshua, the mysterious hitchiker from previous issues, and his zombie-head-in-a-jar associate, who he calls Al, prepare a spell back in Druid's Boston HQ. It's not clear what their goal is, but it seems to have something to do with Joshua being a “cognoscenti.”

Al tells him to repeat a spell Doctor Strange invoked on “the day of formation” and he does so, summoning a trio of familiar-looking figures. If we couldn't tell from their silhouettes, they're revealed on the last page to be the Silver Surfer, Hulk and Namor, seemingly past versions of the “Titans Three” that inspired the original Defenders. They, Joshua and Al Headinajar burst onto the scene to stop Druid, Cadaver and Sepulcre from entering a portal to continue their efforts to deal with Slorioth.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to know Joshua and Al or what a cognoscenti is or where Starksboro is. I know there are wikis and Googles and whatnot that would tell me, but I'm just going to go along for the ride for now.

The issue meanders a bit and feels like it didn't need a full 22 pages to tell this part of the story, although the fears of the guest stars are well thought out and provide nice glimpses of their characters. After Sepulcre was the focus of last issue, she doesn't have a line of dialogue. Cadaver gets in a few words and is yelled at by Druid for his troubles. It feels very disconnected from the previous issue, which seemed to be setting up a stretch run for the core cast.

The art is Wylie's usual – better than anything I could hope to draw but uneven. Druid's facial expressions seem very strange and his Deathlok is so-so, but the man draws a very striking Dagger, even beyond the character's standard so-innocent-I-feel-weird-about-that-severely-plunging-neckline design. I am curious to see what Druid's endgame is, how Josh and the zombie head figure in, etc., but no more so than I was after last issue. It feels like maybe they were ready to wrap up with issue 24 but had to stretch to get 25.

Oh, and I really don't have any why this story is called “Heaven's Albatross.” If it's obvious, feel free to mock and explain in the comments.

For Suggested Secret Defenders of the Week, who else could have passed the “pure of spirit” test? Maybe an actual child like Franklin Richards; Excalibur's sweet, empathic metamorph Meggan and, as a throwback to Steve Gerber's Marvel Two-in-One tales, the Aquarian, a Superman riff who was rocketed to Earth and physically grew to adulthood but still had the mind of a young child. I believe he'd grown up by this point, but I'm sticking with him.

* - Like those song sailors sing and people use in boat-less TikToks?

** - A Tower of Power!