Secret Defenders #25: The End of the Line

Secret Defenders #25
Writers: Tom Brevoort and Mike Kanterovich
Breakdowns: Bill Wylie
Finishes: Tony DeZuniga
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Jim Hoston
Cover: Penciled by Bill Wylie, inked by Michael Bair
Editor: Craig Anderson
End of the Line: Tom DeFalco
Special thanks to Dan Slott for “the bit!”
Released: Jan. 10, 1995

Before we proceed to the Secret Defenders’ final stand, a couple of notes.

This installment was already running behind, but a computer mishap as I was preparing to post resulted in the whole thing being deleted. I share this only to provide cover because I hate rewriting things from scratch, so if this post is below my usual level of quality, that’s totally why.

Also, while reading issue 23, the setting of Starkesboro seemed kind of familiar to me. I haven’t been looking a lot of the unfamiliar aspects of this story up on Fandom or anywhere so that I didn’t accidentally get something spoiled. But once I wrapped this issue up, I checked out Starkesboro and, sure enough, it was the setting of the immortal “Captain America: Man and Wolf'' storyline, in which Captain America and Doctor Druid encountered a town full of magically and scientifically manipulated werewolves. You can follow my read-through of the tale I’d been wanting to check out for years in the Schrodinger’s CapWolf series here.

As long as I’m coming up with excuses, I’ll pin my failure to recognize Starkesboro on the fact that the CapWolf story placed it in Massachusetts while here, it was in Maine. If this was a DC story, I’d blame the discrepancy on Superboy Prime punching the walls of reality. For Marvel, I guess I could go with incursions or time travel, but those aren’t as funny.

Let’s see, where were we? Oh, right, the culmination of 25 issues of reading “Secret Defenders,” after dropping the series, for some reason, after issue 6 in the early 90s.

Before we get to the techno-C’thullu-looking creature emerging from the ground at the end of last issue, this issue gives us an idea of the scale of the threat with a quick trip around the Marvel Earth. You know it’s a big deal when Spider-Man’s spider-sense is triggered even when he’s nowhere near the problem, and that’s where we start.

Then it’s over to Lord Tantalus, a Deviant I’d never heard of and who I initially mistook for former Defender Gargoyle. We also get reactions from Sleepwalker (huzzah!), Daimon Hellstrom (meh) and the Fantastic Force (another Brevoort title) before circling back to Druid’s old buddy Mathieson from issues 18 and 19.

Finally, we rejoin the latest iteration of the Secret Defenders (regulars Cadaver and Sepulcre, alongside Dagger, Deathlok and Drax) and three of the four classic Defenders (time-displaced Hulk, Namor and Silver Surfer). It’s an uphill battle since the Hulk draws acidic blood that hurts even him, and Dagger’s inexplicable continuing ability to fly isn’t turning the tide.

Back in the tabernacle, the newly empowered, extreme Blue Beetle-cosplaying* Doctor Druid engages in exposition, telling Joshua and Al he’s thrown his lot in with Slorioth in the War of the Seven Spheres, a mystical conflict in which Doctor Strange serves the interests of the Vishanti. Druid says he prefers chaos to order, and his goal seems to be to eradicate hope, thus empowering chaos, rather than destroying the world. So, it could be worse, I guess?

We also learn a little more about the Cognoscenti, who are apparently mystical guardians of the Earth. Although not one of their number, Druid had been filling the role until he got into the mess with Slorioth and Jillian, pulling Joshua off the bench.

Back on Earth, the assembled Defenders, secret or otherwise, take their best shots at the betentacled behemoth, with Sepulcre being partially absorbed into it since she’s linked to Slorioth’s magic as well.

Joshua opens a portal and draws Sepulcre and Cadaver in to help him. Al objects, pointing out that they’re allies of Druid, but Joshua says a) they’re not really alive so they can survive in the harsh magical environment better than the others and b) he thinks they’ll do the right thing.

Well, they try. But Dru Beetle gets his feelings hurt and shatters the spell by which Strange imbued him with precognitive visions of mystical danger, then brutally takes down Al, Cadaver and Sepulcre in two pages. This forces Joshua to get physical, picking up Cadaver’s bone sword, then calling upon like … the collective spiritual power of humanity**... or something … to lay Dru Beetle out with an epic haymaker.

That doesn’t stop the threat, but it wasn’t intended to. What it does is get the attention of the Vishanti, who I’ve heard Strange invoke plenty of times but don’t think I’ve ever seen. Before anyone can page the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, the Vishanti summon the Living Tribunal for some … binding arbitration?

OK, so it doesn’t sound dramatic, but Joshua and the Vishanti argue that Dru Beetle is messing up the schedule of the War of the Seven Spheres and endangering all of existence in the process. Druid counters that he and Slorioth are winning fair and square, but the Tribunal ain’t buying it. He casts Slorioth and Druid into another dimension, and, with the threat averted, the original Defenders return to their proper place in the timestream.

One of the Vishanti, Agammoto, transforms from a wildcat-looking spirit to a big caterpillar, puts Cadaver back together and informs the former Cody Fleisher that he’ll be his eyes, ears and fist until the War of Seven Spheres concludes … in about 4,000 to 5,000 years. Cadaver is not thrilled. Joshua reconstitutes Jillian, telling her she can survive without her connection to Druid but must remain a creature of shadows.

They end up back in the house where Druid gathered the team in issue 23. Joshua ties up some loose ends, saying he didn’t bring Strange with the rest of the old school Defenders because of a curse that probably wasn’t real but why risk it, and revealing to Al that the couple he saved in issue 22 were the parents of the next Cognoscenti, whose birth gave Joshua the extra mystical kick he needed to challenge Dru Beetle.

I was expecting, based on the cover, for Joshua, Cadaver and Sepulcre to form a new Secret Defenders (that sadly never got another series). But Joshua bids them a rather curt farewell – “If the world ever needs saving… and all the good super heroes are busy… you may hear from me again” – and they depart, paying little attention to the butler whose face is hidden in shadows.

Turns out it’s Druid, who claims everything worked out according to his plans. He’s free of Strange’s spell, Jillian’s free of Slorioth’s influence, and Cadaver… well, he’s still kind of dead and stuck in that state for a few more millenia. That leaves Druid, in his words, “free once more to pursue my own agendas. All that need be decided upon is if those agendas shall promote the cause of good… or evil.”

Nice to see he’s learned a lesson.

This leads into a limited series entitled Druid that has not been posted on Marvel Unlimited yet. Unless the viral success of these posts leads Marvel to rectify that situation, I’ll probably have to keep my eyes peeled in back issue bins if I want to see what happens next with the Sorcerer Sufficient.

But Cadaver, Sepulcre and Joshua are more intriguing to me. Alas, a quick check of the Marvel Fandom wiki indicates I’ve already read most of their appearances.

The Secret Defenders concept is strong. I’m more than a little surprised Marvel’s never tried it again. Other Defenders takes have come and gone, and the secret squad did have its name dropped in the Sleepwalker Infinity Wars limited series, so you never know.

The series was uneven but overall an enjoyable read. The format that it stayed with the longest, Druid’s reluctant team with a rotatingcast of guest stars, was the most promising, although without even Strange as a draw, it’s not surprising it didn’t last. Then again, 11 issues is about five more than a lot of new series get these days, never mind the 14 that preceded it.

For our final Suggested Secret Defenders of the Week, I’ll pick a lineup of my favorites from the entire series. Let’s go with Thunderstrike for being tougher than I expected in issues 9 and 10, Rhino for the way he rolled with the punches and was a good teammate after being yoinked across the galaxy for Thanos’ heist in 12-14, Cadaver for being a consistent presence even as he shifted between confused teenager and mystical strongman from 16-25 and Captain America for doing what he does and helping save the day despite being benched by Strange in 6-8. Oh, and points to Roadkill for being one of the weirdest antagonists to pop up in a comic.

* - Look, the fact that this issue predates the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle by about a decade
 is not going to stop me from running this joke into the ground.

** - Like when Buffy drew upon the combined power of all potential Slayers.