Hey guys, time again for another first look at Marvel Team-Up! This time, we’re taking a peek at the first new team of the set (finally!), the Marvel Defenders! A couple things before we begin:
1) The Defenders are obscure. If you don’t have the comics to use as a reference, you could be in for a world of hurt.
2) My Defenders knowledge is a bit sketchy. I only own about half (non-consecutive) of the issues from the original run in the ’70s and most are not in decent reading condition (that’s why I got them so cheap!).
To solve these problems, Creative hooked me up with the biggest Defenders fan I know, Mr. Ben Kalman.
Billy: “So, Ben, I hear you know everything there is to know about the Defenders?”
Ben: “Yes.”
Billy: “So obviously, that would be more than me?”
Ben: “Of course.”
Billy: “So, what am I even doing here?”
Ben: “Oh yeah . . . you’re fired.”
HA-HA. They’re always laughing at me. We’ll see who’s laughing when Marvel Team-Up comes out. Oh, we’ll see!
(Most likely to laugh at me: Andrew Yip)
But seriously, Ben was a super help when putting together team rosters and histories for the Underworld and Defenders. Thanks, Ben!
History Lesson
The Defenders were formed as an informal team when Dr. Strange enlisted the aid of the Incredible Hulk and Namor, the Sub-Mariner to defend Earth from a demonic invasion by the Undying Ones. Later, when Yandroth attacked Earth with his Omegatron doomsday device, Dr. Strange once again persuaded the Hulk and Namor to assist him in stopping Yandroth’s evil plans. After Yandroth’s defeat, Hulk and Namor vowed never to work together again, but somehow, even with their apparent disgust for each other, Dr. Strange managed to convince/manipulate them into remaining a part of the non-team that is the Defenders.
Over the years, the Defenders roster has expanded and contracted so many times that it’s difficult to keep track without a scorecard. Wikipedia lists close to a hundred different members. According to the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe, because of the team’s unofficial nature, any individual who has assisted them in the past could be considered a member. Unlike other teams that establish charters and maintain strict rules for membership, gaining membership into the Defenders is a little like a popularity contest. To become “true” members of the Defenders, heroes must fulfill two criteria: 1) they must consider themselves Defenders and 2) they must be accepted as Defenders by the core group of Defenders. Basically, one would have to gain the respect of Dr. Strange and Namor (arguably the most arrogant members of the team) to have any chance of acceptance.
Now that you know a little more about how and why this team formed, let’s get into which characters have the best chance of appearing in Marvel Team-Up.*
Dr. Strange: Dr. Stephen Strange is the “Sorcerer Supreme” of the Marvel universe, responsible for defending it from mystic threats such as Baron Mordo, Dormammu, Nightmare, and Mephisto. Dr. Strange developed his mystical skills under the tutelage of the Ancient One, a hermit who lived in the Himalayas and with whom Strange apprenticed for seven years before becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. Strange currently resides in his Sanctum Sanctorum, a posh mansion located in New York City’s Greenwich Village. He is a founding member of the Defenders and, until recently, a member of the clandestine Illuminati.
Sub-Mariner: Namor was conceived by an Atlantean princess named Fen and an American sea captain named Leonard McKenzie. He was raised in Atlantis, but when he matured, he would alternate between living there and living on the surface world. Through the years, his portrayal has alternated between that of a good-natured but short-fused super hero and a hostile invader seeking vengeance for perceived wrongs that misguided surface dwellers committed against his kingdom. Namor possesses superhuman strength and is the strongest Atlantean ever known. Namor also possesses the ability to fly, superhuman stamina, and resistance to injury due to his hybrid nature.
Hulk: After nuclear physicist Dr. Robert Bruce Banner is caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he created, he is transformed into the Hulk, a raging monstrosity. The character, both as Banner and the Hulk, is frequently pursued by the police or the armed forces, often as a result of the destruction he causes. The Hulk possesses immense superhuman strength, and extreme superhuman durability, stamina, and resistance to physical injury. The Hulk’s durability, much like his accelerated healing powers and strength, increases in correspondence to rising levels of anger.
Silver Surfer: When Galactus came to Zenn-La, Norrin Radd agreed to serve as Galactus’s herald in order to save his home planet from the world devourer’s insatiable appetite. The Silver Surfer was granted a vast power known as the “Power Cosmic.” The Power Cosmic allows him to channel ambient cosmic energy into his body at will and expel it violently as concussive force. The Surfer also possesses superhuman strength and cosmic-enhanced perceptions which enable him to sense concentrations of energy at a great range. He was also granted a surfboard, with which he scoured the universe for new planets for Galactus to consume.
Nighthawk: Kyle Richmond lived a privileged life of luxury, making him spoiled, irresponsible, and insubordinate. His irresponsibility led to tragedy when he drove drunk and caused an accident that killed his girlfriend. He sought refuge in the army, but he was rejected when a physical revealed that he had a heart murmur. He threw himself into his life of luxury, all the while secretly searching for a cure. Finding a mysterious formula in an ancient book, Kyle re-created and drank it, gaining superhuman strength, endurance, and recuperative powers . . . but only during the night. It was soon revealed that it was the Grandmaster who had arranged for Kyle to find the formula. The Grandmaster manipulated Kyle into donning the identity of Nighthawk in order to form the Squadron Sinister and fight the Avengers. The Squadron was of course defeated. Months later, Nighthawk betrayed the Squadron to the Defenders and sacrificed his life to stop his former teammates from melting the polar icecaps. Dr. Strange, feeling sorry for the poor chap, cast a spell to revive Nighthawk, and Kyle became an associate of the team.
Hellcat: Young Patsy Walker began her crime-fighting career when she met the Beast and learned his secret identity. Walker had long idolized super heroes, and she elicited the promise from him that in exchange for keeping his secret, he would help her become a super heroine. While investigating criminal activities at the Brand Corporation with the Beast (then a member of the Avengers), Walker discovered a costume like that worn by Greer Nelson in her identity as the Cat. Putting the costume on, Walker took the name Hellcat and used her natural athletic abilities to help the Avengers. Walker believed that the costume had somehow enhanced her agility and speed, and by the power of suggestion more than anything else, it had. Walker soon met up with the Defenders and decided to accept their offer of membership rather than the Avengers. Since then, Hellcat has become a key member of the team, surviving many harrowing adventures with them.
Valkyrie: Feeling the urge to promote women’s liberation, Samantha Parrington summoned Amora the Enchantress, who magically transformed Samantha into a raging, man-hating facsimile of the Asgardian warrior goddess Brunnhilde the Valkyrie. As the Valkyrie, Samantha battled the Hulk to a standstill until the spell wore off and she returned to normal with no memory of the transformation or the battle. Brunnhilde was later reborn in the mortal host body of Barbara Norriss, and became a mainstay of the Defenders as the Valkyrie. She went on to become the longest-serving member of that group, remaining with them even after regaining her original Asgardian body. During a period when the Defenders were disbanded, Brunnhilde returned to Asgard and resumed her ancient duties as leader of the Valkyrior. After some time, Brunnhilde would return to Earth when the rogue god Pluto sought a Valkyrie pawn. He had Amora’s sister, Lorelei, transform Samantha Parrington into the Valkyrie once again. A mind-controlled Samantha served them until they ran afoul of the reunited Defenders and Brunnhilde. Happy to have a worthy successor on Earth, Brunnhilde returned to Asgard and Samantha joined the Defenders as their new Valkyrie.
Time for Something New
It’s a brand new world, folks. Players have been clamoring for the Defenders since, since . . . since last year! And boy, has R&D delivered on those fanboy and fangirl clamorings. The Marvel Defenders team, in my humble opinion, is one of the most exciting teams that Vs. System has seen in quite some time—possibly since the X-Statix made their debut in the Marvel Knights expansion. I’m very excited to play with these guys at the next Sneak Preview tournament.
The Defenders combine two old mechanics to create one super play experience, making the team extremely versatile and fun. Which mechanics, you might ask? Throttle down, friend. We’ll get there. First, let’s talk a little bit about how we got “here” in the first place. I think it might have been March of last year. Yip came up from Carlsbad and we discussed the next Marvel expansion. The word came down from above that it was time to re-introduce the Spider-Friends and the Sinister Syndicate. Two of the four teams were set, so it was up to us to fill in the rest. Of course, Yip adamantly argued for the inclusion of the Underworld.
Stymied, we hit the interwebs, more specifically the Vs. fan sites, trying to get a handle on which teams the players wanted to see. It was very clear from the get-go that the Defenders were on the top of everyone’s list. Even if they were second or third (S.H.I.E.L.D anyone?), their compatibility with the Underworld created synergistic perfection. Andrew decided that he wanted thematic and mechanical continuity between Heralds of Galactus and Marvel Team-Up—some line we could trace from Galactus back to Spider-Man and the rest of the street-level characters. The scope of the combined sets would stretch from the fantastic to the mundane. The Defenders gave us that link with ties to outer space, other dimensions, and worldly affairs. Initially, Underworld and the Marvel Defenders were going to be cosmic teams, allowing mechanical synergy with the teams from the previous set to improve the upcoming Marvel Modern Age. Then we heard about the new four-set Modern Age, so putting cosmic in Marvel Team-Up was no longer a priority. This opened the design up and allowed Andrew and Co. to come up with their funky combination.
Andrew: “Okay, dude, show me why we pay you the big bucks. What the heck do the Defenders do?”
Billy: “They kick major booty! Well, the ‘Big 4’ do, but the rest of the team, ‘The B Team’, cling to the Big 4.”
A: “So they get their heads kicked in ’til the Big 4 show up to save them? Yeah, that’s exciting.”
B: “What if we made the Big 4 extremely overpowered and the rest of the team equally weak. So unless you’re playing Hulk, Strange, Surfer, or Namor . . . you’re losing.”
A: “That could be cool, but I don’t want to design bad cards. Even Nighthawk is somebody’s favorite character.”**
B: “Think of it like X-Statix but with four guys instead of one. Dude, seriously, stop being lazy.”
A: “You suck.”
DING!
Threat Management with Infinite Options
By now, you’ve all probably read the latest issue of Inquest where Andrew dropped some hints about what it is the Defenders will actually do. Get ready; I’m about to drop a few more. Maybe even some blatant spoilers using regular words placed strategically within simple sentences:
The Marvel Defenders utilize “backup” and “substitute” with their minor characters in order to make their major characters more powerful and game-breaking. For instance, there’s a certain backup/substitute 4-drop (starts with an “N,” ends with an “ova”) that’s going to give your opponents quite the headache once he rotates in. If you’re lucky enough to pull him at a Sneak Preview, you should have no problem stringing together four wins.
In the Mood for Love?
Dr. Strange is. He’s seen here with his “under-worldly” companion, Clea. Covert dealings with the devil, perhaps?
“Star-Crossed”
Tune in next time when I explain: “Why not the New Warriors?”
Additional Reading:
- Defenders: Indefensible TPB
- Defenders (2001) #1-12
- Essential Defenders Volume 1 TPB
- Essential Doctor Strange Volume 1 TPB
- Essential Doctor Strange Volume 2 TPB
- Secret Defenders #1-25
- The Order #1-6
* Special thanks to Wikipedia and Marvel.com
** Okay, I’m being so generous right there. Would Andrew really say that?