Essential Defenders, v. 5

Collects: Defenders #92-106,Marvel Team-Up #101, 111, and 116, and Captain America #268 (1981-2)

Released: July 2010 (Marvel)

Format: 448 pages / black and white / $19.99 / ISBN: 9780785145370

What is this?: The Defenders fight a war with the Six-Fingered Hand and deal with other challenges.

The culprits: Writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Don Perlin (and others)

The last Essential I went over, Essential Avengers, v. 6, was unusual in that it was mostly devoted to one extended storyline. Similarly, more than a third of Essential Defenders, v. 5, is devoted to the Defenders’ battle against the Six-Fingered Hand, a band of six demons whose union has made them more than the sum of their parts.

Even more interesting, the entire book is written by J.M. DeMatteis — not only does he write all fifteen Defenders issues, he also writes the included Marvel Team-Up and Captain America issues. Other than a throwaway MTU issue, this allows for a narrative continuity not always seen in the later volumes of Essential titles. Creators of characters or teams may stick around for long runs, but later writers? Not so often. (DeMatteis stuck around until #131, missing only #119.) Is this continuity a good thing?

The fights with the Six-Fingered Hand make up a traditionally structured comic-book battle; for five consecutive issues, they battle a different member of the Hand. In the sixth, they fight the Hand all together, with the battle spilling into the double-sized issue #100. It is a landmark storyline, in the sense that you can use it to remember where you are in the continuity of the series. During this storyline, they pick up a new member in the person of Gargoyle, whom they allow to join them for reasons never completely elucidated. By the time you can really decide to question his presence, he’s been around for too long to easily boot off.

The other major storyline involves a group of telepaths created by a shadowy agency that claimed ties to the federal government; Nighthawk’s former girlfriend Mindy is part of that group. This is also a standard, unexceptional but unobjectionable storyline, crossing over near the end with Captain America. It simmers in the background throughout the entire volume, and it is so low-key at one point that it seems as if Dr. Strange and Clea forget the existence of members who are captured in #104 until Dr. Strange gets a telepathic summons in #106 (with the Captain America part of the crossover falling just before #106). It does make for a heck of a cliffhanger, in which you may actually believe a member of the non-team has been killed in a moment of self-sacrifice.

And that self-sacrifice makes sense — not just in the general heroic sense but in the development of that character. That’s where DeMatteis’s work shines. Most of the lesser characters — those without their own books — get a nice moment in the sun. Hellcat has to deal with tragedy in her life and with potential lies about her paternity. Nighthawk is paralyzed by a mysterious affliction after coming to grips with what he perceives as his own non-heroic nature. We see Gargoyle’s background, even if we can’t see why he’s part of the Defenders. The Son of Satan deals with his demonic side in a way that was inevitable but previous issues feared to deal with. Even Devil-Slayer gets some personal development, despite his ludicrous career path (Marine turned alcoholic turned mob hitman turned cultist turned demon hunter). While the plot is nothing to grab readers, the characters are at least entertaining in their own right.

As those who have read DeMatteis’s work on Spider-titles in the ‘90s would expect, this book features characters in mental institutions and characters with daddy issues. The Son of Satan fills the latter role, obviously, and DeMatteis works in the rare female character with mommy issues, as Hellcat deals with the idea that her domineering and disapproving mother tried to barter Hellcat’s soul for a longer life. Nighthawk also has to institutionalize an insane ex-girlfriend, who switches between love and hate for Kyle.

In a way, it’s surprising what DeMatteis (and Marvel) are getting away with here. These issues came out in the early ‘80s, not very temporally distant from the era in which Dungeons & Dragons was getting excoriated by parental groups for its demonic ties. Beyond the Six-Fingered Hand, one character of the heroes is the Son of Satan, and another one is Devil Slayer — even if he’s against devils and demons, you know they are going to figure prominently into his adventures. The Son of Satan has an extended storyline in which his father (You-Know-Who) tries to purge his human half. On the other hand, Marvel had a line-wide crossover featuring demons at the other end of the ‘80s (Inferno), so demons in comics obviously weren’t as important to pop-culture watchdogs as demons in role-playing games.

Essential Defenders, v. 5, feels a bit thin, and it is. It’s a rare Essential that doesn’t top 500 pages, but v. 5 doesn’t come close to that mark. On first glance, this is surprising, given that there are many more Defenders issues to reprint — the series lasted for 152 issues. However, the classic Defenders team — one that included Dr. Strange, Hulk, Silver Surfer, or Namor — ended with #125, and the rest of the run was the New Defenders, which had a lineup almost half made up of the original X-Men (Beast, who is introduced as a Defender in this volume, and Iceman and Angel). My guess is that Marvel wanted to have another Essentials volume of the classic Defenders, and this smaller volume leaves eighteen issues to put in that volume plus whatever they can squeeze out of other titles at the time. Still, a smaller volume should be accompanied by a smaller price tag — $17.99 or $16.99 for a slimmer Essential would be appropriate.

I appreciate wanting a unified v. 6 — those New Defenders would be quite a clash with the Defenders — but it does cause the quality and value of v. 5 to suffer. The volume includes three issues of Marvel Team-Up and a single issue of Captain America to help pad out the volume. Captain America #268 is necessary, as it’s a direct crossover with Defenders #106. Marvel Team-Up #101 also explains what the deal is with Kyle’s ex-girlfriend Mindy and why she’s in a mental institution; given how much she appears in the volume, that’s an important issue to include as well. But MTU #111 and #116 are included because they peripherally include Defenders: #111 has Valkyrie being possessed and attacking Spider-Man, and #116 has a very brief appearance by the Defenders at the end of the issue. Both end up raising more questions than they answer; in #111, Spider-Man smashes Valkyrie’s sword, Dragonfang, to end her possession, and its reforging is handled off panel, while #116 ends with Dr. Strange’s solemn pronouncement that Spider-Man may die before the day ends. In some Essentials, this sort of flotsam would hardly be remarkable, but given the rather tight storylines in v. 5, it’s quite noticeable.

The art is nearly as unified as the writing, as Don Perlin pencils all of the Defenders issues in this book. He’s a solid artist, much in the Marvel house style of the time, who has a good narrative sense and can convey a decent amount of emotion in a three-row layout. Really, you can’t ask for much more from an artist; flashiness and innovation is nice, but the art should be all about storytelling, and Perlin — whose name you don’t hear much any more — is a good storyteller. Jerry Bingham contributed one issue of MTU and the ever-reliable Herb Trimpe two; Mike Zeck penciled the Captain America issue.

Essential Defenders, v. 5 is a low-key Essential — good but unspectacular art, consistent writing, interesting characterization moments, and unspectacular plots. The book should have “steady” on its cover copy somewhere; if you’re looking for a slice of Bronze Age Marvel or are a fan of the Defenders, it’s worth a look.

Rating: (3 of 5)

Usagi Yojimbo, v. 24: Return of the Black Soul

Collects: Usagi Yojimbo #103-9 (2007-8)

Released: July 2010 (Dark Horse)

Format: 192 pages / black and white / $16.99 / ISBN: 9781595824721

What is this?: When bounty hunters intensify their hunt for Inazuma, Usagi and his friends hunt for her to put an end to the demon Jei.

The culprit: Stan Sakai

I have, in the past, gone on about how good Usagi Yojimbo is. If you’re already on board with that or are tired of hearing me praise a series starring a samurai rabbit in a 17th century Japan that is populated by anthropomorphic animals, then you can skip the rest of this review, because that’s what I’m going to say about Usagi Yojimbo, v. 24: Return of the Black Soul.

In Black Soul, writer / artist Stan Sakai brings the long-running subplot of Inazuma and Jei, the demon who has possessed her and who is the series’ most terrifying adversary, to a climax. Bounty hunters have been pursuing Inazuma since before her possession because she killed the son of a gangster; when the gangster increases the reward, bounty hunters increase their efforts but find more than they bargain for.

Of course, Usagi and his friends (bounty hunters Gen and Stray Dog and the priest Sanshobo) are in just the right place to find Inazuma, as is a mysterious man named Isamu. They must compete with the bounty hunters to find Inazuma, even though they have different motivations for finding the swordswoman.

Black Soul is the demon Jei’s story, and it shows why the demon is so frightening. He corrupts all he touches, tainting the lives of even those who survive his attacks. He can survive death, returning to possess one of those he has injured in a prior attack. As a swordsman, Jei is almost without peer, destroying all those who he finds “evil” — which tends to be anyone who has reached adulthood. And with him always is his companion: a young, cheerful girl named Keiko. That’s really the creepiest thing about Jei: no matter what a bloodbath he creates around him, Keiko remains unremittingly cheerful about her “uncle” (or “aunt” in Black Circle, since Inazuma is a woman).

This volume is nicely focused. Usually there are other stories simmering in the background of a volume of Usagi Yojimbo, but Jei’s story is one of the most important in the entire series — probably the most important of all of Usagi’s adversaries — so Sakai wisely refrains from inserting any subplots or even setting up the next arc. Black Soul is entirely about Jei, and Sakai includes Jei’s origins in a flashback story originally presented in #103. It is a fittingly tragic story, in which good intentions and the desire to save an innocent’s life leads to horrible, horrible consequences.

The art is Sakai’s usual top-notch stuff, so consistent you could be forgiven for thinking some sort of mechanical replication was present, and so subtle, so full of emotion that such a thought is simultaneously impossible. Sakai has to draw a lot of people in emotional torment in Black Soul, and he does a good job of it — Inazuma, at one point, looks as if she is almost coming apart from her internal battle. The volume is also full of the swordfighting that Sakai is so good at drawing, and Jei does give him a chance to show one or two neat maneuvers that normally wouldn’t be possible.

Although Black Soul has the biggest emotional wallop in Usagi Yojimbo in some time — and given the last few volumes, that’s a pretty big statement — there are a few flaws … I’m tempted to call them nitpicks, but they’re more of plotting concerns. Usagi and Sanshobo separately and coincidentally run into Isamu, Gen, and Stray Dog despite knowing nothing of Inazuma or Jei’s presence in the area — in fact, until this volume, neither knew Jei survived Usagi Yojimbo, v. 12: Grasscutter. It’s also awfully convenient that a powerful demon possessing one of the fastest samurai in Usagi’s world gets injured the way she does, but such things happen, I suppose. Neither is a story breaker, and there are more contrived plot points in other comics all the time, but neither was easy to swallow.

Still: when it comes to v. 24 of most series, I would normally recommend the book to those who have already read at least up to v. 20. In this case, I would say even if you haven’t read Usagi Yojimbo before, you should pick this up (perhaps reading Usagi Yojimbo, v. 6: Circles and Grasscutter to give you a little background first). Black Soul is outstanding work from one of the great comic book series.

Rating: (4.5 of 5)

X-Men: Powerless

Collects: Uncanny X-Men #379-80, X-Men #99, Wolverine #149, X-Force #101, and Cable #78 (2000)

Released: July 2010 (Marvel)

Format: 144 pages / color / $16.99 / ISBN: 9780785146773

What is this?: The High Evolutionary, laboring under bad advice, takes away all mutants’ powers.

The culprits: Written by Alan Davis, Joe Pruett, Joseph Harris, and Erik Larsen and drawn by half a dozen artists

X-Men: Powerless exists in an odd cul-de-sac of X-Men history, although no one knew and few guessed that when these issues came out.

Immediately before these issues came out, the X-Men fought their long-prophesied battle with Apocalypse, one that finally resolved the “Twelve” dangler and Cable’s raison d’etre. (That large storyline was collected in X-Men: The Shattering, X-Men vs. Apocalypse, v. 1: The Twelve, and X-Men vs. Apocalypse, v. 2: Ages of Apocalypse.) This was the last hurrah for issues that dwelled on Chris Claremont-era continuity, which was counterintuitive because Claremont himself returned for about a year — an uninspiring, frequently disappointing year. And then we got Grant Morrison’s New X-Men (and Joe Casey’s Uncanny X-Men), which led into the House of M Bend-over,²⁴ and the X-books haven’t been the same since.

These issues don’t feel momentous, however. There is little of the gravity one might expect for a jumping off point, the end of an era. Only Cable seems to have an inkling, with supporting villain / block of stone Ozymandias saying, “A new era approaches — one full of possibilities and potential. No longer are the days yet to come written in stone.” Of course, Cable was often filled with pretentious blather about the future, so this may come under the heading of “blind pig finding an acorn.”

Instead we get a time-killing story of the X-Men and other mutants losing their powers because of the interference of the High Evolutionary, a plot device / easily misled superscientist who wants to save millions of lives by eliminating the possibility of a race war between humans and mutants. He’s being misled by Mr. Sinister, but that’s to be expected. In any event, the crossover shows X-Force and Wolverine dealing with being powerless, while writer Joe Pruett wraps up the consequences from the Apocalypse storyline for Cable. (Cable #79 might have been a better choice for this volume, since Cable doesn’t feel the effects of the plot until the last page of his issue in this collection.) X-Men and Uncanny X-Men introduce and wrap up the storyline in three issues — hardly worth a crossover, really.

The thing is, this idea should be important. The X-Men lose their powers; how do they deal with it? Rogue’s life is completely different, as is Marrow’s and Nightcrawler’s. Colossus and Shadowcat have other lives they can explore, but what is Storm if she doesn’t have her powers or a superpowered team to lead? Is Gambit still charming? These issues are brought up and explained in a few sentences, which is nothing compared to the importance these issues should have. Losing their powers is worse for the X-Men than it is for other superteams; for mutants, their powers are their identity, something they gained when they began to figure themselves out in adolescence. All writers Alan Davis and Terry Kavanagh give us using this life-altering premise is three issues to fill the schedule until Claremont’s return: the setup, the brief exploration of the idea, and the perfunctory fight. Worse yet, we get the first appearance of the Neo, one of the worst parts of Claremont’s second run.

Only Wolverine and X-Force look at what it’s like to be without powers for a mutant. Wolverine doesn’t change what he’s doing, but he’s lost his enhanced senses and healing factor; writer Erik Larsen says Wolverine’s suffering from “adamantium poisoning” to slow him down further, but that doesn’t change Wolverine’s actions. X-Force does a better job, with Joe Harris writing a story in which Tabitha has to deal with the feeling of helplessness coming from being unable to help her former (?) boyfriend when his powers cut off hundreds of feet above the ocean and also counsel a young mutant who has lost his ability to fly and is in denial about what it (and his powers) mean. It’s the only issue in the book that’s really affecting, despite the potential of the idea.

The art is all over the place, with pencils from Tom Raney, Juan Santacruz, Brett Booth, Michael Ryan, Steve Harris, and Graham Nolan. Only Raney does more than one issue, penciling Uncanny X-Men #379-80. Although his work never really resonated with me, Raney is a good artist, one worthy of what was a top-tier title at the time. As for the others … well, if comic art circa 2000 is your cup of meat, you’ll probably find something from the other five artists that is to your tastes. None of them appealed to me, although I have to admit Graham Nolan’s work did seem to fit Wolverine particularly well.

Nothing in this collection is particularly bad, but it is extremely forgettable, so I am still a little confused about why these issues were collected. There’s nothing that really recommends X-Men: Powerless, other than being a relic of a different time — a mutant fly caught in the amber, so to speak. That’s not enough of a recommendation, however. My theory is that someone in Marvel’s reprint department wants to start filling in the issues between X-Men vs. Apocalypse, v. 1 and 2, and the crossover that ended Claremont’s second run, X-Men: Dream's End. Uncanny X-Men #387 and X-Men #107 are already scheduled to be reprinted in Avengers / X-Men: Maximum Security, which is due out November 3. Mark my words: you should start looking for reprints of the rest of Claremont’s frustrating and disappointing run (Uncanny X-Men #381-6 and X-Men #100-6) in 2011.

Rating: (2 of 5)