In your opinion what do you believe the best lineup for a Defenders team would be? While the early years had a power-stacked team the cast evolved to toward less titanic characters, even going into the very obscure as the series came to an end. Between Doctor Strange and the Son of Satan there was a magic user for the bulk of the title's run and a lot of mystical storylines. Valkyrie was the longest standing member lasting from issue #4 to the first series end at #152. Maybe there are other Marvel characters you believe would fit the team's style. Some say the Secret Avengers cast would make a great Defenders team. What say you?
Defenders
Team » Defenders appears in 792 issues.
The Defenders are a super-group in the Marvel Universe usually led by Doctor Strange. The team that wasn't a team, often fights against supernatural and magic-based opponents. Protecting humanity from the impossible!
An ideal Defenders team
I was a big fan of The Defenders early on, and then lost a bit of interest. My ideal team would retain the mystical dimension but would focus on the most powerful heros to defend the Earth from attack (usually from that other realm). This was the original premise if I recall, and I think that worked well -- but only the top-notch would do. So, I'd pick: Dr. Strange (of course), Valkyrie, Nighthawk (both long time members), and supplement that with Namor, Hulk, Ghost Rider, and the Silver Surfer, depending on the mission. I think the flexible membership status of this non-team kept it interesting, with plenty of cross-over references to these characters other plot lines.
doctor strange at classic full power levels
jean grey ( post ressurection and away from the xmen)
Namor
Hulk
silver surfer
reject
( yeah you know this would be the perfect team ! toyed wih the inclusion of black bolt.
A thing I've been thinking about is how there's sort of two distinctly different styles of Defenders teams that have handled different roles over the years; the first being the original team who supposedly only come together for emergencies, and the collections more street level marvel superheroes. Traditionally, the overlapping character(s) would be Dr.Strange (and/or Valkyrie), who would assemble different styles of teams for different kinds of threats. Going back and forth from different types of threats means that you don't have to be constantly under threat of emergencies that would necessitate the combined powers of Dr.Strange, Namor, the Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Valkyrie.
Now, while I do like the idea of Dr.Strange and Valkyrie being more or less constant members of the team, I don't think either one of them should be the main character, or even be around all the time.
I think the main characters should be Iron Fist and Misty Knight. Iron Fist has already been inducted into the emergency Defenders and Misty Knight and Valkyrie actually are the Defenders right now, so it would be a cool way to bring those two smaller teams together.
They both also have lots of super hero friends and connections to cool street level heroes. So characters like Black Cat, Coleen Wing, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, or even Hurcules could guest star for the mystical quests and threats that don't necessitate Dr.Strange calling together the big guns like Namor, Silver Surfer, or the Hulk.
So about ten or so main or reoccurring characters, but with stories that focus on mainly 5 or 6 at a time, I think it could make for pretty classic, but still classically loose Defenders association.
What do you guys think?
@or35ti: Monkey King - The version that appeared in Fear Itself.
- Doctor Strange
- Hellcat
- Ghost Rider (Reyes)
- Daredevil
- Beast
- Iron Fist (Misty Knight)
- Songbird
Also toyed with Sentry, Warpath, Polaris, Danny Rand, and Captain Universe is a very interesting idea. However, I'd stick it here for the most interesting team.
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