The Defenders have always been a dicey group since their rosters never seem to stick around for very long. Members come and go faster than you can order a fresh slice of pizza at your local cafe. This is the 7th volume of the bundles that bring plenty of Defender comics and pretty much all of the original members have left. The roster may be different, but the Defenders are still needed to handle threats that no other Superhero group can be bothered with. Their skills know no bounds and they do have experience. Was the Defenders as fun as the last few Essentials? No, but it’s still worth a read. Let’s talk about why that’s the case!

The plots for most of the comics are different with a few of the storylines connecting through a few comics. The team’s first big threat is a government official who turns into a giant man who wants to destroy them. He doesn’t like superheroes and he knows that destroying them will make the world a better place. He’s not really a threat to people as powerful as the Defenders, which is why I had to wince during most of the fight. This shouldn’t even be a fight!

Next up, we had some robots who attacked the mansion and also kidnapped Cloud. The Defenders had never been so humiliated in their life! This also came at a tricky moment for the group since they had been having a lot of doubts. The team decides that they will go after her and win this time! There’s also a tricky moment when Professor Power takes Dolly as a hostage, but that is why we have someone with telepathy! Unfortunately, the Defenders are soon captured and forced to fight against the New mutants! The New Mutants don’t really have a chance against these experienced veterans. How will they be able to survive such a fight!?

The series started to reach its peak when the Defenders decided to help two secret agents stop a drug trade. The actual threat was minimal and there wasn’t a real sense of danger. The reason why the comic was cool was because they hinted at the threat of Manslaughter and because the two detectives were pretty epic. Their names were Cutlass and Typhoon and they were pretty epic. These characters were very experienced and they knew what to do to win. Cutlass was constantly mocking the heroes and the Defenders could never stop him. He’s just too bold and too experienced. They didn’t want to dare and cross this guy!

After the events had unfolded, Manslaughter was hired to destroy the Defenders and it was easily the best comic of the batch. Beast wasn’t home when Manslaughter had started the threats so they quickly brought him up to speed. This guy never left a psychic presence and he was very fast. Defeating this guy may prove to be difficult or even impossible! The Beast is skeptical, but they all prepare for a deadly battle. After all, this guy doesn’t take prisoners!

After that, we get some one shot comics. A magician takes control of the Gargoyle and forced him to destroy and destroy! There’s a man who is impervious to fire and he decides to burn things to the ground and the Defenders are forced to step in. The final comic deals with the gravest threat yet as a group of trolls attack the Defenders and the heroes are quickly overrun.

The moral in the final comic is definitely sketchy and I can’t say that I agreed with it. Moondragon had to prove her humility by resisting the urge to help her friends. The only way to save them would have been to take off her headband and regain her true powers. Sure, it’s against Odin’s divine order, but it would save her friends. Jaden Yuki showed his courage when he said that he would become a devil in order to save his friends and he did just that. For Jaden, saving his friends was worth it no matter what the cost to himself. This sacrifice would not be nearly as large and she has proven herself time and time again to be a hero. The heroes got saved anyway through a nice degree of plot hax and sudden plot twists, but I don’t agree with Moondragon’s decision to stay her hand. It worked since she is now back to full power, but Odin continues to confuse everyone and make them commit to choices that may not have been the right ones.

The Iceman miniseries was definitely a lot different from what you may expect. He goes back to his hometown for his father’s party, but things get dicey when he finds out that he’s next door neighbors with a group of people that he’s never seen before. A group of sinister individuals attack him while he’s hanging out with one of the neighbors and the villains announce that she is a part of Oblivion. Iceman must embark on a very trippy adventure where he has to fight a being who is all powerful. The girl also has powers beyond his comprehension and he doesn’t take everything in stride. I just didn’t like this miniseries. Iceman wasn’t a good main character and the resolution to the whole thing was definitely sketchy. I don’t think that Iceman made the right move this time.

The Beast miniseries was much worse as the Beast decided to go to hollywood. He sees the Dazzler, but then she is taken to an underground arena where they trick her into thinking that she’s a star. Eventually, they decide to stop tricking her and just force her into fighting others in the arena. She believes that the people aren’t dying and doesn’t believe the truth despite the obvious signs and the fact that someone dies in front of her. The Beast must try to show her that being a mutant isn’t that bad and all stars must go out at some point. The whole tale was just really boring and Dazzler just wasn’t a good character. How these guys get away with all of that in Hollywood while an Avenger is there is just beyond me. Why didn’t Beast summon the proper authorities to arrest those guys? It definitely would have been the right call. I’m just glad that the other members didn’t get any miniseries to themselves!

Iceman has mutant abilities that far outstrip those of the average superhero. That being said, this is probably the worst version of him that I have ever seen. The problem is that he can’t seem to think about anyone other than Moondragon. It’s not as bad as Angel given the circumstances, but it’s still pretty bad. He needs to learn to just keep his focus on the mission at hand and not fall into such distracting thoughts. Power wise, he seems to be a little more of a joke than usual. I prefer when he’s given some credit like in the original comics. After reading his fight against Spiderman, (Okay, I read that fight after I read the comic, but it had the same effect) one could tell that his character development went out the window.

I can’t say that he looked much better in his miniseries either. Oblivion has split and now there was a girl who had some of his essence in her, but she did not want to merge with him again. Iceman and Oblivion basically forced the decision on her and while she agreed with it in the end, it was a classic case of peer pressure. Not the best way to show that he’s a hero eh? He realized the true value of friendship and got along with his parents in the end…after completely wrecking his father’s party. He was also responsible for a cookie shortage in the party, but that’s another story. This just wasn’t the accurate portrayal of Iceman that I was looking for.

The Beast is all right, but he’s not at his best. I like when Beast basically mocks all who stand in his way by using extremely large word and making puns. He doesn’t really do that much anymore, but he still gets to talk a pretty good game. He always gives Moondragon a good time and he’s also pretty edge with Leap Frog. He’s apparently nervous when on a stage and he nearly gives up on Dazzler. These comics were pretty trying for him and he tried to pull through. I just couldn’t get myself to root for him. There was something about his character that just kept him from being an epic person. He still beats his fellow Xmen members, so that’s a start!

Angel is a pretty bad character and he’s about as bad (If not worse than!) as Iceman. He’s always thinking about Moondragon and he can’t get his head in the game. The reason why he may be worse than Iceman is the fact that Angel already has someone that he is dating. Angel also knows this and he continues to go out on dates, but that isn’t really fair now is it? Angel needs to get over himself and try to make the team better. If Angel had been taken off of the team along with Iceman, then the series would have been better. Angel just doesn’t have the strength of character to be on the team and not enough to be a good character either.

Moondragon has joined the team, but it is not as willingly as the other members. (At first anyway) She still has the headband on that limits her abilities because of previous events. Odin has given it to her and she cannot take it off until she has showed true humility. She tries to earn the trust of the Defenders, but Iceman/Angel are a lost cause since they’re basically broken at this point. The members seem to think that she isn’t sincere or that she is subtly influencing them. The headband limits her abilities, but she can override that by enduring a lot of pain. It can be tough for her since the team tends to blow up a lot, but she also makes the situation tough on herself. It’s one of those cases where the members just aren’t on the same page. She’ll apologize and they scoff at her. Then they’ll apologize, but she’s too upset to hear it. This keeps on happening for quite a few comics. She proves herself in the end, but due to pressure…she doesn’t make the best call. It’s decent and it’s not a bad call, but she was prevented from making the best choice possible in the final comic. Odin does like to make sure that the characters have a tough time. (Ignoring that Valkyrie should have easily defeated the trolls anyway)

It is also tough for Moondragon at one point when she lets Gargoyle look into her soul. She’s positive that she is a true hero at this point, but Gargoyle refuses to help her get the headband off since it’s too dangerous. He quickly faints, but before losing consciousness, he tells the other members to beware Moondragon. Epic last lines and a definite way to get the other members to distrust Moondragon once again. He definitely did not help her case, but Moondragon continues to try. She gets the most development from the members and while she can still act pretty arrogant at times, she does continue to try to be a better person.

Valkyrie was my favorite member of the group and she seemed to be the only one that kept her previous experience from other comics. The Beast has been on several groups and Angel/Iceman should also have a lot of battle experience. The problem is that they all don’t act like experienced veterans. Luckily, Valkyrie does, but she seems to have had a decrease in power. She seems to be surprised when the enemies are able to defeat her, but then she looks to be at her full power in other comics. Her power levels seemed to fluctuate a lot so maybe it’s some kind of subplot. Her Dragonslayer sword is pretty impressive and she’s usually the first member to react to trouble. It’s definitely good for the team that she was around since Valkyrie seems to be their only heavy hitter.

Cloud is a bit of an interesting character. She starts out as a girl, but then realizes that with her cloud powers she can also be a guy. That’s why it’s always tricky to be a shapeshifter. When you first realize that you have powers, you have to consider the possibilities. What if you shifted into the other gender while you were a baby? Powers usually don’t develop for a while, but it is possible. What if Cloud has been living a lie? That being said, I’m pretty sure that Cloud was originally a girl, so switching was pretty weird. The team is giving her a really hard time about it so she’s still hesitant about which one to choose. Cloud isn’t really a likable character and while her powers are very lethal, she’s just not someone that you can really root for. Of course, that goes for most of the members on the team.

Dazzler is even worse than Cloud because she has never looked so bad. She appeared during the Beast miniseries and I was shocked by how much she’d changed. During the 90’s show, Dazzler may not have been much of a fighter, but she was still a hero. In the miniseries, Dazzler is taken to an underground arena where people beat each other up. The rest of the plot I have already mentioned, but the point is…why didn’t she just leave? She didn’t want to feel like an outsider, but that was all that she was doing. Going into the ring and beating up people for the audience is about as low as it can get. There were a lot of times where she began to enjoy the rush and it showed that she is easily corruptible. That was definitely not a flattering appearance for her and I can only hope that she looks better in future appearances.

The Walrus has a very tragic back story and he underwent many experiments. Eventually, they succeeded and he was empowered with the proportional strength of a Walrus! He’s a lot stronger than you may suspect and he effortlessly takes down the Angel, Beast, and Iceman. He’s just so much stronger than them that it isn’t even funny. He proves his superiority as he continues to make them look bad in front of a large crowd. He’s a very sympathetic person and I was rooting for him during the entire fight. He may be the only super villain that can really match up against Spiderman! The proportional strength of a Walrus is no joke after all!

Leap Frog is a deadly character who is always underestimated. He was actually pretty cool and it was up to him to save the day! He wanted to join the Defenders, so he crashed the Beast’s big speech and proved that he could keep up with him athletically. After the Walrus proceeded to dismantle the entire team, Leap Frog quickly stepped in to set things straight. He’s actually a decent fighter and I hope that he appears more in the future issues. He definitely got the shaft in this collection, which was a little disappointing. He’s definitely a hero that you can root for and he quickly became the best guest star in the comic. At least….the best guest hero! (The Walrus is just as epic!)

Gargoyle is one of the Defenders, but he does not fight as often as the other members. He’s actually a really old person, but thanks to this demon form that he now possesses…he’s in the prime of his youth! His abilities can be pretty fearsome in battle, but he has not learned how to wield them all at the moment. A sorcerer took control of him and forced him to unlock some of his abilities, but he could not get them back under control when he became a hero again. He’s definitely a lot stronger than he looks, but he’s not as eager to do battle as the rest of the cast. He’s a good character, but he can be a little trying at times. If he has such power, then he should use it to save his friends!

Candy is Angel’s friend and she has a lot of connections with the cops and the government when needed. She’s bailed the heroes out a few times and finally got to see a reward for her efforts as she became the leader of the Defenders. It was a pretty intense moment for her, but she took the news pretty well. She doesn’t get a huge role in the comics, but she was a decent character. It would be nice if she obtained powers, but not everyone needs powers to be cool!

Dolly is the Defenders version of Jarvis and she can be pretty quick on the draw. The villains don’t really seem to faze her and she takes the whole thing in stride. She made friends with Gargoyle and they both tried to cope with how intense the modern world had become. Dolly makes sure to remind the Defenders that they usually don’t make sensible decisions, but she did agree on their choice for the leader of the group. Without Dolly, I’m sure that the comic would not have been quite as fun. It’s too bad that she didn’t attain a lot of popularity like Jarvis or Alfred.

Manslaughter is an assassin who was hired to destroy the Defenders and he was a pretty intense villain. He was able to move so quickly that he could threaten all of the characters without them even noticing his presence. He could have destroyed Iceman if he had pleased at the beginning and he had a clear shot at all of them. Unfortunately, the plot was a little too ambitious considering that Manslaughter is basically a human level threat. There’s no way that he should have been able to defeat Valkyrie. I can (almost) believe the fact that he could beat the others, but definitely not her. There is a plot twist at the end, but it doesn’t change the fact that he basically had them all at his mercy. The twist is also a little unbelievable for several characters, but at least the writers tried to make things right. Dolly also got to go head to head against Manslaughter. One could say that she won since he was tied up and she was practically mocking him. Manslaughter did get his revenge on the Defenders when the sheriff got involved and humiliated the team in front of the assassin.

The Art for the actual comics is pretty solid as expected. We’re starting to get a little more modern with these issues, but they’re still decent. The only problem with the art would be in the covers. Nearly all of the covers look downright terrible and they may make you wince. It looks like they were trying for a live action look and it just made the whole thing pretty hard to look at. This is considering that the covers were in black and white. I can’t imagine how bad they would have looked in color!

Overall, this was another solid essential collection to add to the group and while it was not quite as fun or as engaging as the previous essentials like Daredevil and Fantastic Four, it was still good. The writing was decent and they just didn’t do too well with some of the characters like Iceman and Angel. Cloud wasn’t a very endearing character either and Valkyrie was probably the only likable member. (Moondragon can be a good character, but only sometimes. It really depends on the particular comic) Still, Marvel has cranked out another good villain in the Walrus and I sense a bright future for him. I recommend this comic to the casual comic reader and while it won’t be as interesting as the big league Marvel hero comics, it’s good to learn about more characters right? It still beats reading about Longshot!

Overall 6/10