Defenders Discombobulate!

"Defenestrate" was actually the first one that came to mind, but that's because I think Giffen and Casey used it in The Last Defenders #1, and I didn't want to rip them off, and "discombobulate" works pretty well for this bunch.

So purchasing Essential Defenders Volume 4, when I've not read the first three volumes is probably a questionable decision, but if there's one thing those older comics know how to do, it's get the new reader up to speed. There are a lot of different arcs that run for quite some time through the volume, from the mystery of Lunatik, to the Unnamable One conquering TunnelWorld, to the Mandrill and his schemes, to Kyle Richmond's struggles with various financial institutions, such as the IRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Oddly, I was more interested in that plot thread than the one about Dr. Strange, Namor, and the Hulk trying to stop the Unnamable One. I guess since Nighthawk is not the "name" character Strange and his cohorts were, and because being investigated for various financial misdeeds isn't as life-threatening as battling amorphous evil beings, that I figured the Richmond story was more likely to pay off somehow. Also, I'm not a big fan of antagonists with ill-defined powers or abilities. It makes it to easy to say "They can do this", or "Oh, but you can easily defeat them doing this". I did think the solution to that battle was pretty trippy, so that's a plus.

I was not aware of the fact the Hulk hated water, but that was a running thing through the book. I guess when you don't have an umbrella, water can be kind of annoying. I really enjoyed the story arc where the Defenders P.R. guy/leech, Dollar Bill, made his documentary on the team and said anyone could be a Defender, leading to a dozen heroes showing up to join. Naturally, you get that many heroes around, they're going to do something stupid, like try and capture the Hulk. Because that always goes well. Plus, you get to see villains going on crime sprees, then when they're defeated, they tell the cops they're the Defenders, and the heroes are actually villains besmirching the Defenders' good name. That was some quick thinking.

One odd thing to me was Hellcat's Shadow Cloak, She's showing it off early in the volume, and gushing over how much she likes it and how neat it is. I kept expecting her to bust it out for a battle, but she almost never uses it. She hardly ever even has it with her. Also, the story with Omega the Unknown was a little weird. I'm not sure whether it would have made more sense, or less, if I'd read the original Gerber series. I know some people have been disappointed with this story as the attempt at a conclusion to Gerber's story, but I can't really comment on that. It was depressing, and I couldn't really see why they would decide to go the way they did.

I should at least try and discuss the art. There are quite a few different pencilers on the title, coming off and on frequently. For the most part, they seemed like solid artists, nothing flashy, but not hampering the story at least. Of course, there was so much dialogue, the artists probably didn't have nearly as much room in the panels to do what they would have liked. The only things that really stand out was some of Don Perlin's work, where it seemed as though he must have had a little more time, because there's an extra layer of detail to some of the faces. Also, there were some superb double page spreads in there (Ed Hannigan had one in particular of Asgard in #66), which may have stood out all the more compared to the more common small panels, crammed with words.

I did think the conflict between Namor and the Black Panther was a bit overdone. I know Namor's hotheaded, but it things escalated too fast. Plus, it lead to yet another of Namor's "I can't trust any surface-dwellers, to hell with all of you!" outbursts, followed by his usualy storming off to his underwater kingdom. Oh Namor, will you ever get your temper under control? Answer: Yes, when John Byrne decides your problem is fluctuating oxygen levels in your blood from going between the water and dry land so much. Or something like that. I haven't read my issues of that series in a while, the memory is a little rusty.

Overall though, this volume was a lot of fun, and I really liked that the roster rotates so frequently. While there's certainly something to be said for a stable cast, that allows for development of relationships or rivalries between characters, it's also a lot of fun to be able to have Black Panther join up for a few months, then Daredevil, or Spider-Man for an issue.