Comic Review: Defenders #7
Now that I’m working in a comic book shop, I thought I’d give you all an occasional review of Marvel Comics I’m reading, with some Marvel Heroic Roleplaying rules to go along with the review.
This week, let’s talk about Defenders #7. Spoilers ahead.
I actually haven’t read previous issues of the Defenders, so I was getting into it fresh. The current team of heroes consist of Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, King Namor, Iron Fist and Red She-Hulk.
Currently, the heroes are traveling the globe in search of the Concordance Engine, a machine capable of reshaping reality itself. The Defenders have survived an attack from John Aman, a human Immortal Weapon, who seeks the Concordance Engine for himself (this is what I’ve gathered, at least.)
The story begins with a fantastic heist by Felicia Hardy, AKA The Black Cat (one of my favorite heroines), who successfully steals the Satan Claw for a group who call themselves the Council of Antiquarians. It turns out, the group was using the heist as a test. Upon her success, they give her the Satan Claw to assist her in their true mission for her: Finding and stealing a brass frog statue in the African City State of Z’Gambo.
Cut to:
Why look! That’s where the Defenders are headed, which requires them to go through Wakanda. They meet up with Black Panther and his daughter who is to be his successor. They drink an elixir to tap into the shared memories of previous Black Panthers. When Aman is mentioned to the previous Panthers, they panic, and T’challa is attacked by dark magic, told that the pact between Walanda and Z’Gambo is broken. Z’Gambo declares war against Wakanda.
We cut back to Black Cat again, in low-Earth orbit, dropping into Z’Gambo to find the frog. We then see who has the frog: The same man who performed the black magic on T’challa! With the brass frog! Who is this man?! Could he be Aman? We’ll have to wait to find out.
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I’m sold on this series now. It has gorgeous art by Terry Dodson, who previously did artwork for Spider-Man and the Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do, as well as Uncanny X-Men, and is written by Matt Fraction himself, who did the Fear Itself event.
There’s a funny exchange between Red She-Hulk and Silver Surfer as they fly the Defender’s jet towards Wakanda.
Red She-Hulk: “Since when do you know how to fly?”
Silver Surfer: “I was born to sail the Cosmic Wind, to surf the ceaseless celestial tides and…”
Red She-Hulk: “Surfer. I meant a plane.”
Silver Surfer: “She-Hulk. I read the book. It comes with a book.”
I’m definitely looking forward to continuing to read, especially with this looking like the start of a new arc. I’ll be picking up the Trade Paperback as soon as issues 1-6 are available.
So, that’s the review! And now: The Satan Claw!
This version is the third version, created by Baron Strucker as a replacement for his missing hand.
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4 comments on “Comic Review: Defenders #7”
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Marvel Plot Points 
Nice review, Mark! This is going to be a cool direction for the blog.
I picked Defenders #5 up on a lark and have been enjoying ever since.
I like that you’re doing a fair amount of item sets
Wow that’s bad dialogue…sad when they make Surfer act out of character just to try for a cute line. FAIL