Defenders #12 *Spoilers*

[AnonymousMC]

Which also means the Defenders were never really a team, so that episode where they show up in New Mutants has just been retconned out. Whoopsy

Preeeeeeetty much! I find it ironic that the "non-team" team was never really a team to begin with. Damn temporal paradoxes.

[Bookem Danno]

I'll take a crack at these.

- Why did the engine turn their costumes into their 70s equivalents, and then back?
To show that the Engine had the power to warp reality

- Where is Nul now?
Presumably he continued on his mission, attacked the engine, met Prester Omega, and was whisked off to some other world.

- Why did they have to shut the engines down if they weren't supposed to shut them down?
You've got me. I never understood this one.

- Why did the engine bring Strange's retconned girlfriend back?
Because he wanted her back in his story, and he was desperately sad and lonely for one moment, and the Engine has the power to move things around so that they make more sense. He wanted the woman he'd loved when he was a student, and the Engine brought her.

- What still happened, and what didn't? (Yeah, this one will never get answered.)
About half of the first book actually happened, but Strange never called the Defenders together and they never went to Wundagore.

- What was the deal with the 1920s Defenders--whatever they were called? Was that Erksine guy connected to the one who worked on the Super Soldier project?
They were other people who discovered the Concordance Engines and considered using their power, but they were opposed by John Aman and his company. This was to show that all of this had happened before. I don't think Ernst Erskine is connected to the one who developed the Super Soldier serum.

That's an admirable attempt at some stopgap suggestions for danglers more annoying than the inevitable time travel inconsistencies that happen in these cases. The TVA has it's work cut out for it. But there are more 'problems' that I may or may not return with - for example isn't the Eye of Agamotto only for the Sorcerer Supreme which Doc was not at that time he had it? On the other hand too much disection may just be a waste of time and space.

The art was great. The whole story, though, was maddening with it's horrible resolution - cosmic reset button: fine. But it could have been more reasonably presented. The only good part of this terrible team is that, now, they never were one.

"The Defenders" Comes to a Close

[Bookem Danno]

And then... and then... and then... and then...

[Starfish]

Well, this was a let down.

[nosocialize100]

Surfer is part of the Fantastic Four's world, right? I thought Galactus was originally 'their' villain. So I'm sure he'll be around.

We can only hope. Most likely though. If he loves writing the character he'll show up.

[vitruvian]

But there are more 'problems' that I may or may not return with - for example isn't the Eye of Agamotto only for the Sorcerer Supreme which Doc was not at that time he had it?

Nope. He had the thing for a good while before he was given the title of Sorceror Supreme, originally.

[Harbinger of Apocalypse]

It was a very disappointing end to a fantastic book.

Indeed Sad to see it end this way when it was really interesting. And I wanted to see more on the Death Celestials and their place in the cosmic hierarchy. Were they mad Celestials from another reality? Or counterparts to the Celestials we know? Because in one panel we see them forming a planet I think. Anyway, disappointing end to a good book.

[EXCELSIOR 2.0]

I really loved this team, great dynamics. And when am I ever going to see Felicia again!?

[HeroxMatt2.0]

One more issue! That's all this series needed! One more issue to kind of prevent the ending from feeling rushed.

I enjoyed this series so much.

[Wellman]

Figured it go down like this. Fraction tried his best to wrap things up but since cancellation and the rush so much was left on the table that is unlikely to be used. Ant-Man will get his story finished in FF, Silver Surfer is in the same boat if Fraction has any other story for him but it is a shame his excellent takes on Namor (where was this during his X-Men run?), Black Cat and Dr. Strange won't get expanded upon.


For those that wonder if everything has been completely retconned, most likely, the team eventually does come together but not involving the engines. They probably don't have the same adventures, Black Cat, Ant-Man and old school Nick Fury most likely don't join but Red She-Hulk at least shows up in Hulk as having been a Defender.

[PiercedMonk]

Not the worst possible ending, but I'm having trouble feeling overly enthusastic about it either. I guess it's kind of a happy ending for Strange, so that's cool.

Still, the previous eleven issues were excellent. Hopefully Fraction won't be cut short on FF and FANTASTIC FOUR, and will get the oppertunity to tell his stories.

[aNamored]

One more issue! That's all this series needed! One more issue to kind of prevent the ending from feeling rushed.

I enjoyed this series so much.

Thirteen would have been a fun numbered issue to end this on. Glad Strange had his moment, but really sad at how rushed the last three issues were. At least we had the book for a year, but I wanted more.

[jackolover]

This is one of those rescue, and contain stories that should have waited for when Fraction got the Fantastic Four gig. It is about discovering a forcet, that if turned on, brings the onset of a death in the universe. It all hinges around the discovery of a Concordance engine, and the circumstances that eventually produce the death incident, and how to stop it. If this was done in an FF book, it would have told us that these things exist, and that it's best not to touch them. It's a nice Stan Lee type story, just that it was told with the characters of the Defenders instead. This story slots in just before the FF visit Wakanda, before AVX, because Black Panther is still alive in that story, while BB is killed in Defenders. Everyone, with the exception of Doctor Strange and Prince of Orphans, John Aman, forget this has even happened, and every death that occurred in this story, is thus reversed when the incident that incites it never occurs.

Was it worth it? To find out that the Omega Council had created the Earth as the center of all existence, because it contained the heroes able to thwart the Death Celestials death dealing? Maybe. Do we look at the Marvel Universe Earth-616 differently now, that it's a special place, really manipulated moreso than any other Universe, for a special purpose. And while their special purpose is hidden, (that of the ultimate Death Celestial weapon), the Earth-616 goes on its merry way, beating Event fodder after Event fodder, because that isn't really what the super heroes are here for. It's to beat Death Celestials. Everything else is incidental.