The Defenders is the name of severalcomic book titles featuring the team theDefenders and published byMarvel Comics, beginning with the originalThe Defenders comic book series which debuted in 1972.

The Defenders
The Defenders #34.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	(Vol. 1): 1972-1986
No. of issues	(Vol. 1): 152
Main character(s)	Defenders

The Defenders first appeared as a feature inMarvel Feature #1 (December 1971).^[1] Due to the popularity of their tryout inMarvel Feature, Marvel soon began publishingThe Defenders.^[2] WriterSteve Englehart has stated that he added the Valkyrie to the Defenders in issue #4 "to provide some texture to the group."^[3] Englehart wrote "The Avengers–Defenders War" crossover inThe Avengers #116–118 (October–December 1973) andThe Defenders #9–11 (October–December 1973).^[4]Len Wein briefly wrote the series,^[5] and later became the editor for several issues.

Steve Gerber first worked on the characters inGiant-Size Defenders #3 (January 1975) and became the writer of the main title with issue #20 the following month.^[6] He wrote the series until issue #41 (November 1976).^[7] In 2010,Comics Bulletin ranked Gerber and Sal Buscema's run onThe Defenders first on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels".^[8]

David Anthony Kraft's run as writer^[9] included "The Scorpio Saga" (issues #46, 48–50) and the "Xenogenesis: Day of the Demons" storyline (issues #58–60).^[10] Kraft later recalled that reactions to the off-beat humor in his "Defender for a Day" storyline in issues #62–64 were polarized: "readers were either wildly enthusiastic or absolutely andvery utterly appalled."^[11]

Steven Grant wrote a conclusion to Steve Gerber'sOmega the Unknown series in two issues ofThe Defenders,^[12][13][14] at the end of which most of the original series' characters were killed.

WriterJ. M. DeMatteis took over the series with issue #92. Coming from a background of writing eight-page horror shorts for DC Comics, DeMatteis found it a struggle to adapt to writing a 22-page superhero comic on a monthly basis.^[15] He andMark Gruenwald co-wroteThe Defenders #107–109 (May–July 1982).^{[16][17][18][19]} While working on the series, DeMatteis developed a strong friendship with pencilerDon Perlin,^[15] who would draw the series for nearly half its run. Perlin later commented, "It turned out to be a real fun book because you got a chance to draw almost every character Marvel had at one time or another."^[20] He has also stated that Kim DeMulder, who inked issues #122-144 apart from a few fill-ins, is his preferred inker after himself..^[21]

During his run, Perlin recalled, he became what he has characterized as "the first guy, unwittingly, to put profanity in [Comics Code-approved] comics":

This happened in one [issue] ofThe Defenders. There was a character in there who was a lawyer for the Defenders and his gimmick was that no matter where you saw him in his office, there had to be a TV set on—he was always watching TV. And while I was drawing one of the panels I was listening to a talk show and there was someone on telling how bad cereals for kids were—they were all loaded with sugar. So I drew a picture on the TV of a bunny rabbit holding a box of cereal and across the label where the name of the cereal would be I pencilled in "shit". So I figured, because I used to write nutty comments in the borders and stuff, I thought they'd get a laugh out of it and change it. So they gave it to [Peru-born inker]Pablo Marcos and I don’t know if he knew how to read English or not but he inked it. I walked in one day [to Marvel] ... and [editor-in-chief Jim] Shooter started yelling, "What did you do? Look at it! They called me upstairs and showed me this," and I said, "Wait a minute. That thing goes through an assistant editor, an editor, a proofreader and then you’re supposed to read it. And no one picked it up so don't blame me." So what happened was he said fine, just don't write anymore comments on your pages.^[21]

Suffering from creative burnout on the series, DeMatteis felt a change was needed.^[15] As of issue #125,The Defenders was retitled toThe New Defenders as the original four members (Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer, the Hulk, and Namor) are forced to leave the team.^[22] The "New Defenders" concept provided a substantial boost to the series's sales, but left DeMatteis in a creative drought, as he realized in retrospect that "...I created a book that was exactly the kind of the thing that I hated to write. I made it into a standard superhero team..."^[15] DeMatteis stayed on for only six issues ofThe New Defenders before turning it over to writerPeter Gillis.

The series's final issue wasThe New Defenders #152.^[23] PencilerDon Perlin recounted "[Editor]Carl Potts he took me and Peter Gillis to lunch. We went to an Indian restaurant... He said, ‘They canceled the book.’"^[24]

In 1993, Marvel sought to revive the "Defenders" brand as "The Secret Defenders". The new team first appeared, unofficially, inDr. Strange #50 and laterFantastic Four #374, before being officially introduced inSecret Defenders #1.^[25][26]

In 2001–2002, The Defenders reunited inThe Defenders volume 2 #1–12 created byKurt Busiek andErik Larsen, immediately followed byThe Order #1–6. A fill-in issue set between these two series was published in 2011.

ADefenders five-issuemini-series debuted in July 2005, byKeith Giffen,J. M. DeMatteis, andKevin Maguire (as a team, best known for their work on DC'sJustice League franchise), featuring Doctor Strange attempting to reunite the original four Defenders to battleDormammu andUmar. This series focuses mostly on humor as the characters spend most of their time arguing with and criticizing one another. The series was later collected into both hardcover and trade paperback collections, entitledDefenders: Indefensible.

In 2008Joe Casey wrote a new miniseries with a new line-up of Defenders as a result of the Super-Human Registration Act and the events of theCivil War.^[27]

Marvel launched a newDefenders series in December 2011, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Terry Dodson. The new book featuresDoctor Strange,Red She-Hulk,Namor, theSilver Surfer andIron Fist. The new series follows the reunion of the Defenders inFear Itself: The Deep.^[28] The series was cancelled at issue #12.

February 2013 saw the debut ofThe Fearless Defenders, a series written by Cullen Bunn with artwork byWill Sliney. Bunn said that he had wanted to write the series, which centers on a new team ofValkyrior, led by Valkyrie andMisty Knight, after writingFear Itself: The Fearless. It was suggested to him that it should run as a Defenders title, however Bunn explained that beyond the name there is "little connection" to the Defenders.^[29]

In August 2017, Marvel launched a new Defenders comic book series starringDaredevil,Jessica Jones,Luke Cage andIron Fist, based on theNetflix incarnation of the team.^[30]

In August 2021, Marvel launched a new Defenders series.^[31]

• Hatcher, Greg."Trapped in a Friday He Never Made: Essay on Gerber'sOmega andThe Defenders," Comic Book Resources (Aug. 5, 2006).