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Classic Review: Marvel Masterworks- Defenders Vol. 2

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Quick Summary

Pros: The Avengers/Defenders War may be worthwhile from a historical standpoint. Some of the collection’s closing stories are interesting and feel unique.

Cons: The majority of the book’s stories are not that interesting and fail to do much outside of provide flashy action.

Overall: This volume has a few positive points but also has plenty of negative ones as well. The book’s biggest flaw comes from the fact that the majority of its stories are lackluster and are not really that worthwhile. There are a few exceptions to this rule but, for the most part, the collection is just average. In the end, this book is for readers who are really interested in the history of this team and are willing to overlook the mundane stories, not for readers just looking for good stories from this era.

Story

The story in Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 2, by Steve Englehart and Len Wein, has a few bright spots but, for the most part, ends up being just average. Many of the stories here are lackluster and fail to define themselves as something unique. Even the Avenger/Defenders War ends up being a bit too contrived and fails to do much outside of moments of flashy action. A few solid chapters at the end of the book prevent the volume from sinking too deep into its own mediocrity. However, as a whole, this volume ends up being a bit more troubled than one would hope.

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The majority of the stories in Defenders Vol. 2 are pretty mediocre. The trip to Atlantis has a few interesting moments of action but is not all that captivating. Later on, the Black Knight’s trip to the past and the return of Xemnu both fail to seriously raise interest levels and feel like forgettable chapters in this series.

The Avengers/Defenders War stands out a little more, mostly because of its fame as part of the Avengers and Defenders’ history. However, outside some highly flashy action, it does not make for that great of a read. The crossover relies on miscommunication and random chance to advance the plotline far too often, making the overall narrative feel pretty contrived. It also feels very by the numbers and doesn’t do much to make itself stand out, besides throwing random heroes at one another.

Luckily, Defenders Vol. 2 improves a bit as it goes on. The fight against the Squadron Sinister and Nighthawk’s defection are unique and interesting plot points for the series. Meanwhile, the Alpha mutant’s role in the volume’s final chapters leads to an equally unique and interesting conclusion to that story arc. If the series continues to focus on plotlines like this, it may end up being more worthwhile in the future.

However, throughout the collection, it feels like the characters never have a chance to develop into interesting individuals. The concept of a “non-team team” is unique but the way it is handled here prevents almost any development from taking place among the team’s characters. Hulk develops a stronger friendship with a few people and aspects of Valkyrie’s character are teased, but nothing substantial happens. Meanwhile, in Avengers, characters are growing and changing as they come across problems and learn to deal with enemies. Hopefully, future volumes of this series will have the core structure of this team experience some sort of growth, even if the members continue to rotate.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Defenders Vol. 2 ends up being one of the most positive aspects of the volume. Sal Buscema’s work looks great on nearly every page. It is structured well and allows the action of the book to flow in a satisfying way. It also looks particularly positive in a few places where larger spreads fully depict the epic events of the moment, such as in the fight between the Hulk and Thor. Plus, Jim Starlin’s work on Giant-Size Defenders #1 gives the chapter some eye-candy to make up for the relatively mundane storyline. In general, the visuals in this volume are solid and help the reading experience as a whole.

Continuity

Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 2 continues the story from Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 1 (Review).

The story here continues in Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Vol. 3.

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

Previous Volume Review

All Defenders Reviews

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