Issue(s): Defenders #13, Defenders #14
Published Date: Jul 74
Title: "For sale: One planet -- slightly used!" / "And who shall inherit the Earth?"
Credits:
Len Wein - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Klaus Janson / Dan Green - Inker

Review/plot:
Nighthawk bursts into Dr. Strange's house. He says he just wants to talk, but neither the Hulk nor the Valkyrie are willing to listen, so a fight breaks out until Strange can shut it down.

Nighthawk then reveals that the Squadron Sinister has gotten back together under the leadership of a golden skinned, white haired guy named Nebulon the Celestial Man...

...and Hyperion has "sold" the world to him in return for restoring the team. Nighthawk wants no part of that, and so he's looking for help from the Defenders.

Nighthawk is then teleported back to Nebulon. Sub-Mariner wasn't with the other Defenders, and when Dr. Strange contacts him, he's dealing with the Amphibians and is in no mood to help with super-hero stuff, so Dr. Strange forcibly teleports him to his house where the Valkyrie is able to convince him that this is important. But he's rightfully not going to waste time discussing his new costume.

The Defenders arrive at the North Pole where Nebulon and the Squadron are.

The Defenders are able to defeat the Squadron, but Nebulon subsequently captures them.

Hyperion is able to convince Nebulon to give the Defenders a slow death instead of just killing the quickly...

...and that gives the Defenders the opportunity to escape.

Nebulon is trying to melt the worlds ice caps to make Earth more hospitable to his species, which is actually some sort of multi-tentacled fish monster.

The good guys win when Nighthawk turns the ice melting device on the bad guys. He dies in the process, but the Defenders restore him with their life energy.

Then Namor "quits" the "non-" team, suggesting that they allow Nighthawk to replace him.

We'll learn in Avengers annual #8 that the Doctor Spectrum appearing here is a new one, Billy Roberts, who acquired the Power Prism after Dr. Obatu lost it in Iron Man #66. In this story Spectrum says that Nebulon restored his power prism to him "minus its most irritating personality".

I originally gave this one very low marks because it's the return of the Squadron Sinister, who in my opinion never needed to appear again. I'm not a big fan of Nighthawk as a Defender, either. But putting that aside, it's fine. Decent Sal Buscema art. A lot of the inter-team conflict feels forced (if Namor was in such a bad mood, you'd think he'd be ok with melting all the world's ice caps, and more seriously the way he's brought into the story is pretty heavy-handed), and the villains' decision to slow-death the good guys is frustratingly cliche. But there's some fun moments too.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 4 - Nighthawk joins the Defenders

Chronological Placement Considerations: The Hulk appears here between Hulk #172-173. Sub-Mariner between Sub-Mariner #71-72. Dr. Strange between Marvel Premiere #11-12.

References:

• The Squadron Sinister appeared previously in Avengers #69-70.
  
• Nighthawk then appeared by himself in Daredevil #62.
  
• A reference is made to Doctor Spectrum's appearance in Iron Man #63 through Iron Man #66, but as i mention above, we'll eventually learn that the one appearing here isn't the one that appeared in those issues.
  
• Nighthawk first tried going to the Avengers for help, but Nebulon made it so the Squadron was invisible to the Avengers. However, Nebulon was able to overhear Captain America talking about how the Defenders helped save the world from Loki and Dormammu during the Avengers/Defenders War, so he went to the Defenders instead.

Cross-over: N/A

Continuity Implant? N

Reprinted In: N/A

Len Wein revealed in Foom #19 that he wanted to write an issue where Nighthawk calls a meeting and nobody shows up, but he never got to.

Also according to FOOM#19, it was Steve Englehart's idea to bring Nighthawk into the title.