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| 1979-02-01 00:06:10 |
| Previous: Power Man & Iron Fist #55 | Up: Main 1979/Box 8/EIC: Jim Shooter | Next: Uncanny X-Men #118-119 |
Defenders #66-68
Issue(s): Defenders #66, Defenders #67, Defenders #68
Published Date: Dec 78 - Feb 79
Title: "War of the dead!" / "We, the unliving..." / "Valhalla can wait!"
Credits:
David Anthony Kraft & Edward Hannigan - Plot
Edward Hannigan - Script
Edward Hannigan / Herb Trimpe - Penciler
Bruce D. Patterson / Pablo Marcos - Inker
Review/plot:
This confusing and overly long "Val in Valhalla" story marks David Anthony Kraft's exit from the Defenders series and penciller Ed Hannigan transitioning into the writer role (with Kraft getting co-plotting credits for the whole arc, but Hannigan getting plot and scripting credits beginning with issue #67) and Herb Trimpe taking over on art.
The plot is basically that the guy with the best hat in all of Asgard decides that as his prize he ought to get to rule Valhalla.
The Valkyrie is split in half, with her evil Barbara Norris side teaming up with hat-guy. Nighthawk and Hellcat literally die in a car accident in order to join Val in Hel (and act like completely uncurious idiots when the evil Val dupes them into working for her for a while), and the Hulk is brought to Asgard as well. They fight, the Hulk destroys a mountain...
...and hat-guy is defeated. This process also exorcises the Barbara Norris persona permanently, making Valkyrie a real Asgardian Valkyrie once and for all (and possible the Brunnhilde of Wagner's Ring Cycle, although there already was a Brunnhilde appearing in older Thor comics.
Hannigan's art is actually pretty good this story.
I don't know if Patterson is a good inker for him, or if he's just more inspired by the Asgardian setting, or if it's just a case of "you only miss them when they're gone"...
...but his writing isn't so great and neither is Trimpe's art.
Quality Rating: C-
Historical Significance Rating: 2 - Valkyrie loses the Barbara Norris persona.
Chronological Placement Considerations: The Hulk starts this arc being pursued by the military. We know from Hulk #243 that the Hulk appearance here occurs after that issue and before Daredevil #163, and the pursuit by the military works well with the knowledge that Talbot is not back in charge of Gamma Base.
References:
- Valkyrie and Barbara Norris were bonded in Defenders #4. Queen Casiolena, one of Hat-guy's allies, was also last seen in that issue.
- Hat-guy's (Oh, all right, his name is Ollerus the Unmerciful) toadie Poppo the Cunning uses the Crystal of Eternal View, which was last seen in Thor #149.
- Odin accuses Hela of overstepping her bounds. He uses her attempt to take the life of Balder in Thor #275 as an example.
- Like in issue #65, another huge chunk of the Defenders is referenced: Defenders #23-40 represent the story of Val sorting out her identity.
Cross-over: N/A
Continuity Implant? N
Reprinted In: N/A
Characters appearing: Harokin, Heimdall, Hela, Hellcat, Hulk, Nighthawk, Odin, Queen Casiolena, Valkyrie
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