Issue(s): Defenders #110
Cover Date: Aug 82
Title: "...Hunger..."
Credits:
J.M. DeMatteis - Writer
Don Perlin - Penciler
Mike Esposito - Inker
Al Milgrom - Editor

Review/plot:
This issue is mainly about the Devil-Slayer dealing with his problems. The guilt over the death of the junkie named "Sunshine".

Reconciling with his wife.

Dealing with his mercenary life. Punching wolves.

It ends with Dr. Strange receiving a letter "four months later", learning that Eric Payne has voluntarily gone to prison for his past crimes.

There's an interlude that shows Kyle Richmond as President of the United States.

I get a little confused with all the alternate dimension stuff. But as we'll learn, the Nighthawk appearing here is neither the real one or the Squadron Supreme version. See Dan's comments below for more.

Anyway, this issue was a little more down to earth and less pseudo-cosmic than a lot of DeMatteis' Defenders stuff, so it was a little better than usual, but still not great.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Dr. Strange's appearance in this issue doesn't really "count" in the sense that it takes place 4 months in the future and is entirely context free. See the Chronological Placement Considerations in Contest of Champions for additional thoughts.

References:

• Devil-Slayer met "Sunshine" in Defenders #101.
  
• "Sunshine" summoned Dr. Strange to help Devil-Slayer fight Ian Fate in Defenders #104.
  
• Kyle Richmond died in Defenders #106
  
• The Devil-Slayer's wife decided to stay with the cult of the false messiah in Defenders #97.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The Richmond Presidency stuff has to refer to Squadron Supreme-Earth; it was referred to in the Squadron Supreme 1980s maxi-series.

So Devil Slayer is white and his wife is black> is this the frst interracial marriage in comics?

I can't seem to find an earlier inter-racial marriage. 1st kiss I believe goes to Iron Fist and Misty Knight, depending on your ethnicity index for Cleopatra :-D My Emmy-winning video editor friend Joe Braband has a fantastic resurrection pitch for Devil-Slayer in a story, but he's actually come back several times. We wanted to post him in a Mexican mental health clinic and bring back Vera Gemini. Oddly, Payne was in the first Marvel Team-Up I ever bought. I sneaked the fifty cents out of a church collection plate. Never again.

Little over the top that a worldly guy like Doc Strange is moved to TEARS by that otherwise heartfelt letter.

Janice Manning, Deathlok's wife, was black, and he was, you know, a cyborg zombie, so he's got Devil Slayer beat in both the interracial and inter-corporeal departments...

I thought the first comic book interracial kiss was from Killraven's serial in Amazing Adventures? (I forget the characters names, off the top of my head...)

Okay, I know this is getting painful, but NEITHER 616 Nighthawk or the Squadron Supreme Nighthawk appears in this issue. The "President Richmond" seen here is an artificial construct created by the psychics who eventually took the Overmind's form in order to spirit the Supreme Nighthawk away from Null. There's no doubt that it already happened before the interlude in this issue since we saw the Supreme Nighthawk (thinking he was 616 Nighthawk) back in issue #109.

Thanks Dan.

There's a panel (not reproduced here) where Devil-Slayer slaps his (ex)wife and knocks her to the floor -- and the caption makes clear he did it deliberately. You can argue that it's appropriate in the context of DeMatteis' story, but the undertone of both racial and domestic violence is not something I think could be done in today's hyper-politicized environment at Marvel.