Issue(s): Defenders #132
Cover Date: Jun 84
Title: "The phantom of Gamma-Ray Flats!"
Credits:
Peter Gillis - Writer
Don Perlin - Penciler
Kim DeMulder - Inker

Review/plot:
Peter Gillis' first full issue of the Defenders begins with a man wandering through the New Mexico desert. Not realizing he's on the site of a gamma bomb test, he eats some lichen growing directly on the remains of the gamma bomb.

Soon he shows up at the Defenders HQ. Once he gets out of the dry desert sun, he starts mutating.

He turns into a slimy plant monster, and every piece of him that is cut off just starts growing into additional plant spores. The Defenders put up a good show but it's not an easy foe to defeat.

Finally Iceman figures out that he can kill it by sucking all of the moisture out of the room.

Creepy, weird, offbeat, and much more serious than the last issue. I liked it.

Don Perlin and Kim DeMulder have both been on this title for a while, but the art credits haven't been that consistent. Going forward (after one more pencil fill-in next issue) they will be together for a while. The pairing is extremely successful. Lots of depth and realism.

Angel has some interesting thoughts while washing up after the first wave of the plant attack. First, he thinks "He couldn't be a mutant -- Professor Xavier would have found a mutant that old long since! But then what on Earth was he?". It's true. In the old days, Professor X knew about every mutant, and had a little device with their names on placards in his office. Similarly, if the Master Mold or the Secret Empire wanted to capture all the world's mutants, well, they just went out and grabbed all twelve of them. It's only right around this time that mutants will start popping up all over the place in numbers beyond what Xavier would ever have been able to keep track of. Gillis' line here is a nice reminder of the old days, although i'm sure that wasn't his intention.

Second, he thinks to himself that they should call in a biochemical specialist like Henry Pym or Bill Foster. "Hank is the only one in the group with any real science under his belt, and he hasn't been in the lab for ages!". Nowadays the Beast is used more for his science skills than his strength and agility; it's interesting remembering that in the 70s and 80s the opposite was true.

Finally Angel thinks, "If the Defenders aren't going to suffer the same fate as the Champions - God how that still sticks in my craw! - we've got to develop adequate resources!" Cool reference, and nice introspection.

The Beast is still on the college lecture circuit this issue.

The lettercol for this issue features a single letter worrying that with the addition of the Beast, Iceman, and Angel, the book will be turned into X-Men II.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• It's not explicitly said that the gamma bomb testing site is the one from Hulk #1, but that was the first time they tested a gamma bomb, and i don't think they ran many more tests after the disastrous results of that one. We do know from Hulk annual #7 that Angel's mansion is relatively close to Gamma Base. (Just to be clear, there are no actual footnotes referencing these events in this issue.)

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

In just a few years, Peter David's Hulk run will reveal that the government has built and tested Gamma Bombs more recently; perhaps this is one of those test sites?

Shame not many X-Readers will have read this issue, it is one of the best Iceman spotlights I've read. He's shown to be incredibly capable as a hero (as opposed to being the traditional brash and dumb Bobby Drake). Aside from single-handedly defeating the "bad guy" with his powers, he also uses his own knowledge to devise the plan and get to the bottom of it.

Such a rarity for him. Usually it's someone telling him what to do and, at it's worst, someone taking control of him and "unlocking his true potential" via telepathy.

“Don Perlin has been drawing this series for a while, but this is the first issue with Kim DeMulder on inks.”

Not really.

You're right, thanks Lucas.