Defenders #140-141Issue(s): Defenders #140, Defenders #141 Review/plot: The rest of #140 is devoted to newly redeemed Moondragon... ...detecting someone using great mental powers. Only half of the other Defenders go with her; Beast is still a little wary of Moondragon, Iceman doesn't want to hang out with Cloud when he's a guy, and Gargoyle is still missing his hand. They find a teenage boy accused of raping his teacher... ...but it turns out he really uses his mutant power to make people face their deep repressed pains, and the teacher was only able to describe the violation as rape. Moondragon helps sorts things out... ...and then the boy leaves town. An odd little story. Meanwhile, in the valley near the Defenders' mountain headquarters, a cow gives birth to something really gross. It's the return of the gamma-irradiated plant thing that the Defenders faced at the beginning of Peter Gillis' run. By the time the Defenders get back from the trial, the valley is overrun and the Defenders' headquarters is under siege. The Defenders' airplane mechanic, Chris Larmouth, is infected by the plant (Chris had hoped that working near the Defenders would result in circumstances that would grant him super-powers)... ...and the Beast is working on preserving him and studying the organism in the Defenders lab while Iceman and Gargoyle watch the rest of the creature try to push through the reinforced windows. After floundering for a while, the Defenders have a breakthrough when the Beast discovers some important science mumbo-jumbo about the creature and mentally conveys it to Moondragon, who contacts Gargoyle and has him enter the creature. She meets him in the middle, and they merge spirits, kissing, and use their combined powers to attack the creature at a cellular level. The effort also causes Gargoyle's hand to finish growing back. The Perlin/DeMulder art combo that i usually love felt a little thin on these issues. There's still a lot of nice depth on the close ups... ...but in general things were a little sketchier. The weird plant creatures attacking the headquarters were wild (and that cow birth was appropriately gruesome), but they lacked the creepy realism of the first time this creature appeared. Still, these are good issues. The first story is a fairly unique Strange Tale, and the danger and hopelessness of fighting a de-centralized goopy plant monster is conveyed well in the second. Quality Rating: B Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A References:
Crossover: N/A Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: N/A Inbound References (3): showCharacters Appearing: Angel, Beast, Candy Southern, Chris Larmouth, Cloud, Danny Shepard, Dolly Donahue, Ephraim Soles, Gargoyle (Defender), Iceman, Moondragon, Sassafras, Valkyrie, Vera Cantor Comments"The Heartbreak Kid" will be seen again in Amazing Fantasy #15 (vol 2) in a flashback story set at some point after Amazing Fantasy #15 (vol 1) in which he is drawn to a mourning Peter Parker. Posted by: Max_Spider | January 26, 2014 10:19 AM Added Danny Shepard as a Character Appearing. Thanks! Posted by: fnord12 | January 26, 2014 12:34 PM Now I'm wondering how on earth you kiss someone with fangs like Gargoyle... Posted by: Berend | March 2, 2014 9:22 PM I guess you could add Chris Larmouth as a Character Appearing as well. He makes his return appearance in Defenders 152. Posted by: Jay Demetrick | March 3, 2014 1:37 AM Thanks, Jay. Added him. Posted by: fnord12 | March 3, 2014 10:21 PM Berend --carefully. You kiss him *carefully*! ;) Posted by: Dermie | March 4, 2014 2:55 AM What utterly confused me about these issues was Gargoyle's hand was still missing but only an issue earlier he was shocked to see his hand had regenerated as a human hand with 5 fingers rather than 4. Posted by: AF | January 9, 2016 11:00 AM And no tag for Ephraim Soles? He appears in both #132 and #140, in the former as the main villain and then briefly in sub-plot pages of #140. Posted by: AF | January 9, 2016 11:15 AM Added him. Thanks. Posted by: fnord12 | January 9, 2016 1:53 PM It seems quite off your Fnordic Track to not mention the killer bunnies :-D Posted by: Cecil | August 12, 2016 1:26 AM Comments are now closed. |
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