Issue(s): Defenders #78, Defenders #79, Defenders #80, Defenders #81, Defenders #82, Defenders #83
Cover Date: Dec 79-May 80
Title: "The return of the original Defenders!" / "Chains of love!" / "Once a Defender" / "War in Ogeon!" / "Wizard-death!" / "End of the tunnel"
Credits:
Ed Hannigan - Writer
Herb Trimpe / Herb Trimpe & Ed Hannigan / Don Perlin - Penciler
Mike Esposito / Dan Green / Jack Abel / Joe Sinnott - Inker

Review/plot:
Ed Hannigan returns to the scene of his crime from the Origin of Lunatik plotline, sending the original Defenders Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Sub-Mariner to a cliched fantasy world complete with having to sneak into the evil wizard's city by hiding in the back of a merchant's wagon.

    

And yes, that winged guy's wings come out of his head.

The one cool thing about this plot is the Hulk riding this giant bird thing.

In a somewhat more interesting plotline, Hannigan faces the all-female Defenders team (Valkyrie, Hellcat, the Wasp) and Henry Pym, who gets kidnapped and imprisoned immediately...

...against Gerber character the Mandrill...

...who has recruited Jack Kirby's newest Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (now called the Mutant Force)...

... but mainly relies on his own band of female warriors. This is a problem for the Valkyrie, since she is much weaker when fighting women. All of the ladies are also susceptible to the Mandrill's pheromones, but luckily the Wasp is caught in a glass jar at the time that he exposes himself and she is able to run off and recruit Nighthawk to help out. The Avengers and the FF were unavailable. Nighthawk is defying the FBI by going out as a super-hero but he doesn't care. He's also got a new suit that is more weaponized.

This plotline concludes in #82, and issue #83 is devoted largely to concluding the fantasy plot, but there is an interlude with Valkyrie and Hellcat stopping some bank robbers, and Hellcat realizes that she still has her acrobatic abilities when she's not in costume, whereas it was previously assumed that the costume was where she derived her powers.

Dr. Strange resolves the issue of the Unnameable One by surgically trapping him inside the Hulk's brain. It's not quite as graphic as it sounds. But that's an accurate description, and it's pretty bizarre, and not in a good way.

The best part of this arc, as always with the Defenders, is the Hulk interacting with his teammates.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - Hellcat learns that she's got super-powers even when not in costume.

Chronological Placement Considerations: Wong and Clea both have minor appearances in this story, but they go missing in Dr. Strange #38-40, and aren't found until issue #42, so this needs to take place after that.

References:

• This story follows up on the plot from Defenders #71-73.
  
• The Defenders broke up in Defenders #75.
  
• Hulk fought a Shmoo and was subconsciously fed the Name of the Nameless One in Defenders #76-77.
  
• Moondragon gets a few panels. She launches the bodies of Omega and James-Michael Starling into the sun, and then heads off to investigate whatever she was initially monitoring when she heard Hellcat's distress call. The results of her investigation are shown in Marvel Two-In-One #61.
  
• The Mandrill was last seen in Daredevil #112. He seemingly died in that issue, confirmed by Daredevil's senses, and there's no explanation about why he's still alive here.
  
• The Mutant Force previously appeared as Magneto's latest Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in Captain America annual #4
  
• Nighthawk reflects on the fact that he started his career as a lawbreaker in Avengers #70 and now he is forced to break the law again.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

So you list Pym as a member of the all-female Defenders? Well, it's apt, actually.

That was just a poorly structured sentence. But if you really want subtext, it's that Henry Pym can't let his wife have a ladies' night out without showing up and hanging around, wondering if they're talking or laughing about him.

I liked the idea of two groups of Defenders but the Tunnelworld story was SO boring. maybe if Byrne or Starlin drew it, it could of gone somewhere.

As silly-slash-just-plain-offensive a character as the Mandrill is, Trimpe's full-page panel of him certainly gets your attention.

Interesting reference here to Hulk's "amazing recuperative abilities". PAD will later give Hulk a full-on healing factor in Hulk #340.

I'd always seen that as something PAD had created outright, but this at least gives a vague precedent for it.

Anyone aware of any other mentions of Hulk's recuperative abilities prior to Hulk #340?

Usually Hulk was depicted before his Shades of Grey phase as practically invulnerable but I haven't quite read it all.
I found #78-80 tonight and it was more readable than I recalled. But to have so darn many Gerber characters on the loose, there's little Gerber characterization!
Tunnel world is exhaustively expository but the structure of the two-team book was ambitious. Admirable effort to entertain fans of both sets of Defenders. Mutant Force are too wacky for anything but kid stuff.
The bit where Val thinks the others have forgotten her not lady opponents enchantment makes them seem so amateurish, but I think that flaw was a long-standing Defenders portrayal.
Perlin and Marcos will eventually make this comic look cooler. But here the book's still better than it's been for a couple of years, back when we started losing neat ideas like Val trying college. At least Ed attempted to give us the first legit female super team- that idea needed time and care- as well as the daring split extended narrative ( I realize Englehart did that in Avengers.)

the Tunnelworld story was SO boring. maybe if Byrne or Starlin drew it, it could of gone somewhere.I would have settled for Tom Sutton, honestly.

The Buzzard-King's name is "No Identity", spelled backwards. I'm sure Hannigan thought this signified something deep. For me, it signifies padding, mostly.

And "Ogeon" is "no ego".