Secret Defenders (Vol. 1)

Publisher: Age of Marvels 
Line: Archive 
Status: Concluded 
 
==Details==
 
Note: This title was set in the original AOM continuity, prior to the reset of the CBR forums in April of 2014 and the AOM reboot. 
SECRET DEFENDERS
Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Tony Moore
Location: Various dimensions, realities and planes of existence
Concept: Dr. Strange and The Human Torch lead a team of odd superheroes on a secret quest that may, in fact, doom them all!
Cast:
 1. Doctor Strange
 2. Human Torch (Jim Hammond) 
 3. Destroyer (Keen Marlow)
 4. Gorilla Man (Kenneth Hale)
 5. Komodo
 6. Red Sonja (Mary Jane Watson)
Supporting: Mephista, Radioactive Man, Stardust 
Antagonists: Dreaded Offenders, Blackout, Blizzard, Doctor Rot, Kulan Gath, Swarm, Zadkiel
==Issues==
STRANGE DEFENDERS #1 ***New Ongoing Series***
 Written by MIKE CAREY
 Plot by BROTHER JUSTIN CROWE
 Art by CLINT LANGLEY
 Variant Cover by TONY MOORE
 "TO CONFUSE CHILDREN WITH ANGELS" Part I "AVALON AFTER THE RAIN"
 Jim Hammond, the original HUMAN TORCH, and the former sorcerer supreme DR. STRANGE assemble a specific team for a specific purpose. What that purpose is, they refuse to say. So when Keen Marlow, alias THE DESTROYER, questions the duo alongside newfound forced teammates KOMODO and GORILLA MAN, will the truth be told? And will the team be able to stop bickering long enough to stop Captain Midlands from destroying the final resting place of KING ARTHUR?
 24 PGs./Rated T+...$2.99
STRANGE DEFENDERS #2
 Written by MIKE CAREY
 Plot by BROTHER JUSTIN CROWE
 Art by CLINT LANGLEY
 Variant Cover by TONY MOORE
 "TO CONFUSE CHILDREN WITH ANGELS" Part II "TRAMP THE DIRT DOWN"
 Keen Marlow, THE DESTROYER, does not like being lied to. So when he tells the Defenders to shove it, will he get his revenge on them by joining up with Captain Midlands, living up to his namesake and helping to rid the world of all magic -- starting with the desecration of Excalibur and ending with the decpitation Doctor Strange himself? Yeah, probably. He's kind of a butt these days. Meanwhile, Gorilla Man tries to rationalize with The Torch and Strange after the revelations of last issue, and Komodo receives a message from the Defenders of the future. 
 24 PGs./Rated T+...$2.99
STRANGE DEFENDERS #3
 Written by SIMON SPURRIER
 Plot by BROTHER JUSTIN CROWE
 Art by CLINT LANGLEY
 Variant Cover by TONY MOORE
 "TO CONFUSE CHILDREN WITH ANGELS" Part III "TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT"
 Captain Midlands: on the warpath! The Defenders: disassembled! The Offenders: on the rise? And the future isn't what it used to be, as the Defenders of the future return to force Komodo's hand. But what they will find will shock even them...
 24 PGs./Rated T+...$2.99
STRANGE DEFENDERS #4
 Written by MIKE CAREY
 Plot by BROTHER JUSTIN CROWE
 Art by CLINT LANGLEY
 Variant Cover by TONY MOORE
 "THE LAST BAD JOB"
 Ten years from now, Komodo, Doctor Strange, Stabbity Jones, Angela and the Human Torch are all that stands between mankind and a vengeful being called Taper, who shares some personal history with one of our heroes...
 24 PGs./Rated T+...$2.99
STRANGE DEFENDERS #5
 Written by SIMON SPURRIER
 Plot by GLOBAL HONORED (Fill-In plotter)
 Art by CLINT LANGLEY
 "THE ONE ABOUT FRIENDSHIP"
 Keen Marlowe has taken on a lifetime of pain, dealing with it by punishing the bad guys. But what happens when there are no Nazis, mad scientists, alien invaders, criminal masterminds and mob goons to unleash the decades of anger and abuse upon? The one thing that never hides from him...the bottle. And it always leads to trouble. But now, for the first time since he can remember, Keen is part of something bigger than himself. Maybe they aren't a "team" but it's something. Can Stephen Strange, Jim Hammond, Ken Hale and Melati Kusuma offer Keen a real escape before he truly destroys his legacy? 
 24 PGs./Rated T+...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #6
 Written by SIMON SPURRIER
 Plot by GLOBAL HONORED
 Art by TONY MOORE
 "Rise of the Offenders"
•Released from a Siberian Prison, Kondradi Topolov must rebuild his life. He has no home, no possessions, only his intellect and capacity for villainy to offer. Luckily, that talent is in demand as a dark force comes calling. The Gremlin returns!
•Ariana Saddiqi has been laying low. Hiding out. Pulling off small crimes, petty larceny to get by. Working alone. She's been burned before. Waiting for that big score. And now, she may have found just the outfit to pull it off. Welcome back, Black Racer! 
•He's been used for his muscle. Toyed with. Controlled. Nothing more than a super-powered goon. But now someone is giving him the chance to be a real player, his own man. On equal footing. He will control his explosive power. He is the Powderkeg!
•Once a brilliant scientist, a pioneer in the field of electromagnetic research. Until the accident took it all away from Dr. Jackson Arvad. Led him down a dark path of crime and corruption. Now he sees a chance for redemption, to show he is truly a genius. Something more than just man. Enter Will O' the Wisp!
•All great rivalries have a beginning. This one involves jealousy. A student desperate to surpass his mentor. The teacher favoring another. But that is the past. Now he plots the end. To finally prove supreme superiority. He has assembled a team to complete the final objective. Baron Mordo and the Dreaded Offenders must kill Doctor Strange!
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #7
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
 “Past is Prologue” Part 1 of 3
Baron Mordo’s team of Dreaded Offenders is assembled, but the Baron needs to supplement his own spell-casting abilities to ensure victory over his hated nemesis, Dr. Strange. His solution: steal power from the most villainous wizards of the past! But can even Baron Mordo’s personality survive summoning the spirit of legendary Hyborian Age sorcerer Kulan Gath into his own body? Meanwhile, the side effects of Mordo’s reckless abuse of magic are felt by the Secret Defenders, who come face to face with another time-displaced spirit who has again possessed the body of model Mary Jane Watson and is wreaking havoc in Greenwich Village – the She-Devil with a Sword, Red Sonja lives again! Can even the Secret Defenders halt her fury? 
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #8
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
 “Past is Prologue” Part 2 of 3
Baron Mordo has lost control of his body to the ancient sorcerer, Kulan Gath! With insidious spellwork, Gath transforms a modern metropolis into a Hyborian-style fortress city from which he can rule his new kingdom! If you thought Newark, New Jersey was bad before, wait until you see Gath’s renovations as he pulls his vile Serpent-Men from the past to take up residence! It’s up to Dr. Strange, the Human Torch, Gorilla-Man, the Destroyer and Komodo to save Dirty Jersey’s most populous city, but to do so they have to rely on the one woman who has defeated Gath before, the same woman whose spirit has taken over the body of Mary Jane Watson – Red Sonja! Yet, as Sonja leads them in the assault on Newark’s newly risen ramparts, can all the Secret Defenders be trusted? What is Komodo’s connection to the Serpent-Men, and where will her loyalties lie: with her tenuous “non-team” or with the race of reptiles that seem to worship her? 
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #9
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
 “Past is Prologue” Part 3 of 3
Aeons ago, it was foretold that a cold-blood born of warm-bloods would become the matriarch of the Serpent-Men, free them from slavery, and lead them from the brink of extinction and into providence. In the bowels of a transformed Newark, New Jersey, Komodo has embraced this prophesized role! She is the Lizard Queen, she can do anything! But how far will she go when her subjects present her with her first tributary sacrifices, all captured within city limits: Gorilla-Man, the Human Torch and the Destroyer! Meanwhile, Dr. Strange’s magic brings him and Red Sonja/Mary Jane Watson within striking distance of Newark’s conqueror, the time displaced wizard Kulan Gath! Can Gath’s spirit be exorcized from Baron Mordo’s body? Or must Mordo die to stop the ancient evil within? The culmination of “Past is Prologue” is here, and one member of the Secret Defenders will not be leaving Newark! 
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #10
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
“Gods & Litigators“
After the shocking events of last issue, Komodo has decided to remain in the Serpent-Men infested city of Newark as the de facto mayor! Her new constituents, however, revere her for more than her sound fiscal policy. It turns out that the prophecy surrounding Komodo involved her giving birth to the child of the demonic Elder God Set… and Komodo just might not be ready for that kind of commitment!
Back in Greenwich Village, Dr. Strange attempts to uncover why, although Kulan Gath was defeated, the spirit of Red Sonja has not yet left Mary Jane Watson’s body. Unable to find a solution of his own, Strange realizes that he must commune with Scáthach, the warrior goddess who initially empowered Sonja with her incredible fighting skills, and ask the deity if she can separate the women. Scáthach, however, has other plans and definitely does not like unannounced gentlemen callers… 
Meanwhile, Jim Hammond is served with legal papers from the estate of his late creator, Dr. Phineas Horton. The papers claim that, as a machine, he is the inherited property of Horton’s spoiled, ungrateful great-grandchildren and demand that he surrender himself immediately. The original Human Torch isn’t taking this lying down, and he vows to challenge the estate’s claims in court! The Estate of Phineas T. Horton v. James Hammond is on the docket. Will it result in a landmark civil rights decision? Android: person or property? Finally an answer. 
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #11
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
“Habeas Corpses” Part One: “The Court of Last Resort”
Last issue, the lawsuit Horton v. Hammond promised to set new legal precedent: Android, person or property? The decision left the Secret Defenders reeling: Jim Hammond is Property! With unprecedented expediency, magically hurried along by Dr. Strange, the appeal flies through the Second Circuit and reaches the United States Supreme Court, which is now prepared to hear oral arguments! What they are not prepared for is the lethal intervention of the Defenders arch-enemies. The Dreaded Offenders finally strike! A mysteriously resurrected Baron Mordo, the Gremlin, Black Racer, Powderkeg, and Will O' the Wisp descend upon the “Temple of Justice” in Washington D.C.! Their goals: make sure the Human Torch’s status as property is not overturned, slay the assembled Supreme Court Justices and send a message to the world by doing irreparable harm to America’s foremost deliberative legal body! No sitting Supreme Court Justice had been murdered since Justice John Paul Stevens was slain in 1984 (though he was later replaced with Stevens from Earth-716), but now they’re all on the chopping block! Only the defendant, the Human Torch, and his teammates Dr. Strange, Red Sonja, Gorilla-Man, and the Destroyer, who travelled to D.C. for moral support, can save them… but not all nine justices will survive until the end of the issue! Get ready for a court battle the likes of which you’ve never seen!
Meanwhile, Komodo continues to reign as Mayor of Newark, which has been overrun by Serpent-Men. With American resistance to Newark’s reptilian occupation mounting, Komodo is presented with the option to relocate her constituents to the People's Republic of China! Why would the PRC want a city’s worth of Serpent Men within their borders? Perhaps their negotiator has the answer! Enter Chen Lu, the Radioactive Man! 
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #12 ***Argonauts Assemble Tie-In***
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
“Habeas Corpses” Part Two: “Binding Precedent”
The Dreaded Offenders have laid waste to the United States Supreme Court at the Temple of Justice in Washington D.C., and the Secret Defenders failed to stop them from murdering esteemed Justice Antonin Scalia! But Baron Mordo and his heinous team of obstructionists aren’t finished: they aim to make sure that the Court remains “deadlocked” by making the rest of the Justices dead! Only a battered Dr. Strange, Human Torch, Red Sonja, Gorilla-Man, and the Destroyer stand in their way! 
With the fight going poorly, Strange realizes help is required. Opening his senses, he feels a presence… even with the corruption and corporate influence that have plagued the Court, Stephan knew there was one Olympian who never ignored this place. With the help of the remaining Justices, Strange crafts a mystical writ of venire facias, forcing Iustitia to appear before the Court! Holder of the scales, blind goddess of moral jurisprudence! With Lady Justice herself summoned to fill the Supreme Court’s vacant seat, an 8-1 decision is issued that the Offenders must pay! Can the Secret Defenders and the Justices rally and avenge their fallen compatriot? And if they can, how will the Court rule on the Human Torch’s case – in the eyes of justice herself, are androids “persons” pursuant to the U.S. Constitution? 
Meanwhile, Komodo has been welcomed to the People’s Republic of China by Chen Lu, the Radioactive Man. On behalf of the PRC, Chen offers Komodo the city of Paiking to occupy with her Serpent-men constituents, but Komodo suspects there may be more to the offer than even Radioactive Man realizes. While she is supposed to be sleeping on the decision, she sneaks out for reconnaissance and finds plans surrounding… the Serpent Crown? And why is the PRC holding Stardust, former herald of Galactus, inside an underground bunker?!
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #13 
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
“Dragons controlling Snakes” or “ 强龙难压地头蛇”
The People’s Republic of China has offered Komodo the chance to relocate the Serpent-Men, recently summoned to Newark, New Jersey from the Hyborian Age by the sorcerer Kulan Gath, to the city of Paiking, where she can continue to operate as mayor. However, when Komodo discovers that the PRC are holding former herald of Galactus, Stardust, prisoner in an underground bunker, she can no longer trust the motivations of her hosts. Her diplomatic sojourn becomes a rescue mission, and with Stardust weakened, it’s up to Komodo to use her preternatural reptilian abilities to escape the well-guarded compound! It’s only when the guards start discharging energy blasts from their hands that she realizes escape might me more difficult than she anticipated… Enter the twisted surgeon responsible for snipping bits from Stardust and implanting them into Chinese soldiers, the horrible Dr. Rot! What is he doing in China, and who is the mysterious “master” to which he professes his loyalty? Moreover, did the Radioactive Man know about this when he initially invited Komodo to China, and can he be trusted now? 
Meanwhile, the Human Torch has regained his liberty after the Supreme Court rendered its decision that androids are entitled to equal rights, and the first thing he does with his newfound freedom is join the Destroyer and Gorilla-Man in making certain the Dreaded Offenders are safely transferred to the Vault, a maximum security prison for empowered criminals. The Torch has some questions for the Offenders’ leader, Baron Mordo – specifically, how did Mordo return to life after being decapitated by Red Sonja (see Secret Defenders #9)? The answer may come as a surprise. Baron Mordo has a guardian angel… an angel that also personally promised him their armored car would never reach the Vault! He’s crazy… right?
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #14 
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
“THE DIVINE JUDGMENT SAGA” Part One: “THE PLAGUES OF BABYLON”
Zadkiel, the rebel archangel, sees little difference between demonkind and mankind: both have become abominations, and both must be judged. In imitation of the great biblical plagues of Egypt, Zadkiel has assembled his own “Plagues” that he intends to unleash upon humanity with anger and furious vengeance: Swarm, the Plague of Locusts; Blackout, the Plague of Darkness; and Blizzard, the Plague of Hail! And who shows up to the Sanctum Sanctorum to tell Dr. Strange about this? None other than his crazy ex-girlfriend and daughter of the devil, Mephista (a.k.a. Jezebel)! It seems word in the underworld is that Zadkiel has a particular desire to eliminate mankind’s Defenders. But the news comes too late: Gorilla-Man, the Destroyer, and the Human Torch were already attacked and defeated by the Plagues while transporting the Dreaded Offenders to the Vault super-prison. It suddenly becomes clear to Strange that Zadkiel has been behind the Offenders’ reign of terror from the beginning! With the Offenders now freed, their leader Baron Mordo is offered a position as one of the Plagues – and all he has to do is kill the firstborn child of the Destroyer – Keen Marlowe’s adult daughter, Felicia! Can the Defenders save the Destroyer’s family from this targeted assault, or will Marlowe’s greatest fears come to fruition? Meanwhile, the other Plagues begin their assault on the first city of man to be judged: the modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah - Las Vegas, Nevada! 
In China, Komodo has helped a weakened and experimented-upon Stardust escape a secret underground bunker with the help of Radioactive Man. But when Zadkiel himself appears before them, the archangel makes them an offer: Join him! Radioactive Man would become his Plague of Boils and Komodo, his Plague of Frogs. Will they accept the offer, or refuse the archangel and face his divine retribution? 
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99
SECRET DEFENDERS #15 
 Written by JAMES ROBINSON
 Plot by EXCITER
 Art by TONY MOORE
“THE DIVINE JUDGMENT SAGA” PART TWO: “ANGER AND FURIOUS VENGEANCE”
Swarm, the Plague of Locusts; Blackout, the Plague of Darkness; and Blizzard, the Plague of Hail! They are the instruments of the archangel Zadkiel’s judgment, and he has unleashed them upon the world. Now, Zadkiel’s disciple Baron Mordo has ascended to become his Plague of the Death of the Firstborn by doing the absolutely unthinkable: killing the only daughter of the Destroyer! Keen Marlow has become dangerously unhinged and can think of nothing beyond getting Old Testament-style retribution of his own on the evil sorcerer! He’ll get his chance in Las Vegas, Nevada… where the Plagues have been released to judge the populace!
Regrouping from their incredible failures last issue, the Defenders rush to the defense of Sin City! Although concerned that Dr. Strange has seemingly reentered a romantic relationship with Mephista, daughter of the “devil,” the Human Torch leads them, Gorilla-Man, and Red Sonja into battle! They are joined by Komodo, Radioactive Man, and Stardust, all lucky to have escaped their confrontation with Zadkiel himself in the People’s Republic of China after they rejected his offer to become the Plagues of Frogs and Boils. For the first time in over half a year, all of the Secret Defenders are united against a common foe, but can even the entire team prevent the wrath of an angel? Is this the worst possible time for Red Sonja to revert back to Mary Jane Watson? And when confronted with the option, what will the Destroyer choose: revenge on Mordo or the lives of everyone in Vegas?
32 PGs./Rated T...$2.99 
==Gallery==
tsd7.jpg|The Secret Defenders #7
TSD8.jpg|The Secret Defenders #8
TSD9.png|The Secret Defenders #8
TSD10.jpg|The Secret Defenders #10
TSD11.jpg|The Secret Defenders #11
TSD12.jpg|The Secret Defenders #12
TSD13.png|The Secret Defenders #13
TSD14.jpg|The Secret Defenders #14
TSD15.jpg|The Secret Defenders #15
TSD16a.jpg|The Secret Defenders Promo Art
tsd vol.1 7-14.jpg|The Secret Defenders Vol. 1 #7-14
Category:Titles
Category:Age of Marvels Title