The Last Defenders #1 (of 6) (Marvel – Casey / Giffen / Muniz / Smith)
At long last, the team book you’ve been waiting for! The return of the Defenders! (no trademark infringement here!) And look who’s on the team: The mutant Colossus! The sensational She-Hulk! The unpredicatable Blazing Skull! An all-new lineup led by the enigmatic Nighthawk! Injected into the heart of the modern Marvel Universe, the Defenders have been reformed to serve a specific policital purpose…but is there a greater destiny in store for this crew? It’s hi-octane superheroics mainlined right into your fanboy brain!
Sometimes Marvel’s best books are the ones that aren’t publicized enough, for what has seems like years we have been getting Civil War, World War Hulk, Secret Invasion and other big events each with dozens of cross-overs that aren’t really important thrown in our face… when really good books get very little spotlight. The Last Defenders is one of these books.
I concede that this series might have more impact on the more “mature” reader (i.e., someone who was collecting to comics when the original Defenders were a monthly title… come on, who didn’t think Hellcat was hot?), but this tale by Joe Casey and Keith Giffen is an incredibly balanced book that might have something for every fan-boy. Take a look at the line-up of the New Jersey Defenders… Nighthawk, Colossus, She-Hulk and rookie Blazing Skull… great nip-and-bite dynamics. And while not being marketed as such, this is mucha more solid “cross-over” book for both Civil War and the Secret Invasion than some of the $3.00 one-shots we bought. Give it a try, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Issue Grade: A-
