Avengers-Defenders War

I sure love an all-star slugfest! Collecting Avengers Vol.1 #115-118 and Defenders Vol.1 #8-11 in one TPB volume, The Avengers Defenders War tells the story of the two fabled superhero teams clashing over possession of the Evil Eye. Ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu, sought out the ancient device with plans to use it in envelope the Earth's dimension within his own. By tainting one of Dr. Strange's spells, Dormammu convinces the Defenders that reassembling the globally scattered device would set free their friend the Black Night, having been turned to stone! 

Dormammu enlists Loki to help in his quest, now blinded by a previous battle with his Thunder God half-brother, Thor. Promised the restoration of his eyesight in return for his assistance, the untrusting Loki convinces the Avengers that the Defenders have impure & ambitious intentions with the Evil Eye. Pitting the two super groups against one another in hopes of foiling Dormammu's evil plot, Loki intends to save his own hide from whatever else his new employer might do if attaining the unfathomable power of the Evil Eye! While Dr. Strange sends the Defenders in opposite directions worldwide to retrieve the pieces of the Evil Eye, Loki deceitfully sets the Avengers on their trail!  Needless to say, some epic brawling ensues!

Silver Surfer Vs. Vision & the Scarlet Witch!

In Polynesia, Vision & the Scarlet Witch intercept Silver Surfer fishing a section of the Evil Eye from a volcano, accidently triggering an eruption that knocks Wanda's ship from the sky. In a rage, Vision attacks Silver Surfer mercilessly, but chooses to save his beloved from the creeping lava at the last second, leaving the Sentinel of the Spaceways free to retrieve & make off with the section of Evil Eye for Dr. Strange.

Iron Man Vs. Hawkeye!

International businessman Tony Stark tracks down his section of the Evil Eye quickly in Mexico, discovered by Professor Figueras at the Intituto Tecnologico. But Clint swipes it with a grappling arrow, a fight ensues, the archer outdoing his former Avenger teammate at every turn, and making off with the prize.

Dr. Strange Vs. Black Panther & Mantis!

In the cornfields of Indiana, Dr. Strange casts a spell to find another section of the Evil Eye, but Mantis detects his escape disguise as a local farmer's wife and attacks with T'Challa. The two warriors are no match for the sorcerer's unfathomable power however, and succumb to another spell, Dr. Strange escaping unscathed.

Swordsman Vs. Valkyrie!

A castle hidden in the jungles of Bolivia is the scene of Swordsman and Valkyrie's swashbuckling duel. The owner of the castle throws a monkeywrench in the mix, shooting the Swordsman in the back for fear of his secret fortunes being exposed to the outside, the gentleman rogue running him through before collapsing. On the floor, Valkyrie deems his wound non-fatal before taking the section of Evil Eye the Swordsman deftly swiped.

Captain America Vs. Sub-Mariner!

In downtown Osaka, Japan, Captain America discovers Namor already found his section of the Evil Eye, and challenges him to fisticuffs, the arrogant Prince of Atlantis unable to resist. But Sunfire decides to teach the two a lesson in international law by taking the device himself! Wresting it back from Sunfire, the Cap and Namor begin to realize something doesn't make sense, and the two take off to get to the bottom of the misunderstanding.

Hulk Vs. Thor!

In Los Angeles, mystically guided by Dr. Strange, the Hulk easily digs the remaining section of the Evil Eye from beneath the street. But Asgard's most powerful god is upon him in no time, filling civilians with cold dread as the two strongest heroes on Earth duke it out, coming to an hour long, arm-locked stalemate before... Dr. Strange shows up with both the Avengers and Defenders, "United at last, to override the lies that set us at each other's throats... and ready to face the common foe!"! 

Together long enough to see past their differences and reassemble the Evil Eye to rescue the Black Knight, the devious Dormammu unexpectedly steals it right from under the heroes, his plan all along to merge his dimension with theirs, sending all into chaos!

Now alert to Loki's meddling, Dormammu cages the God of Mischief, just in time for the Watcher to appear and benevolently observe "the spectacle of two dimesions shifting their essences".

Fighting for their lives and led by Dr. Strange, the Defenders manage to break Dormammu's barrier, only to be robbed of their consciousness at the last second. The Avengers follow to their comrade's aid, but Dormammu captures them in a sucking pool of quicksand before reverting the powerhouse Thor & Iron Man to their helpless human forms.

The Scarlet Witch, her mutant ability part of her essence is unaffected however, and manages to strike a hex upon Dormammu while he struggles with Loki, now free from his cage. Triggered by the blast the Evil Eye swallows Dormammu and then blasts Loki, returning his sight, and driving him totally insane!

The Evil Eye again in Dr. Strange's capable hands, the sorcerer returns to where he first found Dane/Black Knight in limbo, only to find him gone! Returning with the grave news, he and the rest of the Defenders are suddenly transported to the 12th century, where the Black Knight is in the middle of the Crusades against the Arabs! Caught in the fray, Dr. Strange manages to transport them from danger, and Dane can explain how he and his ancestor's souls now intermingle, endangering King Richard's war against the Mohammedans.

King Richard's evil brother John is now allied with Dane's evil ancestor Modred, and the Defenders must sneak into the castle disguised as cowled priests and free him. But Modred detects our heroes, conjures fierce gnomes to undo them, knocking the Evil Eye from Dr. Strange's grasp. Thrown into the fortress oasis by on of the mystical creatures, Namor realizes they are earthen elemental spirits, susceptible to water, and he sets about dissolving them with his command of what he knows best. Modred and Price John now holding the Evil Eye, it looks like curtains for the Defenders. Suddenly, Prester John, Master of the Evil Eye, appears from out of time to reclaim his charge, back now in the era of his birth! After dispatching Modred and Prince John, he returns the Defenders to their own time, Dane having resolved to stay in the 12th cetury as the Black Knight.

I remembered Prester John from Fantastic Four issue #54, which I read in my Marvel Essential: Fantastic Four Vol.3 .  Getting back into comics over the last year, when all those connections start coming together in my head, it makes the whole thing more fun! This was a great adventure I'd reccomend to any Bronze Age Marvel fan.

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*Read Bronze Age Babies exhaustive three part look at the series here and here and here! Love that blog- good stuff!

Author: Steve Engelhart Art: Bob Brown (Avengers #115-118) & Sal Buscema (Defenders #8-11). Marvel, 1973

6" Lord of Asgard Thor & Loki

I guess these aren't labeled as "Marvel Legends" action figures, but they are the herald of the famed line's return. When I checked last week they had the Capt. America, Nick Fury, Movie Thof, & Loki, but not the Lord of Asgard Thor- the one I was really after. JBoy felt they were shortpacked, and I think he was correct, as upon my return I found only one on the peg.  And if they are shortpacked, that they are Wal-Mart exclusives as well makes him even more of a find- that said, I've seen him in Legends packaging online (Blob BAF Series- 2007), but am unsure exactly when that's gonna drop, and the colors didn't look this good. I wasn't going to buy Loki unless I found the Lord of Asgard, but I got lucky!

This figure is modeled after the Thunder God's depiction in the Thor: Lord of Asgard storyline, where in the wake of Odin's heroic self-sacrifice, Thor is called upon to fulfill his father's legacy as lord and master of the Eternal Realm. While I've not yet read this, this supercharged version of Thor would appeal to any fan of the Norse hero! I mean, just look at him....  Damn! The exaggerated sculpt and dark colors look great on this guy. I'm a big fan of the helmet and ribbed boots, and his oversized battle axe and Mjolnir hammer are nicely detailed as well.

Thor is bulky, hence his articulation is pretty limited: his shoulder armor gets in the way of any over-the-head action, and his long hair keep his head in mostly one position. He has an abdominal crunch joint, but it doesn't do anything really acrobatic. Due to the bulge of his biceps, Thor can't do much of a curl, and when the forearm is brought in, a protruding tab of plastic is exposed at the elbow, unattractively separated from the remaining arm sculpt. Not so great there. His waist moves 360 degrees, as do his hands & feet, both of which feature a hinge as well. The double-jointed knees on mine were really cranky, but the swivels at the the top of his thighs were easily rotated. He kinda leans forward & down due to the weight of that huge cape and head placement, the latter of which I mentioned previously having being limited because of his molded, golden locks.

While on the subject, Thor's removeable cape is really something- it has a heavy fabric surface texture, "fur-lined" sculpted collar, and is nicely shaded. If removed, one can see the peg holes where it attaches to his shoulders- not a problem for me as I'll display him robed, though I had perpetual issues getting the thing back on to stay, a problem I had with some of the 3 3/4" movie Thor figures as well. I seem to have it reattached pretty securely now.

Lord of Asgard Thor and my Savage Frost Giant both have a lot in common really: they are both large, have an abdominal crunch joint, include a detailed accessory axe, and have sculpted fur on their outfit...

In spite of my critical eye, I proclaim this action figure BITCHIN': the colors, paint and sculpt are really cool. I love the helmet! I also like dig the details in his strapped boots, which are mimicked in raised, gold rectangles up the sides of his thighs. The belt has some nice detail, as does the chest armor, which has a subtle metallic paint application on the chain mail. He has his problems, which include distribution, somewhat plastic-y skin tone on his arms, and stiff neck, but at fifteen bucks he's a good value.

Lord of Asgard Thor with 3 3/4" Marvel Universe Avengers Thor and 9" ToyBiz Famous Covers Thor:

As tough as the competition was with his half-brother, this comic series Loki holds his own with a great sculpt and color. Like Thor, his shoulder joints are restricted by sculpted fur, though Loki has double-jointed elbows and his hinged wrists aren't hindered by wristbands, making his hands more expressive. His body, legs, & feet appear to be reused from an earlier Legends Doc Sampson I have, the scuplt of his t-shirt collar remaining. His abdominal joint is superior to Thor's, being a ball-hinge/swivel combo as opposed to one big hinge. While Thor enjoys a cut waist joint, Loki doesn't need one with the more expressive abdominal joint.

Loki lacks the detail that Thor's torso is decorated with, but the gold brads in his gauntlets & loincloth offset his plain body, which has a dark wash that's subtle. His left leg strap around the thigh would have been appreciated more thoroughly if Hasbro would've included a sheathed sword or dagger!

Great oppurtunity for BIG TOY/little toy! 6" Loki with 3 3/4" Marvel Universe Loki:

These two make a fun pair! I don't have a ton of Marvel Legends figures, like I do Mattel DCUCs, which I generally consider superior. I've read people more experienced claiming the earlier ToyBiz Legends were better than when Hasbro took over the line. I have some unopened ToyBiz Legends, but only a couple I've opened- one being my First Appearance Hulk. If I had to judge only by him, I'd say that is true- his articulation is incredible, as are his looks. That said, Thor & Loki are cool, and that Hulk is just an amazing action figure & tough competition for any who stand beside him. Below: Daredevil, First Appearance Spider-Man, First Appearance Hulk, Doc Sampson, Black Bolt, Lord of Asgard Thor, & comic series Loki (all are Hasbro, save Hulk & Spidey).

*See MarvelLegends.Net for the Legends visual checklist!

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More of the Marvel Universe Avengers Box Set!

Just a little more fun playing with my Marvel Universe Classic Avengers Box Set- too good for only one post! Below, my reenactment of the classic Avengers #1 cover with Loki:

In the early Avengers stories, Wasp has a crush on Thor, and is always trying to get her brainy husband Dr. Heny Pym's attention by flirting with him or any hunky superhero within close proximity! Pretty hilarious  :D

My favorite from this set, the Hulk, was what intersed me most in this box set- his early 60's look, with the bowl-cut & Cro-Magnon looking brow. I like the purple Underoos that Hasbro put him in, predating the torn pants that came to be part of his look.

Iron Man in his short-lived Golden Avenger armor used to defeat Gargantus! At the suggestion of girlfriend Marion, who tells Tony that Iron Man look more like a "knight in shining armor" if The hero wore gold armor. "Then, when people see his golden armor, they won't panic! They'll know he has a heart of gold and an appearance to match his golden deeds!" "You know Marion, I wouldn't be surprised if Iron Man himself were to get the same idea!" replies Tony.

And I just had to throw in a shot with My Iron Man 2 Classic Proto-Armor Iron Man, seen more often in the first Avengers stories- I love the horned mask on this guy!

In Avengers issue #3, Sub-Mariner convinces a disillusioned Hulk to battle the team he was part of just one issue ago! Their mutual hatred for mankind unite these outsiders, who both battle the Avengers again a decade later as members of the anti-team, the Defenders, in the Avengers-Defenders War (Marvel, 1973).

Thanks for reading!

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