The Marvel U. needs Defenders, not Avengers.
It's easy to dismiss The Defenders as a shameless cash-in on the upcoming Netflix series. And there's no denying that Marvel is trying to bank on the hype for that show by suddenly introducing a Defenders roster that includes Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. But for anyone who's been following Brian Bendis' Marvel career, the appeal with this series is less its MCU-friendly trappings and more the opportunity to see him reconnect with characters he helped shape over the past 15 years. The fact that artist David Marquez is along for the ride is just one more selling point.
The new series opens in the immediate aftermath of the FCBD story (meaning readers should absolutely start there). Having established that Willis Stryker is back in the Marvel Universe and bent on taking revenge on our four heroes, Bendis and Marquez immediately dive into the fledgling team's response. It's a welcome change to see Bendis kick off a new series on such a relatively fast-paced note, especially given the pacing problems that have been plaguing his Iron Man comics of late. There's a clear urgency to the conflict as Luke and his friends find themselves on the defensive. Much like the early issues of New Avengers, the book wastes little time establishing why these four are coming together and focuses more on the need for this team to exist in the first place.
And again, half the fun here is seeing Bendis write these characters that were so crucial in defining his voice at Marvel. There's a comfortable familiarity to the book, like settling in with old friends, even as Bendis tackles the often significant changes that have unfolded since he last handled these heroes - Daredevil's restored secret identity, the marital tension between Luke and Jessica, etc. Daredevil is a bit of a sore spot in this issue for the exact same reason it was so hard reading Spider-Man's post-One More Day interactions with the Avengers for several years. There's a newfound distance between Matt and his friends that needs to be bridged. But regardless, the characterization in this issue is rock solid, both for the Defenders themselves and for Diamondback. Stryker is a compelling villain, one whose calm yet intense personality makes him a natural fit for Bendis' distinctive style of dialogue.
Marquez is easily one of the brightest stars at Marvel these days, with a style that's extremely clean and detailed while also allowing for a great deal of emotional expression. He's more than capable of capturing the drama and tension in Bendis' script while giving each Defender a unique fighting style and general way of moving about the page. Marquez is also a highly versatile artist, a skill which comes in especially handy in a series where the colorful superhero trappings of the Marvel U. collide headlong with the real world. As clean and refined as the art is, there's also a real sense of grit and texture. And colorist Justin Ponsor helps further distinguish the series from Marquez's other recent Marvel projects. Ponsor gives this issue a neo-noir feel thanks to his emphasis on moody lighting and stark purple and yellow hues.
The Verdict
The Defenders may not appeal to readers specifically hoping for a traditional take on this superhero team, but anyone who enjoyed Brian Bendis' work on books like Daredevil and Alias will be happy to see him return to this cast of characters. And with David Marquez at the helm, this series immediately gets off to a strong start.
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