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The Defenders Reading Order, Marvel’s premier non-team!

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The Defenders are not your typical Marvel team. In fact, they are known as Marvel’s premier non-team! The group consists of powerful Marvel loners who have no interest in being part of a team, but who sometimes ally together to defend Earth. The Defenders don’t have a leader or a particular structure like a classic team; they came together through some successful team-ups!

It all began when the Doctor Strange series was abruptly canceled in the middle of a story due to low sales. Writer Roy Thomas would then tie up loose ends in Sub-Mariner (Vol. 2) #22 and Incredible Hulk #126. After that, Strange would choose to retire, but Namor and the Hulk would be reunited in a two-part story in the Sub-Mariner and allied themselves with the Silver Surfer. The trio became the “Titans Three”.

The combination of these non-conformist characters proved successful, prompting Roy Thomas to bring them together in a team series that he wanted to call The Invaders. As Kurt Busiek explained, “Stan Lee didn’t approve the name at that time and wouldn’t let Roy use the Silver Surfer as a regular member, so he launched the Defenders in Marvel Feature without him. Once the regular Defenders series had begun, Roy and Steve Englehart wanted to feature the Silver Surfer, but Lee would only allow him to appear as a guest star. Consequently, Steve featured him as a guest star as frequently as possible.” Although the Silver Surfer wasn’t an official core member of the Defenders, Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart treated him as such and made him a significant part of the team. Today, readers and writers alike treat the Silver Surfer as a core member.

From the outset, the team has had a rotating membership, with only a few constant members, including Doctor Strange, Namor, Hulk, Silver Surfer, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat and Gargoyle. Marvel Comics has also used the name on a few occasions for team-ups that have no links to the original team.

We are now taking a closer look at the different Defenders series and roasters that have happened, from the seventies to the present day, with our Defenders Comics Guide Reading Order!

The Defenders Comics Collection

Defenders Vol. 1 (1972-1985)

The Defenders came together in Marvel Feature #1 and graduated from their own ongoing series in 1972. As Roy Thomas took on editorial duties, Steve Englehart came on board as main writer with Sal Buscema as artist. The team quickly expanded with the addition of Valkyrie in issue #4 “to provide some texture to the group.” (as stated by Englehart). He stayed 11 issues on the title, and was followed by Len Wein (#12–19), Steve Gerber (#20–29, 31–41), Gerry Conway (#42–45), David Anthony Kraft (#44–56, 58–68), Ed Hannigan (#67-91), J. M. DeMatteis (#92–118, 120–131), and more.

The Defenders were redefined and reorganized in issue #125, with the core members leaving the group and a new team emerging from the ashes of the old one. The title was then renamed the New Defenders, featuring The Beast, Angel, Gargoyle, Iceman, Moondragon, and Valkyrie. The Defenders became a more traditional team, with a leader, a defined group, an HQ, and a charter.

The series ran for 152 issues, several Giant-Size Defenders, and one Annual. The title has been collected by Marvel in different collections:

The Omnibus Edition (Huge Hardcover)

  • Defenders Omnibus Vol. 1
    Collects Sub-Mariner (1968) #34-35; Marvel Feature (1971) #1-3; Defenders (1972) #1-19; Giant-Size Defenders (1974) #1-2; Avengers (1963) #116-118; material from Avengers (1963) #115.
  • The Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2
    Collects Defenders (1972) #20-41 And Annual #1, Giant-Size Defenders #3-5, Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #6-7 And Marvel Treasury Edition #12 – Plus Material From Mystery Tales #21, World Of Fantasy #11 And Tales Of Suspense (1959) #9.

The Defenders Epic collections

Marvel Masterworks: The Defenders (Hardcover)

The Marvel Masterworks line will be put on indefinite hiatus starting January 2026 due to declining sales. The collection stops at Volume 9, the announced Defenders Vol. 10 has been canceled. For now, the last issues are only available in the Marvel Epic Collection line.

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In the past, the Defenders series has also been in part reprinted in the now-discontinued Essential line, a black and white paperback collection (7 volumes in total).

Blast from the past! Coming from Alan Davis and Paul Renaud is the 2020s miniseries Tarot set during the first years of the Defenders. A strange and impossible lost memory from his days in World War II draws Namor the Sub-Mariner to his one-time compatriot Captain America—but the two heroes and their respective allies find themselves pulled into a labyrinth of pain, destruction and madness courtesy of the Infernal Ichor of Ish’lzog!

The Defenders Logo - The Defenders Reading Order

Return of the Defenders (1992)

At the beginning of the nineties, the four core members were all starring in their own series! First, The Incredible Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts team-up to stop a mystical threat in The Incredible Hulk #370-371, by Peter David, in a story proving that the reason used to separate them previously was bogus.

Then, the Defenders were officially reunited, including Silver Surfer, in a crossover story entitled “The Return of the Defenders” running through the different Annuals: Incredible Hulk (1968) Annual #18, Namor the Sub-Mariner (1990) Annual #2, Silver Surfer (1988) Annual #5, and Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) Annual #2.

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The Secret Defenders (1993-1994)

In 1993, Defenders co-creator Roy Thomas brought back the name, and took the original concept further with the Secret Defenders. Doctor Strange revives the “non-team” to save the world from the threats they’ll never know existed and uses magical tarot cards to select the perfect team for every mission. During his time as leader, Doctor Strange recruited Hulk, Ghost Rider, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, Punisher, War Machine, Darkhawk, or even Namorita.

Ron Marz took over creative duties from Roy Thomas around issue #9 and even featured a group of supervillains for a few issues (#12-14) which were led by Thanos in a quest to find and obtain the Oracle of Ancient Knowledge. The group disbanded at the end of the mission, but Thanos’ story continued in Cosmic Powers.

Marz was succeeded by Tom Brevoort, launching a new era for the Secret Defenders. Doctor Strange turned over leadership to the group to Doctor Druid, who recruited, during his short time as leader, Luke Cage, Deadpool, Giant-Man, Iron Fist, Archangel, Iceman, Spider-Woman, Clock and Dagger, and more! As you are not going to sell a lot of comics with Doctor Druid in the title, you can find the last part of the Secret Defenders in:

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Defenders Vol. 2 (2001-2002)

At the beginning of the noughties, the Defenders reunited for a second volume, created by Kurt Busiek and Erik Larsen. What could make Doctor Strange, the Sub-Mariner, the Hulk, and the Silver Surfer) band together this time around? Their oldest enemy Yandroth is behind it, but you’ll have on a quest in your local comic book shop in hope to find some floppies if you want the answer. For now, none of these stories has been collected by Marvel Comics!

  • The Defenders (2001) #1-12
  • The Order (2002) #1-6 is the direct follow-up to The Defenders

In 2011, Marvel Comics resurrected and finished some unpublished stories. One of these was a Defenders story plotted by Fabian Nicieza and illustrated by Mark Bagley. However, Nicieza’s plot has been lost, and nobody remembers what the story was about. There is still the art from Bagley, though! As Nicieza was unavailable, Kurt Busiek came up with an idea to fit the art, and the result was published in:

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Defenders (2005)

The famous Justice League International team, comprising Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis (both of whom had previously worked on Defenders), and Kevin Maguire, reunited for “Formerly Known As The Justice League” in 2003 and decided to continue working together. The team had a short run on Metal Men, before putting their humorous brand on a Defenders miniseries.

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The Last Defenders (2008)

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, writer Joe Casey was approached by editor Tom Brevoort to pitch for a new Defenders series, but the project never saw the light of day for money reasons. Casey would have the opportunity to write the dynamic Defenders around eight years later, in the aftermath of Civil War!

The team was reformed to protect and serve New Jersey under the Fifty State Initiative. As the leader, Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond) wanted to recruit previous Defenders, but Tony Stark assembled a different team (with Blazing Skull, Colossus, and She-Hulk)in the hope of maintaining a stable roster. Things didn’t really work out that way. A few years later, Joe Casey picked up where he left off with the team in the miniseries Vengeance (2011).

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Defenders vs. Offenders (2009)

Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness reunited the original four core members for a short storyline during his (unpopular) run on Hulk when Red Hulk assembled a counter team of supervillains called the Offenders (including Baron Mordo, Terrax the Tamer, and Tiger Shark). The storyline is collected in:

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Defenders By Matt Fraction aka Vol. 4 (2012)

At the time when the superhero community was hit by Fear Itself, the Defenders made their return under the creative team of Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson. They brought back Doctor Strange, Namor, and the Silver Surfer, and associated them with Black Cat, Nick Fury, Ant-Man, and Iron Fist to solve a mysterious conspiracy deep in the heart of the Marvel Universe! It lasted only 12 issues.

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Marvel Now! Fearless Defenders (2013)

Just a few months after the cancellation, Marvel Comics launched a quite different Defenders title under the Marvel Now! Initiative. Simply put, there are really few connections with the previous iterations, except for Valkyrie. Writer Cullen originally pitched a team-up between Valkyrie and recent Heroes for Hire star Misty Knight, with a rotating cast of female superheroes, as a follow-up to Fear Itself: The Fearless.

Marvel wanted to do it as the new Defenders series, and so was born the Fearless Defenders that lasted as long as the previous Defenders series.

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The Defenders by Brian Michael Bendis (2017)

The Defenders’ name was left unused for a few years before being revived for a Netflix TV series featuring Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist. From Joe Quesada himself, “to the world at large, no one knows who the Defenders are. So the idea of taking the concept and name and applying it to [the Marvel Cinematic Universe] feels wholly natural.”

To accompany the miniseries launched in August 2017, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist were back in action in their own solo series, culminating in the launch of a new Defenders series from Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez during the Secret Empire event.

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The Best Defense (2018)

It’s Marvel Fresh Start, and the Classic Defenders are given a new chance to shine in a series of one-shots under the title The Best Defense. Hulk, Namor, Silver Surfer and Strange are reunited by Al Ewing, Gerry Dugga,n and Chip Zdarsky as four seemingly-unrelated events “require the powers and insights of the members of the greatest Non-Team of them all to connect the dots and challenge the strange power behind these disconnected happenings-before all of reality pays the price!”

  • Defenders: The Best Defense
    Collects The Immortal Hulk: The Best Defense #1, Namor: The Best Defense #1, The Silver Surfer: The Best Defense #1, Doctor Strange: The Best Defense #1, The Defenders: The Best Defense #1

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Defenders Vol. 6 (2021)

As the man behind Marvel Comics #100, Al Ewing introduced a mystery that remained unresolved. While Christopher Cantwell took on the Korvac elements in Iron Man, Al Ewing still had the Masked Raider part to resolve. He chose to do so with artist Javier Rodriguez in a new Defenders title! The Masked Raider and Doctor Strange gather a crew of Marvel’s weirdest and wildest heroes on a mission to uncover the hidden architecture of reality itself! The creative duo continued with a sequel titled Defenders: Beyond, featuring Blue Marvel, America Chavez, Taaia (the mother of Galactus), Tigra and Loki (a variant of the god of mischief), who must tackle a new cosmic threat.

The team — well, Blue Marvel and Taaia — were last seen at the end of the Krakoa era when Storm sought out their help for a trip in the afterlife!

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Did we forget an important issue? Did we make a mistake? Let us know in the comments!

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