The Order

No.1

(Defenders no.13)

"The Best Defense..."

Writers: Jo Duffy & Kurt Busiek

Pencils: Matt Haley

Inks: Dan Panosian

    Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, the Hulk and the Silver Surfer. Four of the most supremely powerful outsiders in Marvel's line. For over the past year (our time) they've been forced back together by a dying curse laid on them by an old enemy. Forced to be drawn to the scene of any great threat to Earth, their personal lives - such as they were - were in tatters. As the spell binding them was done in the name of Gaea, the spirit of the Earth, they went to her to get it removed, she refused and sent them away.

      Then it got a little weird.

     Now they're calling themselves The Order, and have decided that if they're going to be forced to protect the Earth they're going to be fully in charge. Moreover, they've become openly and dangerously dismissive of their old friends, Nighthawk, Valkyrie and Hellcat.

      Pretty obviously there's a scene missing. Is this all the doing of Gaea? The affect of one magic laid over another?

      The concept's a good one, and I have faith in Kurt to pull it off, but it's too early to see how far he and Jo will take it.

      I'm with this to the end because I'm attached to the characters, and I really want to recommend this to folks but to be honest I don't know if this will solidly appeal to those who aren't interested in the characters already. A great deal will depend on how far they take this storyline. These are massively powerful beings - Dr. Strange and the Surfer alone can rearrange matter, bend time and space, and more - and I'm waiting to see if the ramifications are felt.

       The Matt Haley/Dan Panosian artwork's fairly attractive, combining among others elements of Gene Colan and, oddly enough, Ross Andru. It works pretty well, and is especially good following on the heels of Erik Larsen's run on the title. Oh, Erik's great in his place, but his style was, frankly, dragging the look of The Defenders down from the start. (Go enjoy him over on Savage Dragon, where he belongs!)

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                                                                                                                                          ---Mike Norton