The Defenders first appeared as a feature in
Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971). Due to the popularity of their tryout in
Marvel Feature, Marvel soon began publishing
The Defenders. Writer
Steve Englehart has stated that he added the Valkyrie to the Defenders in issue #4 "to provide some texture to the group." Englehart wrote "The Avengers–Defenders War" crossover in
The Avengers #116–118 (October–December 1973) and
The Defenders #9–11 (October–December 1973).
Len Wein briefly wrote the series, and later became the editor for several issues.
Steve Gerber first worked on the characters in
Giant-Size Defenders #3 (January 1975) and became the writer of the main title with issue #20 the following month. He wrote the series until issue #41 (November 1976). In 2010,
Comics Bulletin ranked Gerber and Sal Buscema's run on
The Defenders first on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels".
David Anthony Kraft's run as writer included "The Scorpio Saga" (issues #46, 48–50) and the "Xenogenesis: Day of the Demons" storyline (issues #58–60). Kraft later recalled that reactions to the off-beat humor in his "Defender for a Day" storyline in issues #62–64 were polarized: "readers were either wildly enthusiastic or absolutely and
very utterly appalled."
Steven Grant wrote a conclusion to Steve Gerber's
Omega the Unknown series in two issues of
The Defenders, at the end of which most of the original series' characters were killed. Writer
J. M. DeMatteis took over the series with issue #92. Coming from a background of writing eight-page horror shorts for DC Comics, DeMatteis found it a struggle to adapt to writing a 22-page superhero comic on a monthly basis. He and
Mark Gruenwald co-wrote
The Defenders #107–109 (May–July 1982). While working on the series, DeMatteis developed a strong friendship with penciler
Don Perlin, He has also stated that Kim DeMulder, who inked issues #122-144 apart from a few fill-ins, is his preferred inker after himself. . During his run, Perlin recalled, he became what he has characterized as "the first guy, unwittingly, to put profanity in
[Comics Code-approved] comics":
The New Defenders Suffering from creative burnout on the series, DeMatteis felt a change was needed. The "New Defenders" concept provided a substantial boost to the series's sales, but left DeMatteis in a creative drought, as he realized in retrospect that "...I created a book that was exactly the kind of the thing that I hated to write. I made it into a standard superhero team..." Penciler
Don Perlin recounted "[Editor]
Carl Potts he took me and Peter Gillis to lunch. We went to an Indian restaurant... He said, ‘They canceled the book.’"
Secret Defenders In 1993, Marvel sought to revive the "Defenders" brand as "The Secret Defenders". The new team first appeared, unofficially, in
Dr. Strange #50 and later
Fantastic Four #374, before being officially introduced in
Secret Defenders #1.
Reunion and The Order In 2001–2002, The Defenders reunited in
The Defenders volume 2 #1–12 created by
Kurt Busiek and
Erik Larsen, immediately followed by
The Order #1–6. A fill-in issue set between these two series was published in 2011.
2005 Mini-series A
Defenders five-issue
mini-series debuted in July 2005, by
Keith Giffen,
J. M. DeMatteis, and
Kevin Maguire (as a team, best known for their work on DC's
Justice League franchise), featuring Doctor Strange attempting to reunite the original four Defenders to battle
Dormammu and
Umar. This series focuses mostly on humor as the characters spend most of their time arguing with and criticizing one another. The series was later collected into both hardcover and trade paperback collections, entitled
Defenders: Indefensible.
The Last Defenders In 2008
Joe Casey wrote a new miniseries with a new line-up of Defenders as a result of the Super-Human Registration Act and the events of the
Civil War.
2011 series Marvel launched a new
Defenders series in December 2011, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Terry Dodson. The new book features
Doctor Strange,
Red She-Hulk,
Namor, the
Silver Surfer and
Iron Fist. The new series follows the reunion of the Defenders in
Fear Itself: The Deep. The series was cancelled at issue #12.
The Fearless Defenders February 2013 saw the debut of
The Fearless Defenders, a series written by Cullen Bunn with artwork by
Will Sliney. Bunn said that he had wanted to write the series, which centers on a new team of
Valkyrior, led by Valkyrie and
Misty Knight, after writing
Fear Itself: The Fearless. It was suggested to him that it should run as a Defenders title, however Bunn explained that beyond the name there is "little connection" to the Defenders.
2017 series In August 2017, Marvel launched a new Defenders comic book series starring
Daredevil,
Jessica Jones,
Luke Cage and
Iron Fist, based on the
Netflix incarnation of the team.
2021 series In August 2021, Marvel launched a new Defenders series. ==Contributors==