The New Defenders #140 (1985)
Pencils: Don Perlin
Inks: Kim DeMulder
The Heartbreak Kid is a very odd story, even by PBG's standards. Half the team investigate a disturbance on the small town of Abbotsford. Danny Shepard, an unrepentant teenage boy is awaiting trial, accused of raping his black teacher. The Defenders arrive to find rifle wielding racists in unsubtle Nazi outfits attacking the crowd gathered outside. In the ensuing court case, Danny comes clean and admits what happened; his (presumably mutant) power had kicked in to absorb bad memories, or heartbreak, from people. Danny had taken the pain of a forced adoption from his teacher, which left her confused and feeling defiled. He then walks out of court, taking everyone's secret emotional pain with him, like some revered faith healer.
The Defenders play a mostly passive role again, with newly reformed Moondragon taking the lead, worryingly gung ho with her mental control. She sports a fetching new costume in black and white, reflecting the dual aspects of her nature. Beast stays behind as he still doesn't trust her, and Iceman stays as he's still too weirded out by male Cloud.
A unique, thought provoking issue, the like of which you rarely find in mainstream superhero comics.
The New Defenders #141 (1985)
Pencils: Don Perlin
Inks: Kim DeMulder
The previous two issues contained some ominous foreshadowing; a hunter stumbles across a horribly mutated 3 headed coyote. A cow gives birth to a homicidal mossy cult grown man. Then creepy arms extend out of a weird flower, towards Defenders mansion. Yep, you guessed right - the plant creature is back, bigger and uglier than before. The Defenders find themselves trapped in a monster movie, besieged by the tentacled and eyeballed creeping unknown, plus obligatory killer bunnies. Don Perlin is no Tom Sutton when it comes to Lovecraftian horrors, but he goes all out with this glorious monstrosity.
The thing coalesces into a giant slug, that looks to set to absorb New Mexico and beyond. While the Beast goes all Andromeda Strain looking for a science solution, Moondragon again jumps in to play the hero, taking the creature down from within (with a little help and a snog from Gargoyle). All Flesh Is Grass is a terrifically creepy widescreen action horror and one of the highlights of the series.
The New Defenders #142 (1985)
Pencils: Don Perlin
Inks: Kim DeMulder
This issue provides a bit of a breather, as Beast continues his lecture tour, this time with Iceman and Cloud in tow. The college they visit houses a 6 (or 12 if you prefer) fingered mutant named Adrian Castorp, who uses his harmless power to tickle the ivories. Despite this, sadly Bobby still doesn't get to play keyboards. Senator Kelly is also holding a rally there, so before you can say mutie scum, things rapidly escalate. This rather preachy morality play ends with Hank forming a mutant rights group with the unfortunate acronym M.O.N.S.T.E.R, after Adrian's self given codename. Subtle character work saves the rest of this Play for Today issue, with the highlight being Bobby and Cloud sitting down for an overdue heart to heart.
The New Defenders #143-4 (1985)
Pencils: Don Perlin
Inks: Kim DeMulder
Moondragon's not been feeling well, never a good sign. Turns out her earlier moment of heroism is killing her - remains of the spore monster are slowly infecting her internal organs. The Dragon of the Moon plays devil on her shoulder, offering to save her life in exchange for freedom. It even goes all anti-Christmas Carol, with the Dragon showing her the effect of her mental machinations on vulnerable young Cloud. Heather capitulates all too easily, although to be fair her options are imminent death, or be taken over by an ancient evil alien dragon. The dragon quickly warms up by blinding Angel, maiming Gargoyle and seemingly killing Valkyrie.
Before the Dark Phoenix saga four years prior, a hero turning on their own team was largely unthinkable. This is darker in some ways in that, not only is the Dragon utterly malevolent, but also deep down Heather is rather enjoying the power trip. Brunnhilde resurfaces as a 100 foot angry Valkyrie, in a manner reminiscent of the possessed Gargoyle. Peter Gillis seemed to enjoy giants battling in the desert. It's definitely the most epic of his Defenders stories, full of heightened tension, realised by Perlin and DeMulder at their peak.
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| Perlin's Dragon of the Moon design rocks. |
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