Review by Frank Plowright

The bulk of this collection is occupied by the Avengers/Defenders War, in which Steve Englehart unintentionally instituted the summer crossover at Marvel. As well as being available as a paperback in its own right, the story also forms the bulk of Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 12, and an Epic Collection. Seeing as you’re spoilt for choice, there’s no reason to have it in this form unless you’re under a compulsion to have entire runs on your bookshelf.

Marvel cancelled their annuals in 1972, and mourning their absence, Englehart suggested a summer-long crossover story between two team titles he was writing. This was a first for Marvel, and irrespective of how that concept sprung wildly out of control from about a decade later, the result is a tightly-plotted and still engaging piece. There’s also the benefit of Sal Buscema art on the Defenders chapters, his solid storytelling and clean style raising the art quality from the pages not as attractively drawn by Bob Brown (sample art right).

The tale is set in motion by the Defenders, including Hawkeye, recently defected from the Avengers, considering how to rectify the situation of the Black Knight, transformed to stone in Volume 1. They conclude a magical device called the Evil Eye may be just the ticket, and set about retrieving the pieces scattered around the globe. The Avengers, however, are told by Loki that the Defenders are up to no good, and being the God of Mischief he spins a convincing yarn. Thus, at every location where one of the Defenders attempts to locate to a segment of the Evil Eye, an Avenger turns up to battle them. The opposing parties are as well selected as the locales, and the plot holds together from beginning to a thrilling finish.

Unfortunately the remainder of the volume isn’t as engaging. Hawkeye joins the Defenders during a two-part battle against Attuma again attempting to usurp the Sub-Mariner in Atlantis, and despite some great art from Buscema (sample art left) it doesn’t hit the spot. The dialogue for the second chapter is provided by Len Wein, who picks up the entire writing duties once the Avengers story is complete. That’s followed by Tony Isabella and Jim Starlin concocting a framing sequence around reprints of 1960s Hulk and Doctor Strange stories, and a Bill Everett Sub-Mariner outing from the 1940s. They’re all of their time, although Starlin, then not long into his career, puts a lot of effort into his pages.

Next up is the formerly villainous Nighthawk turning against his Squadron Sinister comrades and being right to mistrust their alliance with an alien named Nebulon and his plan to melt the polar ice caps. He turns to the Defenders for help and Wein surprised readers in 1974 by then having him join the team. It’s in time to thwart Magneto’s plan to create the ultimate mutant. In both cases viable ideas underpin the stories, but they’re just the sparking point for pages of superhero fights, and not very interesting. Further wrinkles need to be worked out during the course of Volume 3.

In black and white, these stories can be found as Essential Defenders Vol. 1 and Essential Avengers Vol. 5.