Defenders: Beyond #1-5

Defenders: Beyond #1-5

Originally released in 2022

Written by Al Ewing

Art by Javier Rodriguez

The Defenders are a team that's not really a team - they're often a bunch of lone wolves forced together by circumstance who don't really want to work together, but they have to. (the original line-up was the Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Namor; Doctor Strange was the best at teamwork out of that group, and that's not saying much)  I've read Al Ewing's work with The Ultimates (a team of universal problem solvers with little to no relation to the Ultimate universe's version of the Avengers), and this seems to be a continuation of that. (it shares two of its members, Blue Marvel and America Chavez, and deals with similar large-scale cosmic concepts)

After the death of Doctor Strange, Blue Marvel receives a magical last will and testament, forcing him to draw tarot cards to determine the new line-up of the Defenders. He tries to refuse, but he doesn't get a say in the matter.

America Chavez shows up looking for Blue Marvel's help after her sister was lost in the multiverse, but Strange's spell takes a more direct hand in bringing the other members together.  Marvel's universe goes through a cycle of destruction and rebirth, with it currently being on its eighth incarnation of the universe as a result of Secret Wars.  Loki (fortunately, in their chaotic heroic state - they keep switching between genders) is brought in from the seventh universe (the pre-Secret Wars Marvel universe), while Taaia, mother of Galactus, is brought to the present time from the sixth universe that Galactus originated from.

The last member of the team is Tigra, who feels really out of place here.  Unlike the other four members, she has nothing to do with exploring the multiverse; she just kind of shows up.  Maybe her inclusion is meant to provide a more grounded perspective, but it just feels weird.

The series starts off as an exploration of Marvel's ancient history while trying to discover a being that could pose a threat to Eternity, though it quickly becomes meta-fiction, or fiction about fiction.  Loki, who's the god of stories at this point, is a major source of this, though most of the Defenders get in on the act.

There are discussions about why mankind created fire and the fear of something lurking in the dark, and stories about how various incarnations of the Marvel universe were destroyed.  The team meets the Beyonders, who recognize that they are part of a narrative and bound by its conventions, both figuratively and in at least one case literally.

When visiting a dimension of stories that could have been but never were, they encounter a being who had wanted to become the embodiment of the universe after Secret Wars, feeling that what the Marvel universe needed wasn't a continuation of what came before, but a full reboot. To that end, he shows the Defenders (aside from Loki, whose nature makes him a threat) ideal timelines that he could conjure up by changing their pasts.

The idea that Marvel could have rebooted their continuity was a possibility in the lead-up to Secret Wars (and it's possible that the Marvel Cinematic Universe could head in this direction after their take on Secret Wars), though given that discussions are had about this leading to the universe constantly being rebooted as the controlling power tries to get things perfect, it seems like a dig at Marvel's Distinguished Competition, who tend to reboot their universe or rewrite the timeline every time there's some plot points that need to be fixed.

The Beyonder, the original one from Secret Wars, joins the team on their adventure.  He delivers some pointed commentary on the original Secret Wars event, though as an ally, he proves to be not particularly effective.

The book is so filled with references to Marvel's continuity that the last page of each issue includes mentions of which specific comics, characters, and storylines are being referenced, though even without knowing everything that was being referenced, I still enjoyed it.

Loki's growth is a highlight here.  Loki probably went through the biggest shake-up to a character's status quo since Magneto, and it seems like it's his (or her, depending on the point in time) mission to help others surpass the status quo.  A big problem with long-running series like Marvel or DC is that, eventually, things will snap back to normal and no major developments seem to stick.  This might be a good thing if a hero has turned villainous, which is generally an unpopular move, but it can be annoying if a villain has earned redemption somehow (such as Galactus becoming a bringer of life in the Ultimates, or the Riddler becoming a private detective) only for them to return to their villainous ways afterwards.

Eventually, their journeys through various dimensions takes them to the highest level of reality that they can possibly reach - the House of Ideas. (Another name for the Marvel Comics headquarters back in the day) There, the team meets Marvel's equivalent of God, the One Above All.

...except he's not really above all, because he's being written and drawn by the creators of this comic.  Or maybe he's a stand-in for the creators of the comic.  There's a bit more meta-commentary where the One Above All sends the foundation of the Marvel universe at them (various monsters from pre-Fantastic Four comics), leading to a fight scene.

The One Above All eventually gives the Defenders what they came here for, or at least as close to it as they can comprehend - a glimpse at this threat to Eternity, which is a being that's known as either the Dominion or the Enigma.

It's unclear what this is supposed to be, and the team can only speculate, though once they're returned to their home reality, they go their separate ways for the most part. Taiia, armed with knowledge of her own future (and her son's), isn't allowed to return to her own timeline, so she stays in the present day universe; I'm interested to see if she ever gets the opportunity to interact with Galactus, though I feel like she's going to be one of those characters that only one specific writer (in this case, Al Ewing) uses while every other writer/story quietly ignores her.

This series was very different from the norm, and I feel like there was plenty of meta-commentary about Marvel, its characters, and the medium of comics as a whole that I might have missed out on.  It's a lot to take in, but it was one enjoyable and chaotic ride.