The Fearless Defenders #1

An amazingly short span of time has elapsed since the last attempt at a Defenders comic (which was actually a very good comic, if a bit unorthodox) - but here's Marvel right back in the game with The Fearless Defenders.

The problem is: it's not the Defenders.

Oh, the Valkyrie is in it, and it seems to be a non-team (in the sense that there are no leaders, no rules, no structure, no meeting place) - but so far, it's just a team-up comic between Val and bionic detective Misty Knight.

The original Defenders team was made up of Dr. Strange, Namor and the Hulk (one could argue that the Silver Surfer belongs, too), and in my mind, for a team to carry the name, at least one of those characters has to be on the roster.

Instead what we have here is an updated version of the Lady Liberators, a one-and-done gathering of Marvel's female heroes in an early issue of The Avengers (wait, the group made another brief appearance in a recent issue of the Hulk).

I actually like the concept of an all-female team of heroes (whether or not I like the name the team has here), but this title has a ways to go to win over its audience.

The comic is taking the gradual rollout approach, gathering the team members very slowly. So we only have two heroes involved here, and the menace they face - Asgardian zombies, of all things - offer no challenge at all.

So the story is barely under way and the art is solid but not exceptional - this is not the recipe for making a strong impression with new readers.

Shock us, surprise us, delight us - just don't give us the same old thing. With the wrong team name on the comic.

Grade: C+

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