The
Defenders are on their lawn playing Frisbee, though Hulk doesn’t quite
understand the rules and the disc becomes a deadly weapon in his hands,
knocking Valkyrie flat. Dollar Bill rushes out of the house to tell them that
the documentary film he made about them is on television. The Defenders are
surprised, confused, and angered (especially Nighthawk) as none of them knew he
was making such a film and certainly not showing it publicly. They sit down in
front of the TV and watch the show. It turns out to be heavily Bill-centric,
even referring to the non-team as “Dollar Bill’s dynamic Defenders,” which
doesn’t sit well with the heroes. The film also reveals how Lunatik escaped in
the previous issue: by hiding inside the statue’s hollow base, which none of
the heroes thought of (or how Lunatik knew it was there). Nighthawk is enraged
at how Bill portrayed them, Val resigned to their loss of anonymity, and
Hellcat flattered at the fame this will bring her. But the big problem is that
Bill stated that anyone willing can join the non-team, giving the academy’s
address, which promises problems….
In
the Russian Forbidden Zone, the Presence broods over the disasters the Zone is
hiding, having humbled the scientific elite….
The
next day at the academy, there is a lot of noisy knocking at the front door.
Nighthawk opens it to discover dozens of heroes wanting to join the team. His
first reaction is to literally kick Dollar Bill out of the house. Then NH gets
into a quarrel with the Falcon and they begin chasing each other through the sky.
Hellcat is thrilled at the large turnout while Valkyrie takes Hulk to
reluctantly prepare coffee for their unwanted guests, while talking Hulk out of
smashing them all. Nova, Marvel Man (future Quasar), and White Tiger decide to
go ride the horses. A small group of newcomers decides to elect a leader among
themselves; they choose Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) but he declines and nominates
Hercules, who is elected. The guys riding the horses receive a painful lesson
in horsemanship but when the horses have finally settled down, Falcon and
Nighthawk swoop overhead, scaring the steeds. Then Val and Hulk serve coffee,
her first attempt at brewing the beverage and it is undrinkable. Hellcat flirts
with Jack of Hearts and Captain Ultra and soon the two men are fighting over
her—until they are nearly run over by the stampeding horses. A handful of
heroes decide that Hulk is a menace and should be captured. While Hulk is
sitting alone and brooding, they jump out of the bushes to nab him….
Also
in the story: Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), Stingray, Black Goliath, Son of Satan,
Polaris, Prowler, Paladin, Torpedo, Havok, Tagak.