THE UNDYING ONES (1969-1970)

The story that gave the Defenders their beginnings, even if we wouldn't see the non-team come together under that name until 1971.

Doctor Strange is still getting used to his new masked costume and the new civilian identity created for him by Eternity. While the world has learned about the existence of Doctor Strange, he needs to get used to a civilian identity as Dr Stephen Sanders.

When Strange finds himself in too deep when he tackles the Undying Ones, he calls upon the only heroes who can help him. The aquatic Sub-Mariner has just lost his ability to breathe underwater, while Bruce Banner's wedding to Betty Ross has just been ruined by the Rhino, causing Banner to transform into the Hulk, hospitalising Betty's father. 

Maybe not the best choice of allies...

Related Events: An unofficial early crossover, Doctor Strange's investigation into the Undying Ones was cut short by his series cancellation, leaving it up to the Sub-Mariner and Hulk to pick up the threads in their titles.

• Doctor Strange #183
• Sub-Mariner #22
• Incredible Hulk #125 (tie-in)
• Incredible Hulk #126

Doctor Strange #183
Doctor Strange receives a telegram from an old friend, former-adventurer Kenneth Ward, who is unable to remember why he sent the telegram. The Eye of Agamotto reveals that Ward brought a two-headed idol back from one of his adventures and became sick. His new butler and bodyguards are actually disguised gargoyles who want the idol. Strange defeats them, though they warn him to beware the Undying Ones as they turn to ash. Strange realises Ward died while he was busy fighting and knows he must find the idol to end this new demonic threat...

Sub-Mariner #22
Doctor Strange returns Namor the Sub-Mariner's lost ability to breathe underwater to him in exchange for help against the Undying Ones, a demonic race who have spilled through a tear in the dimensional walls and terrorised early man under the watchful eye of their ruler, the Nameless One. Strange magically makes Namor obsessed with locating the idol of the Undying One. He locates it in Kenneth Ward's home and defeats a demon pretending to be Ward's daughter, then Strange banishes it to another dimension. They realise Ward's cat is also a disguised Undying One as it grabs the idol and uses it to open a portal for the Nameless One. Together, Strange and Namor force the two Undying Ones back through the portal. Strange sends Namor back to Earth and remains in the Undying Ones' dimension, sealing the portal behind the Atlantean king.

Incredible Hulk #125 (tie-in)

Bruce Banner had the Hulk under control until the Rhino crashed his wedding to Betty Ross. Banner by volunteering to pilot for the army's experimental X-890 rocket to repel a comet that was steered towards Earth by the Absorbing Man after he was left stranded in space by Odin. Banner changes his plan from crashing the rocket into the comet to end the threat of the Hulk in favour of transforming into the Hulk and beating up the Absorbing Man. The fight makes its way to Earth where the villain absorbs the Hulk's gamma powers and prepares to drop a huge rock on the Hulk until he turns back to Bruce Banner once again, leaving the Absorbing Man with no powers to draw upon and dropping the rock on himself. The unconscious Banner is observed by a group of mystery on-lookers...

Incredible Hulk #126
The Cult of the Undying Ones take Bruce Banner to their leader, Jack Van Nyborg, who casts him into the Dark Dimension to battle the Night-Crawler; the demonic enemy of the Undying Ones whose destruction will ease their return to the Earthly plane. Van Nyborg hurls doubtful follower Barbara Norriss through the portal, forcing him to transform and protect her. They soon find Doctor Strange and Barbara Norriss takes Strange's place in staying behind to trap the Undying Ones, allowing Strange and the Hulk to return to Earth. Ignoring all the effort Eternity went to in order to hide his identity, Doctor Strange quits as Master of the Mystic Arts. Dr Stephen Strange abandons the Sanctum Sanctorum and goes looking for a regular life.

MCG Note: The entries in blue and black are the stories that are directly impacted by 'The Undying Ones'. The issues in grey are stories impacted by the sub-plots and lesser plot points or stories that introduce peripheral members of the Defenders over their lengthy history. 

Hulk #10 (2009) 

Doctor Strange is plucked from time by the Collector to fight alongside his fellow future members of the Defenders against the Grandmaster's Offenders - a 'villain' version of the group.

Marvel Feature #1 (1971) 

Doctor Strange returns to his Sanctum Sanctorum to find Baron Mordo playing the role of 'Doctor Strange'; Strange defeats Mordo and reclaims the position of Master of the Mystic Arts., dropping his 'Stephen Sanders' identity and returns to his unmasked costume.

Sub-Mariner #34-35 (1971) 

The Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner and the Silver Surfer briefly band together as the Titans Three.

Marvel Feature #1 (1971) 

The Defenders are officially formed (though they're a pretty unofficial team!) with Doctor Strange, Namor the Sub-Mariner and the Hulk banding together again to combat Yandroth; Strange considers the Silver Surfer as a member but he's unconscious from trying to break through the barrier that holds him on Earth.

Marvel Feature #2 (1972) 

Clea becomes an associate member of the Defenders.

Defenders #1 (1972) 

The Nameless One returns; the sorcerer Necrodamus tries to summon the Undying Ones.

Incredible Hulk #159 (1973) 

Betty Ross marries Glenn Talbot.

Defenders #2 (1972) 

The Silver Surfer joins the Defenders.

Defenders #3 (1972) 

The Defenders enter the realm of the Undying Ones; Doctor Strange magically imprisons the Nameless One and frees Barbara Norriss, only to learn she'd had sex with the Nameless One and merged with him by choice; freeing Norriss and returning her to Earth drives her completely insane; the Cult of the Undying Ones is disbanded.

Defenders #4 (1972) 

Valkyrie joins the Defenders; Valkyrie uses Barbara Norriss' body as a host body.

Defenders #7 (1973) 

Hawkeye (Clint Barton) joins the Defenders during WAR BELOW THE WAVES.

Defenders #14 (1974) 

Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond) joins the Defenders.

Defenders #20 (1975) 

Jack Van Nyborg and Barbara Norriss attempt to summon the Nameless One again by sacrificing Doctor Strange and the Valkyrie; thanks to the Thing, they fail and the Nameless One is cast back to his home dimension during NAME THAT DOOM.

Defenders #22-24 (1975) 

Barbara's husband, Jack Norriss, makes his debut; Jack believes Valkyrie is his wife; Yellowjacket (Hank Pym), Power Man (Luke Cage) and Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom) join the Defenders.

Defenders #36 (1976) 

Red Guardian (Tania Belinsky) joins the Defenders during EXILE TO OBLIVION!

Defenders #44-46 (1976) 

After pursuing her for some time, Jack Norriss accepts Valkyrie isn't his wife; Hellcat (Patsy Walker) joins the Defenders.

Incredible Hulk #209 (1977) 

Hulk has his next rematch with the Absorbing Man.

Defenders #62-63 (1978) 

Black Goliath, Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Captain Ultra, Falcon, Havok, Hercules, Iron Fist, Jack of Hearts, Marvel Man (Wendell Vaughn), Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers), Nova (Richard Rider), Paladin, Polaris, Prowler, Stingray, Tagak, Torpedo and White Tiger (Hector Ayala) become Defenders for a day; Batroc, Beetle, Blob, Electro, Looter, Plantman, Porcupine, Sagittarius and Whirlwind form a villainous team of Defenders.

Marvel Fanfare #8 (1983) 

The Night-Crawler returns, mostly being referred to as the Slitherer in Shadows; the Slitherer is accidentally summoned to Earth; Doctor Strange returns him to his own dimension.

Defenders #94 (1981) 

Gargoyle joins the Defenders.

Incredible Hulk #260 (1981) 

Glenn Talbot dies while trying to apprehend the Hulk.

Defenders #97 (1981) 

Devil-Slayer joins the Defenders.

Defenders #104 (1982) 

Beast (Hank McCoy) joins the Defenders.

Defenders #115 (1983) 

Overmind joins the Defenders.

Incredible Hulk #269 (1982) 

The Night-Crawler becomes the Dark-Crawler and reveals how he defeated the Undying Ones and become their ruler; the Dark-Crawler becomes a member of Empress Daydra's Hulk-Hunters.

New Defenders #125 (1983) 

Angel (Warren Worthington III), Iceman and Moondragon join the Defenders; Doctor Strange, Hulk, Silver Surfer and Sub-Mariner are tricked into disbanding by the Elf With a Gun to prevent the world from ending; Beast forms a more formal team of Defenders including himself, Gargoyle and Valkyrie, Angel, Iceman and Moondragon during ASHES, ASHES...

New Defenders #130 (1984) 

Cloud joins the Defenders.

New Defenders #138 (1984) 

Candy Southern joins the Defenders.

Doctor Strange #73 (1985) 

Doctor Strange finally helps Clea regain control of the Dark Dimension.

New Defenders #149 (1985) 

Andromeda joins the Defenders.

New Defenders #151 (1986) 

Interloper and Manslaughter unofficially join the Defenders during THIRD GENESIS.

New Defenders #152 (1986) 

The Defenders disband after the apparent deaths of numerous members during SECRET WARS II / THIRD GENESIS.

Incredible Hulk #319 (1986) 

Bruce Banner finally marries Betty Ross whole temporarily physically separated from the Hulk.

Incredible Hulk #370-371 (1990) 

Doctor Strange reveals the reason given for the original Defenders to disband was a hoax, allowing future team-ups but no official group membership.

Doctor Strange #41 (1992) 

The Nameless One is revealed to have been destroyed by the Undying Ones; a new Nameless One emerges and possesses Wolverine, mutating him; the mutated Wolverine slays the Undying Ones and the new Nameless One before being cured by Doctor Strange who seals the portal to their dimension forever.

Doctor Strange #50 (1993) 

Doctor Strange, Hulk and Silver Surfer and Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) form the first iteration of the Secret Defenders; Doctor Strange starts handpicking super-powered individuals into workable teams, depending on the requirements of the mission when he loses the role of Sorcerer Supreme during WAR OF THE SEVEN SPHERES.

Fantastic Four #374 (1993) 

Spider-Man and Wolverine join the Secret Defenders during RISE OF DOOM!

Secret Defenders #1-3 (1993) 

Darkhawk, Nomad (Jack Munroe) and Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter) join the Secret Defenders during A NIGHTMARE ON BLEECKER STREET.

Secret Defenders #4-5 (1993) 

Namorita and Sleepwalker join the Secret Defenders.

Secret Defenders #6-8 (1993) 

Captain America and the Scarlet Witch join the Secret Defenders.

Secret Defenders #9-10 (1993) 

Thunderstrike and War Machine (James Rhodes) join the Secret Defenders.

Secret Defenders #11 (1994) 

Northstar and Nova join the Secret Defenders during STARBLAST.

Secret Defenders #12-14 (1994) 

Thanos forms his own Secret Defenders with Geatar, Nitro, Rhino, the Super-Skrull and Titanium Man (Boris Bullski).

Secret Defenders #15-17 (1994) 

Deadpool, Doctor Druid and Shadowoman join the Secret Defenders; Doctor Strange hands the reins of the Secret Defenders over to Doctor Druid; Druid and Shadowoman become permanent members.

Secret Defenders #18-19 (1994) 

Cadaver (Cody Fleischer) and Giant-Man (Hank Pym) join the Secret Defenders; Cadaver becomes a permanent member.

Secret Defenders #22-25 (1994-1995) 

Shadowoman becomes Sepulchre and remains with the Secret Defenders; Dagger, Deathlok and Drax join the Secret Defenders; the Secret Defenders battle the Slorioth-controlled original Defenders; the Coglioscenti (Joshua Pryce and Sidrat-Al-Muntah) join the Secret Defenders just in time for the team to disband with the defeat of Slorioth.

Defenders #4 (2001) 

Valkyrie (Samantha Parrington) joins the reformed Defenders.

The Order #1-6 (2002) 

The original Defenders (Doctor Strange, Hulk, Silver Surfer and Sub-Mariner) temporarily turn evil and become the Order when they're cursed by Yandroth; Namorita, Ardina and She-Hulk join the Defenders to oppose the Order during ONCE MORE, THE END.

Last Defenders #1-6 (2008) 

Atlas (Erik Josten), Blazing Skull, Colossus, Junta, Krang, Nighthawk (Joaquin Pennyworth) and Paladin join the Defenders; Nighthawk forms a new Initiative-approved team of Defenders.

Fear Itself: The Deep #1 (2011) 

Loa (Alani Ryan) and She-Hulk (Lyra) join the Defenders; Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer and Sub-Mariner gain two new recruits when the Defenders reform again during FEAR ITSELF.

Defenders #1-3 (2012) 

Red She-Hulk (Betty Ross) joins the Defenders; Doctor Strange forms a new Defenders line-up (including himself, Iron Fist, Red She-Hulk, the Silver Surfer and Namor the Sub-Mariner) to save the concordance engine from falling into a mystery enemy's hands during SHATTERED HEROES.

Defenders #4-12 (2012-2013) 

The Defenders' battle with the Prince of Orphans; over the Concordance Engine continues; the team are joined by the Black Cat and Ant-Man, though the events of the story erase the activities of this Defenders line-up, making them effectively the events of an alternate timeline (Earth-11127).

Defenders #1 (2017) 

Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil and Jessica Jones form a street-level team of Defenders (though they have yet to use that name) with no relation to previous incarnations.

Defenders Omnibus vol.1

Doctor Strange Epic Collection vol.3: A Separate Reality
Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange vol.3
All include... 
Doctor Strange #183
Incredible Hulk #126

Sub-Mariner #22

Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner vol.4
Includes... 
Sub-Mariner #22

Incredible Hulk Epic Collection vol.4: In The Hands of Hydra
Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk vol.6
Both include... 
Incredible Hulk #125-126