Defenders 27 Steve Gerber

DEFENDERS #27 [IMG]http://i55.tinypic.com/2nh3ptj.jpg[/IMG] 27 “Three Worlds To Conquer!”


Lord Droom of the Badoon Empire decides to wait until the orbiting Captain America ship teleports its payload to the Earth’s surface. As Doc Strange points out, Hulk’s a bit distrustful of technology; “he’s rarely seen it employed for his benefit.” Droom sends a ray “to bisect and deflect the four beams from the ‘Captain America’” and scatters the teleporting heroes away from Earth, “into the trackless void of sub-space.” Now the stowaway Jack Norriss rushes out upon hearing the bad news. “Where is she? Where’s Barabara?!”


The answer: a pool of blood red water, amidst purple and gold vegetation, along with “the 1,000 year-old master of pschokinesis,” who figures from the two moons they’ve missed Earth. Now the webbed, hirsute hands reach forth: lizard creatures with no self-control drag Asto into the crimson mire. Valkyrie’s great strength allows her time to fight back, but this has the consequence of making her weaker with each thrust. One psycho-kinetic blast later, Major Astro blasts the attackers away, from himself, then Val, who is wounded. Why? A golden, human-seeming form materializes, to offer aid.


Aboard the ship, Martinex has no clue what went wrong, and Doc puts a spell on Jack, who rushes forward to attack. He asks now to be hooked into the sensor bank.



Yondu and the Hulk materialize amidst a drunken tableau, where no one speaks a cogent language. Amidst the dancing and singing, Hulk observes “people look stupid—not happy!” That’s right, there’s a Jersey Shore planet. Hulk and “Flag-head” respond to a woman’s screams, and Yondu fires a Yaka arrow, which responds to his whistle and scatters the thugs. The woman then slaps Yondu and runs! The attacking robots and their weapons give Yondu pause; they charge them with “disruption-festival of-death.” Hulk “just wants to HIT something---before stupid place drives Hulk crazy!!” As one would truly be, Yondu’s astounded---and then another one appears to say “you-killed-my-babies!” and enthralls the waylaid liberators.

Wired into the sensors, Doctor Strange begins his search with the computer, to create “a fusion of mysticism and technology. Together they examine whole star-systems at nerve-impulse clip---creating a surge that surprises the Badoon.
Starhawk now meets Vance Astro for the first time and heals Valkyrie with light, “and you and she are in my debt.”

“Zinnia” the robot brings her thralls before the shlubby king Goozot, who explains the “babies” are a useful part of Zinnia’s programming, to instill “a sense of duty.” Goozot recognizes they are “gifts...from our allies, the Badoon.” Zinnia takes them to the studio...

At ten times its normal range, the Strangely-augmented sensors reach out, just as the Badoon Elite Guard teleports aboard the ship.