Writers: Jo Duffy & Kurt Busiek Artists: Dan Jurgens (p), Bob Layton (i)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Plot: The book opens with the members of the Order taking out a relatively minor threat, but we do see that an internal problem has popped up in the group, as the Hulk's behavior has become increasingly troubling to his fellow members in the Order. As such they set out to bring forth another personality of the Hulk that is less disagreeable. After going through the dumb & savage aspects, we see the group stumble upon the intelligent Hulk persona, and he agrees to help the Order. Meanwhile, the Defenders are busy setting in motion a plan that Papa Hagg has come up with, which has them gathering together a band of female characters who are linked to the male characters in the Order. However, with no female counterpart to the Silver Surfer readily available we see the group invades the Order's base to perform a magic spell upon the Silver Surfer that creates one. However this act makes the Order aware of the Defenders, and the issue ends with the Defenders cast into another dimension by Doctor Strange.
Comments: Since I made it my mission to no longer spoil the surprises of upcoming issues by reading the previews one can find posted online, and then combine this with my poor memory, I had been operating under the assumption that this Order story-line was only a four-issue deal. So naturally I was a bit thrown when this issue ended with the Defenders, and their band of female counterparts for the members of the Order were sent packing into another dimension by Doctor Strange. I mean here I was prepared to whine about how this issue had wasted too much time coming up with a female analogue for the Silver Surfer, thus leaving the story with precious few pages to deliver its climactic battle, and I discovered we still have two issues to go. Now the six issue length does allow for a more impressive finish that hopefully will see other characters besides the Avengers rise up to try their luck against the Order, with the Fantastic Four being the group I'm most eagerly hoping to see throw down the gauntlet, as there's some nice match-ups between those two teams.
Okay this is the issue where I officially started to dislike Doctor Strange's presence in the group, as this is the third time in the four issues of the Order story-arc that a battle has been instantly halted when Doctor Strange gets his act together and remembers that he has the ability to instantly defeat the collection of characters they are facing. Now I'm not going to argue that he doesn't have this ability, as Doctor Strange is one of the more powerful characters in the entire Marvel Universe, and his range of spells is quite diverse. However from a storytelling sense having Doctor Strange continually serve as the means by which the battle is brought to its quick finish makes for a rather predictable, and unrewarding reading experience. Plus, given the Defenders do have their own magic user I'm a bit curious why the group was given no protection that would prevent them from falling victim to the attack that they fell victim to during their first encounter with the Order. I mean maybe this defeat is part of the cunning plan that Papa Hagg is attempting, but it doesn't make this finish from suffering from a sense of deja-vu.
The art team of Dan Jurgens & Bob Layton come to this book from the pages of the pre-Marvel Knights Captain America, and they do a pretty fair job on this fill-in. The action is nice & sharp looking, the material is easy-to-follow, and the work packs quite a bit of detail onto every page. Key scenes like the Order's attempt to come up with a more suitable version of the Hulk are nicely handled as the art perfectly captures the childlike look of the first version, and the enraged savagery of the second. I also enjoyed the page where the members of the Order paired off against the female counterparts that the Defenders had brought together, as it reminded me of a classic Jack Kirby fight sequence (you know the ones where Stan Lee would insert a piece of text to say he was shutting up to let the art tell the story). The art also does a nice job suggesting that Papa Hagg might not be on the side of the angels, as those final three panels did raise my doubts about the character's true intentions. Oh and we also get another great looking cover (you have to think Nighthawk loves this new team).
Final Word: This issue holds up better than the previous chapters, as we're finally seeing some major forward movement from the Defenders side of the story, as this issue has them breaking into the Order's floating base, and pulling off a fairly daring move. There's also a fairly interesting subplot that makes good use of the Hulk's varied personalities, as while it does paint Joe Fixit as a bit more lecherous than I remember him being when Peter David had this aspect as the dominate personality, the attempts by the Order to find a better Hulk resulted in some fairly amusing moments. The suggestion made on the final page concerning Papa Hagg was also rather unexpected, as while he was rather annoying, those final three panels cast an entirely new light of the situation, and make one question if the Defenders are actually doing the right thing, or are they merely making the problem worse.
