With the first of her new Shield Maidens in tow, Valkyire sets out to take down the dreaded Doom Maidens and rescue Dani Moonstar. Also superhero mannequins. Because normal nightmares aren’t enough.
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Will Sliney
• WARRIOR WOMAN joins the Defenders! Who is she? And why is she back from the dead?
• Plus! A city of silent superheroes.
• And: Defenders vs. Doom Maidens!
“Fearless Defenders” is an interesting beast of a book. Ever since it was announced I’ve had the compulsion to defend (har har) it to my dying day largely due to the circumstances around the book as opposed to the book itself. The book is one of Marvel’s few ongoing series about the women of Marvel Universe and writer Cullen Bunn has often touted it as a book where any female character in the Marvel universe could conceivably show up. But we’re three issues in and now that the unfortunate novelty of a comic book about women that isn’t catered to twelve year old boys has worn off, does it stand up on it’s own?
Yes and no. This issue picks up with Valkyrie, Misty Knight and Annabelle Riggs (one of my favourite new characters introduced to the Marvel Universe in ages) in Asgardia as Hela presents the newly resurrected Hippolyta to the All-Mother as the best champion to take on the Doom Maidens. The Doom Maidens are Valkyrior from thousands of years ago who are being awakened because of Valkyrie’s failure to rebuild her Valkyrior. Hippolyta’s return is explained by Hela as a way of ensuring that whoever is awakening the Doom Maidens does not get a chance to use Asgardian blood in the rituals. But while Bunn has some fun with the tensions between the characters, mainly Hela and Valkyrie, it’s here that the cracks star to show. In the opening, the dialogue portrays a tension between Valkyire, Hela and Hippolyta as Hela has come to overshadow Valkyrie, but in Sliney’s art everyone has the same blank expression most of the time during the scene. There’s even a rather unfortunate panel of the All-Mother finally taking control of the situation and shouting over everyone, but the three of them seem to be staring off into space in that bemused Victoria’s Secret model expression. It really kills the mood of what is otherwise an effective opener.
However, even when they all look startlingly similar, it’s the character interactions where this book shines. Valkyrie has been the moral center of the book so far, with Misty and Annabelle following her quest to reassemble the Valkyrior, but with Hela and Hippolyta on the scene we see her distrust of them and loyalty to Asgadira and the All-Mother shine through. Valkyire and Hippolyta play off each other well throughout the issue as both see themselves as the leader of the band of Shield Maidens and both tend to jab at each other’s Pantheon. While the focus is put on the two of them, though, that leaves Misty and Annabelle with little to contribute.
Once out of Asgardia, the team heads to a town in Washington to stop the ritual that will awaken the Doom Maidens, but while we do get to see some good interaction between the team, as well as a little more of Annabelle’s crush on Valkyire, the scene falls into the awful trap of characters standing around talking about what they should be doing. There is then a rather awkward segue where what we’re left to assume is some kind of connection Valkyrie has to the Doom Maidens leads her and the group right into the basement of a church nearby where the ritual is being performed. But they find themselves too late as the Doom Maidens have already been awakened and the battle between them ensues.
Yet even for what should be the climactic battle to the issue, it feels rather empty. There’s enough action, sure, and it’s well portrayed with each member of the team contributing to the scene, but the stakes feel non-existent. There’s no weight to the challenge posed by the Doom Maidens because we just haven’t seen them do much of anything. We’re told at the beginning of the issue of how they were nightmarish creatures that ran amok, but here we find them just awakened and they prove to be of little threat. They’re at least interestingly designed by Sliney, even if they’re introductory page is a little cluttered, with each Maiden being distinct and recognisable. However, Sliney’s art also contributes to the weightlessness of the action. Right off the bat Hippolyta charges at the Maidens and takes two of them on, but there’s no tangible strength portrayed in her actions. She may as well be tossing ragdolls and cardboards walls for all the damage she seems to do.
Continued belowAnd now for the elephant in the room: yes, Hippolyta’s return as Hela’s “Warrior Woman” is a jab at Wonder Woman, but the jab isn’t really there. Nothing is made of it; she just turns up and does what she does. Which is punch people in the face, apparently. And that might be a larger problem for the book itself, actually. A number of concepts have been introduced in the first three issues, but don’t really seem to be going anywhere. I’ve been trying to find a place to talk about the actual villain in the shadows of this issue, Caroline LeFay. Here is a good a place as any as we only see her on two pages of the book and neither actually seem to serve any purpose to the story. We only get a vague motivation for her actions: her mother beat her and now she wants to end the world. I guess. And that led to her awakening the Doom Maidens. I think.
This should be a really great book. It should be about a bunch of badass ladies doing a bunch of badass things and spitting in the face of the idea that a superhero comic needs a big, burly dude in tights to make it sell. But everything is played so safe, so conservative that there feels like there’s no stakes in the story. For a third issue, where the stakes of the first arc should be ramping up, we’re left with an empty fight and a lot of dialogue. Which would be okay for any other mediocre, run of the mill comic, but it kills me to see it in this one.
Final verdict: 5.0 – Browse. This should be a great book, but right now it’s just an alright one.
