Appearing in "The Titan Strikes Back!"
Featured Characters:
- Defenders (Main story and recap)
- ⏴ Hulk (Bruce Banner) ⏵ (Main story and recap)
- Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange) (Main story and recap)
- Valkyrie (Main story and recap)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- ⏴ Titan (Xemnu) ⏵ (Impersonates Amos Moses)
Other Characters:
- Barbara (Possessed by Valkyrie) (Main story and recap)
- Black Knight (Dane Whitman) (Mentioned)
- Kahji-Da (Mentioned)
- Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie) (Only in recap)
- Enchantress (Only in recap)
- Numerous unnamed citizens of Plucketville
- Amos Moses (First appearance) (Main story and flashback) (Apparent death)
- Colonel Bradley Plucket (Statue)
- Agamotto (Mentioned)
- ⏴ Kyle Richmond ⏵ (Shadow only)
- Wong
- Ray Bradbury (Referenced)
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Xem Cyborgs
- Mutant Atlantean-Human Hybrids (Only in recap)
- Asgardians (Main story and recap)
- Winged Horses
Locations:
- Earthspace (Main story and flashback)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- North America (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Plucketville (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
- New York
- Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (Mentioned)
- Florida (Only in flashback)
- Cape Canaveral (Only in recap)
- Miami (Only in flashback)
- United Kingdom (Only in recap)
- England (Only in recap)
- Garrett Castle (Only in recap)
- England (Only in recap)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- North America (Main story and flashback)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- Realm of the Nameless One (Only in recap)
Items:
- Eye of Agamotto
- Cloak of Levitation
- Dragonfang (First appearance)
- Ebony Blade (Mentioned)
Vehicles:
- Xemnu's Spaceship
Events:
- Civil War (Mentioned)
- Battle of Gettysburg (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "The Titan Strikes Back!"
Wandering in the woods, the Hulk is attacked by Xemnu the Titan, who has once again returned to Earth. Using it's vast mental powers, Xemnu knocks the Hulk out with a telekinetic barrage of debris from the forest, however before passing out, the Hulk is able to send out a mystic summons to Dr. Strange for help.
Back in New York, at Dr. Strange's Sanctum, Strange presents Valkyrie with a new sword -- Dragon Fang -- to replace the loss of the Ebony Blade which she relinquished to the Black Knight. Receiving the Hulk's distress call, Strange and Val travel to the town of Plucketville, run by mayor Amois Moses.
Strange and Val then notice that the towns people are not what they seem, and soon discover that Moses is really a disguised Xemnu who is plotting to fly the people of Plucketville to be host bodies to a new race of Titans. Freeing the Hulk, a battle erupts between Xemnu and the Defenders. In the aftermath, Xemnu's plot is foiled, and as Xemnu tries to escape the Hulk throws the alien's rocket at him causing an explosion that seemingly kills Xemnu.
Afterwards, the thankful Hulk considers "dumb magician" his friend and the three Defenders depart for home.
Notes
- Letters (story pages): Saladino (uncredited) page 1, Jetter pages 2-19.
- First appearance of Kyle Richmond aka "Nighthawk", since Daredevil #62. He will become a longstanding member of the Defenders.
- Doctor Strange explains the legend of Dragonfang this issue by explaining that Kahji-Da slew a dragon and "then carved this enchanted weapon from one of the creature's tusks".
- This issue contains a letters page, Defender Dialogue. Letters are published from Eugene Mills, Russel West, and M.C. Boatner.
Trivia
- Giant-Size Defenders #1 takes place immediately after the Defenders' return from this adventure.