Defenders #19
Title: "Doomball!”
Plot: Len Wein
Scripter: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: Klaus Janson
Colors: Bill Mantlo
Editor: Roy Thomas
Thunderball stands with the open container and says, “The gamma bomb is gone!” Strange tells Thunderball to explain himself and tell him what gamma bomb he is talking about. Thunderball says that he supposes that every man is entitled to know why he is going to die.
Thunderball
says that his story begins when he was an up and coming nuclear
physicist. He says that people used to call him the black Bruce
Banner. Thunderball says that he took Banner’s gamma bomb
research and created a gamma bomb that you could hold in the palm
of your hand. Thunderball says that his gamma bomb was ten times
more powerful than the original. He says that he started the bomb
at Caltech, but that he didn’t finish it until he moved on
the Richmond Enterprises. Thunderball says that he made his first
mistake when he took the gamma bomb to Richmond’s right hand
man Pennysworth. Thunderball says that he came in the next
morning to find the bomb gone from his lab along with all his
notes. He also discovered that the bomb had been patented in the
company’s name and not his. Dr. Franklin says that was when
he made his second mistake… he got mad. Pennysworth tells
him that all work done on company time on company property
belongs to the company. Thunderball tried to tell him that he did
his work on his own time. He says that he patents on the bomb are
his, and that he is going to have them one way or the other.
Pennysworth just laughed at him and showed him the fine print on
his contract. Richmond’s lawyers did a good job and Dr.
Franklin came to realize that he had no legal claim to the bomb.
Thunderball says that he is a man of his word and that he came
back to get his bomb. He says that his third mistake was
forgetting about the sensor web built into the main lab. The
security guards told Thunderball to freeze. Dr. Franklin tried to
run away, but that he was no athlete and didn’t have a
prayer. The guards shot at him and knocked the gamma bomb out of
his hand and into a vat of molten steel. Thunderball says that
the steel was going to be used for the core construction of three
Richmond Enterprise buildings.
Thunderball says that all he had to do was
figure out which of the buildings it was in and knock it over. He
says that they knocked over the building, but that all he found
was the adamantium casing. Thunderball says that someone else
must have found the bomb first and that if they aren’t
careful that they could detonate it and kill 20 million people
will die. Strange suggests Thunderball build a device that could
pinpoint the bomb’s location. Thunderball says that he could
do that, but that Strange won’t be around to see it.
Thunderball calls out to Wrecker. Wrecker tells the Crew to take
them. Piledriver punches out Strange and Nighthawk. Bulldozer
plows into Cage’s back and knocks him out. 
Wrecker hauls
off and nails the Hulk right in the head with his crowbar. Hulk
too falls unconscious. Wrecker and the Wrecking Crew run off and
say that they have a bomb to find and a city to hold ransom.
Dr. Strange wakens to find the Hulk standing over him. Hulk says that he thought Magician would sleep forever. Hulk asks Strange if he is all right. Strange says, “Under the circumstances, Hulk, I think the answer is obvious… I doubt I am any worse off than Nighthawk or Power Man…” Hulk starts saying that he never understands what Strange is talking about, but he is interrupted by the police. The cops arrive to place them under arrest. Strange places a spell on them and makes them forget. He says that he doesn’t have time to explain and that the spell will keep them under long enough for them to leave.
An hour later, the Defenders and Luke Cage are far uptown following the Wrecking Crew’s mystic trail. Strange explains to Nighthawk that he is following the Wrecker’s mystic crowbar. Suddenly a homeless man comes up and asks Strange for a quarter. Hulk grabs the man and says that he is attacking his friend. Hulk says that he is going to smash the man, but Strange tells him not to. Strange marvels that in the richest country in the world that there are still people going hungry. Strange conjures a table full of food and tells the man to eat like a king. Strange walks on and says that he doubts the Plaza will miss one gourmet dinner.
They keep walking until they enter Harlem. Suddenly a kid comes running up to Luke Cage. He says that he has to come quick, and that there are some big super goons messing up their club. Strange asks what the boy means. Cage tells the boy that Strange is a friend and that he can tell him. The boy says that they came busting into their club saying that they were looking for something. He says that one of them was a brother holding an electronic gizmo. One of the kids in the club smashed the gizmo with a bat, and that was when he ran out to get help. He says that they have to go stop them or they are going to kill someone for sure. As the Defenders rush off the boy stands there with his baseball glove on. He is playing with a metallic ball.
The Defenders come to the building and hear the Wrecking Crew inside. Cage says that it takes big men to pick on children. Hulk says that he doesn’t like puny humans that attack children. He tells them to stay there and that he will smash them himself. Hulk walks into the building, but seconds later he comes flying out of the smashed down wall. Nighthawk starts to ask Hulk if he is okay, but Hulk just gets right back up and starts walking into the building again. Hulk smashes through the wall. Wrecker says that it can’t be the Hulk and that he hit him hard enough to smash his head into jelly. Hulk says that he will show “man-with-bar” how to smash. Hulk decks Wrecker in the face. Nighthawk plows into Bulldozer and lifts him off the ground with his jetpack. Cage pounds Piledriver in the face. Strange tells them all to stop fighting. He says that they are destroying the building and that children will be killed. Thunderball says that Strange is right and that the fighting could trigger the bomb. Hulk says that if “man-with-ball” wants to go out that he will help him out. Hulk punches Thunderball through the wall. Thunderball says that he didn’t want to kill Hulk, but that now there is no alternative. Thunderball throws his ball and chain. Hulk ducks under the ball and says that he cannot be killed. The ball hits the wall behind Hulk, but when it starts to return to Thunderball the ball hits Hulk in the back of the head. Hulk gets up and Thunderball asks what it takes to kill him. Thunderball swings the ball at the end of his chain. Hulk palms the ball and shatters it with his bare hands. Thunderball is stunned, but Hulk just punches Thunderball into a building.
Nighthawk dodges Bulldozer’s charge. Bulldozer starts to charge again. Nighthawk slips off his jetpack and magnetically attaches it to Bulldozer’s uniform as he leaps over him again. Nighthawk flips a switch and sends Bulldozer rocketing into the air. The rockets suddenly click off and Bulldozer crashes to the ground and goes unconscious. Nighthawk says that it seems that he forgot to tell him about the automatic cut off on the rockets.
Cage pounds Piledriver in the face and says that he is gutter scum to go after little kids. Piledriver asks why he cares since he won’t be alive long enough to worry about him. Piledriver punches Cage in the stomach. Cage is reeling on the ground. Piledriver is about to finish Cage off when Cage dodges the punch and grabs Piledriver’s wrist. Cage uses Piledriver’s momentum and throws him into a building.
Wrecker tells Strange that it is down to them now. Strange tells Wrecker that he is beaten and to surrender to spare himself injury. Wrecker asks why he would surrender when he has the power of a god. Wrecker says that Strange has to be kidding and that he almost beat Thor with his bar. Wrecker swings the bar at Strange, but Strange grabs the bar. Power coruscates around the two of them as they both hold the crowbar. Wrecker feels it as Strange turns Wrecker’s own power back on him. Wrecker says that Strange isn’t human. Strange says that he is human and something more. Strange stands over the unconscious Wrecker and says that Wrecker lost because he was like a child playing with a loaded gun. Strange says that Wrecker should be grateful that it didn’t kill him. Strange says that power can be addictive, especially to one as violent as Wrecker. Strange says that the source of his addiction must be eliminated. Strange causes the crowbar to disappear. Strange says that he just sent the bar to another dimension, but to the Wrecker it is as good as gone.
The children run up to thank Strange and Cage, but Strange tells them that those men were looking for a bomb. He says that it could explode at any minute and asks them if they know where it is. One of the kids asks if they mean the thing that Joey took with him when he went for help. Strange says that the boy only had a softball, but then he realizes what the softball was.
Strange runs up to Joey and takes the bomb from him. As soon as Strange touches the bomb it makes a loud noise and starts ticking. Strange says that they have no idea when the bomb will explode, and that the bomb’s inventor is unconscious. Strange says that their only hope is Bruce Banner. Strange tells Hulk to look into his Eye of Agomotto and relax. Hulk says that he doesn’t understand, but that Strange is his friend and so he will do it. Hulk starts feeling sleepy and turns into Bruce Banner. Bruce asks where he is. Strange tells Banner that he is with friends, but that they need their help. Strange shows him the bomb and asks if he can help them with it. Bruce says that he had done some groundwork with miniaturization years ago, but to actually see one… Strange says that they don’t have time right now. Banner says that he will need some tools. Strange summons some Air Force nuclear disarming pack from the Hulkbuster base. Banner says that he hopes that his work is as good as Strange’s. Banner starts freaking out as he works on the bomb. His pulse starts to race. Bruce starts turning green, but he manages to hold off the change long enough to disarm the bomb. Strange thanks the slumped over Banner as he is transforming. Strange says that now they just have to decide what to do with the bomb. Hulk gets up and says that he feels strange. He asks Magician if he put him to sleep. Strange admits that he did, but tells Hulk not to be upset because his falling asleep helped save New York. Cage tells Strange that they did a good job, but that his job was to keep the building from falling down and he didn’t do that. Cage says that means that he isn’t going to get paid. Strange says that maybe if they explained. Cage says, “To Pennysworth? Don’t make me laugh! I tell ya, Doc, next time you need my help savin’ the world… I’m not home, okay?”
Dr. Strange’s Defenders: 9.5 out of 10
Man what an all-star production team for this book. Klaus Janson on Sal Buscema is amazing! Janson’s inks create an extraordinary look with Sal’s penchant for clear, excellent storytelling is an amazing combo. Art gets a 5 out of 5. It’s cool to have Chris Claremont doing the script, but most surprising to me was that Bill Mantlo was the colorist for the issue. For those who don’t know, Bill Mantlo became an extremely important writer in Hulk history. I really like the inclusion of the gamma bomb in the story and I also enjoyed Thunderball’s history. How about that “shady” foreshadowing on Pennysworth too? That was a good one as well. The only thing that annoyed me about the story (and I realize that it was a sucker punch that caught Hulk off guard), but how does Wrecker winds up knocking the Hulk out with one hit?
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