New Defenders #130 (April 1984)

Much like in our world, the 1980s of the Marvel Universe had the specter of the Cold War hanging over it. And there were plenty of supervillains who wanted to use that to achieve their own goals. One villain wanted to not only heat up said Cold War, but ignite it to the point it would destroy the Earth. And only one team of heroes could stop it. Not the Avengers, not the Fantastic Four, not the X-Men. The ragtag bunch of heroes known as the New Defenders. Can they succeed? Let's find out in New Defenders #130!

The cover is a Frank Cirocco piece. It focuses on Valkyrie herself, depicting her holding a sword in the background while a smaller version of her is shown flying on Aragorn. It's well-drawn, but it's not a very dynamic cover, in my opinion. Would make a great poster, though. I'd love to have this as a poster.

"And in the End!"
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Penciler: Mike Zeck
Inker: Kim DeMulder
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Editors: Carl Potts, Ann Nocenti
Editor in Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with New Defenders Valkyrie and Moondragon on a rocket as it's taking off. 

Ladies, that is not how you ride a rocket!

Sheesh, can't they just go inside the rocket like normal astronauts? 😖

The rocket is part of a plan by a resurgent Secret Empire led by a villain named Professor Anthony Power to start World War III. Valkyrie is able to damage the rocket's guidance systems with her sword Dragonfang. The rocket starts to fall...only to go back upwards towards space. Evidently the Secret Empire put a backup system. Unfortunate for the Defenders.

Back on the ground, it's revealed the Empire operative known as Mad Dog was able to get the rocket back on course. The young metahuman and future New Defender known as Cloud blasts the control panel the villain used to fix the rocket's trajectory...which somehow blows up the rocket.

Uh yeah, they were aware Val and Moondragon were on the rocket, right? 

Thankfully, the two heroines were able to get off in time. Angel and Gargoyle grab them out of the air, and Iceman ensures they have a safe landing. 

And then they get ambushed by Mad Dog and the Mutant Force.

"Surprise, mothatruckas!"

This leads to a big ol' fight.

Nick Fury and some SHIELD agents run up (accompanied by Colonel Razumihin, Fury's Soviet ally), thinking they may need some back up.

"Yo, Fury! Where's the pizza?!"

I think they got it handled, Nicky. Between SHIELD and the New Defenders, most of the Empire has been captured. The head of the new Empire and his immediate advisers have escaped, but they're scattered and we'll likely never hear from them again.

Angel points out that they won today, but things are still rather tense between the USA and the Soviet Union. Remember, this comic is from the 1980s. There's still a chance that the war Professor Power wants can still happen. Razumihin sadly agrees, hoping the leaders of both superpowers can find some sanity before it's too late. He heads out with the Soviet superagent Sonya "Seraph" Tolsky (she was working undercover in the Empire), but Cloud wants a word with her.

Seraph was there when Cloud was kidnapped and their parents were killed in New Defenders #128. Yeah, it was believed at first that Cloud was a superhuman, but later it would be revealed that they're actually a living nebula.  

Yeah, I love this title, but it can be weird at times. Anyway, Cloud is furious with Seraph for not stopping it. Seraph does give her an apology and tries to soothe the metahuman by saying that she did not order that, nor did she directly do the deed. Not to mention that if she could have stopped it, she would have. The thing was, she had a mission to infiltrate the Secret Empire, trying to save Cloud's parents would have compromised it. Needs of the many, and all of that. Cloud rears to attack the pink-and-white-haired superagent, but she gets comfort from a surprise source: Moondragon.

The other New Defenders are understandably shocked. Moondragon had shown herself to be a cold and arrogant sort in the past. She was so far up her own butt that she even proclaimed herself a goddess! In fact, Odin put that metal headband on her head to limit her powers so she could learn humility. Valkyrie is especially shocked. She should be happy about this. The cold Moondragon showing warmth and caring towards the young Cloud? That's a good thing. But instead...she feels a strange terror. 

That will have to be tabled for now, though. "Why's that", you may ask. Well, when the heroes head back to their headquarters in New Mexico, and they find the place wrecked. Warren's girlfriend Candy Southern is injured, and their housekeeper Dolly Donahue missing. 

"Who threw a party in here?! And why were we not invited?!"

The perpetrator didn't leave the scene of the crime. In fact, he was waiting for our heroes.

They can destroy his satellite. It's not a problem to him. It's not a big deal. Because of the New Defenders, Power lost his castle home. It's not a problem to him. It's just a material thing, and material things don't matter to him. They wrecked his rebuilt Secret Empire. It's not a problem to him. Life has setbacks. He's overcome them before, and he'll do so again. No, what enrages him is that thanks to them, his son Matthew won't get any vengeance. Thanks to his high-tech armor, Power is shown to be quite a match for the New Defenders. And keep in mind, this group includes a couple powerhouses in Iceman, Gargoyle, and Valkyrie. 

Moondragon reminds Beast there is one way to stop him. Beast gets what she means...and he does not like it. You see, part of Power's desire for vengeance is because he believes that Charles Xavier destroyed his son Matthew's mind back in Marvel Team-Up #118. Afterwards, Anthony Power had his son's body put in that suit and transferred his own consciousness into Matthew's body. 

Moondragon reveals that contrary to what Anthony Power believes, Matthew's own consciousness is still in their now-shared brain. Moondragon wants to use her telepathy to guide Matthew's mind back into control, while pushing Anthony down. Beast warns her that she's not at full strength thanks to her headband. And even if she was, her plan could end up truly destroying Matthew's consciousness and killing Anthony. The self-proclaimed "Goddess of the Mind" ignores Beast's warning and proceeds with her plan. After all, as far as she's concerned, she has a divine right to do this.

The plan...sort of works. Moondragon leaves Power alive, but a gibbering wreck. A few days later, the New Defenders are enjoying some well-deserved R&R. The story ends with the Beast making an announcement...well, two. He's got his first college lecture booked (which means he's going to get a fat check), and the New Defenders have official government clearance, meaning they are now a legit superhero team.

Everyone is happy about this...except for a certain bald telepath...

I enjoyed this issue, even though it did have a couple flaws. The big fight with the Mutant Force could have been expanded on, but I can imagine that the limit was due to page count. I also felt a bit more with Cloud and Seraph could be done. It's a shame Seraph never reappeared in the book again. I think it would have been nice to show the spy having some remorse over what happened to Cloud. Speaking of Cloud, I liked the scene with her and Moondragon. It's nice to see that even the self-proclaimed goddess has a heart.

If you want to read the story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback Defenders Epic Collection Vol. 8: The New Defenders or the 2011 trade paperback The New Defenders Vol. 1.