Marvel Debuts the New Defenders (And They’re the Ultimate Satire)

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Ultimates #21 centers on the ongoing revolution against the Maker’s Council, with the Avengers fighting on the front lines. Marvel Comics‘ Ultimate Universe, the Avengers are a rebel group put together by the abolitionist Luke Cage and made up of various incarcerated heroes the Maker’s Council has imprisoned over the years. After liberating the prisons, the Avengers are ready to take the fight to the Maker’s Council. But the Council won’t go down easily. Council member Emmanuel Da Costa, aka Black King, debuts his own “superhero” team called the Defenders to destroy the Avengers and anyone else who dares oppose the regime.

The Defenders Are the Ultimate Avengers’ Polar Opposites

In the main Earth-616 universe, the Defenders are a team that has taken many forms, predominantly comprising loner heroes begrudgingly joining forces to fight a common enemy. While the Defenders are often at each other’s throats, they still put their lives on the line to protect the innocent. The Defenders of Earth-6160 couldn’t be more different. These evil Defenders are a corporate-sponsored counter-revolutionary team with identical costumes covered in brand logos. Even worse, they are vicious villains who don’t care how many civilians they must kill to promote their brand and snuff out resistance movements. Against the Ultimate Universe’s version of the Avengers, it’s the quintessential battle between pro and anti-establishment.

The Defender’s roster is made up of the god-like Thora, the high-flying Cannonball, the bloodthirsty knight Proctor, the monster-slaying Marvel Boy, and the gamma-irradiated martial artist Decay’s Beautiful Daughter. Each member is an evil doppelgänger of a hero from the main Marvel Universe, and they intend to butcher the Avengers and their supporters. While the Avengers were rounding up evil Council loyalists and mercenaries to be charged with their crimes, they were suddenly attacked by the Defenders. In a twisted action, the Defenders slaughtered the prisoners to frame the Avengers and make them look like psychotic terrorists on national television. Thus, with their incredible power, the Defenders were set to have the whole world witness the Avengers’ fall.

However, even with all the Defenders’ powers, sponsorships, and media support, they are ultimately no match for the power of the people. When the Avengers are nearly killed, everyday and powerless members of the Ultimates movement join the fight and attack the Defenders with machine guns and rocket launchers. Even though many die in the process, their sacrifice distracts the Defenders long enough for the Avengers to recover and strike back. Where the Defenders are inexperienced and fighting for money, the Avengers fight for liberty and justice. With their stronger drive, the Avengers valiantly manage to smite these putative corporate “heroes.” As for the Black King, the Council kills him for his latest failure to quell the resistance.

Even though they lasted only one issue, the Defenders were a terrifying threat and an example of how companies and regimes can co-opt revolutions and strip them of their original meaning and instead to exploit them and to sell them like products. More importantly, the Defenders were a brilliant satire on the corporate-mandated nature of the comic book industry and discourse, and how things should change.

The Defenders of the Status Quo

Throughout Ultimates #21, it’s abundantly clear that the Defenders are meant to criticize the entertainment and superhero industries. As stated throughout the comic, the Defenders are set up to be the center of a huge franchise campaign with movies, TV Shows, action figures, and more that will fill the pockets of their corporate overlords. They are described as apolitical, standing for bland, vague concepts of truth and justice that are ultimately hollow and meaningless. Everything about the Defenders, from their costumes to the words they speak, is run through focus groups and AI-generated scripts to appeal to the largest demographics. There is nothing sincere about these “heroes,” and they stand in the way of meaningful action and stories.

The subjects that comic books and their adaptations cover have always been hotly debated throughout the industry’s history. And with the introduction of the internet and social media, these debates have only gotten more heated. Whenever comics tackle serious issues like race, gender, or other modern issues, there will always be people complaining about comics becoming “too political.” Black King even references this by talking about audiences reportedly not wanting lectures and ideologies shoved down their throats, which is a common phrase used in online media discourse. Yet despite his claims that they’re not political, the Defenders are obviously a government task force meant to silence anyone who even thinks of fighting against institutional injustices.

The Black King also claims that people don’t want nuanced stories but rather straightforward, violent superhero antics. Unfortunately, this is an attitude that many film, TV, and comic book executives share, believing that making a profit is more important than challenging their audiences with new ideas. Instead of tales that bring to light important issues and messages, they often churn out bland, uninspired content created not by passionate artists but by focus groups and executives. Many entertainment companies would rather play it safe and push out the same slop repeatedly to uphold the status quo. This issue has become even worse with the rise of AI content. Ultimates #21 is the way for the writers to say, “Enough is enough.”

Since superheroes were punching Nazis before America joined World War II, comic books have always been pushing political messages that promote social justice. Marvel Comics was often at the forefront of having themes of gender, race, identity, and economic strife in its storylines, even when they were heavily criticized at the time for being “too political.” Ultimates #21 is the latest incarnation of artists pushing back against their detractors by asserting their right to express their beliefs through their art. Furthermore, the Ultimates and Avengers inspiring the people to revolt against the Maker’s Council symbolizes how comics and art in general inspire future generations to fight for social justice.

Superheroes are more than just bland and stagnant entertainment made for companies to make a quick buck. They are a nearly century-old genre that has remained timeless by evolving to address current issues and motivate the next generation to become their own heroes. Not fighting for a broken system, but for those who can’t protect themselves. That is who the Avengers of the Ultimate Universe represent, and the Defenders’ defeat shows that artistic freedom isn’t dead yet.

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