Love and Death

Dreaming about the time when he first won the heart of Jarella, the queen of the world of K'ai, the Hulk finds bliss. However, like in real life, a massive hand comes down into this dream and tries to pluck her away. When the Hulk leaps after his love, he wakes up from the dream in the middle of Monument Valley. Standing before him is the Collector who entices the Hulk into participating contest in exchange for the resurrection of Jarella. Hulk accepted and was told to choose members of his team. The Grandmaster agrees, but he will decide when in time they will be taken. As expected, having been a long-standing member of the Defenders. the Hulk chose the Silver Surfer, the Sub-Mariner, and Dr. Strange. However, the members were taken from a time where they experience great loss, as chosen by the Grandmaster in order to make them more susceptible to his plan.

When trying to recruit the Silver Surfer, the Hulk is brought to just moments after Norrin Radd was transformed into a Herald of Galactus. The Hulk manages to convince the Silver Surfer that if he joins in this contest he will be reunited with Shala-Bal. Detecting the Hulk, Galactus summons both the gamma-spawned brute and his newly created Herald. He allows the Silver Surfer to go with the Hulk to carry out the Grandmaster's contest but warns that if he doesn't return insufficient enough time, he will be forced to consume the Surfers' homeworld. Next, they go to the Sub-Mariner just moments after Dorma was murdered. When asked to join this contest by the Silver Surfer, the hot-headed Namor attacks him. However, the fight is stopped by the Hulk, who explains that he could get Dorma back. The Sub-Mariner ceases his fighting and agrees to go along for Dorma's sake. Lastly, the trio arrives in the Dark Dimension as Doctor Strange and Clea are fighting to contain the Mindless Ones. Suddenly, Clea is sucked through a mystical portal that quickly seals itself off from Strange. Hulk, Namor, and the Surfer help Strange contain the Mindless Ones. When they explain that they can get Clea back in exchange for his participation in the contest, Strange also agrees to accompany them.

They are all returned to present-day Monument Valley. There the Grandmaster reveals to the Defenders that they will be facing off against champions that have been selected by his opponent, the Collector. The Collector has gathered together the Red Hulk, Tiger Shark, Baron Mordo, and Terrax the Tamer, all equally the opposites to the heroes that the Hulk has gathered. The Red Hulk about how easily he and his allies will defeat them, and christens his new team as the Offenders.

Recurring Characters

Defenders (Hulk, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer), Offenders (Red Hulk, Baron Mordo, Tiger Shark, Terrax), Grandmaster, Collector, Galactus, Shalla-Bal, Dorma, Clea

Continuity Notes

• The Silver Surfer, Sub-Mariner and Doctor Strange were plucked out of time during the events of Silver Surfer #1, Sub-Mariner #37, and Doctor Strange #183 respectively. All three were taken from times prior to the formation of the Defenders were first formed in Marvel Feature #1.

• Meanwhile, Baron Mordo, Tiger Shark, and Terrax were all gathered from relatively the same time period as the modern-day Hulks in this story.

• The reason why the Silver Surfer doesn't recognize the Hulk is that this is a point of time years prior to their first meeting in Tales to Astonish #93.

• The dream the Hulk has about Jarella recounts the events of Incredible Hulk #140. As mentioned in this story, Jarella had since died after that moment and has been dead for a number of years. She was killed by falling debris in Incredible Hulk #208.

• Dorma was murdered by Llyra in Sub-Mariner #37. The Sub-Mariner refers to this as his "wedding day" which also happened in that same issue.

• When the Hulk asks why Doctor Strange is wearing a mask, Strange tells him that it is complicated. Strange began wearing a mask circa Doctor Strange #177 to disguise himself during a battle with the cult worshiping Satannish. He wore the mask to protect his identity from the public at large until Marvel Feature #1.

• Doctor Strange states that the Silver Surfer has been trapped on Earth for years. The Silver Surfer was exiled to Earth by his master back in Fantastic Four #50. He eventually gets free in Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #1. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, the Silver Surfer won't get freed from his exile for another four years in the future from Doctor Strange's perspective.

Continuity Errors

• Doctor Strange's assessment that the Silver Surfer had been trapped on Earth "for a number of years" is not correct, at least from the point in time he was collected from when compared to the Sliding Timescale. The Silver Surfer's exile was published in May 1966, placing is in "Year 2" of the Modern Age, the point in time Doctor Strange was taken from the time he first battled the Undying Ones in a story published in November 1969 which falls under "Year Three" of the Modern Age. As such, less than a year would have passed between the Surfer's exile on Earth and that moment. I presume Jeph Loeb was writing in terms of dates of publication as opposed to the passage of time within the Marvel Universe.