The Defenders, Vol. 2: Kingpins of New York

Defenders (2017) (Collected Editions)

by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez (Illustrator), Michael Avon Oeming (Illustrator)

Collects Defenders (2017) #6-10.

The Defenders — Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Daredevil, protectors of the people — are engaged in a desperate struggle to keep New York City safe in the middle of an all-out gang war! So what could make things even worse? Would you believe — Deadpool? The Kingpin's kingdom is up for grabs, and the streets will burn as every major underworld figure makes a play to be the next lord of crime! Unfortunately for them, this is exactly why the Defenders have gathered: to fight for the people of New York! But bad press is about to have a disastrous impact on the lives of Luke and Jessica. And how exactly does Diamondback know so much about the Defenders? As Harlem burns, heroes rise and heroes fall — and there will be new Defenders.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

109 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 26, 2018

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the last Bendis volumes as is near two decade Marvel run comes to an end. Typically full of great dialogue, some great plot twists and some fine Marquez imagery. It does feel a bit rushed, but is definitely a fitting footnote to this great revamp of Defenders and Bendis' time at Marvel in general.... oh an he does one of the best portrayals of Deadpool ever! 9 out of 12 Four Star read.

2019 read

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars rounded up.

Brian Michael Bendis wrapped up his Defenders series and his substantial run at Marvel Comics with this one.

Five issues of comic books reduced to a few sentences and pictures, so, let’s go:



Wilson Fisk, now the mayor of New York City and seemingly gone legit - cuz politics is legit, right? - has created a vacuum for the title, “Crime Kingpin of New York City” or as the kids in the know call him, “The Kingpin”, and the fight is on for control.

Cotton Mouth is on the way out and Black Cat and magic-enhanced The Hood are a few of the leading players.



But for average-Joe/Josephine New Yorker, who the Defenders defend, it could be anyone.



Maybe it that other #$%@ing guy…

Deadpool drops in for a spell…



But ends up taking a ride on the 3rd Avenue crosstown bus.



Daredevil finally reveals who he is and, sorry, it’s not Greg, the plumber from Queens.





In the end, the defenders get some help…



…and its Scooby Doo reruns and day old meatloaf for everybody.



Bottom Line : As mentioned above, this was Bendis’ last book for Marvel and he added an endnote to the running joke for the fanboys that he’s been doing for years.



It isn’t Bendis at his best, but it’s still better than a lot of crap I get tricked into reading. Plus, he does do Deadpool well. See ya in the DC funny pages, Brian!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Defenders got their own cruddy Netflix show so, because corporate synergy, we got this cruddy Defenders comic. Gotta keep cranking out the product, Marvel, don’t worry about the quality!

A former Kingpin enforcer, Diamondback, is dealing drugs that temporarily gives the user superpowers. So… the same recycled storyline from Bendis’ Daredevil run when The Owl was dealing mutant growth hormone that gave users temporary superpowers? Bendis’ Marvel stuff got really stale and repetitive towards the end, eh?

Bendis resorts to cameos to beef up the feeble story. Here’s Deadpool! Here’s The Punisher! Even Bendis himself appears in one panel, talking directly to the reader! All to no effect – it’s still a dull read. And there’s a total non-ending to this second and final volume.

David Marquez’s art is incredible. His work on Bendis’ Iron Man looked amazing and his Defenders art is equally impressive. I especially enjoyed Iron Fist’s fight with Elektra – Marquez’s art is stunning whether the scenes are set during the night or day but the daylight scenes definitely look the best with Justin Ponsor and Paul Mounts’ colours making that sequence pop like crazy.

The Defenders, Volume 2: Kingpins of New York is readable, like most of Bendis’ stuff, it’s just boring and pointless, like most of Bendis’ stuff. I’d say that it’s indicative of the end of Bendis’ time at Marvel but really he’s always written books like this even at the beginning. Bendis’ Defenders is indefensibly crap.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

"There's a big gang war brewing on the teeming streets of New York City! Everyone is in on it! Diamondback, the Black Cat, Hammerhead, the Punisher, Vic Mackey from The Shield, maybe a guy from The Wire . . . Damn, I shoulda brought Sno-Caps." -- special 'merc with a mouth' guest Deadpool

While it wasn't quite as good as Vol. 1: Diamonds Are Forever - it seemed like the cameo appearances and guest stars were to distract from a thin plot - I though the follow-up actually got better as the story progressed to its showdown-implied ending. However, since the series was discontinued I guess there will be no actual showdown nor any further adventures. (Sigh.) Anyway . . . our intrepid team (Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny 'Iron Fist' Rand, and Matt 'Daredevil' Murdock) takes on the increasingly unstable and dangerous wannabe crime boss Diamondback as he makes all sorts of violent moves to take control of the city's rackets. I liked this group, and I liked their various personalities and their teamwork. Not every superhero - in this instance, Daredevil - can utter the lines "We're the Defenders. As long as there are people out there who try to take advantage of you . . . We will be there to defend you." and make it sound plausible. Marvel should reconsider with this series.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of supervillains I don’t recognize in “The Defenders: Kingpins of New York”, written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by David Marquez, and there are even a few new superheroes I have never heard of that make cameos throughout, but all of that is okay, because one of the guest stars in this issue is Deadpool.

Now, I’ve never read a single issue of Deadpool, and prior to the brilliant Ryan Reynolds film, I had never even heard of him. But, I loved both movies and think Deadpool is one of the funniest, weirdest Marvel superheroes ever. I actually felt that “Avengers Endgame” hurt because of the absence of Deadpool, even more than the lack of the Fantastic Four and the X-men. Thanks a lot, Sony...

Anyway, Deadpool. So, he’s, like, in this issue a lot. And thank God, because while I would have enjoyed the storyline without him, he definitely adds a much-needed levity and comic relief to Bendis’s always so serious writing.

I hope they write more of this reboot of “The Defenders”, because I dig it.

[Artemy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big whoop. The first volume of Defenders was already flimsy on plot, but this second (and final) part was just nonsensical and disjointed. Villains change like clockwork, the heroes don't do much other than punch stuff, and the banter, while fun, does get old fast once you realise there is no story here. Also Deadpool shows up for no reason at all, and you know how I feel about that (to be fair, Bendis writes a pretty entertaining Deadpool, it's just that his presence here is entirely unjustified). David Marquez is still killing it on art, and the action parts are quite entertaining thanks to his skill, but otherwise this book was an absolute snooze. Not a great note for Bendis to leave Marvel on forever (presumably).

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second half of the Bendis Defenders story begun in Diamonds Are Forever. The first one was much more of a Netflix-adjacent book than this, which seems to try to bring in dozens and dozens of Marvel heroes for a cameo appearance for reasons not made clear. I did not like it as much as the first volume; it seemed less focused, and there was way too much Deadpool. Deadpool is fine and funny from time to time, but it was really annoying to be reading a comic and having it frequently interrupted by Bendis having Deadpool remind me that I was reading a comic. Too, some of the storylines are left hanging, such as Felicia Hardy's. The art by Marquez was good and quite enjoyable. Not a bad book, but it should've been better. 'nuff said.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as single issues. I felt like this was really rushed and as a result just never hit the highs of Vol 1. Too much going on with the number of characters and tbh not much plot wise. A little disappointed with this Bendis effort.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. While not quite as good as volume 1, this was still entertaining. Vol 1 had more of a serious tone with stakes so high you needed a jet pack. This volume has more fun energy to it. The Defenders are back on the hunt for Diamondback as he escaped custody. Luke Cage hits with a car a few times in this book. Iron Fist has an absolutely awesome fight with another cameo character followed by a cool interaction between this person and Daredevil. The artwork continues to be stellar and it was nice seeing Black Cat get some revenge. I wish this was an ongoing series as I would to read more with these guys.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a letdown after the first volume. It seemed as if there was a little too much crammed in, plus things took a weird turn out of nowhere. We had many characters show up out of the blue, and the ending was very rushed. I assume the rushed ending may have had something to do with the book being canceled. It wasn't a bad ending, just abrupt. And the entire story just seemed haphazard with too much happening "off panel". It also seemed like the story we started in the first volume wasn't followed up on very well. The art was very good, but this was just too jumbled for me. I love the characters, but this wasn't the best use of them.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Kingpin has (sorta) abandoned his criminal enterprises and there's a mob war to take his place.

This volume is a nice street-level look at NYC, with not just the Defenders, but lots of their street-level fellows (particularly Electra and the Black Cat) and lots of their foes (particularly Hammerhead, Diamondback, and the Hood). Overall, this is one part pandering to the Netflix audience (particularly the return of Diamondback, whose been dead for the last 45 years, and although that's referenced, there's no explanation) but also one part neat-look at a different side of the Marvel universe.

In the final review, it's great to see Bendis write Luke and Jessica one more time, and it's great to see the Heroes for Hire series that Bendis could have written. There's also some hilarious use of Deadpool, who Bendis gets just right, and there's also a heel turn for the Black Cat, which is well appreciated after a few years of character assassination under Slott, but really weakly justified.

Overall, this is a good book, but a solid step down from Bendis' best. Call it 3.5 stars, worth gettingfor one final look at his take on this side of the Marvel universe.

[Just Villanueva · Rating 4 out of 5]

So bummed this series is getting cancelled only after 10 issues. The Defenders probably has the best fight scenes in any comics I've read so far. The story has been pretty simple and moves back and forth between the heroes and the Kingpin of the month, but honestly simple is better than pretending to have a mindbending story (I'm looking at you Secret Wars, and Civil War II wasn't that good either).
Just like the Netflix show, I went in this book looking for action and it delivered. Hope the series comes back with the same artist. Bendis can jump to DC for all I care. lol

[FortressOfBookitude · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, what the hell was that?
The plot was the previous volume's main problem but here it was even worse. People were punching each other until a certain page count was reached and the story needed to be over.
Unfortunately, we didn't get enough character interaction to make up for this mess. Bendis even missed out on references to his older runs of Daredevil and Jessica Jones. And because he included others, I'm pretty sure he tried to put in as much as possible.
Additionally, there's an inconsistency regarding Soule's "Purple children made everyone forget who Daredevil is" thing. But since this is still better than Soule's whole run, I'm willing to forgive.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Defenders ends kind of on a whimper sadly.

The good is the art is still fantastic. There's an amazing fight between Danny and Electra that is just mindblowing. There's also a big brawl at the end that looks fantastic too. And I like the four all together cracking jokes and being a team.

Saying that none of the villains were interesting. Everything felt like it had to rush to finish up. Not sure if it was because Bendis was leaving or this was just a very limited series.

But yeah this was decent at best. But for the fight scenes alone worth reading. A 3 out of 5.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
God damn it Bendis, we really waited years for this?

I like all of the charcters involved here; I like the creative team, despite my negativity. But this just feels rushed and slapdash. Bendis spent all of volume 1 establishing Diamondback as a threat for no reason, and this volume just goes round and round in circles as the remaining villains vie for power. Plus Deadpool is there for some reason. I just don't even know.

This is a shameless cash-in on the Netflix series I think, when really these characters deserved so much more.

The one thing that saves this from a rare 1 star rating from me is the artwork, because David Marquez can literally turn crap into gold, and this is no exception. It's beautifully drawn, beautifully coloured (thank you Justin Ponsor), but it just reads as inconsequential and a missed opportunity. I hope that when Marvel inevitably draw these characters together again that they have some kind of plan instead of just 'Let Bendis play with them for 11 issues'.

[Dimitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the saddest goodbye to a “canceled” book..: It’s not a new territory. I’ve always enjoyed the Defenders, whether they were written by B.M. Bendis or not, whether with these core members or more and I’ve always had a genuine love and respect for Bendis’ work. BUT, this time around the art was by David Marquez. One of my fav. Marvel artists.I simply ADORE his art. There are times that I have to read the issue again cause I’ve spent the whole time staring at the pages amazed! Truth is, I’ve always thought these 4 Defenders were kind of cheated where the art was concerned in previous books (minus a few exceptions),so when they announced D.Marquez I knew he would fit perfectly into this creative team. Basically, I highly recommend it.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

the art 😍👌💯

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parece que Brian Michael Bendis percebeu que era hora de ele fazer nos seus últimos meses na Marvel aquilo que ele não fez em seus mais de dezessete anos. E o que é isso? Integrar de forma orgânica as séries em que ele trabalha. E parabéns, seu Bendis, você conseguiu realizar isso com Jessica Jones, Spider-Man, The Invincible Iron Man e esta, The Defenders. Bendis nos dá uma sensação de universo interligado, onde as coisas de uma revista realmente ecoam uma na outra sem, necessariamente, estarem numa megassaga fodástica em que você precisa ler trinta títulos para entender. Contudo, essa é uma desvantagem que nós brasileiros temos em relação aos americanos: não acompanhamos essas revistas mensalmente para unir as pecinhas de forma certeira. Dois desses títulos são publicados em mensais e dois deles em encadernados aqui no Brasil. E olha, por mais que eu tenha reclamado do Deadpool na capa, o bendis trabalhou bem até esse personagem. Nesses títulos Bendis se redimiu de toda saga insossa dos Vingadores, dos X-Men e dos Guardiões da Galáxia que já produziu. O melhor é que ele deixou diversas pontas soltas divertidas para que os escritores que venham depois dele trabalhem em possíveis bons arcos de história. Esse é o Bendis que queríamos todo o tempo e não tínhamos. Esse é o Bendis pós-experiência de quase-morte. Que coisa, não?!

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, things got off to an awesome start with the first volume.

The battle for Kingpin continues, and more and more people are beginning to crop up to make their bid. Some familiar faces appear, and there are some killer battles. While this volume might have ended up being a 2 star one for me the fight between Iron Fist and Elektra pushes it more into the 3 star range - it was beautifully done. The low rating on my part is partially due to, well, Deadpool. Why did they have to ruin a good comic with Deadpool?

Anyway. Part of the problem, as other reviewers have stated, was a far too early cancellation. My issues with it are 1) Deadpool ruining the overall tone, 2) A bit too character heavy when before it was very obviously just a Defenders title, 3) a very, very rushed ending that leaves the book feeling incomplete. The action sequences are great, the non-Deadpool dialogue is great, the art itself is downright phenomenal. Points for the Punisher being well written and maddeningly silent.

So, it's worth a read but it botched what could have easily been a fantastic and long-running title. Sad we'll never really get to see where Bendis might have taken things.

[These Violent Delights (Robin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this installment in the Defenders series. I am honestly really sad to know that it's been canceled. I really love Brian Michael Bendis's interpretation of the Heroes For Hire crew.

The art was incredible as always!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 2 was fine. I love the art, for the most part, but I can’t always tell what’s going on in the fights. I wasn’t always sure what order the panels were supposed to be in either. But I do love these characters as they’re portrayed in this arc, and I’ll probably read the next installment.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. I think Bendis and Marquez and Ponseur were just having a blast with this book, and good for them. Easy reading, silly team dynamics. Not a lot like the TV show, and that’s a plus in this case.

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Street-level done right, but it feels like Brian Michael Bendis was forced to wrap things up sooner than expected.

[Travis Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 2 star book but I liked the art and Bendis does a fine job writing (i think one of his last marvel books) however the story is not very exciting and really just spins around like a top going no where. Diamond back is the villain here still ( yawwwwn) and i guess he is taking over Hells kitchen but watch out the Defenders are here! But wait there more, if that isnt enough we get useless cameos from punisher and Deadpool for no reason what so ever. Once the book is over you really dont care, I know they are pushing for this whole kingpin story but it never develops and is just wasted space. Like I said the art is really good and I mostly like Bendis but the story is just crap

[thea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 STARS (?) ||

oh man, with how good volume one was i expected this to be just the same.

the first couple of issues in here were quite great, but definitely went downhill from there. the ending wasn't resolved either, they decided to add another character near the end just to do nothing with them and add more confusion. if there was another issue or two, i think it would've been tied off so nicely.

quite disappointed to see it end like this tbh but i'll read their individual titles to see how it goes.

[Jaye Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first volume but still okay. You can see just from the cover this is just cameo city and for what? It felt so random and forced in every time. Also I fucking HATE Deadpool with a passion and he had a whole ass issue just for him like... go away dude I hate you.

The story seemed less focused this time when it shouldn't have been. They deal with Diamondback and then The Hood comes in and fucks shit up but it felt like they were just doing whatever in the background while the camera cuts to Deadpool showing his ass to the Punisher.

I love the interactions between the Defenders, it was fun and I love the group. I think it is hilarious how okay the Iron Fist is in here when in the MCU I would trip him and steal his lunch money because he's so annoying.

I loveee the art so much. Honestly my favorite part. Everyone was gorgeous and I love art that looks like this. 😍😍 Matt, my beloved I'm free on thursday night and all of friday but I have to work on saturday please call me when I am free on thursday night-

The ending wow could you get any more unsatisfying?? It leaves random threads left unresolved and then instead of a final battle or some shit it just says bye and that's it??? We aren't gonna learn how they stopped the entire group of kingpins led by the mystic dude?

The story ended up being disappointing yes but its even more disappointing there is no more of this.

[Lucas Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, everything is predictable on this one. We found out who's the person behind DiamondBack's plan, Felicia is still amazing and Frank is here again, doing god knows what. But, man, another super fun super hero book.

The art is still amazing, the dialogue is just so good and, this is one of the couple of Deadpool's appereances that i was fond of. Yeah, his not that superstar characters that everyone talks about. And that fight between Danny and Elektra was awesome! It was like, an Indonisian movie through the pages. Probably this book would deserve another star just for that pages, but i will not get so far.

Anyway, if you're tired of super heroes and all that s*@# that people usually talk about DC and Marvel, that super heroes doesn't get that kick anymore, read this title. It's everything that a comic book should bring to people.

[Nadja · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*
I didn't like this volume quite as much as the first one but I still enjoyed it. The art is honestly probably my favorite thing about the series, everything just looks beautiful and I especially the fight scenes look great. I also really like all the characters and the dynamic they have, I like how they are more down to earth compared to a team like the Avengers.

The thing I did not like as much was the storyline. I thought sometimes it was a bit all over the place and the pacing was quite weird but I guess that's probably just because the series already ended after ten issues and the ending just felt a bit rushed.

I would still recommend this series to anyone who enjoyed the Netflix show or otherwise just likes these characters.
(read as single issues)

[Jamie Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meh. It was ok. I gave it 4 stars only because I’m a huge fane of bendis’s work on daredevil and Jessica jones. And brubaker with iron fist. But really this story didn’t add up to very much. BMB went a bit overboard with the corny jokes too. So it got a little annoying at times and wasn’t the best story to begin with. But it’s his last run with these characters for a while so I cut him some slack and let him have his fun with it. He’s at DC right now doing man of steel and I can’t wait to see what he does next. 4 stars(but really only 3).

[monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the story and the most of the cameos (deadpool was annoying sorry like he was cool for one page but then he just kept talking and i just wanted him to stop)

i didn’t really like how they just slipped in another kingpin to take diamondback’s place like i get it there will always be a kingpin but it was just kind of annoying to have the last few pages be another villain just randomly showing up and then we were teased a big fight that we didn’t even get to see.

i had fun tho! i liked seeing the defenders together their dynamic is so fun and down to earth kinda like the show