After Strange Tales dipped in sales and got canned the other main publication whose pages Strange could be found in was The Defenders, a "non-team" of Marvel characters who were known for being loners. The conceit, then, was in putting together a bunch of dysfunctional heroes and seeing them try to get one, with their superheroic missions often sidelined by constant bickering and/or the Hulk deciding he hated everyone again and smashing everything in sight. The roster has gone through a bunch of different iterations over the years - including the likes of Namor, the Silver Surfer, Luke Cage and Beast - but the one constant has been Doctor Strange. Which is interesting, since Defenders is something else on the current Marvel slate. It could look a little different from what readers of the comic are used to, however. Right now, alongside all these blockbusters movies, Marvel are also launching a half-dozen TV series on Netflix - beginning with Daredevil, but carrying on to include Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones, all culminating in a miniseries where they team up as...the Defenders. The Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is intended to focus on "street level" heroes (which also means they don't have to spend as much on special effects), but it'd be nice if they found a way for Strange to get involved too.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
