The Defenders #123

This September 1983 issue assembles a striking ensemble on its cover by Sandy Plunkett and Bill Sienkiewicz — a dark-robed, red-eyed figure dominates the center, flanked by a blonde woman in white, the Scarlet Witch, a ghostly glowing figure, Beast, and a monstrous face, while the Vision lies crumpled on the ground below and a tiny boxed figure pleads to be let free. The story title "Of Elves and Androids!" hints at the strange mix of mystical and mechanical that makes the Defenders such a wonderfully unpredictable team. With J. M. DeMatteis writing and Don Perlin on interior art, this is Marvel's "non-team" at its most fascinatingly eclectic.