The Defenders #127

This January 1984 issue of The New Defenders arrives with the gleeful chaos of Marvel's Assistant Editors' Month stamped right on the cover — and the image delivers something genuinely arresting: Angel, in his red-and-white costume, is pinned and crushed by a massive, coiling mechanical construct that blazes with yellow energy, his winged form bent helplessly under its grip. Mike Zeck's pencils and John Beatty's inks make the contrast between the organic hero and that cold, overwhelming machinery feel viscerally tense against the stark black background. Inside, Ann Nocenti and Marie Severin bring "Dreams of Glory" to life, promising the kind of offbeat, imaginative storytelling that made this era of the team so distinctive.