The Defenders #133
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Defenders #133 is the first appearance of Manslaughter — a psychopathic mutant assassin who would go on to play a pivotal, sacrificial role in the New Defenders' final arc against the Dragon of the Moon — making it a foundational issue for the series' endgame. It also introduces the recurring supporting duo of Cutlass (Oliver Cutlass) and Typhoon (Kwan Tai-Fung), street-level San Francisco operatives who return in later issues. The issue sits at the very start of Peter B. Gillis's tenure as writer, the beginning of a run now recognized for its progressive social storytelling and unusually personal character work for a Marvel superhero title of the era. For Angel/Warren Worthington III, it is part of his sustained New Defenders period — the longest stretch he spent as a team financier and co-leader outside the X-Men before his transformation into Archangel.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
Raw — FN ▾ $4.99–$7.98 3 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $2.99–$10.97 16 listings
More listings for this title
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Peter B. Gillis took over the writing duties on The Defenders beginning with issue #132, immediately after J.M. DeMatteis departed — Gillis having lobbied editor Carl Potts directly for the assignment as his first ongoing Marvel series. Issue #133 was his second issue on the book and the first to feature a guest penciller, Alan Kupperberg (with Kim DeMulder on inks), rather than the regular artist Don Perlin; the cover was by Kevin Nowlan. The editorial team under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter comprised Potts as editor and Jim Massara as assistant editor. Gillis used the letters page of this very issue to introduce himself formally to readers as the new series writer.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Manslaughter (in shadow only; full appearance follows in Defenders #135) — a telepathic mutant assassin who becomes a major antagonist and ultimately a tragic participant in the New Defenders' final battle against the Dragon of the Moon.
- First appearance of Cutlass (Oliver Cutlass) and Typhoon (Kwan Tai-Fung), a pair of San Francisco 'oriental expeditors' who return as recurring supporting characters in Defenders #148.
- Written by Peter B. Gillis (his second issue on the title), penciled by Alan Kupperberg, inked by Kim DeMulder, colored by Christie Scheele, lettered by Janice Chiang, with a cover by Kevin Nowlan.
- Edited by Carl Potts (editor) and Jim Massara (assistant editor), under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
- Angel (Warren Worthington III) appears as a core New Defenders member; he is depicted using San Francisco properties belonging to him and girlfriend Candy Southern as the team's temporary base — consistent with his role as the group's financier.
- The main story, 'The Pajusnaya Consignment!', is a self-contained crime/espionage plot set in San Francisco's Chinatown involving drug smuggling, a Soviet KGB agent posing as a DEA officer, and stolen defense-intelligence data — a grounded, street-level adventure tonally distinct from typical Marvel superhero fare of the period.
- The issue was reprinted three times: in the Dutch anthology De Verdedigers #51 (1985), in Essential Defenders Vol. 7 (2013, black-and-white), and in Defenders Epic Collection #8 – The New Defenders (2018).
- Exists in three contemporaneous print variants: a Direct Edition, a Newsstand Edition, and a Canadian Price Variant (75¢ cover price).
Cast · 1 character
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in De Verdedigers #51 (1985), Los Nuevos Vengadores #16 (1988), Los Nuevos Vengadores #17 (1988), Essential Defenders #7 (2013), Defenders Epic Collection #8 (2018)
Key issues in The Defenders
Variants (2)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.