The Defenders #32

Name: The Defenders #32
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Feb 1976 · Marvel · 0.25 USD

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“Musical Minds! ["Chairs" is crossed out in the middle of the title]”

★ 1st appearance — Ruby Thursday

About this Issue

The Defenders #32 holds a firm place in Bronze Age Marvel history as the first appearance of Ruby Thursday — a scientist who replaced her own head with a malleable organic computer — one of the most visually distinctive and conceptually audacious villain debuts of the 1970s. The issue simultaneously delivers the first comprehensive origin story for Kyle Richmond (Nighthawk), transforming what had been a thinly sketched reformed villain into a genuinely textured character whose troubled childhood, expelled-from-college backstory, and heart-murmur rejection from military service gave the Defenders' non-team its most psychologically grounded member to that point. Together, the two narrative threads — a surreal interior journey through Nighthawk's psyche guided by a personification of Death, and Ruby's instantly memorable debut knocking the entire team unconscious single-handedly — exemplify Steve Gerber's gift for yoking character-driven introspection to gleefully absurdist superhero plotting, a combination that the broader Headmen/Nebulon saga would develop into what many critics regard as the apex of his Defenders run.

writer Steve Gerber · artist Sal Buscema · artist, inker Jim Mooney · colorist Petra Goldberg · letterer John Costanza · cover Gil Kane, Klaus Janson, John Romita

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $5

CGC 9.8 · 20 in census $166*

CGC 9.6 · 29 in census $68*

CGC 9.4 · 23 in census $43*

CGC 9.2 · 8 in census $30*

CGC 9.0 · 4 in census $25*

CGC 8.5 · 7 in census $20

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CGC 8.0 · 4 in census $20

CGC 7.5 · 2 in census $20

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $20

CGC 5.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $20

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 $435 1 listing CGC 9.4 $105 1 listing CGC 9.2 $59.99 1 listing

Raw — NM ▾ $35.99–$40 2 listings

NM $35.99 NM $40

Raw — VF+ $13.99 1 listing Raw — VF $35 1 listing Raw — FN+ $8.99 1 listing Raw — FN $14.87 1 listing Raw — GD $4.98 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $4.25–$9.9 4 listings

Raw / ungraded $4.25 Raw / ungraded $7.02 Raw / ungraded $8 Raw / ungraded $9.9

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GD $5.98 FN+ $7 FN/VF $7 VG $7.99 VF/NM · Variant $10.49 VF $11.95 VF/NM $19 The Defenders #32 (Marvel Comics February 1976) $3.21

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History

The issue sits squarely within Steve Gerber's tenure as the series' writer, a run that began with issue #20 (early 1975) and stretched through issue #41. Gerber had introduced the three founding Headmen — all resurrected from unrelated late-1950s Atlas Comics anthology one-shots — in Defenders #21 (March 1975), then deliberately set the group aside before relaunching their storyline with #31. Ruby Thursday, unlike those recycled characters, was an entirely original Gerber creation, brought to life by penciller Sal Buscema (providing breakdowns) and veteran inker Jim Mooney, who had recently crossed from DC — where he had spent years on Supergirl — and was finding Gerber's offbeat scripts a welcome creative stretch. The cover was rendered by Gil Kane with Klaus Janson inks, with John Romita making uncredited alterations to the Hulk's face; editor Marv Wolfman oversaw the issue.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Ruby Thursday (Thursday Rubinstein), a scientist who grafted a malleable red organic-computer sphere in place of her own head; created by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema, and Jim Mooney.
Ruby Thursday is named after the Rolling Stones song 'Ruby Tuesday'; her debut issue is part two of the multi-chapter Headmen/Nebulon saga.
The issue delivers the first detailed origin of Kyle Richmond / Nighthawk, tracing his life from the death of his mother through expulsion from college, a heart-murmur draft rejection, and his path from Squadron Sinister villain to Defenders member — previously only sketched in scattered flashbacks.
Daredevil (Matt Murdock) appears only in flashback/cameo within Nighthawk's origin sequence; he is not an active participant in the main story.
Written by Steve Gerber; interior art by Sal Buscema (breakdowns) and Jim Mooney (finished art/inks); cover pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Klaus Janson, with John Romita alterations to the Hulk's face on the cover.
Edited by Marv Wolfman; the letters page ('Defenders Dialogue') includes a letter from future comics writer Jo Duffy, and the issue contains Marvel Value Stamp Series B #26 (Silver Surfer).
The issue was reprinted in Essential Defenders Vol. 3 (2007), Marvel Masterworks: The Defenders Vol. 5 (2015), and The Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2 (2023), as well as in a French black-and-white reformatted edition in Arédit-Artima's Hulk #12 (September 1978).
Ruby Thursday went on to appear across decades of Marvel Comics — including Omega the Unknown, Sensational She-Hulk, She-Hulk Vol. 2, and Heroes for Hire — and is featured in the Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy video game (2021).