The Avengers: stalwart protectors of life across the cosmos. However, they are not the only superhuman team in town. Drawn together by fate, Doctor Strange assembled his Defenders of Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Namor in the early 70s. Thanks to different ideologies, the Defenders and Avengers have mixed it more than a few times. Look back at some of their more interesting team-ups (and dust-ups)!
Before the Defenders even officially took that name, one of their adventures brought them into conflict with the Avengers. Here, Namor asks Hulk and Silver Surfer to help him save the world. But since their mission looks like a rampage to the outside world, the Avengers are called in. Eventually, though, they get it all sorted out, but not before laying the groundwork for a longstanding grudge between the teams.
In 1973, the two teams have their official first meeting in the Avengers-Defenders War, which runs in AVENGERS (1963) #116-118 and DEFENDERS (1972) #8-11. The Defenders split their squad up to find sections of the Evil Eye—while Dormammu and Loki tricked the Avengers into fighting the others and reassembling the Eye, leading to one-on-one fights around the globe.
Hellcat inadvertently adds to the rocky relationship! The former Avenger and current (at the time) Defender returns to the mansion and spots a stranger in one of the labs. She jumps to attack, but the figure turns out to be Wonder Man! Simon Williams attempts to explain himself to Patsy, but the heat of battle has taken hold. Their fight gets so out of hand that an entire wall of the mansion comes crashing down!
This 1982 Annual finds Defenders enemy Nebulon appealing to the Avengers for a fresh start! When Supernalia, Nebulon's estranged wife, tells the Defenders of this event, they go to Avengers Mansion to offer objections. This leads to a full-on brawl, with Silver Surfer, Beast, Gargoyle, and Valkyrie fighting Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp and Thor! One of the stranger marital spats committed to mighty Marvel memory!
The original team of Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Namor find themselves back together and, eventually, facing off against demonic versions of Earth's heroes created by Dormammu! Black-clad versions of Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine and Spider-Man—imbued with just a bit of Dormammu's Infinite Power—initially give the Defenders a hard time, but Namor manages to bring many of them around to their side.