The Defenders were the team that was never really a team. There was a point in the 1980s where the Beast tried to make it a more formal team, but that failed spectacularly. Over the years there have been various efforts to re-form the team, but almost always consists of a line-up that is sometimes forgettable.
There are some characters that fans will always associate with the Defenders. Doctor Strange, Namor, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, and even the Hulk are among the heroes that come to mind when thinking about the team that never really was a real team, except when it was. Here are some of those names that are less remembered for their time in the Defenders.
10 Clea
Clea has been portrayed through much of her existence as Doctor Strange's girlfriend, but she is much more than that. The niece of Dormammu, Clea is a powerful sorcerer in her own right. She spent time with the Defenders as a partner to Doctor Strange.
In more recent years, Clea has even been re-associated with a new version of the team. She did this to not only oppose the corrupted original Defenders out to conquer the world but to gain assistance in her war against Dormammu. Her opposition to him and his sister Umar is her recurring responsibility.
9 Hawkeye
For a brief time, Hawkeye helped out the Defenders. While his name is synonymous with the Avengers, there was a period where he was torn about his role as an Avenger. Part of that came from failed romances with the Black Widow and especially the Scarlet Witch.
Hawkeye's relationship with the team was brief, as this period saw the hero developing into his own and going from adventure to adventure. Ultimately, Hawkeye returned to the Avengers and became one of their most dependable members.
8 Yellowjacket
Another Avenger who helped out Marvel's not-a-team was Hank Pym during his run as Yellowjacket. He aided them when their paths crossed against the Sons of the Serpent, a white supremacist group. His "membership" in the group lasted only for this adventure.
In The Ultimates, set in an alternate Marvel Universe, a disgraced Hank Pym also joined the Defenders. This group was a poorly trained team of wannabe-heroes. His time with them came to a horrible end when he had to unexpectedly save them with his growing powers. This left him stories tall and naked, a laughing stock among the burgeoning super-hero community.
7 Devil-Slayer
Devil-Slayer was with the Defenders for some time. The reason everyone tends to forget about his time with the group is that people tend to forget that he even existed. He was a former mercenary that found himself with mental powers and a cloak that allowed him to teleport.
Despite numerous efforts to revive him with any notoriety, Devil-Slayer remains relatively forgotten among Marvel's more well-known magical heroes. He was an advantage to the Defenders against the mystical threat of the Six-Fingered Hand.
6 Overmind
Overmind was a villain who was the collective psychic power of an entire conquering race. He had been transported to the alternate earth of the Squadron Supreme, where he took control of it and set about conquering the stars. The Defenders came to the Squadron's aid and defeated his plan.
Overmind's evil consciousness was overtaken by six collective telepaths. This drove the Overmind to join the Defenders. Unfortunately, he was far less powerful and chose to leave them. As he left, he wiped the team's memories of his time with them from their minds. Now they don't even remember him as a member.
5 Cloud
Cloud is a very odd character who joined near the end of the original Defenders series. She was an attractive young woman who would appear as nude with strategically placed puffs of vapor. Oddly, she fell in love with Moondragon and changed into a nude man with strategically placed puffs of vapor.
Cloud discovered that she was a sentient nebula that went to Earth for help with the Star-Thief. She became amnesiac when she possessed the forms of two dying teenagers. The Defenders helped her and she returned into space as a nebula.
4 Candace Southern
Candace Southern was a constant fixture for a long time on the arm of Warren Worthington. She was his girlfriend for so long, it was only a matter of time before she was killed by a villain. Fortunately, it took a long time for that to happen.
When Warren joined Beast's New Defenders, Candy came along and helped the team in a supporting role. Eventually, her assistance proved so valuable that they made her their leader. Of course, Candy's role was still behind the scenes, as she had no qualifications to go into battle with them.
3 Spider-Man
Spider-Man helped Doctor Strange's Secret Defenders team. The Secret Defenders might have been more disorganized than the original team. Doctor Strange gathered heroes for a specific threat. The heroes didn't stick around after the mission ended.
The mission that Spider-Man helped with was stopping the sorcerer Xandu. Spider-Man had helped Doctor Strange with Xandu in the past, which made his recruitment logical.
2 Colossus
During the Initiative, Nighthawk wanted to reform the Defenders, but Tony Stark wanted something more stable. With every registered hero in the country to choose from, Stark chose She-Hulk, the Blazing Skull, and Colossus.
Of course, the membership of any team named the Defenders isn't going to be stable. Colossus and the Blazing Skull left after only two issues of The Last Defenders. It made for an impressive looking team, though.
1 She-Hulk
She-Hulk joined two versions of the Defenders. She joined an all-female team to face the corrupted original members with Clea, with She-Hulk providing a counter to her cousin's power as the Hulk.
As mentioned, She-Hulk was also included in the Initiative's Defenders. While she initially left shortly after Colossus, she rejoined a version of the team outside of the Initiative. She stayed with this version of the team for a little bit, but sadly, that team didn't make much of a mark.