Netflix created a superhero franchise for Marvel Comics and called it The Defenders. However, as most comic book fans know, this team was not the Defenders from the comics. It fit the role since The Defenders has always been a non-team. It was never a legitimate team with a leader and was just a group of heroes working together when needed.
The original Defenders was some of Marvel's top outsiders, with Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Namor and Hulk working together. Through the years, many members came and went, but it remained one of the most eclectic teams in Marvel Comics. Here is a look at the 10 most powerful members of the comic book version of The Defenders, ranked.
10 LUKE CAGE
One of the crossovers from the comic books to the Netflix television shows is Luke Cage. He is easily the most powerful member of the Netflix Defenders, although Iron Fist can pack a punch. In the comics, he was a member of the second stage of Defenders, joining the team in Defenders #17 in 1974.
He returned in Secret Defenders in 1994 and then again in Defenders Vol. 5, which was an adaptation of the Netflix team. As for power, Luke Cage has superhuman strength, speed, and stamina. There is almost nothing that can penetrate his skin, as it is as hard as titanium.
9 NOVA
Nova joined the team in 1994 in Secret Defenders #11. This Nova was the Richard Rider version, and it was his second time working with the team after becoming a Defender for a Day back in the '70s. The Secret Defenders was a team that Doctor Strange would call together for missions when he saw any danger coming.
As the host of the Nova Force, Richard Rider was immensely powerful. He can call on the Nova Force to enhance his strength, speed, stamina, and durability. He has a regenerative healing factor and can fly. He can also expel energy in massive concussive blasts.
8 MOONDRAGON
Moondragon joined the Defenders when they became the New Defenders in Defenders #125. This team saw three members of the original X-Men (Angel, Beast, and Iceman) join with Moondragon, Valkyrie, and Gargoyle to make the non-team into a more formal superhero unit.
Moondragon was Heather Douglas, the daughter of Drax the Destroyer. Thanos destroyed the car she was in as a child with her parents. Her mother died, her father reanimated as Drax, but Heather survived and was taken in by Mentor, Thanos' dad. When she came under the influence of the Dragon of the Moon, she gained psionic power and became one of the world's most powerful telepaths.
7 VALKYRIE
Valkyrie joined the team in the New Defenders era. This Valkyrie was Brunnhilde, one of the members of the Valkyrie from Asgard. This status means that she was a member of the elite fighting team that was sworn to protect Asgard. However, like Thor, she was banished from Asgard and had to prove herself on Earth.
Valkyrie is significantly stronger than most Asgardians, which are already extremely powerful. She is also a master at unarmed and armed combat and is possibly the greatest female fighter on Asgard, second to only Sif.
6 HELLSTROM
Damion Hellstrom was the Son of Satan and joined the Defenders in 1974 in the pages of Giant-Size Defenders #2. He remained with the team until they split up and the New Defenders formed in 1983. Hellstrom always had a propensity for evil thanks to his lineage, but his relationship with Hellcat usually kept him on the side of good.
As the ruler of a dimension of Hell, Hellstrom had cast power that he pulled from his dimension. He was a master of black magic and can pull off almost any magical feat he needs to do. Hellstrom also possesses the Netheranium Trident, which can project magical energy.
5 NAMOR
One of the original four, Namor, the Sub Mariner, remains one of the Earth's most powerful antiheroes. He was initially a member of The Invaders in World War II with Captain America. He returned years later with amnesia as a villain to the Fantastic Four and has since bounced between good and evil, including his stint as one of the original Defenders.
As a mutant, he possesses unmatched strength when he is in the water. He also has superhuman speed, and his skin is almost invulnerable in the water. The only problem is that he grows weaker the longer he is away from the water.
4 GHOST RIDER
The Ghost Rider that was part of the Defenders was Daniel Ketch, and he joined in 1993 as part of the Secret Defenders. That version of the team formed in Dr. Strange Vol. 3 #50. It consisted of Doctor Strange, Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Ghost Rider — a reformation of the first team with Ketch replacing Namor.
As Ghost Rider, Daniel Ketch has pretty much has the same powers as Johnny Blaze, although he didn't have the experience of Blaze. He had superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. The powers of the Ghost Rider allowed him regenerative healing, and he was immune to almost everything while in his Ghost Rider form. Add in his hellfire manipulation and the penance stare, and Ketch was virtually unbeatable.
3 HULK
If you ask him, Hulk is the strongest one there is. He was also the last person anyone would expect to be a team player. Despite this, he was still one of the founders of The Avengers and The Defenders. Unlike The Avengers, where Hulk was the antagonist, controlled by Loki, who became a hero, in Defenders, Hulk was a hero from the start.
Strange manipulated Namor into helping him stop a demonic invasion and brought in Hulk as well. He is possibly the most powerful superhero in the Marvel Universe. His strength only grows as he becomes more enraged, and there is no limit to his strength levels.
2 DOCTOR STRANGE
The Defenders are a non-team with no structure and no main members through most of its existence. However, if one man could call himself the leader, it is Doctor Strange. It was Strange who formed the Defenders initially, calling on Namor and Hulk to help him. It was also Strange who created the Secret Defenders years later.
While he is not as physically strong as Hulk, Doctor Strange might be one of the most powerful magic users in the universe. He is the Master of the Mystic Arts, and he can call upon godly beings, and sometimes demons, to achieve any mystical spell he needs.
1 SILVER SURFER
One of the most powerful beings in the entire Marvel Universe is Norrin Radd, the Silver Surfer. Norrin was an intelligent man on a technologically advanced planet when Galactus showed up to consume it. Norrin agreed to give himself to Galactus as a Herald in exchange for his planet's safety.
The Silver Surfer has the Power Cosmic given to him by Galactus. He can draw energy from outside sources, and his power levels range anywhere from planet level to star level. The Surfer is invulnerable, has super strength, godlike stamina, cosmic senses, and is immortal. He can create a new star and absorb all the powers from an enemy, and there is no member of the Defenders more powerful than Silver Surfer.