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Marvel Comics Brings Back "Defenders" For Queen In Black

Marvel Comics Brings Back "Defenders" For Queen In Black, with Defenders Of Light And Dark, by Tom Waltz and Zé Carlos

Published Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:29:08 -0500

Last updated Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:46:39 -0500

Article Summary

Marvel revives The Defenders in Queen In Black: Defenders Of Light And Dark, a three-issue tie-in event.
Heroes Beta Ray Bill, Iron Man, Dagger, Photon, Sunfire, Darkstar, Anti-Venom, and Cloak face cosmic threats.
The series explores two teams battling Hela’s darkness and Knull’s light in Marvel’s newest crossover saga.
Written by Tom Waltz with art by Zé Carlos, the action-packed miniseries launches July 8, 2026.

You can't keep a good trademark down. And now The Defenders are back from Marvel Comics in July 2026. Kinda. Queen In Black: Defenders Of Light And Dark, a three-issue Queen in Black tie-in series by Tom Waltz and Zé Carlos. And with Beta Ray Bill, Iron Man, Dagger, Photon, Sunfire, Darkstar, Anti-Venom and Cloak.

Marvel Brings Back "Defenders" For Queen In Black — *Queen In Black: Defenders Of Light And Dark*,

QUEEN IN BLACK: DEFENDERS OF LIGHT AND DARK #1 (OF 3)
Written by TOM WALTZ Art by ZÉ CARLOS
Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ, Variant Cover by PEACH MOMOMO, WHILCE PORTACIO, DAVIDE PARATORE
UNLEASH THE HEROES! Beta Ray Bill is the only hero in Midgard who remembers Hela, the Goddess of Death…but does that mean he and his team can counter a Queen In Black? Meanwhile, Tony Stark's all-new Black Metal Armor is the ultimate weapon against Knull, God of the Void…but does he have command of his own defense squad? It's the mission that'll decide the outcome of the entire conflict! On Sale 7/8

Spinning directly out of QUEEN IN BLACK #1, QUEEN IN BLACK: DEFENDERS OF LIGHT AND DARK follows two daring and pivotal confrontations with the Queen in Black and God of the Void themselves as BETA RAY BILL leads PHOTON, SUNFIRE and DAGGER to cast a light against Hela's sweeping darkness while IRON MAN, equipped in new Darkforce armor, leads DARKSTAR, AGENT ANTI-VENOM and CLOAK to snuff out Knull's all-encompassing light.
Hela and Knull wage war over the Marvel Universe this summer in QUEEN IN BLACK, a new crossover event from Al Ewing and Iban Coello. But when Hela's army of symbiotes and Knull's forces of light arrive to conquer Earth, they'll be met by two new super hero teams specifically assembled for their destruction in QUEEN IN BLACK: DEFENDERS OF LIGHT AND DARK, a three-issue tie-in series by writer Tom Waltz, currently writing one of the event's key lead-in chapters in Knull, and artist Zé Carlos (Amazing Spider-Man), who will also draw sequences in the main Queen in Black series.

"Working with Al Ewing, Juanan Ramirez, and Erick Arciniega on the Knull mini-series was an absolute blast! And I'm very excited to rejoin Al and Co. for more Marvel Cosmic fun with QUEEN IN BLACK: DEFENDERS OF LIGHT AND DARK," Waltz shared. "We (or, rather, Tony Stark) have assembled a rag-tag team of super heroes to serve as the first line of Earth's defense against the dual invasion threat of Knull and Lady Hela. These aren't your normal Defenders — and teaming them up to help save the planet might seem unorthodox at first — but maybe a little super hero chaos is just what's needed to stop Hela and Knull's own chaotic machinations. The only way to find out is to join uber-talented artist Zé Carlos, me, and the rest of the creative team for this cosmic tale of bravery, sacrifice, renewal, and redemption!"

Queen In Black: Defenders Of Light And Dark #1 by Tom Waltz and Zé Carlos is out on the 8th of July.

The Defenders are a superhero non-team known for their loose, rotating membership and lack of formal structure, rules, or headquarters. The team first appeared in Marvel Feature #1 in 1971, created by Roy Thomas and Ross Andru, and stemmed from unfinished storylines involving Doctor Strange after his solo series ended. Doctor Strange recruits the Hulk and Namor the Sub-Mariner to battle extradimensional threats like the Undying Ones and later the scientist Yandroth's Omegatron. Silver Surfer soon joins, emphasising the members' clashing personalities and grudging alliances. Recurring or notable long-term members over the years included Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, Gargoyle, Beast, Daimon Hellstrom, Luke Cage, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Moondragon and many others. Recent examples focused on the Netflix team of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, and a more recent version went full cosmic, including Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Blue Marvel, America Chavez, Tigra, The Beyonder and an alternate Loki.

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