The Defenders #44. The Red Rajah.

Harmony. It's not just a hairspray. It's a way of life.

Sadly, in the world of comicbookland, it's the worst possible thing that could happen.

Without conflict, there's no action and, without action, there's no story. Take away the story and our heroes would no doubt evaporate, exposed as the figments of our imagination they really are.

Hardly surprising then that when the Red Rajah appears, striving to impose harmony, peace and unity on the human race, the Defenders know exactly what to do; give him a quick punch in the bracket.

With a villain called the Red Rajah, one could be forgiven for thinking Steve Gerber's still with us. As it turns out, Steve's gone and, in his place, we have Gerry Conway, Roger Slifer and David Kraft. Gone too is Sal Buscema, replaced on art duties by Keith Giffen and Klaus Janson. So, without its previous creative team, how does it get on?

It gets on great. The randomness is gone, as is most of the humour but the sense of the Defenders not being like other super teams and, frankly being somewhat inadequate to whatever task they're facing, is still going strong. Issue #44 sees them starting off with a squabble before discovering their de facto leader Dr Strange has been possessed by a gem and is the man behind the Red Rajah's mask.

Needless to say, by the end of the tale, Luke Cage, Nighthawk and the Hulk have been flattened and it's up to the girls to try and stop him.

Hold on. Where's the punch-up?

But something that leaps out at me about this tale is how much we've been indoctrinated by Marvel Comics. When Hellcat turns up, unannounced at the Defenders HQ, it's a genuine shock to the system when a fight doesn't break out.

We're so used to the idea that, when Marvel heroes meet, they first have to have a punch-up before realising they're on the same side, that the sight of the Valkyrie and Red Guardian actually having a reasonable conversation with a masked woman who's just broken into their HQ really does feel weird. Even more so that Hellcat acts like the Valkyrie's number one groupie.

I like it, it's nice to see costumed adventurers acting like grown-ups for once but it doesn't change the fact that it feels weird. In that instant, we get a little glimpse of how the world would be if only harmony really did break out and it's an oddly unsettling thing.