If any concept truly encapsulates why The Keeper loves Marvel’s wild and woolly Bronze Age, it’s Steve Gerber’s infamous Elf With A Gun.
He (the Elf, not Gerber) first appeared in Defenders #25, smack dab in the middle of a story where Marvel’s greatest non-team struggled with a secret society of racial supremacists (we hate those guys!) known as the Sons of The Serpent.
At that point the Defenders boasted an impressive non-roster: The Hulk, Doctor Strange, Luke Cage, Nighthawk, Daredevil, Yellowjacket, Valkyrie and the Son of Satan.
But rather than focus entirely on the group’s valiant battle against the forces of intolerance and oppression, Gerber’s story instead shifted abruptly to a “mobile home park in the woodlands of California.”
There we see young Tom Pritchett and his wife Linda while away an evening singing John Denver tunes. (Don’t laugh! It was 1975!!)
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and …
… poor Tom was blown away.
AND THAT WAS THAT. The story shifted back to The Defenders and stunned readers never heard of Tom or Linda Pritchett again.
The Elf himself returned in Defenders #31 under equally mysterious circumstances.
While the team fought a Nighthawk impostor (actually a third-rate mystic whose brain was transplanted into the Defender’s body by The Headmen … it makes perfect sense - in a Gerber sort of way - if you read the issue … ), the story swerved to Las Vegas where …
Ouch. Not quite sure if CSI ever solved that one. Once again, nothing else was revealed about the murderous Elf or his victim as the plot returned to The Defenders’ own bizarre battle.
In issue #38, the Defenders had their hands full with Nebulon The Celestial Man, killer clowns, man-eating ants and violent women behind bars in a federal prison. (Ha! Let’s see the New Avengers cope with that!!)
Of course, out of nowhere the Elf reappeared.
And yes, Fortress Fan, that was all we saw of the Elf in that particular issue.
Next up: Defenders #40. The Red Guardian (Tanya Belinsky) battled a man “with no face and no name” while the Incredible Hulk found himself busting up a protest over a snuff film - along with the theater itself.
Unfortunately, said rampage also lands one woman face-to-face with … you know who.
Sadly, Defenders #41 was the last regular issue to feature Gerber.
(The Nebulon/Headmen epic concluded in Defenders Annual #1. For a more detailed and perceptive look at Gerber’s ’70s work, check out the excellent A Trout In The Milk and click the links under “Seven Soldiers of Steve.”)
The departure meant Gerber never had a chance to conclude the Elf plotline. Happily, in Defenders # 46 new writers Roger Slifer and David Kraft came up with perhaps the only ending that could truly work …
Yep. They threw the little bugger under the wheels of a speeding truck.
No further explanations were offered, and readers had no clue who the Elf was or why he shot people. (Although the evil imp did make a cameo appearance in the second issue of Marvel’s Kiss comic, if the Keeper’s memory is correct.)
Of course, no comic book mystery could ever remain unsolved for long (other than why DC keeps screwing up Supergirl, but we digress … ).
Several years later, J.M. DeMatteis concocted a rather convoluted origin that recast the Elf (actually Elves) as time-travelers who whisked their “victims” out of existence to prevent the Earth’s destruction and … ahhh, it’s way too complicated.
If need be, Fortress Fans, you can learn more about the Elf here. We’re happy to leave him as road kill somewhere in upstate New York …
It is worth noting, however, that a familiar looking elf did pop up in the DC Universe to battle the original Freedom Fighters.
While the story is little more than a fun piece of fluff, it will always hold a special place in the Keeper’s heart for this single, deathless scene …
Man, the Black Condor is a dink.
