The U’lula’n High Tribunal strip the criminal Nebulon of power and banish him to Earth. Blaming the Defenders for his fate, Nebulon goes to their headquarters to take revenge. After attacking Dr. Strange’s manservant, Wong, Nebulon comes to his senses and teleports himself to the Himalayas. There he encounters Thor and convinces the thunder god of his repentance. Nebulon’s wife, Supernalia, covertly observes as Thor leaves with Nebulon for Avengers Mansion. Despite Iron Man’s misgivings, the Avengers agree to help Nebulon make a home on Earth. Suddenly, the Defenders appear to challenge Nebulon and the two teams fi ght. Deducing that someone is manipulating the Defenders, the Avengers retreat with Nebulon to the Himalayas, but the Defenders follow them and resume the battle. Supernalia appears and confronts her husband, whom she wants to kill to restore the honor their family lost when he chose exile over death as punishment. She reveals that Nebulon secreted a device that he intends to use against humankind to regain his lost power. Captain America turns Nebulon’s device against him, but discovers that it is killing the villain. Realizing that her own actions violated her people’s code of honor, Supernalia chooses suicide and joins her husband in the deadly rays of the device. The heroes ponder the aliens’ value of honor over life.
Nebulon runs afoul of the Defenders on three occasions (Def #14, ’74, Def Ann #1, ’76, Def #92, ’81). Supernalia recruits Defenders Beast, Gargoyle, Silver Surfer and Valkyrie to fi ght Nebulon and the Avengers, whom she says are under the villain’s control (see NOTE).
Though they appear together in a shared fb, from Supernalia’s perspective this is during the main story, for Wong it is after his appearance in the main story, and for the Defenders it is before their appearance in the main story. The prior romantic relationship between Thor and Valkyrie mentioned here was revealed in Thor #297, ’80. This issue contains a 2-page transcript of portions of the Avengers Membership Manual, including the team’s Charter and By-laws. The inkers are credited as “Jack Abel and crew.” Nebulon turns up in the Grim Reaper’s Legion of the Unliving in Av #353, ’93; however, when some of that Legion were later revealed to have never died, the Legion members were subsequently identified as normal human victims of the Reaper’s, reanimated as zombie imposters. Wasp dons a new orange costume in this story.
