Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Lothar Reunite for a New Mission
Mad Cave Studios has announced Defenders of the Earth: Dark Destiny, a new miniseries starring the King Features heroes Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Lothar in a followup to their first Mad Cave series, Defenders of the Earth (see “Dan DiDio to Write New ‘Defenders of the Earth’ Series”). DiDio returns as the writer of the new series, which will have a new artist, Alex Sanchez. The first issue will be available on December 10, 2025, with covers by Marco Santucci and Vasco Georgiev and a retailer incentive cover by Bob Quinn.
“In this mini-series, we built on events from the earlier series and took the Defenders on their first adventure on the planet Mongo, where we brought back a fan favorite from the animated series,” DiDio said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
The team had its origins in comic strips and was also featured in the 1980s animated television series Defenders of the Earth and a four-issue series published by Star Comics (Marvel Comics’ children’s imprint) in 1987, which Mad Cave collected as a trade paperback in 2024.
Click Gallery below for covers!
Source: ICv2
