ZAFFERZAFFER
Real Name: Zaffer
Identity/Class: po (Wasteland) warrior (race unrevealed)
Occupation: Multiple (surviving/existing)
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Defenders (Hellcat/Patsy Walker, Hulk/Bruce Banner, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Son of Satan/Daimon Hellstrom, Valkyrie/Brunnhilde), Rose of Purity
Enemies: Enchantress (Amora);
formerly the Defenders (Hellcat, Hulk, Namor, Son of Satan)
Known Relatives: Damask (mate and lover)
Aliases: None;
he was described only by terms such as "thing," "being," and "hulking creature"
Base of Operations: Wasteland planetoid in the Wasteland dimension
First Appearance:
Defenders I#108 (August, 1982)
Powers/Abilities: Zaffer is approximately 10' tall, immensely strong (Class 100) and durable, able to fight the Hulk, a freshly-hydrated Namor, and the Son of Satan simultaneously, though they eventually gained the advantage over him.
He also possesses a tentacle under each arm, which apparently were of comparable strength to his normal limbs; these tentacles can change in length from perhaps 8' to closer to 15'.
He possesses four clawed fingers and a thumb on each hand, but four clawed toes on each foot. He also possesses four eyes, one pair inferior to (below) a pair in a humanoid position. He also possesses sharp, fanged teeth.
He speaks telepathically, enabling him to communicate with beings from other worlds or dimensions without a language barrier.
An experienced warrior, Zaffer has long forsaken his violent ways,
and he is friendly and kind, willing to share anything he has with
anyone who visits his world. He enjoys dancing and singing to his
lover's music. 
However, when needed, such as to protect the Rose or Damask and/or when
attacked, Zaffer will revert to savage combat, succumbing to brutality
and rage.
Such violent actions and emotions pained the Rose, causing it to revert
the Wasteland planetoid to its true, barren state.
His dancing has been described as awkward but "not without a certain innocent grace."
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 10' tall)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 1800 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blue (including full beard)
Skin: Blue
History:
(Defenders I#108 (fb) - BTS) - Zaffer was a warrior.
(Defenders I#107 - BTS / Defenders I#108 (fb) - BTS / Defenders: Strange Heroes: Rose of Purity) - In recent years, the Asgardian sorceress Enchantress (Amora), lonely for a soul mate, drew the embodiment of love itself to Asgard and imbued it with a physical male form. To be worthy of Love’s devotion, Enchantress felt she needed to cleanse her soul of past evil via the Rose of Purity’s power, for its petals, when brewed with magical herbs and roots, could supposedly restore lost spiritual purity.
Amora learned the Rose's location from fellow Asgardian sorceress Karnilla. Although willing to seek the Rose itself, Enchantress at least claimed to be unwilling to leave Love, whose created form was bound to Asgard.
Amora intended to entrust the quest to Asgardian warrior Valkyrie,
her longtime pawn, at that time inhabiting mortal Barbara Norriss, but
Norriss’ body had been slain following a recent encounter between the
Defenders, the Earthly team of champions to which she belonged, and Anthony Power’s Secret Empire. Valkyrie’s soul, summoned via séance,
asked her teammates to retrieve her true body, but Amora, briefly
departing Asgard, interrupted the proceedings and trapped Valkyrie’s
soul. She extorted the Defenders’ cooperation under threat of
destroying Valkyrie’s Asgardian body, which she promised to unite with
Valkyrie’s soul if they brought her the Rose of Purity. 
Unknown to Amora, Love, troubled by her actions, telepathically contacted Defenders leader Dr. Stephen Strange, who mentally warned three of his colleagues — Beast (Hank McCoy), Gargoyle (Isaac Christians), and Spider-Man (Peter Parker) — to refuse the Enchantress’ offer. To keep Amora distracted, Strange withheld his warning from four others — Hellcat, Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and Son of Satan — whom Enchantress teleported to the Rose’s world; Hellcat also carried Valkyrie's sword, Dragonfang, which then held Valkyrie's soul.
(Defenders I#108) - Zaffer happily danced to Damask's lyre-like instrument-playing until being surprised by the presence of the Defenders. After a brief pause, Zaffer telepathically greeted the strangers, introduced them to their god, and then sang a song of their history, at the conclusion of which the Rose transformed the barren planetoid into an idyllic paradise.
As Hellcat noted she could feel the peace, joy, and love in the atmosphere, Zaffer told her that their god was showing her what can be when you give reign to the purity within. Zaffer then encouraged the Defenders to dance, sing, give thanks to their god, and enjoy this paradise as long as they were remained.
Seeing the Hulk's worried expression, Zaffer asked what was his concern, and the Hulk explained his torment, "World
is nice -- and maybe Hulk would like to stay here some time. But
sword-girl (the Valkyrie) is dead -- and we must have Rose to bring her back!"
Realizing the visitors wanted to take their god, Zaffer angrily insisted, "No!," at which point the Hulk punched him to the ground while insisting, "Yes!" Shocked and enraged at being struck, Zaffer punched the Hulk, knocking him off of his feet, while his tentacles reached out, ensnared Namor and the Son of Satan and hurled them into a tree and a rock, respectively.
The three male Defenders swiftly recovered and engaged the powerful and now blood-thirsty Zaffer, while Hellcat rushed forward to cut down the Rose with Dragonfang. However, the Valkyrie's spirit resisted Hellcat's sword-strike, unwilling to sacrifice the Rose and the happy lives of Zaffer and Damask for her own sake; and then Damask rushed forward and tried to convince Hellcat to stop as the conflict caused the Rose to remove its influence, reverting the planetoid to its desolate state.
While the male Defenders eventually knocked down and gained the upper hand on Zaffer and Hellcat easily cast aside the delicate Damask, Hellcat was ultimately unable to slay the Rose.Convinced of the wrongness of their actions, Hellcat persuaded her fellow Defenders to end the battle.
The Son of Satan helped Zaffer back up to his feet, but Zaffer lamented
that all was lost, that their god had forsaken them, and that they were
alone with their own despair.
However, the Rose then restored his world’s blissful state, claiming the brief crisis had enabled them all to better appreciate paradise after having walked through the wasteland of their own hearts.
Damask and Zaffer stood silently as the image of the Enchantress then appeared above, telling them that they would be trapped there for all eternity. Thereafter, Zaffer told his new friends that they were more than welcome to remain with them, and that he and Damask would be proud to share what was theirs. Namor considered that they may have no choice but to accept.
(Defenders I#109 - BTS) - Dr. Strange summoned the four Defenders (and Dragonfang) from the Wasteland to Asgard to oppose the Enchantress and her agents.Comments: Created by J.M. DeMatteis, Don Perlin, Sam Trapani, Rick Magyar, and Jack Abel.
I always enjoyed the unique appearance and character of Zaffer, and my
copy of Defenders I#108 is starting to fall apart from being read so
many times.
I would love to see him again in
the right story, keeping true to history and nature. Maybe we could
gain some back-story...is his race native to the Wasteland dimension or
did they arrive there under unrevealed circumstances?
Zaffer and Damask's real names were confirmed in the
Rose of Purity's profile in Defenders: Strange Heroes (February, 2012).
Zaffer is a tone of blue.
Zaffer looked a little different (quite a bit larger, ansd notably with a fifth toe added) on the
cover of Defenders I#108, but it's a cool image, so I'm including
it here nonetheless:
Zaffer originally received a sub-profile under the Rose of Purity in 12/03/2003.
This profile was completed 9/18/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Big thanks to Roger Ott for cleaning up the image from Defenders: Strange Heroes, and to Loki for providing digital images I couldn't figure out how to get.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Zaffer should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Defenders I#108 (August, 1982) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Don
Perlin (pencils), Sam Trapani, Rick Magyar, Jack Abel (inks), Al
Milgrom (inks/editor)
Defenders: Strange Heroes (February, 2012) - Jeff Christiansen, Mike O'Sullivan, & Stuart Vandal (head writers/coordinators)
First posted: 09/22/2021
Last updated: 10/31/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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