"Once More, the End of the World..."
It's happening again. Cataclysmic chaos spreading around the globe, not just New York. Avengers and Fantastic Four have their collective hands full dealing with major-scale menaces from other planets and dimensions.
What's special about these circumstances over the usual run-of-the mill cosmic power-grabs and hostile invasions is that they are all engineered by one man. One man, with a deep rooted hatred of those four individuals who have called themselves "Defenders" from time to time.
As fate would have it, they are drawn together once again by force. Hulk, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner and the Silver Surfer; the antithesis of group harmony. Hard as it might be to overcome natural animosities, the Defenders have to unite to prevent Yandroth, their oft-nemesis from destroying the world.
In the aftermath of defeat, with one dying breath, Yandroth curses his vanquishers. The team that doesn't play well together will soon learn what that curse will bring.