Gun-Shy

Although the current incarnation of the Defenders has few ties to previous versions of the non-team, former member Daimon Hellstrom made a surprise guest appearance in Defenders #5 (November 2017). The issue established that Hellstrom dated Jessica Jones before she became involved with Luke Cage. Based on Hellstrom's hissing reaction to the couple, he's still sore about the breakup with Jones.

One a separate note, the cover nameplate stands out as one of the most creative in Defenders history—with a bullet shooting through the word Defenders, drawing contrast to Luke Cage's bulletproof skin.

Namor the Neutral

A previous series of posts discussed the Defenders through the lens of the nine-alignment system from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

Early versions of the Players Handbook also included a Racial Preferences Table, noting how humans, elves, and other humanoids generally regarded one another within the game. For example, half-elven characters preferred elves and other half-elves while having tolerance for gnomes and humans.

Using this approach lends insight into the character of Sub-Mariner, who has preferred his Atlantean heritage, while his feelings about humanity could range from neutrality to tolerance to antipathy to hatred.

This explains how Sub-Mariner could work alongside the forces of good to defend Atlantis (or the entire planet), while taking a neutral stance when only the surface world was in danger, and even aligning with evil-doers when it served the best interest of Atlantis.

For what it's worth, elves from Dungeons & Dragons have no connection to the maniacal Elf who made recurring appearances throughout the original Defenders series.