This story is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Marvel Comics' offbeat team The Defenders, with Marvel's Dr. Strange being replaced by DC's Dr. Fate, the Sub-Mariner by Aquaman and the Hulk by Solomon Grundy while Hawkgirl stands in for both Valkyrie and Nighthawk. The nicknames Grundy calls Fate, Aquaman, and Hawkgirl by are also nicknames Hulk used for his fellow Defenders: Magician (Strange), Fish-Man (Sub-Mariner), and Bird-Nose (Nighthawk). Also, the commander obsessively pursuing Solomon Grundy passes a resemblance to Gen. Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, the main adversary of the Incredible Hulk.Additionally, Grundy crush is similar to Hulk smash.
The sound used when Dr. Fate transports Aquaman back to Atlantis is the same sound used to cut scenes in the original "Super Friends".