The Defenders is an 8 part miniseries that will air on Netflix. The series will bring together several superheroes from the MCU including Luke Cage, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist. The four superheroes will be combining their powers to fight The Hand.

Marvel’s The Defenders 

The Defenders. The heroes of Marvel’s Netflix originals come together to face off against a common enemy in the war for New York. The first time we hear of this inevitable war is from Stick (Scott Glenn), Matt Murdock’s old mentor and a member of the Chaste. The Chaste is a powerful organization whose sole purpose is to stop The Hand from activating the Black Sky. In the final moments of Daredevil season 2, a recently mourned Elektra (Elodie Yung) finds herself in a sarcophagus where The Hand intends to resurrect her as The Black Sky. With the Black Sky in their power, The Hand’s involvement in New York is more prominent.

A company known as Midland Circle Financial, run by Sigourney Weaver‘s Alexandra, works closely with The Hand to take over New York. Midland Circle is also where our heroes first come together in what promises to be an epic action scene. The pieces are set and all four must come as one to Defend New York from The Hand. But Where are they now? 

The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen

The second half of Daredevil’s last season focused on Elektra and The Hand. While investigating Midland Circle, Matt (Charlie Cox) and Elektra discover a giant hole in the ground. They fend off an army of ninjas before they’re overpowered and ultimately rescued by Stick. A resurrected Nobu reveals to Elektra that she is The Black Sky. Elektra renounces the hand and sacrifices herself to save Matt. The season ends with Matt hanging the horns and revealing his secret identity to Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll). With Nelson and Murdock disbanded, Foggy (Elden Henson) takes a job at Hogarth, Chao, and Benowitz, the firm handling Luke’s case. Elektra will return in The Defenders working closely with the main antagonist, Alexandra. Because of the overlap in Matt and Jessica’s line of work, it will be interesting to see how they clash or compliment each other.  

The Smartass Detective

Jessica Jones attempts to put her life back together and legitimize her PI business after her experience with Kilgrave (David Tennant). Jessica’s kept busy after the events of season one, acting as a private investigator for Joy Meachum in Iron Fist. Joy has her investigating the other board member’s shady dealings, which could potentially be her link to Midland Circle. Joy doesn’t name drop Jones, but describes her as an “investigator worth every penny… when she was sober”, and if we know anything about Jones, it’s that she never passes up the opportunity for a drink. Her inability to play well with others makes Jessica the wildcard of the bunch.

The Righteous Ex-Con

When we first meet Luke, he still isn’t mentally recovered after the events of Jessica Jones and his encounter with Kilgrave. An all-out war for the streets of Harlem breaks out after a drug deal goes wrong. Luke Cage is caught in the crossfire and gets involved in an attempt to clean up the streets. After reclaiming Harlem from Cottonmouth (Mahersala Ali) and defeating Diamondback (Erik LaRay Harvey) Luke Cage (Mike Colter) returns to prison. Luke Cage will likely be out of prison by the time The Defenders begins. Hopefully, we see Luke and Danny develop their classic friendship from their comic counterparts.

The Kid With the Glowing Fist

Danny Rand’s (Finn Jones) involvement with the hand makes him a key player in The Defenders. Now that Danny doesn’t have to prove who he is, he will be able to focus on his role as The Immortal Iron Fist full time. His quest to destroy The Hand kicks into gear after the events of Iron Fist. K’un Lun is gone and Bakuto is back to life. In fact, The Defenders begins with Danny Rand trying to find more information on The Hand’s operations. Danny will be partially responsible for The Defenders teaming up despite their reluctance to do so.

Becoming The Defenders

Up until this point, our heroes have worked hard to regain a sense of normalcy in their lives. Danny is no exception, having spent the last half of his life training to be the destroyer of The Hand. The question that everyone wants to be answered , is what exactly are they defending? We’ve learned that when it comes to Murdock and Cage, their actions come from a place of selflessness. The inherent drive to protect those in need and doing what’s right has been the core value of their characters. But what about Jessica Jones? Whose business thrives from expecting the worst from people, which makes her involvement with The Defenders an unlikely one.

 

One of the most interesting elements of these shows is the relationships between heroes and secondary characters. Using secondary characters, such as Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) and Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss), the shows have established a subtle connecting tissue. In a short time, Claire transformed from a regular nurse to someone who is willing to join the fight. Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor) and Karen Page are set to reprise their roles as counterparts to our troubled heroes. The evolution these characters have undergone make them just a big a part of The Defenders. I look forward to Misty Knight and Colleen Wing meeting for the first time, paving the way for their roles as “Daughters of the Dragon.”

Coming to Netflix August 18th

I look forward to watching these characters interacting with each other on screen and possibly pulling some comic book style team fights. Having them all in the same room should make for some interesting dialogue given how different all their personalities are. Luke Cage’s serious demeanor with Danny’s jovial charm, Matt’s strict moral compass, and Jones’s cynicism should bring a balanced chemistry on screen between the characters. Finally, The Defenders premieres August 18th on Netflix and all 8 episodes will be available to stream at once.

Info:

Check out the rest of our The Defenders preseason coverage.

The Defenders Preseason: Daredevil

The Defenders Preseason: Jessica Jones

The Defenders Preseason: Iron Fist

The Defenders Preseason: Luke Cage

You can catch up on our Big Brother 19 coverage here.

Subscribe to our podcast Nation of on iTunes, and if you enjoyed the program, we would greatly appreciate a review!