Sweet Christmas may have come and gone, but there will come this summer that a masked Man without Fear (“Daredevil”), a Power Man with unbreakable skin and superhuman strength (“Luke Cage”), a man with more than the power of kung fu (“Iron Fist”). Together with a hard-drinking, short-fused, hot mess of a hot woman (“Jessica Jones”), they will unite on Netflix and become Marvel’s “The Defenders”, the newest superhero issue from “Entertainment Weekly” (“EW”)
The series is set five years after the battle of New York, where Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Hulk smash Loki – and broke box office records – as Marvel’s “The Avengers”: ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ who fights the battles that no one else would. If the Avengers are about avenging the world, then the Defenders are about defending the city of New York.
“Every one of them is following their own trail of bread crumbs, trying to unpack a mystery in New York,” stated showrunner Marco Ramirez, who is also the showrunner for “Daredevil”. “We wanted them all caught off guard. Once they’re in that room together, it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, s**t, who are you?’”
You have Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) fighting for justice in the courtrooms as a blind attorney whose extraordinary senses helps him fight crime and corruption on the streets: working outside the law as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. There’s Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), former superhero turned private investigator with her special brand of female empowerment. Which is why her ex Luke Cage gave her plenty of “Bulletproof Love” … because he’s bulletproof, as well: the shining light and symbol of Harlem who will plenty of work as a hero-for-hire – just like Daniel Rand (Finn Jones), the billionaire who will make his spring debut as Iron Fist.
With Iron Fist finally completing the formation of the Defenders, they will be going up against the legendary Sigourney Weaver – aka sci-fi heroine Ellen Ripley of the “Alien” franchise – as Alexandra.
“Sigourney is the kind of person you can buy as the smartest person in the room, who you can also buy as a person holding a flamethrower,” Ramirez told “EW”. “Her character is a very powerful force in New York City. She’s everything Sigourney is: sophisticated, intellectual, dangerous. We knew it would take something massive to pull these four characters from their individual worlds to work together, but also small enough that it felt it existed in our world.”
After each being the lone man – and lone woman – of their respective Netflix shows, the Defenders must now how to make a difference in saving New York – together, as a team. But first, all four of them must learn how to save themselves.
“The Defenders didn’t have a ‘D’ on their belt buckles and a Defenders Tower”, said Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb. “We agreed from the very beginning that these folks could at the very end go, ‘I never want to see your face again’.”
Seasons 1-2 of Marvel’s “Daredevil”, and the first seasons of Marvel’s “Jessica Jones” and Marvel’s “Luke Cage” are available on Netflix. Marvel’s “Iron Fist” premieres Friday, March 17 on Netflix.