Marvel’s The Avengers – aka ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ – may have won of the battle of New York, but the battle for it continues with four outsiders, misfits, loners, outlaws, and vigilantes who defines “The ‘H’ Word” called hero in fighting the good fight against crime, corruption and injustice, and the evil that no one can’t or won’t see. Now, they’re about to fight the war to save New York against another ‘H’ word in the form of the organization called the Hand.
Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Danny Rand/Iron Fist are about to become Marvel’s The Defenders.
The mini-series starts off slowly in the first two episodes, but gradually comes together with a “Mean Right Hook” in the next two, and it goes from there – and it’s not just the punches the Defenders throw at the Hand. It’s the jabs between “blind ninja” lawyer-superhero Matt/Daredevil and “classy” yet sarcastic private eye Jess, “bulletproof” Luke and “white boy billionaire” Danny talking at Colleen (Jessica Henwick) Wing’s dojo in episode three about what it really means to be both a Power Man and a man with power.
Are they a team? No, but they have to be if they want to stop the Hand. Are they friends? Well, all of them have friends and allies that includes Colleen, night nurse Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), and NYPD detective Misty Knight (Simone Missick), where the latter two had “coffee” with Luke. Still, Luke and Danny are destined to be friends one day as Heroes For Hire, and the same could be said of Misty and Colleen as the Daughters of the Dragon. And as for Matt and Jessica? There’s definite chemistry between them (Jessica had “coffee” with Luke, after all), but the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen has deal with the resurrection of Elektra (Elodie Yung) as the Black Sky of the Hand, while Jessica just want this over and done so she can go back being resourceful, which means hard drinking.
Whereas the Avengers work and operate in the light, the Defenders remains to work (alone) in the shadows because they’re not looking for fame, glory, or recognition. They might not be as mighty as Thor, but Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are strong, dedicated, determined, proud, and humble because they’re heroes who just wanna make a difference in the place that serves as their foundation, their heart, their soul, their life: New York.
Overall Rating: **** stars