United we stand, divided we fall.
Divided, Marvel’s unlikely superheroes did pretty decently for themselves and their individual Netflix shows (except for Iron Fist of course). Daredevil had a fast-paced storyline and an awesome protagonist in Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter did her bit as the hot-tempered private detective defeating David Tennant’s Purple Man, Luke Cage was a tad protracted but still managed to find its cool thanks to actor Mike Colter. The only disappointment was Iron Fist with Finn Jones’ confused portrayal of K'Un Lun’s best. Sadly, Iron Fist has been renewed for another season and we hope this is only for the sake of extending The Defenders storyline.
United, the four superheroes get together in Marvel’s The Defenders which is set to premiere on Netflix come August 18. For someone who patiently binge watched all the previous individual shows, The Defenders may be a slight letdown.
The show picks up right where each individual mini series ended. Jessica Jones has gone from binge drinker to a full-blown drunk, who seriously needs AA and should not be trusted to save New York city in her inebriated state. That said, she does suffer from PTSD even in the comic books and drinks to wipe everything Killgrave from her memory. Luke Cage finally gets out of jail and reunites with his boo, the Night Nurse A.K.A Claire Temple, also known as Rosario Dawson in real life. Cage tries his best to keep his head above water, but someone’s been recruiting impressionable young men from Harlem and that doesn't sit well with the bullet-proof protector. Charlie Cox’s Daredevil A.K.A Matt Murdock has hung up his red suit to help the poor with their legal hassles. Murdock has been separated from his best friend and confidant, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) who now works for Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss), but occasionally tosses a juicy case or two towards his buddy with super senses. Lastly, Iron Fist A.K.A Danny Rand is as clueless as ever in his search for supervillain organisation The Hand and its supremo. The show opens with Rand in a fist-sword fight with the resurrected Elektra Natchios who would have beaten him to a pulp if not for Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) and her expert martial art skills.
Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra
Don’t expect the foursome from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe to team up from the get go. In fact, the first three episodes are dedicated to building up the mystery around series supervillain Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver) and the Hand’s ultimate weapon – The Black Sky. Jessica Jones takes up a missing person’s case which eventually has her crossing paths with the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, while Luke Cage’s philanthropic efforts to save Harlem’s youth results in him taking an Iron Fist to his face (You saw that in the first trailer).
What we loved most about the first four episodes of Marvel’s Defenders is Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung) and her enhanced combat skills. Her use of the Okinawan Sai, daggers and Katanas lend the classic comic book touch to her character. Since we can’t discuss specific plot details before the show officially releases, let’s just say that there are only two new characters to look forward to in The Defenders – Alexandra and Elektra Natchios. It’s business as usual with the superhero ensemble, and as with Iron Fist, Netflix and Marvel have stuck to the formula of short bursts of energy as the show progresses. Honest to god! there were moments where we (My binge watching partner and I) dozed off due to the lack of excitement and long periods of explanations offered by characters at different intervals in the show.
Elodie Yung as Elektra Natchios
It was only when episode 4 ended that we wanted more. We can’t wait for all the five fingers of the Hand to get together for some crazy badassery.