“You think the four of you can save New York? You can’t even save yourselves.” 

After the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home with Charlie Cox’s cameo as the really good lawyer, Matt Murdock and the main villain of Hawkeye turning out to be Vincent D’Onofrio as the Kingpin. Making not just DareDevil canonized in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but all the other Netflix series including Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, and The Punisher. It was recently announced that both Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio will not only be returning for the Echo series but with the surprise announcement of DareDevil: Born Again. Though DareDevil: Born Again will not release until Spring of 2024, Matt Murdock will team up with fellow lawyer, Jen Walters, in episode eight of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, streaming on Disney+ October 6th, 2022. 

All the shows shifted to Disney+ Wednesday, March 23rd, since all of the shows are rated-MA due to violence and gore, profanity, sexually explicit themes, and intense scenes. When Disney announced they were bringing the Netflix series to their family friendly streaming service this sparked controversial problems. But no need to fear, parents must know that there are extreme changes on the parental controls. In order to access any MA rated shows you must enter your Disney+ password and for more security a four number passcode. 

**Please note that it is suggested by fans that all these series should be watched in a specific order since they do all connect like every other Marvel project and each show has significant impact on one another, especially DareDevil. The order release just happens to be in chronological order, the order in which they should be watched. It includes DareDevil (season one), Jessica Jones (season one), DareDevil (season two), Luke Cage (season one), Iron Fist (season one), The Defenders (limited mini series), The Punisher (season one), Jessica Jones (season two), Luke Cage (season two), Iron Fist (season two), DareDevil (season three), The Punisher (season two), and Jessica Jones (season three). 

All seasons are bingeable and streaming only on Disney+.

This article, “Marvel’s The Defenders Saga Has a New Home on Disney+ Ft. The Defenders (Pt. 6)” is the sixth and final part of the Defenders Saga article series. Part six only talks about and discusses the greatest heroes, DareDevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, as they come together to fight off The Hand to try and save New York City from destruction in The Defenders.

PREVIOUS ARTICLES

Read about DareDevil in Part One in “Marvel’s The Defenders Saga Has a New Home on Disney+ Ft. DareDevil (Pt. 1)” https://talonnews.org/810/entertainment/netflixs-marvels-the-defenders-saga-has-a-new-home-on-disney-ft-daredevil-pt-1/

Read about Jessica Jones in Part Two in “Marvel’s The Defenders Saga Has a New Home on Disney+ Ft. Jessica Jones (Pt. 2)” 

https://talonnews.org/844/entertainment/netflixs-marvels-the-defenders-saga-has-a-new-home-on-disney-ft-jessica-jones-pt-2/

Read about Luke Cage in Part Three in “Marvel’s The Defenders Saga Has a New Home on Disney+ Ft. Luke Cage (Pt. 3)” 

https://talonnews.org/877/entertainment/netflixs-marvels-the-defenders-saga-has-a-new-home-on-disney-ft-luke-cage-pt-3/

Read about Iron Fist in Part Four in “Marvel’s The Defenders Saga Has a New Home on Disney+ Ft. Iron Fist (Pt. 4)” 

https://talonnews.org/926/entertainment/netflixs-marvels-the-defenders-saga-has-a-new-home-on-disney-ft-iron-fist-pt-4/

Read about The Punisher in Part Five in “Marvel’s The Defenders Saga Has a New Home on Disney+ Ft. The Punisher (Pt. 5)” 

https://talonnews.org/1446/entertainment/netflixs-marvels-the-defenders-saga-has-a-new-home-on-disney-ft-the-punisher-pt-5/

“It’s just a city. You’ll get used to watching them fall.” 

The Defenders (2017 eight episode mini-series)

The Defenders gathers all of Netflix’s greatest Marvel heroes who work individually but all have a common goal; to save New York City. Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand come together as “The Defenders” to take down members of the Hand including Alandra and Elektra to save their city in this eight episode mini-series. Mentioned above DareDevil (season one), Jessica Jones (season one), DareDevil (season two), Luke Cage (season one), and Iron Fist (season one) should all be streamed before watching The Defenders since there is much needed background information and stories for all of the characters. 

Legacy of The Defenders 

Netflix’s Defenders are not the same as Marvel Comic Defenders. The Defenders mini-series was the first time the team consisted of DareDevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist where now due to the success of the series has led to some comic runs. Similar to the Netflix series, the comic Defenders are usually displayed as a “non-team” of individual “outsiders” from previous comic series, who tend to follow their own agenda. Meaning the Defenders are usually a questionable assortment of heroes. The Defenders were first introduced in 1971 and were led by Doctor Strange with Hulk, Namor, and eventually Silver Surfer joined the so-called team. The Defenders comic series was actually created because Roy Thomas’ (Roy Thomas was Stan Lee’s first Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics) Doctor Strange series was canceled in the middle of an arc so he had to revolve the storyline that was cut short from Doctor Strange into another series. Though the members of the Defenders are changing and rotating constantly, Doctor Strange and the Hulk are usually somewhere on the team. Some other mainstays include Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, Beast, Luke Cage, and Gargoyle, just to name a few. 

Coming out in 2023 is an all new Defenders comic line titled, “Defenders Beyond”, where America Chavez, Loki, the Blue Marvel, and Tigara are sent a daunting warning from the late Doctor Strange from beyond the grave saying the team must defend reality itself!! 

Who IS the Strongest Defender? 

This can actually be quite a debate between Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist. At the end of the day, Matt Murdock does not have any super powers rather than heightened senses leaving him to be the weakest link. Whereas, Luke Cage is probably the most powerful Defender. Though he does have a glowing hand or cool powers like the Immortal Iron Fist, he has super strength but is also invulnerable to almost anything. Not only can he rip doors off or burst through walls but he is bullet proof making him not only the most powerful but the most impossible one to take down. 

Color Symbolism in The Defenders 

In The Defenders, Marvel ties a color to a specific character. This is most notably seen in the opening credits to The Defenders which perfectly shows each character’s concept of colors. This is actually used in almost every scene each character is in throughout their entire series’. Jessica Jones is usually covered in more moody blue and purple tones where Luke Cage has a more friendly and warm yellow to match his personality. Any scene Iron Fist is in is tinted in a more gloomy dark green tone where Matt Murdock is associated with red in his signature glasses, walking stick, and of course, the DareDevil costume itself. Red lights are used to symbolize his second alias, DareDevil, who he is trying to suppress throughout the series but finally comes to his senses to “let the devil out” and save New York as the “Devil of Hell’s Kitchen”. 

Promotional photo above is for The Defenders featuring Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/DareDevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Finn Jones (Danny Rand/Iron Fist). Each Defender’s designated color is perfectly represented in this photo. Luke Cage is in his usual bright yellow shirt, Jessica Jones is in darker colors with a pop of blue/purple, Danny Rand has a tint of green in his outfit, where Matt Murdock is in a suit and tie with his signature red glasses. (Please note that this photo is a nod to some of the most popular comic covers where the characters are tend to be posed like this)

Opinion on Defender: Matt Murdock/DareDevil

 “The scarf looked better… Nice ears.” “They’re horns.”

“Yeah, well, sight is overrated.” This blind but maybe not lawyer is one of thee best Marvel characters and I will go as far to say he may be one of the best superheroes (out of any franchise) of all time!! And I will tell you exactly why. Matt Murdock is a multi-layered, complex, developed character. Yes, Matt is a blind attorney-at-law during the day or as Foggy and he likes to joke about, “avocados-at-law”, working at Nelson and Murdock. Matt’s vigilante alter ego takes the best of him at night protecting his city of Hell’s Kitchen from crime and scandal. I’m not saying that Matt is the best character because of his powers or lack of, because guess what we’ve been there, done that with Batman and Iron Man and many other heroes. Matt is one of the most interesting heroes out there due to his internal struggles. He always questions what the right thing to do is. As a Catholic he is influenced by his religion and faith as well as his belief in the law and vigilantism. He not only questions his own beliefs but his life as “the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen or Devil Boy.” Not only is Matt reckless but he’s impulsive and with his heightened senses and abilities as well as trained skills, he can do a lot of damage with such little time. He “let’s the devil out.” Like most superheroes Matt went through a tragic origin story leading him to become DareDevil. After being exposed to radioactive substances due to a car crash, the chemicals seeped into his eyes leaving him completely blind. This traumatic experience heightened Matt’s other four senses leaving him just as capable and even more after. (COMIC STORYLINE ) After Matt’s father is killed in a fight, Matt takes his father’s old boxing robe, turning it into the first DareDevil suit that is red and yellow. He vows then to bring justice to his father. “She used to say, ‘Be careful of the Murdock boys. They got the Devil in em.’” Like I said before Matt’s religious beliefs, career, and vigilantism all clash with each other. This is perfectly shown in the very first episode of DareDevil in the first scene where Matt is doing confession with the priest and says, “I’m not seeking penance for what I’ve done, Father. I’m asking for forgiveness… for what I’m about to do.” A character is not good if they aren’t charismatic or sarcastic. Matt Murdock checks both of those boxes. He’s very flirtatious and attracts all the girls. I mean he goes from Elektra, to Karen, to Claire, to back to Elektra (because he’s so strung up on her). “How long have you been practicing law?” “What time is it?” “It’s 12:22.” “About seven hours.” Since Karen Page is in the scene I just mentioned I truly believe she is an underrated character due to the love for all the other characters in DareDevil, think about it. Everyone always talks about Matt and Kingpin and Bullseye or Elektra but no one ever talks about how Karen Page is one of the most developed characters in the series. She isn’t perfect and they show that with her flaws and by her making mistakes which helps a character grow. Those Mary Sue characters like Captain Marvel have no storyline or character arc to help them grow. Enough talk about Karen now, we need to talk about how good of a fighter Matt is with the whole blind thing going on. He’s such a natural fighter which is one of the main reasons I loved the DareDevil series and in this case all the other Netflix shows. Due to how natural the fights were, they were very believable, hence why it’s the street fighting style. It’s so raw between the hallway fight, the alleyway encounter with Kingpin, cubicle fight with Bullseye, or Matt’s final fight with Kingpin. My favorite fight from the DareDevil series is Matt’s final fight with Kingpin, hands down. Once again the fighting is so raw and Matt unleashes the devil and leaves no mercy while brutally beating Wilson to a bloody pulp. “This city rejected you! It beat you!! I BEAT YOU!!” Matt realizing he couldn’t kill Kingpin felt so real, thanks to Charlie Cox’s beyond amazing performance. Matt knows that if he kills Kingpin, which is what Wilson wants, he’ll give in to him making him win. The cinematography in this scene is perfect to say the least, with Matt back in his black suit, Wilson in his iconic complete white three piece suit, both drenched in blood. Since the fight does in fact take place in Wilson’s apartment everything is in a solid white coloring making DareDevil stand out and having blood splattered everywhere. Like I said before, one of the greatest fight scenes I’ve ever seen happens to be the The Defenders hallway fight scene. I love that four questionably “teamed” heroes fight off some of the most trained members of the Hand. Sure, Danny Rand holds off a few men but let’s really appreciate who helps him out in the long run when his hand doesn’t glow… Luke Cage. I love when Jessica, Danny, and Luke are so done with fighting but then Matt, you know the weakest Defender, tells them someone else is coming. But guess who’s the only one to put up a fight against the most trained and deadly assassin?? That’s right, Matthew Michael Murdock. Does my heart break when Matt realizes it’s Elektra he’s fighting but a.) can’t see her and b.) can’t hear her heartbeat… Because Matt loves Elektra until the very end time and time again. Also can we all agree that Matt looks the best with the scarf mask??  Matt and Jess’ banter is great especially when she teases him about hiding his identity with her scarf. “Is there a plan where I get my scarf back?” How ridiculous Matt is during the entire Golden Dragon scene and how the other Defenders don’t put up with it. “Who hears neon?” “My blind-but-maybe-not lawyer.” 

Opinion on Defender: Jessica Jones/Jewel

“If you grab me like that again, I’ll punch you so hard, you’ll see.”

AKA Everything. For anyone who hasn’t watched any of the Netflix Marvel shows, please do because you’re missing out on some of the best Marvel content. Do I think the Netflix series are better than the MCU?? Subtly, yes. They just have something the MCU doesn’t… And that would be the MA rating. All the heroes or villains in DareDevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron First, The Defenders, or The Punisher deserve to have the matured rating due to the comic accuracy. My favorite out of all of them happens to be Jessica Jones. I don’t know what it was but something called me to the show and I absolutely fell in love with the character from the very first episode. Jessica is one of the best characters anyone can ever be… and that’s a sarcastic hero. Jessica acts like she doesn’t care but deep down inside she wants to do what’s best for everyone… Which usually includes saving the city occasionally. Jessica is always witty and sarcastic with her words and with that, she never messes up anything she ever says. She hates people so much she doesn’t deal with them but still has a heart to somewhat care for them. “A big part of my job is looking for the worst in people. Turns out I excel at that.” Jessica is a self employed PI (Private Investigator), detective, photographer, and investigative journalist… Oh and how can I forget a part time hero and Defender. She’s not just some “hero” that roams the streets looking for trouble because she’s trained or something like Matt Murdock. She got her powers from a pretty common origin story, being exposed to radiation and being tested on. Leaving her with superhuman strength and durability. For a short while Jessica tried the whole masked crusader, named brand hero, being known as “Jewel”. She stopped being this hero after being mind controlled under the Purple Man aka Kilgrave for years. Not in her right state of mind she is forced under his command to do extremely wicked criminal and illegal schemes. Once she breaks free of his oversights she drops the superhero gig and starts her own private detective agency known as Alias Investigations. Which is exactly where the first episode of Jessica Jones starts. “Main Street. Birch Street. Higgins Drive. Cobalt Lane.” My favorite season of Jessica Jones happens to be the first season but the second and third ones are just as good. The only thing the other two don’t have is David Tennent as Kilgrave. Kilgrave is one of the coolest and most powerful Marvel villains in my opinion. Kilgrave is just a giant baby who uses his powers of mind control to make everyone cater to him. Which ultimately makes him dangerous because he usually just makes people kill other people for him including Jessica which is why she breaks free from him and becomes one of the good guys. I’d define Jessica as a hero but Google claims she’s an anti-hero… I don’t agree with this statement whatsoever only because in the end Jessica always does the right thing even if she doesn’t want to. Just because her morals aren’t all ethical like The Avengers who actually want to fight these big baddies. Trouble just follows Jessica and since she knows she is the only one who is powerful enough to stop it, she does… with a lot of kicking and screaming, may I add. Which is exactly why I love her, especially Krysten Ritter’s portrayal because they went with the Alias comic design. This design is perfect for two reasons. First things off, her outfit contains her iconic black leather jacket, jeans, fingerless gloves, and a grey scarf. This suits her character because of the darkness of her life and everything but it just means she isn’t a masked cru stator like the other heroes who need gimmicks or Halloween dress up costumes. Secondly, Jessica Jones is one of the few female superheroes that doesn’t wear a form fitting costume. The best we saw of Jessica had to be in The Defenders, hands down. Yeah, we already saw her interact with Luke Cage and we saw her merely meet Claire Temple, who by the way is a very underrated character. Jessica and Matt Murdock have a great friendship where they just but heads all the time. Jessica is exactly what Matt needs in his life because she doesn’t put up with any of that superhero mentality and let’s all be honest, Matt definitely needs to be put into his place. Jessica is one of the best PIs in the city, of course she’d know about a blind-but-maybe-not lawyer vigilante. Matt is so subtle leaping and jumping all around a back alley with no disguise in broad daylight. One of the greatest fight scenes I’ve ever seen happens to be the The Defenders hallway fight scene. I love that four questionably “teamed” heroes fight off some of the most trained members of the Hand. Sure, Danny Rand holds off a few men but let’s really appreciate who helps him out in the long run when his hand doesn’t glow… Luke Cage. Like I said before Jessica has crossed paths with Luke, she clearly knows Matt (and his secret alias as “Devil Boy”). But she’s never met Danny Rand, and as questionable as he is, meeting him the way she did, not so perfect. It’s everything she hates, rich, privileged, people. “Bulletproof man, blind man, whatever it is you are…” “Classy.” I also love the Golden Dragon conversations and fight scene just because it just seems so like them hiding out at a Chinese restaurant. Like I said before Matt and Jess’s banter is great especially when she teases him about hiding his identity with her scarf. But it’s even funnier when she teases him about his costume. “The scarf looked better… Nice ears.” “They’re horns.” Am I heartbroken that Jessica Jones was canceled after three seasons? Duh. But I truly loved how it ended and feel like it somewhat wrapped up her story in a way that if they wanted to proceed with the show they could but could also leave it as is. I was satisfied with it. Did season three do Hellcat dirty? Sadly yes. I totally think Rachael Taylor would have been a great Hellcat if they did the costume and everything justice. I’m really glad Trish killed Salinger because that’s her character and to see Trish shift from this high accomplished and famed celebrity to this low life murderer. In the very last episode, one of the best scenes was when they are shipping Trish off to the Raft and Jessica watches from afar to see the person she loves being taken away from her. For Trish to know Jess is there, that was something entirely different. Most of the character’s stories end on a sad note, not just Trish, but Hogarth as well knowing she’s dying is one thing, but knowing she’ll be dying alone… that’s rough. Same with Malcom, he knows deep down inside he’s not as good as he thought he was. But I just think it’s neat for Jess to leave Alias to Malcom to give his life meaning. The best part of the entire Jessica Jones show had to be Kilgrave, which was Jessica’s MO for everything she did. For the ending to include him was a lot for me to handle because I wasn’t expecting him and second it gave me chills to how creepy of a character he is. Jessica refuses to do anything Kilgrave would encourage her to do, so for her to not quit everything she’s built, she doesn’t know what’s next for her… So what is next for her? That’s for her to know and eventually figure out. I would love for Marvel to bring Jessica into the MCU and continue the Alias comic storyline live action. Especially teasing us with the Luke Cage cameo at the end of season three of Jessica Jones. I think Marvel’s best bet would have been to introduce Jessica into the MCU with a small cameo in She-Hulk similar to what they did with Matt in No Way Home but then add her as a bigger role in DareDevil: Born Again. If they were to take this route they would take my advice and continue the Alias storyline where she’s married to Luke, has a little daughter, and have Squirrel Girl babysit her. It shows the growth of the character and the shift in her MO. 

Opinion on Defender: Luke Cage/Power Man

“The more I think about it, the less I like our odds.” “Yeah, well, do like me… Don’t think about it.” 

Luke Cage is one of the most underrated Marvel characters that has gone from page to screen. Every time we see Luke he is this charismatic and savvy character. The success of this character and the Netflix series is thanks to the star, Mike Colter. He is Luke Cage personified. Screenrant perfectly explained that “his acting captured the paradox of Luke. He is a completely gentle soul, who is also willing to fight you if you threaten anyone he cares about.” I would love for Marvel to bring Luke Cage into the MCU, specifically Mike Colter as the character. I believe Marvel could do that by continuing Jessica Jones’ Alias comic storyline live action. Especially teasing us with the Luke Cage cameo at the end of season three of Jessica Jones. I think Marvel’s best bet would have been to introduce Luke Cage into the MCU with a small role in DareDevil: Born Again. It’s most possible for Luke Cage to be introduced with Jessica Jones in DareDevil due to their connection as The Defenders. If they were to take this route they would take my advice and continue the Alias storyline where Luke is married to Jessica, they have a little daughter, and have Squirrel Girl babysit her. It would perfectly tie the ending of Jessica Jones season three to the comic storyline. If Marvel were to recast Luke Cage, that would be a major mistake especially with what Mike Colter brings to the character and his chemistry with Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones. 

Opinion on Defender: Danny Rand/The Immortal Iron Fist

 “Bulletproof man, blind man, whatever it is you are…” “Classy.”

I truly believe that the Iron Fist series gets a bad rep since it is shadowed by blockbuster shows like DareDevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and The Punisher (which are all critically acclaimed). Many disliked the casting choice for Danny Rand at first. Some believe that Finn Jones just did not fit the character. This being said I would love to see Finn Jones return as Iron Fist as a sort of redemption. The past couple MCU movies, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, have brought back OG Marvel characters and their original actors. With Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back even though both received critical backlash for their portrayals of Spider-Man, reviews said Spider-Man 3 was too cringe worthy and Andrew Garfield in the role of Peter Parker was too emo and broody. Whereas in Multiverse of Madness Patrick Stewart returned as Professor X thrilled fans even though it was teased in the trailers. The biggest surprise in the film was when Anson Mount reprised his role as Black Bolt in a comic accurate costume after his Inhumans show flopped and barely aired for one season. Black Bolt in Multiverse of Madness was done right by Marvel, this being said, if Iron Fist were to join the MCU with Finn Jones as Danny Rand, there would be a good chance that Marvel would follow the comic storyline and suit. 

Who’s Who in The Defenders

The Defenders brought all of the fan-favorite characters from DareDevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist together as The Defenders fend off the Hand and save New York. 

The Defenders cast includes Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock/DareDevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Finn Jones (Danny Rand/Iron Fist), Elodie Yung (Elektra), Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing), Rosario Dawson (Claire Temple), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Simone Missick (Misty Knight), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson), Eka Darville (Malcolm), Rachel Taylor (Trish Walker), Scott Glenn (Stick), and Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra. 

“There are people who run from the fire, and there are people who run into it.”

All episodes of The Defenders are streaming (again)!!