Marvel's "The Defenders" comes to Netflix on August 18, representing one of the biggest TV superhero events in history. "The Defenders" represents the culmination of Marvel and Netflix' investment in superhero world building over the last two years.
The 8-episode miniseries brings together the story lines of the four Marvel comic book superheroes featured previously in their own Netflix series, including Daredevil/Matt Murdock, played by Charlie Cox, Jessica Jones, played by Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter's Luke Cage, and Finn Jones as Iron Fist/Danny Rand.
All four live in New York City, from Luke Cage uptown in Harlem to Danny Rand in his billionaire's sleek downtown apartment.
'The Defenders' Miniseries
As the story begins, Luke Cage is coming out of prison and attempting to get back in touch with Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple, the infinitely patient night nurse that has crossed over into all four of the superhero series. Matt Murdock crosses paths with Jessica Jones as each tries to keep the streets of Hell's Kitchen safe.
Villains include Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra, leader of The Hand, an evil ninja organization. The Hand first appeared in the first season of "Daredevil" in the form of Nobu Yoshioka, leader of the Yakuza in Hell's Kitchen.
They were the prime villains in "Iron Fist", led by Madame Gao. At the end of "Iron Fist" season 1, Danny Rand attempts to return to K'un-Lun with Colleen, only to find it gone, and murdered henchmen around the former gate. He returns to NYC to get answers, creating the link into "The Defenders" story line.
Elodie Yung is back as the super assassin and sometime romantic interest to Matt Murdock, Elektra, along with Elden Henson as Foggy, Deborah Ann Woll as Karen of "Daredevil", and other peripheral characters from each individual show.
Each of the four superheroes has their own story arc -- each of them troubled individuals who clash at first, but finally band together to save the city. Showrunners are Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez, who were also responsible for the second season of "Daredevil".
Early Reviews
Early reviews for "The Defenders" in the media have been positive, unlike the lukewarm reviews that came with "Iron Fist", the most recent solo series.
In contrast, "The Defenders" gives viewers an action-packed eight episodes with none of the talky scenes or slow paced action seen in some of the individual series. Mike Colter and Sigourney Weaver's performances were singled out by critics as stand outs in the Marvel miniseries.
Some critics suggest that the tighter 8-episode format is a better alternative to the longer 13-episode individual series. Marvel's "The Defenders" premieres August 18, 2017, on Netflix.
