The Ultimate Guide to the World of Marvel Superheroes on Netflix

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Everything you need to know about the past, present, and future of the Defenders series.

In the early years, the MCU developed a rather bright and positive image. Everyone is accustomed to the fact that heroes in raincoats and super suits defeat villains and even do not show too much blood on the screen. channel ABC "Agents of SHIELD" and Agent Carter walked side by side with the events of these films and created roughly the same mood.

In order to expand the universe and attract viewers looking for more adult stories to the screens, we decided to shoot several projects specifically for. The main characters of these series were supposed to become simpler and more understandable. They do not wear bright costumes (at least at first) and primarily protect their city, district, and sometimes just flee from the past.

Initially, four one-season projects were conceived. The choice fell on heroes such as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. All of them have not yet had time to become boring to the mass spectator. Of these four, only Daredevil appeared in feature films - in 2003, the film of the same name with Ben Affleck in the title role was released, but it was defeated by critics.

Then the studio planned to combine them into the main series - the "Defenders" crossover. However, the bets played a little differently. The success of the solo stories helped expand the world of Marvel and Netflix, but the general collection failed. But first things first.

Daredevil is a realistic superhero

The history of the Marvel Universe on Netflix began with a series about the blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox). During the day, he works in a small law office with his best friend Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), and at night he puts on a mask and fights criminals hand-to-hand. Indeed, despite the fact that he is blind, the hero has an almost superhuman hearing and quick reaction.

But the first thing turns into problems for friends. They undertake to protect Karen Page (Deborah Ann Wall), who is falsely accused of murder. The investigation leads them to the criminal master of all Hell's Kitchen, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio).

The series was filmed as the opposite of all existing superhero stories. As a basis, the authors took the comic strip of the famous author "" Frank Miller "Daredevil: A Man without Fear". Here, the hero does not wear any special costume, he simply dresses in black and ties a scarf over his eyes. Exactly the same applies to the plot, in which only ordinary criminals and just cruel people appear.

They also paid attention to another important component of such series - the staging of fights. Many modern comic films are criticized for excessively sharp editing and flickering, which does not allow to see the action. In "Daredevil" the fights are staged as realistically as possible. The apotheosis comes in a three-minute scene, where the entire fight is filmed in one long shot.

The main action slowly brings together the two main opponents - Daredevil and Wilson Fisk. But this is not your typical comic book supervillain confrontation. Fisk is acting with someone else's hands, and Murdoc needs not only to beat him, but to prove his involvement in the crimes, while fighting with his charges.

Jessica Jones - traumas of the past

The success of the first season of "Daredevil" attracted viewers' attention to the following superhero projects. But in the second series, the authors tried to go as far as possible from the standard movie comics. The main character "Jessica Jones" (Kristen Ritter) is very strong and can even lift a car. But she works as a private detective, drinks a lot and least of all in her life wants to remember that she has superpowers.

Jessica Jones does not remember how she got them - it happened as a child. But he cannot forget life under the control of the powerful Kilgrave (David Tennant), who knows how to influence the minds of people. His abilities and Jessica's strength allowed the villain to commit any atrocities.

The heroine thought that Kilgrave had died long ago, but during the investigation of the next case, she suddenly realized that the villain was still following her and wanted to gain control over her again.

At the same time, Jessica meets another future hero - Luke Cage (Mike Colter), who also has superpowers. Cage's skin is impossible to pierce even with a bullet, and his fists are as strong as metal.

The main part of the plot of the first season is devoted to the confrontation between Jessica Jones and Kilgrave. However, here we are talking more about emotional trauma, and not about the usual fights for superheroes. Jessica is most afraid of meeting her tormentor. But in order to protect loved ones, she herself has to go to Kilgrave, who is in love with her.

The authors of the series made the main bet on the acting and did not lose. Kristen Ritter fits perfectly into the image of a strong, harsh, but lonely and frightened Jessica. And she was paired with the famous tenth Doctor from "" David Tennant. And his villain is recognized as one of the best in the MCU.

"Luke Cage" - the hero of Harlem

Luke Cage's careful introduction to the plot of Jessica Jones prepared audiences in advance for his solo project. But the atmosphere of the series about the black superhero turned out to be completely different.

Here the story switched to the life of Harlem and the showdown of criminal gangs due to the division of spheres of influence. Luke Cage returns to his home area and tries to clear it of criminals. But he quickly realizes that it is difficult to achieve the truth only with fists, since we are talking about the whole family ruling the city.

The series is filmed in the Blaxploitation genre, that is, it is aimed at a black audience. For this, Luke Cage has all the necessary components. The main character fights for his area, and a black female police officer, Misty Knight, becomes his partner. Added to the plot is also a suitable setting and soundtrack. For example, the villain Cornell Stokes (Mahershala Ali) leads, on the stage of which famous bands perform regularly. And this turns another episode of the series into a kind of music video.

But not without its drawbacks. Some episodes look boring, and after a cheerful start, the dynamics of the narrative are noticeably reduced. In addition, the main villain is killed somewhere in the middle of the season, and many were initially attracted by the acting of the owner of "" Mahershala Ali. He is replaced by the less charismatic antagonist Willis Stryker (Eric Laray Harvey), Cage's blood brother, who wants to avenge past grievances.

Continuation of "Daredevil" - The Punisher and the Ruka clan

In the second season, Daredevil faces a new adversary. Vigilante Frank Castle (John Bernthal), nicknamed the Punisher, destroys criminal gangs one after another. It would seem that he is on the side of good, but his methods are too cruel. The punisher is caught and planned to be tried, but Matt Murdoch - already in the guise of a lawyer - is taken to defend him.

However, it is increasingly difficult for Murdoch to combine his normal life with his nightly crime-fighting. In addition, his former lover Electra (Elodie Jung) appears - a mercenary with a passion for murder. It turns out that after the arrest of Wilson Fisk, the Ruka clan dominates the city. And its representatives have learned to revive their dead warriors.

The beginning of the second season of "Daredevil" had exactly the same atmosphere: the series is dark and realistically violent. But here the emphasis has already switched to the Punisher, who from the first episodes fell in love with viewers and critics. John Bernthal was considered by many to be the ideal actor for this role, although Frank Castle appeared on the big screens more often than others.

And the clash with the Hand clan for the first time introduced into the plot a mystical component associated with ninja and ancient cults. Thus, the authors prepared the viewers in advance for the events of the series "Iron Fist".

"Iron Fist" - a warrior with a child's soul

Perhaps this is the lightest and most typically superhero series of all. The heir to the multibillion-dollar company Danny Rand (Finn Jones) was considered dead for many years - he crashed with his parents in a plane crash. But Danny survived and was raised by monks in a monastery in the city of Kun-Lun. There he not only learned to fight, but also became an "Iron Fist" - the owner of superpower that allows him to break through walls. He must use his abilities to defend the Kun-Lun Gate from the Hand.

After returning to New York, no one believes that Danny is who he says he is. At the same time, it turns out that the new owners of his company are associated with the "Hand". Danny, supported by martial arts instructor Colin Wing (Jessica Henwick), fights the clan and tries to reclaim the business.

The main villains of "Iron Fist" have already been introduced to the audience in advance. But despite the widespread interest, the franchise nearly crashed on this show. Even before the start of Iron Fist, several scandals flared up around him. For some reason, the authors began to be accused of whitewashing (when white actors are hired for the roles of characters of a different race), although Danny Rand was like that in the comics. In addition, the production of fights in the series was strongly criticized. Indeed, in comparison with "Daredevil" here, many of the heroes' tricks look very unnatural.

Saved "Iron Fist" only the charm of the main character. Contrary to the three previous series, Danny Rand looks kind and positive. In fact, he is a child in the body of an adult warrior. Rand is naive and completely ignorant of business and intrigue. He does not even understand why it is necessary to wear shoes. In addition, the plot here resembles classic stories from films about the Orient. And the events of the series themselves directly lead to a crossover.

"Defenders" - general fee

All Marvel movies and TV shows exist in the same universe. But the events of Netflix projects have little overlap with what is happening on the big screens. The heroes are busy solving their local problems, they do not need to be interested in their activities.

But they faced each other from the very beginning, albeit most often indirectly. In addition to the acquaintance of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, minor characters regularly appeared in all the series. First of all, they were all united by nurse Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). She helped Daredevil, treated Luke Cage, then had an affair with him, and later studied with Colin Wing. In addition, Matt Murdoch's partner Foggy went to work for Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss), a friend of Jessica Jones. Jeri herself helped Danny Rand regain the rights to his company.

All this indicated that the heroes are constantly somewhere near each other and will soon meet. This is exactly what happened in Defenders. All four face off against another villainous Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver). On the one hand, she also belongs to the "Hand" clan, which connects her with the "Iron Fist", on the other hand, she uses the animated Electra as her main weapon, and this is a return to the "Daredevil".

But the "Defenders" still failed. The project that Netflix made the maximum bet on turned out to be boring. The heroes were not allowed to reveal themselves as a team, and they were left alone with their stories. Few general and interesting fights were filmed, and even they look like scenes from "Iron Fist". The dialogues are reminiscent of stereotypical action movies. Most likely, the joint project will not continue, but it nevertheless fulfilled an important mission. All the characters got to know each other, thanks to which they had the opportunity to appear in episodes of other series, which began to happen further. But first, Netflix released a project that was radically different from everyone else.

"Punisher" - Cruel Justice

As already mentioned, the story of the Punisher was told in the second season of "Daredevil", and only then, under pressure from fans, they decided to release their own series about this hero.

Such a move only played into the hands of those who worked on "The Punisher", because they did not have to show the entire background of the hero and the tragic death of his family. And it is for this that all the adaptations of "" are scolded, where Uncle Ben is invariably killed, and "Batman" with the obligatory death of Bruce Wayne's parents.

Therefore, in "The Punisher" they are simply developing the further history of Castle. He deals with his past and fights with the special services, which, as it turned out, are responsible for the death of his family. The series is strikingly different from all previous projects. There is no trace of superhero or mysticism here - only the military and special services. And in this regard, it is filmed realistically and harshly: the main emphasis is placed on weapons, fights, blood and broken bones.

However, in the middle of the season, it is felt that the original idea was artificially stretched out in time. A lot of unnecessary lines are added to the plot, and the real action begins only in the final episodes.

The Punisher is hardly perceived as part of the Defenders world. Of all the heroes of the previous series, only Karen Page appears here - Matt Murdoch's girlfriend and partner, but she never mentions superheroes.

The second season of The Punisher will be based on one of the most violent comics about this hero, The Slavers. In it, Castle saves a girl from human traffickers and begins to ruthlessly destroy the entire organization. There is even a scene where he hangs one of the criminals on his own entrails.

Jessica Jones and Luke Cage after the Defenders

After the events of the crossover, the story of Jessica Jones continued first. And the authors of the series again took a non-standard path. Instead of moving on, they immerse the main character in her past. Jessica is trying to find out what happened to her after the accident and how she got her powers. At the same time, the heroine meets a woman who surpasses her in strength, and Jessica's attempts to get to the bottom of the truth are spoiled by a rival detective agency. Many say that the continuation of the series is very lacking in David Tennant - after him all the partners and opponents of the heroine seem boring. Kilgrave only appears here in one episode, and this is arguably the best part of the season.

Luke Cage is cleaning up Harlem again. Now he is a folk hero, fans follow him everywhere, and criminals do not even try to fight him. But, like Jessica Jones, he has to face the Bushmaster (Mustafa Shakir) - a villain who surpasses him in strength.

Interestingly, the second season of Luke Cage leads immediately to two possible crossovers. Firstly, his familiarity with Danny Random in the comics led to the founding of the Heroes for Hire agency, and in the sequel there is often a joke about it. In addition, Rand himself also appears in the series.

And secondly, in The Defenders, Cage's partner Misty Knight and Iron Fist's assistant Colin Wing met. If you focus on comics, then these heroines should unite, calling themselves "Daughters of the Dragon." In Luke Cage, Colin teaches a friend to fight, which obviously leads to the prospect of a joint project between the two heroines.

Continuation of "Iron Fist" - work on bugs

After significant criticism of the first season, the authors of "Iron Fist" decided to listen to the opinions of fans and critics. The second season, released on September 7, corrects many of the series' shortcomings. To begin with, the creators tried to improve the staging of fights: the studio changed the coordinator, and Finn Jones visited for a whole year and now performs most of the stunts himself. In addition, they tried to save the series from unnecessary protraction - the new season was reduced to ten episodes.

Typhoid Mary (Alice Eve) became the main villain of the season. In the comics, this heroine had weak telekinesis and pyrokinesis abilities. She also suffered from a personality disorder: Mary Walker was quiet and calm, Typhoid Mary was lustful and businesslike, and Bloody Mary was an ardent sadist. And, by the way, like Sovigolova, Iron Fist seems to wear his classic comic book costume for a while.

Daredevil 3 - Reborn

In the end of the events of The Defenders, Matt Murdock suffered severe wounds while saving others. At the end of the last episode, the phone rings and someone asks to call Maggie. This brings us to the next story arc. The third season of Daredevil will be based on Frank Miller's comic Born Again, in which Matt Murdoch meets his mother. And the main line is about the drug addiction and prostitution of Karen Page, who sells the secret of Daredevil's identity to Wilson Fisk. In addition, the appearance of the main enemy of the Daredevil - the Bullseye - has already been announced. The season is promised to be released before the end of 2018.