Marvel's Defenders Review

The Netflix Original, Marvel’s Defenders, has been one of many Netflix shows highly anticipated by comic book fans and avid show watchers alike. The Defenders brings together the four characters from previously produced shows already popular on Netflix: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.

All of these characters have been developed in their previously released solo shows, leading up to their coming together in the Defenders series. Because of that, the announcement of the Defenders caused a lot of excitement. The Netflix/Marvel combo started with Daredevil, which is the only one of the characters to have two seasons. With the Defenders release, the hype for the Netflix shows has only grown.

Like many people, I was extremely excited to see these characters team up. Though I personally have never read the comics, I am a big fan of superheroes, and my family, who has read the comics, kept me up to speed on the similarities and differences between the two. That meant, going into the show, I had a lot of expectations.

It was apparent from the way Iron Fist concluded we would be dealing with The Hand more. The Hand is a global organization of bad guys and martial artist who has infiltrated New York. Both Daredevil and Iron Fist have actively taken on The Hand in their personal shows, but neither had been able to defeat them.

What I Liked

I loved finally getting an opportunity to see all five fingers of The Hand and getting the knowledge of exactly who they are and where they started. The bad guys did not disappoint. There were times I even wanted to root for them and all their wickedness.

Of course, the fight scenes were incredible. You could tell a lot of time and effort has been put into choreographing them to look both flashy but realistic. It is my understanding that several of the actors have taken the time to truly learn the moves and do most of the stunts themselves.

The characters stayed very true to themselves. They were not instant friends, and a couple of them hold this “I’m no hero” attitude which made coming together difficult. I was glad they didn’t instantly find working together easy. Even as they got to know each other better, their relationships were tense, which makes sense for a group of loners.

The storyline was also strong. The fact that previous shows have led to this point only aided in making this coming together more fluid. The show kept you engaged and begging for more. Again, Daredevil and Iron Fist left the storyline unfinished, so if you have already watched those shows, you were begging for answers which Defenders gives you.

What I Didn’t Like

The fact that these characters have already had their own shows, I didn’t expect there to be so much set up. The first several episodes were slow going, and, had I not been a fan of the other shows, I probably wouldn’t have continued. Especially since there were only eight episodes in the season. I felt there was a lot of stuff in the beginning which could have been cut to make room for more action and excitement.

I was also not a big fan of the way the heroes’ friends and loved ones seemed to be almost an afterthought. They were present, but, even if the show had excluded them completely, they wouldn’t have been missed. It would have been nice if they had extended the season, and made them more important just like in the individual shows.

Of course, like many people, my biggest complaint is the season simply was not long enough. For how long fans were left waiting, getting only eight episodes left me a bit unsatisfied. Hopefully, the coming of future shows will make up for the shortness of the season. I also hope that the success will bring about more seasons of Defenders.

My Over All

Over all, I loved it! As I said, I am a huge fan of superheroes, especially those with darker sides. Netflix has done an incredible job with all the members of the Defenders, and seeing them come together was just as exciting as I had hoped. I would give it a solid 8/10, losing points for season length and long start up. This will certainly be a group of shows I will continue to watch!