How Daredevil And The Other Defenders Should Be Re-Introduced
The return of Matt Murdock’s Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Kingpin in Hawkeye was one of the most significant moments in the MCU and possibly the best present any of us could have asked for last Christmas. However, will there be complications in bringing back the other Defenders? Fans hope not and wonder how and when their abandoned heroes will return.
The Netflix Defenders shows have quite the lineup. One of the shows is considered the greatest comic book series of all time (Daredevil), and one is barely considered (Iron Fist). The street-level universe began with Daredevil in April 2015 and concluded with Jessica Jones in June of 2019. Sandwiched between phases two and three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans enjoyed: three seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, two seasons of The Punisher, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, and one team-up series that contained everyone but The Punisher. The five shows interweaved, shared minor characters, all connected to tell a much larger story. It only lasted four years and wasn’t canon to the main universe (although it did include mentions of the big green guy), but it provided a unique (often violent) alternative to the less dramatic MCU.
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Kevin Feige now has a problem: he has opened Pandora’s box by cementing some of these characters and stories as somewhat canon. He now has to answer the following: Will all the Defenders be returning? Can Feige marry Disney’s family values with the violence of the former Netflix universe? And how will he bring back each character? Each solution presents different problems. If he brings back the entire group, he has to decide if it is a complete reboot, soft reboot or if he will canonize the whole thing. If he waters down the content, he runs the risk of ruining the overall quality of the narrative and upsetting the original fans. The current universe (including the currently airing Moon Knight) is also smack dab in the middle of phase four, and the other was ended in its own phase two. Also, as a bonus, Feige has to explain how the actor who played Cottonmouth is now the one who is set to play Blade.
Rumor has it, the beginning of the plan is to have Daredevil and Kingpin appear in the new series Echo . That is the best route Kevin Feige could take. Of course, Daredevil could 100% carry his own show, but starting his narrative in a new series will bolster the lesser-known program and give Daredevil the ability to star in his own eventual show from a familiar (more recent) plotline. If this trend continues and all The Defenders are willing to return, they should do the following:
-Soft reboot of the entire universe, but do not repeat what has happened.
-Reduce the episodes per season.
-Give Jessica Jones her own show and re-introduce Luke Cage and Iron Fist that way.
-Bring The Punisher back in Armor Wars.
-Do not get rid of the violence and mature nature of the shows.
The MCU should continue to surprise (and reward) audiences the way they did in Spider-Man: No Way Home, bring back the other Defenders and keep what made the shows great. Luke Cage provided an in-depth look at the soul of Harlem and gave us amazing music. Jessica Jones wrestled with serious issues often overlooked or just not cared about. The Punisher gave us the violence and realism we always wanted, and Daredevil set the bar. The MCU has taken the first step in returning these characters into the fold but needs to make sure they don’t ruin the quality of what could be.
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Source(s): Marvel.com, IMDB, BGR