At the end of this week, Marvel's The Defenders will hit the streaming platform of Netflix. It's one of the most anticipated superhero collaboration. The small screen heroes, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist will come together to save New York City from the clutches of a sinister organisation.
Previously, we have seen Marvel's marquee superheroes come together on the big screen three times - The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War. Marvel Studios is currently busy making Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4.
DC Extended Universe hasn't had a chance to do so yet since Justice League is set to release in November. But their small screen metahumans, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, have already collaborated to make a spectacular impact.
Let's take a look at what these superheroes were doing before the events of The Defenders unfold.
Daredevil
Blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) fights against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the superhero “Daredevil” in modern day Hell's Kitchen, New York City.
In season one, Matt dealt with Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin. But it was the subtle, stealthy villain Madame Gao that kept appearing in all the other Marvel shows on Netflix to make a connecting thread. This is when we met nurse Clair Temple (Rosario Dawson) who is actually a medic on call for these supers.
By the time season two ended, Matt had his heart broken because he had to give up Elektra (Elodie Young) and watch her die. His friends, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) leave him. He let go of his vigilante avatar to become a pro bono lawyer.
Jessica Jones
After a tragic ending to her short-lived superhero stint, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is rebuilding her personal life and career as a detective who gets pulled into cases in New York City.
Jessica had to fight rapist, mind-controlling psychopath Kilgrave (David Tennant) to save Hell's Kitchen in season one. The show also introduced another superhero Luke Cage in the series. They have a torrid affair only to be ended by Jessica who couldn't trust her surroundings.
Luke Cage
After a sabotaged experiment leaves him with super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage (Mike Colter) becomes a fugitive trying to rebuild his life in modern day Harlem, New York City. But he is soon pulled out of the shadows and must fight a battle for the heart of his city – forcing him to confront the past he had tried to bury.
The reluctant superhero show arrived when the talk about racial politics had started gaining momentum and Colter's representation mattered.
By the end of season one, Luke Cage had managed to fend of Cornell Stokes and Mariah Dillard's attempts to drag down Harlem and surrendered to the police.
Iron Fist
Danny Rand is possibly the weakest link out of all Marvel's characters on the screen right now. The show landed with much hoopla but couldn't gain an inch of popularity because of misplaced casting and poor performances by Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick.
In season one, billionaire Danny Rand (Finn Jones) returns to New York City after being missing for years, trying to reconnect with his past and his family legacy. He fights against the criminal element corrupting the Big Apple with his kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist.
At the end of season one, Danny is still looking for the members of The Hand and that could be our clue for what is going to happen in The Defenders.
