Everybody loves a good team up. From Watch the Throne to the Mega Powers to The Avengers, there's nothing like powers combining to achieve a singular goal. On August 18, Marvel and Netflix take this truth and bring forth the long-awaited super-powered team up in Marvel's The Defenders, which brings together the four Marvel properties on Netflix (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist) to bring the ruckus to all of the bad muthafuckas.
The seeds for the union of these four heroes have been firmly planted throughout the series' runs on Netflix. From Luke Cage being a major part of the first season of Jessica Jones to Carrie-Anne Moss' Jeri Hogarth being a part of both Jessica Jones and Iron Fist to Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple showing up in each and every one of the series thus far, there's a world being built that was crafted to bring this foursome together for one major mission: to stop the criminal organization known as The Hand.
What's interesting is that The Defenders of the Marvel Cinematic Universe don't resemble much of the original Defenders squad from the comics, which debuted four decades prior. That's good in the sense that, aside from the actual name, there isn't much of a history from the comics that you need to learn before going into the Netflix series. That said, there are some interesting nuggets to be gleaned from both worlds, and for fans of the Netflix characters who want to see this iteration in comic book form, you might learn a thing or two.
Here's a look at everything you need to know to become familiar with Marvel's The Defenders (well, aside from actually watching each of the individual series).
This series has been a long time coming
While Marvel officially announced that The Defenders would be hitting Netflix in 2017 during Comic-Con 2016, Marvel and Netflix made it clear as far back as November of 2013 that their plan with the four superhero series was to culminate with The Defenders, which they describes as a series that "reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters." This is said to have been a move that grew out of the deal that gave Netflix exclusive streaming rights to Disney films, which is a deal that Disney is looking to back out of in just a few years—although it's important to note that the streaming rights deal is separate from the deal Disney did with Netflix for these Marvel series.
This is a different Defenders squad than in the comics
The Defenders of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are totally different than the Defenders within the Marvel comics universe. The actual Defenders squad got its start in December of 1971, with the original Defenders squad featuring Doctor Strange, the Hulk, and Namor (with the Silver Surfer joining on later). Over the last four decades, the Defenders line-up has changed (although the Hulk and Strange seem to be constants), with everyone from Ghost Rider and Luke Cage to Iron Fist and Ant-Man holding memberships at one time or another.
Being involved in the Defenders is way looser than, say, being an Avenger. While Avengers membership feels like an actual club, including free reign of Avengers Mansion and national recognition of your Avengers status (including carrying a card and everything), the Defenders was more about like-minded individuals attacking a problem head on without needing to define exactly what their distinction was. In the comics, the Defenders would jokingly refer to themselves as being a "non-team," which is a vibe that echoes in the Netflix series itself.
A new Marvel comic series will mirror the Netflix Defenders team
In preparation for the Netflix series, Marvel announced back in January of 2017 that Brian Michael Bendis (who not only created the Jessica Jones and Miles Morales characters, but had acclaimed runs on the Avengers and Daredevil comic book series) would be writing a new Defenders comic, featuring the same foursome from the Netflix series. The series debuted in June, and appears to be running at least through October of 2017. What's dope is that Luke Cage, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist were all a part of Bendis' New Avengers comic, which ended in 2012, so this is a return to characters he's already familiar with. Bendis has also called his Defenders comic "a sprawling, Godfather-like epic at the street level of the Marvel Universe," and the first issue received glowing reviews.
That's it, roughly. The Defenders might not pull anything from the comic books that inspired the name, but there is an attitude that's shared between both factions that work well in each of their fields. And again, if you're a fan of the shows and want to see that magic come to the world of comics, thank Brian Michael Bendis and the folks at Marvel for churning out a comic that's low-key inspired by the series.
