Netflix's "The Defenders" Does Marvel Right

The first thing I noticed about The Defenders was the way color is used to define the tone of each character amp160Whenever Danny Rand aka the Immortal Iron Fist Finn Jones is on screen there are electric green tones present throughout the sequence which is fitting given heamp8217s the youngest and least experienced on the team amp160The presence of Jessica Jones Krysten Ritter is marked by a dark bluepurple tint reminiscent of her own gritty Netflix series and the gloomy nature of her past Whenever Luke Cage Mike Colter appears he is accompanied by his trademark yellowgold tint and more often than not a hip hop soundtrack that serves as a reminder that heamp8217s the hero of Harlemamp160 Naturally Matt Murdock aka Daredevil Charlie Cox is constantly surrounded by red because he is of course the amp8220Demon of Hellamp8217s Kitchenamp8221 amp160Ritter Jones Cox and Colter are pictured at top left to rightThese colors not only persist throughout the series but also combine subtly based on whoamp8217s in the shot amp160Whenever Murdock and Jones pair off so does their red and blue lighting amp160The same can be said for Iron Fist and Luke Cage who actually became a legit crime fighting duo in the Marvel comic books amp160Whenever this odd couple separates from the pack thereamp8217s always something both yellow and green in the background of their shots amp160The best example of this colorcoded trend happens in the third episode when the squad seeks refuge from a sinister and mystical syndicate known as The Hand by hiding in an Asianstyle restaurant amp160A clever use of lighting and set design allowed the creative team to find an organic way of using all four colors and besides being beautiful it also visually signaled the first time the four individuals had intentionally worked as a teamThe Defenders also has a couple of really dope villains and supporting characters Sigourney Weaver adds some needed gravitas as Alexandra Reid head of The Hand Wai Ching Ho continues her amazing portrayal of the surprisingly powerful Madame Gao from Iron Fist and Elodie Yung whoamp8217s returning from Daredevil as Elektra Natchios ends up spoiler alert being the big bad in the storyThe best thing about The Defenders is that it very cleanly picks up where all four of the preceding series left off in their respective narratives amp160This is to my knowledge the first time something like that has been done on television and itamp8217s a real testament to just how different a beast the Netflix platform is amp160Sure over the years weamp8217ve all seen our fair share of crossovers but having four standalone series all lead to one seamlessly united event is unprecedented and pretty impressiveAll four heroes bring whoever was with them in their own series to this oneamp160 That is easily done with kickass nurse Claire Temple Rosario Dawson who was in the first two seasons of Daredevil and the freshman seasons of Jessica Jones Luke Cage and Iron Fist amp160Colleen Wing Jessica Henwick follows Iron Fist over from his show amp160Foggy Nelson Elden Henson and Karen Page Deborah Ann Woll are imports from Daredevilamp8217s series and Malcolm Ducasse Eka Darville is Jessica Jonesamp8217s neighborsidekick amp160The more hardcore fans giddily noticed the presence of one Misty Knight Simone Missick a police officer who in the comics receives a bionic arm from Tony Stark and ends up fighting crime as part of a duo comprised of her and the aforementioned Colleen Wing amp160Additionally Carrie Ann Moss Trinity from The Matrix Trilogy plays Atty Jeri Hogarth on both Jessica Jones and Iron Fist and Rachel Taylor plays Patsy Walker Jessicaamp8217s adopted sister and perhaps future superhero Hellcat on Jessica JonesWhile the series doesnamp8217t disappoint there are a few misfires amp160The biggest is the use of Danny Rand as the focal point for some of the showamp8217s major plot points amp160The Iron Fist series is notorious for being the most unpopular of the four shows in part because of Finn Jonesamp8217 onedimensional portrayal of the character amp160In fairness The Defenders was likely produced before Iron Fist debuted on Netflix before the RandJones controversy became a thing amp160Randamp8217s perceived entitlement probably has to do with the fact that heamp8217s young and whines a lot despite having what Iamp8217d call amp8220Batman moneyamp8221 amp160Happily The Defenders seems to be aware of this fact and doubles down on Randamp8217s headstrong personality embracing his naivetamp233 and relative inexperience when compared to the rest of the team as the basis for his characteramp8217s arc throughout the seasonMy vote for biggest botch however goes to the use or misuse of Babs Olusanmokunamp8217s character Sowande amp160He is arguably the most sinister intelligent and interesting of the all the baddies present and couldamp8217ve served a much larger purpose than just spoiler alert ending up as sword fodder for Daredevilamp8217s mentor the indefatigable Stick Scott GlennAll in all The Defenders was worth the wait and seriously warrants a bingeamp160 At a tight eight episodes it maintains a pace that never gets too slow or feels like itamp8217s been going on too long a common problem with Marvelamp8217s Netflix shows amp160After seeing it I rewatched both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage and have plans to do the same with Daredevil as well amp160Sorry Iron Fist Iamp8217m still not with youWith one currently unavoidable exception the incomprehensible The Inhumans Marvel obviously knows how to utilize the properties it still has a legal handle on so itamp8217s a bummer that some of its iconic franchises like The XMen and Fantastic Four have been left to other companiesamp160 I mean imagine a collection of Netflix series each starring a different XPerson followed by a limited series that brings them together or a proper Fantastic Four series on Netflix as opposed to those Godawful movies we got amp160In fact since The Inhumans were supporting characters in the Fantastic Four comic books back in the Sixties and Seventies perhaps Marvel can redeem the mess it made of them on ABC by creating a great Fantastic Four series for Netflix and adding The Inhumans to that narrative along with the Silver Surfer the Black Panther Wyatt Wingfoot and Galactus each of them introduced during the glory days of the Fantastic Four when it was proudly known as quotThe World39s Greatest Comic MagazinequotUnder the guidance of legendary Marvel mastermind Stan Lee Marvel was once known as the House of Ideasamp160 Collectively The Defenders and the four series that it pulls together feel like a product of such greatness and they make clear that superheroes arenamp8217t just for nerds any moreamp160 As Stan the Man would say amp8220Excelsioramp8221Click on the social media tiles above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively those of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160amp160amp160

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Netflix's "The Defenders" Does Marvel Right

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Ainsley Andrade

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Netflix's "The Defenders" Does Marvel Right

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