The Defenders is the latest Marvel series to make its way to Netflix and it’s worth considering a watch this weekend.
It may not be Avengers level perfect but there are some incredible aspects to the series that shows New York’s finest bunch of rag-tag superheroes come together to fight a common evil cause. For your consideration, here are some of the reasons it’s worth watching:
1. You don’t need to have seen all of the origin series to get into it.
Before sitting down to binge The Defenders, I was worried I would struggle to understand the storyline in full because while I had loved Jessica Jones and Luke Cage and dragged myself through Iron Fist, I hadn’t watched Daredevil. And often, three-quarters of the whole just doesn’t really make for smooth viewing sailing.
Thankfully, Marvel writers have addressed this pretty well, providing enough context for anyone who’s tuning in for the first time. And while this can make the first few episodes a little light on for the diehard fans, a refresher never hurt anyone.
2. Two words: Sigourney Weaver.
If there’s one thing a television series loves more than a superhero, it’s a villain and The Defenders does not disappoint. Rather, they went out and brought everyone’s favourite sci-fi queen Sigourney god-damn Weaver over to the comic book world, and as per usual, she smashes it out of the park.
3. It almost makes Danny Rand bearable.
Say what you will, Danny Rand is quite possibly one of the most annoying characters to have ever been immortalised on screen. He’s whiny, uncharismatic, not particularly bright, a bit of a mansplainer, and basically just a grade A rich-boy douchebag. In Iron Fist, he’s almost unbearable. But when watered down and set amongst stronger characters in The Defenders, he becomes, dare I say it, slightly more bearable.
