There was no shiny Stark Tower or fancy Quinjets or enchanted hammers to see at Marvel and Netflix’s The Defenders panel at San Diego Comic-Con today. Nope, just the “street level” heroes that have make such a big mark on the streaming service in recent years -- Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. And they made a big mark here at SDCC too, with a surprise screening of the first episode of the show, plus the announcement that Iron Fist is getting a second season, and a first look at the new Punisher series starring Jon Bernthal.
Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb moderated the panel, with Marvel/Netflix stars Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Finn Jones (Iron Fist), Bernthal, Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elodie Young (Elektra) and Sigourney Weaver (who plays the Defenders’ baddie, Alexandra) and Defenders showrunner Marco Ramirez taking the stage to get fans excited about the show prior to its debut on August 18. You can watch the new trailer right here:
Beware from here on for spoilers about the episode…
After a quick chat with the cast, and Loeb receiving a surprise Comic-Con Inkpot Award, the first episode was unveiled. It’s a good start for the show, very much picking up where the various heroes left off in their respective series. Danny Rand is off looking for The Hand with Colleen Wing, Matt Murdock is doing pro bono work but he’s hung up his cowl as Daredevil, Luke Cage is just getting out of prison (with an assist from his lawyer, Foggy Nelson), and Jessica Jones is getting drunk and cracking wise, while becoming embroiled in a missing person case against her best efforts to avoid it.
That case seemingly will connect to the bigger story of the episode, as well as to Weaver’s character, who remains a mysterious figure here but is starting to be fleshed out. When we first meet her, she’s undergoing medical tests and is told by her doctor that she has months to live at most. Whatever malady she’s suffering from, it’s incurable. We also see her meeting with recurring Marvel/Netflix villain Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho). Also apparently working for Alexandra is Elektra, who was killed back in Daredevil Season 2 but is back in action here. Could her resurrection be what ultimately interests Weaver’s character?
This first episode does manage to not unite the Defenders -- none of the characters meet one another here, which is something of a disappointment. But an inciting incident at the end of the episode, where Alexandra essentially seems to be attempting to begin the destruction of New York City, will surely bring the group together soon enough.
All in all, this first episode of The Defenders is a good set-up for the series which puts the various characters into play and prepares them for the big moment when they will become a team. I’m anxious to see that happen, and we won’t have long to wait now as the series will debut on Netflix on August 18.
Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottCollura.