The Defenders EXPECTATIONS

Marvel and Netflix’s heroes join forces tomorrow as they become The Defenders!  The series will be available some time tomorrow.  What are our expectations?

What happened previously?

A lot.  Daredevil became a vigilante in Hell’s Kitchen, took down the Kingpin, took on the Hand, and took down (then in) the Punisher, who is now free and (I assume) wreaking havoc in NYC’s criminal underworld.  Matt fought the Hand alongside his ex, Elektra, who was killed (she got better).  Oh, and he also outed himself to Karen.

Jessica Jones stopped Kilgrave and became something of a “hero for hire” will struggling with her demons, including the death of Luke Cage’s wife.

Luke Cage stopped his half-brother and went back to prison in Georgia, but appears to be starting the miniseries as a free man.

Iron Fist fought the Hand in New York City, only to discover that K’un-L’un had vanished.

Season Synopsis:

Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist join forces to take on common enemies as a sinister conspiracy threatens New York City.

Continuing plot points:

• The expansion of the number of heroes on Netflix
• Potential spinoffs for side characters
• Future announced seasons for all four current series (and The Punisher)
• Elektra’s resurrection
• Luke’s imprisonment
• The disappearance of K’un-L’un

What I am looking for in this miniseries:

• The heroes go through the usual “We can’t work together” -> “we have to work together” -> “we like working together” story of superhero team-ups
• Good explanations for why the heroes are where they are
• Not a ton of exposition for each of them; we’ve seen their origins already
• Claire Temple will bring them together (not much question there)
• Each of the heroes is bringing a “plus-1” to the party; at least a few of these will fight alongside the heroes
• I’m specifically expecting Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and maybe Trish Walker to get in on the fighting
• There may be something to set up The Punisher, but I don’t remember seeing any announcement of Castle’s involvement

What would be awesome but probably won’t happen:

Some major cameo/surprise appearance from someone (specific, I know).  Either another big hero rumored for Netflix like Moon Knight or Spider-Woman will show up and join the team just in time for a spinoff to be announced, or a TV character will cross over from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to connect the properties together.  If it’s an AoS character, my money would be on Coulson (this is set a year or two before the current AoS season, so at this point he’s probably Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., so it would make sense) or Mike Peterson’s Deathlok.

So what are you looking for in tonight’s episode?  What is there that you really want to see but may not see at all?

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