The work Marvel has done on Netflix to create serialized stories for their heroes goes above and beyond almost any other previous attempt in the genre to date. These shows are character driven, specifically aimed at pleasing viewers who are tired of the same old, campy, superhero stories.
To a great extent, they have succeeded. Marvel has now generated legitimate television efforts from five different heroes who are not quite ready to make their debut on the big screen. Giving a character like the Punisher an entire thirteen episode story rights a lot of the wrongs that previous projects have encountered bringing these comic book characters to life.
Despite the successes, Marvel still struggles to find the right balance in these shows, frequently being caught between the idealized fictional drama of comics, and the realistic emotions that audiences have come to expect from television shows of the modern era. When it works, it seems like Matt Murdock really has come to life and there really is a supernatural battle going on in the streets of a major city. When it doesn’t work, it just feels like a group of maladjusted, costumed egos, running around hitting people, and being indignant about it.
In an attempt to get to the bottom of this admirably ambitious lunacy, here are 16 Things That Make No Sense About Marvel Netflix Shows.
No Crossover With The Rest Of The MCU
Since Daredevil premiered in 2015, fans have been wondering when the Marvel Netflix showcase will officially crossover with the MCU movies. It’s already been confirmed that they share a continuity; references are made here and there to events within The Avengers movie. There has yet to be a true crossover, though, uniting the characters from both solar systems within the same universe.
Executives from Marvel Studios have commented on this idle dream of true believers. They continue to blame logistical issues. Imposing the production constraints, and the infrastructure film-acting comes with, apparently, is incompatible with the television operation. This excuse isn’t quite good enough for fans.
Of course it would be hard, that’s the reason fans would be so surprised, and why they want it. Marvel should intertwine the story lines and place Netflix’s Defenders properly in the MCU.
The Slow Pacing
Whether it was The Sopranos or Breaking Bad that first inspired every show on television to take its sweet time with its story, the vogue on the small screen now is to turn the pacing way down. On the Netflix shows there’s either one dramatic character reveal per episode, or an entire 42 minute show revolves around one introductory street fight.
Character development plays in these shows’ favor - they spend so much time exploring the emotions of heroes, villains, and sidekicks.
It’s not the fault of the content. Getting the backstory on everyone and, and flashbacks used as a B story are fine, but the second half of Luke Cage season one, opening round of Jessica Jones, and even parts of Daredevil just feel a little bit on the boring side; the worst possible result for a comic book show.
Iron Fist
The biggest shame of that first season of Iron Fist is how it may have ruined this character on screen for the foreseeable future. Immediately when the series was announced, there was an expectation that Marvel would cast an Asian-American in the role of Danny Rand, improving the heretofore established record of diversity on other Netflix shows. If Marvel didn’t choose to follow that record, and insisted on casting a Caucasian guy, at least this version of Iron Fist should be especially conscious of Asian culture.
Instead, after thirteen episodes, that first season managed to offend every fan imaginable. It was boring, uncomfortable, insensitive, and convoluted. Instead of introducing Eastern philosophy, mysticism, and cultural humility to the Netflix universe - along with some incredible martial arts, of course - this show has ditched all of those things and replaced them with a whiny, petulant kid.
Roxxon Corps In The Background
So far, after seven seasons of television, Roxxon hasn’t really established itself - stuck between true villain and nefarious megacorporation. Season two of Daredevil follows Elektra’s mission against Roxxon, but even then it never gets explained properly. Roxxon would be a contributor to the villain problem in the MCU, but it’s not even clear if they’re an antagonist.
Nothing the corporation has done has been directly laid out in opposition to our heroes.
This is really to the detriment of the story here. Instead of whatever Danny was fighting in Iron Fist, why not take that corporate story, turn it into a Rand Corporation struggle to avoid takeover from Roxxon, and Danny has to stop the Meachums from selling out? Having an evil corporate juggernaut in their corner is a great set up, but it’s time to move Evil Incorporated to the foreground.
The Love Stories
Superheroes and romance can be a predictably bad combination. The genre isn’t known for its great poetry or soliloquies detailing love’s sweet embrace. Still, just as there is tenderness in life, it exists in comics as well, and should exist in the superhero television genre.
Matt Murdock’s failed flirtation with femme fatale Elektra was a valiant effort at putting the tortured hero’s heart on display, but the romance was never quite able to convince audiences that their volatile connection would ever work. Danny Rand and Colleen Wing’s relationship is mostly just dependent on Danny, unable to figure out his new life, being pitied by Colleen.
Luke and Claire finally came together after he got out of jail, only just recently in the Defenders miniseries. The most complex relationship so far has been Jessica Jones and Kilgrave, which was full of abuse, mind control, and ended in his demise. Netflix can keep doing better in this department.
Karen Page’s Backstory
Karen Page, played by Deborah Ann Woll, brightens up Daredevil season one and two in a great contrast to Matt Murdock’s descent into the devil of Hell’s Kitchen. She’s a great support character for all of the street-level heroes.
Woll’s performance fills up the screen, but even now, relatively little is known about her background.
In the comics, Page is a long time friend of Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson. Her character is a repeated love interest of Murdock and constant target of his enemies. She leaves the law firm for a period of time, becoming a lady of the night and struggling with substance abuse, eventually bouncing back to host a radio show.
Karen Page is a character of the people, representing the voice of the streets, and reflecting the average concerns of the neighborhood. She’s had a good start, but little is known about this reporter/sidekick/journalist/legal assistant.
Trish Walker as Hellcat
Jessica Jones’ introduction onto television has been assisted by her backstory as the adopted sister of Trish Walker - former child star, current media personality. Jessica and Trish make up a great sister duo on screen, enhancing Jones’ credibility as a well-connected private investigator. The show hasn’t yet mentioned, however, that Patricia Walker, aka Patsy Walker, is a take on the old character from Marvel’s silver age, Hellcat.
In the ’70s, Patsy Walker inspired Hellcat was a pretty general superheroine, she had a sensitivity to magic and resilience to mystical attacks. She served tours with the Defenders and the Avengers. The show has already given Trish a few superhuman powers, thanks to some ill-received combat enhancers, but expanding her role even further is always an option for the future.
Foggy Nelson Is One Dimensional
This is where the slow pacing of the Netflix shows really comes back to bite them. With this storytelling style, there’s no excuse to let the Foggy character fall by the wayside like they did in Daredevil’s season two. It got a little bit busy with Stick, Elektra, and the Punisher, but that’s no excuse for just relegating the support characters to the back burner whenever it’s convenient.
Sidekicks, even low-powered ones, are most helpful to reflect the hero they assist. They’re useful in terms of playing out the thoughts and plans of the hero, but they can also play a role in the growth of the protagonist.
When the first season set up Foggy as Matt’s conscience, always telling him to do the right thing, it’s all the more striking that he vanishes in the second season.
Their Relationship With The Police
In the MCU movies so far, local police have been completely elided in favor of a National Security foil. On Netflix, with Matt Murdock working as an attorney and Jessica Jones as a private investigator, the heroes have developed an uneven relationship with the police that puts them at odds with the main story most of the time.
The exceptional law enforcement officers so far in the series, Misty Knight and Dinah Madani, work in concert with Luke Cage and the Punisher respectively. These are presented as exceptions to the rule rather than as shining examples of the NYPD.
Marvel has a unique opportunity to tell stories about crime, justice, and punishment. Framing law enforcement as an obstacle to those goals lessens the weight of the story.
No shared show for Luke Cage and Iron Fist… yet
There were glimpses, in the eighth episode of the Defenders miniseries, of Power Man and Iron Fist coming together to create their balanced super team. The two had a great chemistry together on screen - Finn Jones’ Danny Rand became plausible as a punchline, and Mike Colter as Luke Cage became even more watchable as he slowly started showing empathy for this goofy martial arts master.
Fans are already clamoring for a season of just the two of them, actualizing the duo that was laid out in the comics. Given that this dynamic works so well, it’s strange that Marvel wouldn’t green-light a Heroes for Hire series with both characters rather than doubling down a second season of the ill-received Iron Fist. At least Danny will show up in season 2 of Luke Cage.
Who’s The Leader Of The Defenders?
A lot of hype was generated for the Defenders to debut on Netflix, but upon release, reactions were curiously underwhelming. With the exception of Iron Fist, the Netflix shows have succeeded on their own, despite their shortcomings on this list. Unfortunately, when they came together, fans got an awkward meet-cute between four heroes that didn’t really seem to appreciate being forced into working together due to their geography.
Matt Murdock ascended as the obvious leader of the group, probably due to his age, race, and education, but his personality was way too fragile to corral these crazy characters. Jessica Jones had a voice they could rally behind, but she’s struggling with responsibility issues of her own.
As soon as any of the Netflix Defenders actually become heroes, instead of wallowing in their own self pity and self-aggrandizement, a united superteam will make a lot more sense.
New York City Feels Small
New York City has always been a character in Marvel comics. The noise, action, grime, and immensity of the city. How New York plays a role in shaping the citizens that live there makes Marvel stories feel more real.
Somehow Netflix has taken a macrocosm of American culture, and crowded it up with only five superheroes. New York City should never have the small town feel that these shows fall into.
NYC works for so many heroes because street justice can actually have a great impact on a city with such high population density. Unfortunately, the shows haven’t been able to make audiences feel like these Defenders are from a place that could realistically generate that many superheroes on its own.
The Defenders is too intense
Aside from the ill-fated Iron Fist and the aimless Defenders, all of the series so far have taken a decidedly mature style to storytelling. Daredevil tracks the journey of a guy who can’t stop beating people up to analyze his own anger issues. Jessica Jones is about a girl struggling to stand pat in her own identity and feel sympathy with the rest of the world at the same time. Luke Cage seems pretty optimistic, but he fights against the mundane day-to-day evil.
Life is raw, that’s for sure, that’s why we have heroes. In The Defenders, however, these heroic characters seem much more gruff and dark, which may have been off-putting for audiences. It’s essential that even as the good guys struggle with their demons, audiences remain on their side.
Rand Corp Seems To Be A Recurring Plot Device
From one perspective, the Iron Fist property is filled with landmines, and from another, it is filled with opportunities. Danny Rand is a privileged kid who learns martial arts through mystical means, and then is faced with the task of reconciling those things with the responsibilities of being a hero - all while running a multimillion-dollar corporation.
Danny was thrust into Bruce Wayne-level tragedy and pressure, but he’s never been written with half the poise or moral backbone of Batman.
The Rand Corporation is arguably his most impactful superpower, even more so than the flame of K’un-Lun. It could be a great opportunity to talk about corporate responsibility and class. Unfortunately, the team behind season one didn’t take it in that direction.
Chronology And Timeline Within The MCU
As each new season premieres, the extended story fills in the blanks to connect all of the different Netflix shows, but there’s still a curious lack of overlap with the MCU. Great pains are taken to lay out the chronology of Jessica Jones following Daredevil, and the sequence of events that follow among the arcs of the four main heroes.
Almost no mention is made of the MCU movies, except vague references that make it clear the productions are owned by the same company.
By insisting that the Defenders do exist in the same continuity, the studio is drawing attention to the bridge it won’t let the Marvel Netflix characters cross, leaving them with no real interaction with the main Marvel thread.
The Hand
The Hand, the principal antagonist in this group of shows, was first introduced in Daredevil season one. He was teased in for a while, and in Iron Fist season one, he was supposed to be revealed to the Marvel Netflix story. Despite all the build up, the criminal syndicate still felt underdeveloped. The Hand isn’t secretive in the mysterious, creepy way, but more vague and hard to recognize.
The villain work excelled best when thrown through the prism of a great single actor, like Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, Alfre Woodard’s Black Mariah, or David Tennant’s Kilgrave. Those three are outstanding anchors, establishing the brutal realities of this made up world, while remaining irresistibly watchable. The Hand, by contrast, just feels unmotivated, driven by simple avarice, and desire for wealth, decentralized into a shapeless evil presence.
What was your biggest gripe with the Netflix Marvel TV Shows? Let us know in the comments!
