Sunday Comix Special: Marvel’s The Defenders– A Spoiler-Free Discussion! …Mostly

Sundays are for…gushing about how awesome Marvel’s The Defenders is!

I’ve been following the Netflix Marvel shows with great interest ever since the first season of Daredevil came out three years ago. Daredevil was amazing, and so was Jessica Jones, while both Luke Cage and Iron Fist stumbled and struggled with several issues, respectively.

The Defenders sees the title characters of these show unite to take on the Hand, the organization of ninjas, whose different clans have given both Matt Murdock and Danny Rand a run for their money. Now, the five fingers of the Hand are closing around New York and its protectors, and they’re led by the queen of science fiction…Sigourney Weaver!

This enchanting badass takes on the role of Alexandra, a completely original character, not affiliated with anyone from the comic books. The role was written with Weaver in mind, and–boy!–does she deliver. Her performance is nothing short of beautiful, hued with class, power and the occasional unintentional hilarity. The humor  I speak of is intentional in terms of making the audience of the show grin, of course; what I mean is that Alexandra dines in Istanbul and calls it Constantinople, she speaks of Beethoven with familiarity, and it’s hilarious.

Alexandra is easily on par with D’Onofrio’s Kingpin and Tennant’s Kilgrave, and while she has less screen time than either, because the 8 episode order, instead of the usual 13, she shines just as bright; if not even more so. It’s such a rush, seeing Sigourney Weaver play a villain who steals the spotlight in every scene she’s in, who dominates every room with such natural ease that it’s…nothing short of brilliant.

There is much more to like to the Defenders, but if I were to go in any greater detail, I would be spoiling a great show; and we can’t have that, can we? Instead, let me assure you that the Defenders manages to create a show that plays to each of its core characters’ strengths while leaving very little space for their weaknesses. If you’ve grown attached to Matt, Jessica, Luke and Danny’s stories, this is a wonderful culmination of the individual paths these four have taken…and it sets Phase 2 of the Netflix/Marvel project in a wonderful way.

Expect a spoiler-filled post later down the line, once a little bit of time has passed and more people have seen the series. Thanks for reading!