"Don’t try to make sense of this", rumbles Scott Glenn as a martial arts master in The Defenders, the Marvel adaptation which has been brewing for five stand-alone series on Netflix, and his words are solid advice.
Immortal villains, ninja armies slicing through New York, and the destruction of Pompeii all mass as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist assemble, like the Avengers, but with fewer hovering aircraft carriers.
This all-punching, all-high-kicking extravaganza is what those solo shows have been building towards, the intimacy of Luke Cage, the first series of Daredevil, and Jessica Jones shoulder-barged aside to knot this universe in an NYC brawl pretzel.
The real excitement of this gang of superheroes banding together is that it means more time in the presence of Jessica Jones, the standout Marvel character adaptation so far on Netflix and still the benchmark for a mature approach to superhero storytelling.
Krysten Ritter’s world-weary and reluctant heroine is the most fascinating of this foursome, her grudging valour and snappy cynicism clashing with Iron Fist’s solemn insistence on introducing himself to everyone as ‘The Immortal Iron Fist’.
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Viewers will tire of that line - and its intended comic effect - long before anyone else on screen. Danny Rand, sorry, The Immortal Iron Fist, takes more of a beating from the script than his assailants; at Rand’s best he’s a half-baked bore and at his worst he’s so dense, it’s remarkable he hasn’t squandered his family fortune by handing over his bank details to phishing emails.
Five series of backstory might be too much for casual newcomers. Those who wander into Hell’s Kitchen unprepared might then simply bask in Sigourney Weaver and her ambition to own New York, her near-immortal mastermind Alexandra even more devious and conniving than Katherine Parker in Working Girl. Alexandra’s hair is, however, less evil, even if it does command legions of unwavering ninja henchfolk.
Alexandra and her devious masterplan will have to get a shuffle on, though, as The Defenders runs for a brisk eight episodes, half of which are spent drawing these four heroes into the moment when they coalesce as a unit. That’s the point when you understand – disobeying Glenn’s order to not make sense of it – that these four characters are stronger alone.
The Defenders is available on Netflix from today.
