MCU: Why Netflix's Marvel Experiment Failed

4. The Heroes Work Better Alone

Jessica Jones Daredevil Defenders
Marvel Studios

One of the problems with The Defenders is that the heroes don't work as a team. While the Avengers had their issues and then some, there were believable bonds made between them and you really got the sense of teamwork and togetherness. That doesn't exist with the Defenders.

Jessica Jones is there to roll her eyes at everyone around her, and prefers to work either alone, or with the people she's learned to trust (and at the moment, that's just down to Malcolm). Daredevil, too, has his close friends Foggy and Karen, but he does everything he can to protect them, and it's better when he has that more personal involvement, which didn't happen with the other heroes. Punisher, too, is by his nature a lone cannon with regards to other heroes.

The only two who are actively made better by being teamed-up are Luke Cage and Iron Fist, with the pairing showing potential in both The Defenders and Luke Cage Season 2. There should've been a Heroes for Hire series there, but Netflix missed the boat. The other heroes simply don't mesh well enough together, and that means the shared universe can't really work.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.