Ranking The Marvel Netflix Shows From Worst To Best
Before there was Disney+, we looked to Netflix for our longform Marvel storytelling.
Before WandaVision took over Disney+ and became the most talked about show of 2021 so far, the MCU had a very different approach to putting their beloved characters onto the small screen. In a deal with Netflix, the streaming giant got a chance to put out six marvel shows which debuted to varying critical responses.
The interpretations of The Defenders and their supporting characters were a mixed bag with some being landmark television of exceptional quality and others being boring misguided shows that were better off not existing.
The varied quality of each show certainly makes for an awkwardly unique collection. After Disney reacquired the rights to each of these characters, the shows ended abruptly.
Whether we'll end up seeing Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock or Mike Colter's Luke Cage popping up in a future MCU project remains to be seen but they deserve to be acknowledged for the first major critical successes that Marvel got on TV (sorry Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
The Marvel Netflix shows were often more mature and darker than their family friendly cinematic counterparts but that allowed them to have an edge that the MCU hasn't seen since.
6. Iron Fist
Iron Fist is not devoid of positives, those positives just fail to gel in a way that makes it a likable show. Finn Jones in particular tended to get a bad wrap, but he does the best he can with the material given. Danny Rand is written to be irritating and annoying which makes for a poor central character but none of that is on Jones.
The other performances are pretty underwhelming, at best there's Jessica Henwick who is great as Colleen Wing and at worst is whatever on earth David Wenham is doing in that first season. Either way, the performances aren't this show's biggest problem.
Iron Fist is sadly, just a boring show. The characters aren't interesting and the narrative is weak. Worst of all, after terrific fight scenes from Daredevil, there was significant anticipation that a show about a martial artist would have fight scenes that would at least match Daredevil's, maybe even rival them. Unfortunately, they're just as bland as the rest of the show.