10 Marvel Franchises That Could Replace The Avengers
8. The Other Defenders
Marvel Comics
Netflix may have coopted The Defenders name when looking to bring together Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the other one in 2017, but its comic book roots are far more cosmic in origin.
The original team featured in the comics actually spotlighted Doctor Strange, Namor and The Incredible Hulk as its core members, and with Netflix yet to give any indication that their street-level heroes will unite for another crossover, Marvel Studios could easily swoop in and take the name for themselves. If not, then they could just use the team with a different name to go by - the premise is all the same.
As for who could possibly front the group, Strange is the most obvious candidate. Leader aside, the group just presents a great opportunity to bring together characters who usually wouldn't mingle; Matt Fraction's 2011 series (which should be read, really) featured the Sorcerer Supreme alongside Iron Fist, Silver Surfer, Red She-Hulk, Black Cat, Nick Fury and even Ant-Man.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
