Marvel's The Defenders Review: 5 Ups And 7 Downs

1. It Never Justifies Its Existence

A lot of this stems from the problems with the Hand, but The Defenders never fully manages to justify its existence. Whereas The Avengers was a coming together after years of setup and felt like a necessary team, this just feels like they had the idea to do The Defenders a few years ago, which allowed them to make four other shows, and now we've got to do this.

Because the Hand never feels like a major threat, no matter how much they say they are, it's hard to buy that what's at stake requires these four street-level heroes to band together. Certainly in at least Jessica Jones and Daredevil Season 1, the stakes felt higher, the risk greater, and the storytelling much more satisfying as a result. The Defenders isn't a bad series, but it's a very average one that could and should have been a lot more.

There are some great character moments that come from this team-up, but there's little else that feels like it couldn't have been achieved in each solo series, and it's telling that upon ending the excitement isn't for where The Defenders might go next, but each of these individuals.

What did you think of The Defenders? Share your thoughts down in the comments.