Netflix’s MCU: What Went Wrong?

5. Iron Fist & The Hints Of Frailty

With the launch of Daredevil in 2015, things got off to a better start than Netflix and Marvel could have dared to dream of. The show was a hit with both critics and audiences, instantly banishing memories of the 2003 film and showing a completely new, more adult side to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They quickly went 2-2 with Jessica Jones, which went even further into the darkness, and found more approval there.

Its next offerings, Daredevil Season 2 and Luke Cage, both had a couple of issues, but were largely received in the same vein. They fleshed out the world, and cemented it as a universe worth investing in. For the first four seasons in this universe, the Rotten Tomatoes scores read: 99%, 93%, 80%, 94%. That's not an infallible system of course, but it's indicative of the wave it was riding.

The Rotten Tomatoes score for Iron Fist Season 1? 18%.

Again, critics can be wrong, and Iron Fist has its fans (its audience score is a much healthier 73%). But it was the first sign that, for all Luke Cage's powers, the Netflix Marvel Universe wasn't bulletproof. After one hell of a start in Hell's Kitchen, the fact this flopped, along with the repeat of the Hand (one of the lesser elements of Daredevil Season 2), was a worrying sign, although The Defenders had the chance to put those fears to rest.