It’s all finally coming together. Netflix’s superhero quartet—Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist—will finally converge in Marvel’s eight-episode series The Defenders on Aug. 18, and the first trailer gives us a preview of what happens when four superheroes used to flying solo work together for a change. (Mostly banter and more hallway fights, from the looks of it.) Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, and Finn Jones are all back to battle a common enemy—in this case, Sigourney Weaver—while Rosario Dawson reprises her role as Claire Temple and Élodie Yung returns as Elektra, who is now being used as a weapon by the Hand.
The Defenders may have four protagonists, but let’s face it, Iron Fist, star of the worst-received show of the bunch, is plainly the odd one out—and the trailer knows it. While the others get cool labels like “the smart-ass detective” and “the righteous ex-con,” Danny Rand is just “the kid with the glowing fist.” But whereas Danny’s unyielding sincerity was grating with him as the protagonist of his own show, The Defenders now has an opportunity to play that sincerity off his more jaded peers, which could be interesting. Daredevil has always resisted letting his friends help him, Jessica Jones is probably the most reluctant screen superhero since Wolverine, and Luke Cage tends to be an island unto himself.
Compare that to Finn Jones’ description of his character going into The Defenders: “He’s craving desperately for family, for help, for guidance, for people to learn from, and for a team.” With Danny now just one-fourth of the equation, especially with Ritter’s Jessica Jones calling him on his nonsense and a mentor-mentee relationship with Luke Cage, Iron Fist might have finally found a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even lines like “I’m the immortal Iron Fist” are less cringe-inducing and more self-aware with Cage there to react exactly the same way as the rest of us: “You what?”
