The Defenders: everything you need to know about Marvel’s latest superhero crew

Move over, Avengers: a new team of scrappy, street-smart superheroes is moving into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In August, Netflix will unveil Marvel’s The Defenders, the mini-series it’s been building towards for three years.

Not familiar with the new good-guy gang? Don’t fret. The Defenders aren’t as easily recognisable as the heavily marketed band of “Earth’s mightiest heroes”, but with an impressive roster of Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Iron Fist (Finn Jones), and a ravenous audience, The Defenders certainly has its fair share of buzz.

The first Defenders debuted in a 1971 comic and featured Dr Strange, the Hulk, Namor and – ultimately – the Silver Surfer. From there, the group would reassemble with new faces and characters whenever there was cosmic danger (or a need to sell a superhero crossover comic). Now, the new Defenders include all of Marvel’s Netflix heroes in one fairly reluctant team.

Unlike the aforementioned Avengers, who are often steered by Captain America, these superheroes are a group of no-nonsense New Yorkers.

“There’s no official hierarchy. All that’s yet to be set,” co-executive producer Marco Ramirez says. “We get to lean into the messiness, and the haste, of these four all thrown together dealing and working with each other.”