There was an idea, to bring together a group of Marvel heroes on television, during the dawn of the streaming era, that could push the boundaries that the films never could. This is the story of The Defenders Saga. Marvel Television took a similar tactic to the MCU films, where they would introduce each hero in their separate series before teaming them up together. The original plan included the heroes Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, who would unite to join a team called The Defenders. Along the way, other characters were introduced to the supporting cast like Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and Elektra. The Punisher, who was introduced in Daredevil season 2, was given his spin-off series.
Originally airing on Netflix to great commercial and critical success, after Disney announced they would be launching their streaming service Netflix began canceling all the series, with the last two, The Punisher season 2 and Jessica Jones season 3 airing in 2019. Then in 2022, the series was removed from Netflix and brought over to Disney+ where they were rebranded as The Defenders Saga. Disney+ added parental controls (and some controversial scrubs and edits) with the addition of the more mature-rated series, and now viewers could watch the entire Defenders Saga alongside the main entries of the MCU.
Updated December 3rd, 2022: This article has been updated with new up-to-date information regarding Daredevil’s future in the MCU following She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and the announcement of Daredevil: Born Again.
While these various shows’ place in canon has been up for debate, the appearance of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock (or Daredevil) in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law as well as Vincent D’Onoforio as The Kingpin in Hawkeye and an upcoming role in Echo hints that these series and characters are somehow more connected to the MCU than ever before. With the announcement that Daredevil: Born Again will premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2024 and will continue the story of the Netflix series, audiences may want to catch up on his story as well as his fellow Defenders. If audiences somehow missed these series while they were airing, now is a great time to catch up. Yet with six series combined that together make up 13 seasons of television with a total of 161 episodes, there certainly is a lot to tackle. Take a look at how to watch all of The Defenders series in chronological order and order of release.
Marvel’s Defenders Saga in Chronological & Release Order
The Defenders Saga series’ chronological order is the same as the release order. While each season contains individual episodes which feature flashbacks to earlier in the timeline, the viewing order of the series is the same as its release.
- Daredevil (Season 1) – April 10, 2015
- Jessica Jones (Season 1) – November 20, 2015
- Daredevil (Season 2) – March 18, 2016
- Luke Cage (Season 1) – September 30, 2016
- Iron Fist (Season 1) – March 17, 2017
- The Defenders – August 18, 2017
- The Punisher (Season 1) – November 17, 2017
- Jessica Jones (Season 2) – March 8, 2018
- Luke Cage (Season 2) – June 22, 2018
- Iron Fist (Season 2) – September 7, 2018
- Daredevil (Season 3) – October 19, 2018
- The Punisher (Season 2) – January 18, 2019
- Jessica Jones (Season 3) – June 14, 2019
Daredevil – Season 1
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The first series to kick off a new era of stores in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Daredevil season 1 introduced audiences to Matt Murdock and his supporting characters Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, Ben Ulrich, and the villains of Hell’s Kitchen, including the rise of Wilson Fisk as the Kingpin. Released before Avengers: Age of Ultron, Daredevil is established to be taking place after The Avengers, and it was the battle of New York that allowed the Kingpin to amass as much power.
The series acts as a 13-episode origin story for Matt Murdock’s early career as a crime fighter, with him getting his signature red suit and his conflict with his arch enemy, Kingpin. By the end of the series, Daredevil is a fully formed costumed crime-fighter whom the people of Hell’s Kitchen know. Importantly, Daredevil meets Claire (Rosario Dawson), who will connect the various Defenders.
Jessica Jones – Season 1
The second installment in the Defenders Saga was also the last MCU entry of 2015, released after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man. The series introduces Jessica Jones and establishes her early history, having gained powers, but was emotionally and sexually manipulated by the villainous Killgrave. Jessica Jones received rave reviews for its depiction of trauma and sexual assault and showed a more mature side of the MCU.
The series introduces audiences to Luke Cage, who will spin off into his own series building up to The Defenders, and also introduces Trish Walker, Jessica’s adoptive sister who will become a major player in the character’s story to become a tragic villain.
Daredevil – Season 2
Similar to Iron Man 2 being made to quickly cash in on the success of the first entry and fit into the build for the team-up, Daredevil season 2 was quickly greenlit after the massive hit of the first season. The season is split into two halves, with the first half focusing on Daredevil’s conflict with Frank Castle aka The Punisher. While The Punisher still factors throughout the series, the character becomes more a part of Karen Page’s story while Daredevil becomes preoccupied with the return of his old flame, Elektra. The second half with Elektra is meant to help lay the groundwork for the then-upcoming The Defenders.
By the end of the season, The Punisher is freed and goes off to start his adventure, while Matt has retired from being Daredevil, as he lost Elektra and his two closest friends.
Luke Cage – Season 1
Essentially a spin-off to Jessica Jones, Luke Cage follows the title character and explores his origin more and his relationship with his half-brother, as well as setting up his relationship with cop Misty Knight and Claire Temple from the previous series. Luke Cage was so anticipated that Netflix crashed when the series premiered, and the series was noted for exploring race and politics. Its premiere in 2016 happened right as the Black Lives Matter movement was becoming a more global and household concept and the powerful image of seeing a bulletproof Black man was one that could not be understated.
The series is notable for featuring two performers who would play separate characters in the MCU. The first is Alfre Woodard, who in the series plays Mariah Dillard, after being in Captain America: Civil War as Miriam Sharpe. The second is Mahershala Ali, who stars in Luke Cage as Mariah’s cousin, the villainous Cottonmouth, and a few months later would win an Academy Award for appearing in Moonlight. After winning his second Academy Award for Green Book, Ali reportedly called Marvel Studios and is set to play Blade in an upcoming film, and has already lent a voice cameo at the end of Eternals and whose solo film is set for release on September 6, 2024.
Iron Fist – Season 1
The final member of The Defenders, Iron Fist introduced audiences to Danny Rand, a rich kid who was raised in an ancient lost city to be the ultimate warrior after his parents died. Iron Fist was the series most heavily focused on setting up The Defenders, as the series explained more of the lore of the franchise with the villainous organization The Hand.
While certain characters like Colleen Wing received positive reviews, Iron Fist was the first true misfire for Marvel, with many finding the series the weakest of the Defenders lineup. It seemed cheap compared to the other offerings, and many of the most interesting elements of Iron Fist’s mythology were left out or destroyed by the end.
The Defenders
Two years after Daredevil kickstarted the franchise and after five separate seasons, The Defenders finally united the various heroes of New York to fight The Hand, under the control of Alexandria (Sigourney Weaver) and a resurrected Elektra.
While many had issues with the series’ overall story and villains, the highlight of the series was the character interactions. While Jessica Jones and Luke Cage already had an established relationship dynamic, the series has fun with the various pairings. Similar to the comics, Luke Cage and Iron Fist have a winning rapport, and Jessica Jones and Daredevil have an initial distrust of one another that grows into mutual respect. Even the supporting characters get a chance to shine together, like Misty Knight and Colleen Wing.
After The Defenders, the characters break off and go their separate ways, and while there will be a few minor team-ups, this is the last time all four are together. The series was the lowest watched of the bunch, leading Netflix to not make season 2, leaving it as a miniseries.
The Punisher – Season 1
While not officially a member of The Defenders, The Punisher series very much occupies a part of the street-level world the Defenders Saga was creating. Spinning off from Daredevil season 2, The Punisher was a slight palette cleanser to focus on a different hero and one that expanded Frank Castle’s backstory from what audiences were told in Daredevil season 2.
While many incarnations of the Punisher have focused on the man going after criminals, The Punisher focuses on the character’s military background and the PTSD he and other veterans suffer from. Reworking the character’s origin story to where his family was murdered as part of a military conspiracy reworks his entire war on crime, to something much larger. Interestingly, the series ends with Castle having brought justice, and had the series not continued it would have made a fitting end for the character of the Punisher having found peace.
Jessica Jones – Season 2
In 2018, Marvel and Netflix released seasons focusing on all four of the Defenders, acting as a sequel to the series showcasing where the characters were. The first up was Jessica Jones season 2, released on March 8 (in honor of International Women’s Day), almost three whole years after the premiere season. Jessica Jones season 2 reveals that the main character’s mother is still alive and has been given superpowers herself, pulling Jessica between the biological family she can reclaim, and the adoptive family she made with Trish Walker.
The season ends with Jessica Jones and her mother almost finding happiness before Trish kills Jessica’s mother in an attempt to be a hero, an idea she has grown addicted to heroism. This forms a rift between the two that will grow into the next season.
Luke Cage – Season 2
Released in the summer of 2018, Luke Cage season 2 has the character’s status as the Hero of Harlem thrown for a loop when a new villain appears on the scene that manages to hurt him, while also dealing with the continuous threat of Mariah Dillard. The series ends with Luke Cage taking over the criminal organization with the idea of reforming it as the Sheriff of Harlem, but the implication is that Cage could become corrupted by his new power.
The series also picks up from The Defenders, seeing Misty Knight adjusting to her new cybernetic arm after hers was cut off in the team-up series. Both Iron Fist and Colleen Wing show up, establishing the ties that were formed in that series. The Luke Cage and Iron Fist team-up episode is a nice callback to the character’s comic book history, as is Misty and Colleen’s pairing a reference to their working relationship in the comics where they are dubbed the Daughter of Dragons.
Iron Fist – Season 2
After the disappointing reaction to Iron Fist season 1, the series underwent a slight overhaul in season 2 with a shortened episode order. Following Matt Murdock’s supposed death at the end of The Defenders, Danny Rand is inspired to become a vigilante to fill the hole left in Daredevil’s absence. The series adds two new major threats: ‘Typhoid’ Mary Walker (Alice Eve) and Davos (Sacha Dhawan).
Mary Walker is a special-ops agent whose dissociative identity disorder was triggered when her squad was attacked in the fictional MCU country of Sokovia with ‘Mary’ being a kind sweet personality, ‘Walker’ the fighter, and a mysterious third that is a serial killer. Davos seeks revenge on Danny for becoming the Iron Fist, and by the end of the series is taken into custody aboard the Raft while Colleen Wing becomes the new protector of New York City while Danny goes to travel the world.
Daredevil – Season 3
Daredevil’s season three sees Matt Murdock recovering after the events of The Defenders, being taken care of by nuns, to discover one of them is his long-lost mother. When Wilson Fisk is released from prison and begins operating his criminal empire under house arrest, even hiring a disturbed FBI agent to wear the Daredevil costume to tarnish the character’s legacy. Matt must decide to have a normal life, or become a crime fighter once more and bring balance to the city. The season digs deeper into Matt and Karen’s history.
The series ends with Matt, Foggy, and Karen all reunited and working together, with Daredevil continuing his war on crime. Meanwhile, Dex undergoes experimental surgery to fix his spine, and as he opens his eyes, a hint as to his future as Bullseye is revealed. Shortly after the series premiered, Netflix canceled the series and many thought it would be the end of Daredevil. Yet Charlie Cox reprised his role as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021 and in 2022 suited back up as Daredevil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Daredevil will continue in his Disney+ series, Daredevil: Born Again.
The Punisher – Season 2
Picking up after the last season ended, The Punisher season 2 finds Frank Castle trying to adjust to life after having killed everyone responsible for his family’s murder. The series moves Frank out of New York, as he wanders the mid-west and finds himself protecting a young girl from being murdered. The series digs deep into the idea of if Frank Castle can go on not being The Punisher; if he can’t, can the symbol of lethal force still do good? The series ends with The Punisher as a character that could continue for years.
Jessica Jones – Season 3
The final piece of the Defenders Saga, Jessica Jones season 3 premiered after it was already confirmed by Netflix that it would be the final season. The series finds a serial killer after Jessica, who must team up with her adoptive sister Trish. However, Trish has become unhinged and after brutally murdering someone, it draws her and Jessica into conflict with one another. In the final episode, Luke Cage visits Jessica offering the two one final reunion after how close they have become, hinting that one day they may find their way back to each other like in the comics.
Trish Walker finds herself being taken to the supervillain prison the Raft, which also includes Luke Cage’s half-brother Diamondback and Iron Fist’s adoptive brother Davos. With how many sibling-type relationships define the series (and the MCU), it is fitting for Jessica Jones and this corner of the Marvel Universe to end on a personal conflict where sisters are turned against one another. After four years, The Defenders Saga came to a close, but the door remains open. Daredevil and Kingpin’s return to the MCU gives hope that the rest of the Defenders will make their grand return sometime in the future.
Return to Marvel’s Defenders Saga in Chronological and Release Order