There were so many times in Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fost where it would have made perfect sense for Matt Murdock to suddenly enter a scene and claim to be Jessica/Luke/Danny's lawyer. But that couldn't happen. There were rules about this kind of thing. Some of the supporting cast members like Claire and Hogarth could pop up in other shows, and Jessica and Luke could share the screen for a while since their origin stories were so intertwined but only on her show. Otherwise, none of the future Defenders could ever directly interact.
Well, nuts to that noise because The Defenders premieres on August 18th, and in the newly-released first trailer we finally get to see these four mini-Avengers actually talk to each other, with plenty of Matt and Jessica getting out of a jam together and Luke and Danny testing each other out. Turns out, when Danny goes full-on Iron Fist his punch really can hurt Luke. Oh, those two are going to be lifelong friends. I can just tell, or at least guess as much considering their famous co-starring Heroes for Hire comic book.
What exactly brings them together? I dunno. Elektra, the death of New York and Sigourney Weaver's mysterious new character are all pinpointed in the trailer as the connective tissue binding their fates, but we are left with few concrete details and plenty of eye-popping, clickbait-worthy moments, capped with The Defenders gathered and taking their turns in an awesomely orchestrated hallway fight scene in which they all four battle henchman while what appears to be Elektra advances on them from behind. In The Avengers, the first hero shot was of the disparate vigilantes and soldiers finally coming together as a team on that New York bridge as aliens streamed down from the sky; in The Defenders, it's them kicking some ass together in a hallway because thanks to Daredevil season 1 that's kind of the calling card of the Netflix Marvel shows.
Was that trailer enough to erase the foul taste of Iron Fist from your mouth (he says knowing full well that plenty of people actually liked Iron Fist)? Wish that the Defenders would move out of the way so you could see more of Elektra? More excited to see Misty Knight and Claire Temple returning? Or is this all just a passing distraction on the way to Punisher: Season 1 and additional seasons of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones? Let me know what you think in the comments.