Published Sep 2017 by Marvel
Limited 1 for 25 Retailer Incentive Variant Cover
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by David Marquez
Cover by W. Scott Forbes
36 pages, full color

The Punisher strikes! With the mean streets of Marvel more dangerous than ever what could possibly make Frank Castle turn on his fellow vigilantes? Don't they all want the same thing?

Featured Characters:
Defenders
Jessica Jones
Luke Cage
Daredevil (Matt Murdock)
Iron Fist (Danny Rand)
Night Nurse (Linda Carter)
Diamondback (Willis Stryker)
Diamondback's henchmen (Death)
Punisher (Frank Castle)
H.E.R.B.I.E. (Advertising)
Black Cat's Gang
Hammerhead Family
Hammerhead (Joseph)
Black Cat (Felicia Hardy)
Misty Knight (Cameo)
Rio Morales (Cameo)
Raindrop Lilly
Crusher Creel (Poster)
Daily Bugle
Ben Urich

Meeting with the Black Cat again, Diamondback asks why she saved Luke Cage’s life. Her own thugs turn on her and try to shoot her but she defeats them all and leaves, with Diamondback saying things aren’t going to end well between them.

Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Daredevil wake up in the night clinic next to Cage; the Punisher’s bullets were nonlethal and meant only to stop the heroes. They wonder why the Punisher wanted them out of the picture, and how Diamondback is back from the dead.

In a montage sequence, various characters share what they know about Diamondback, including a newspaper vendor, Misty Knight, Rio Morales, Raindrop Lilly, Black Cat, and others. Luke Cage and Willis Stryker grew up together but had a falling out over a girl, Reva Connors. Stryker framed Cage for stealing diamonds from the mob and had him locked up. But then the mob took revenger on Stryker by killing Reva. Everyone also wonders how he could be back from the dead.

Two of the Cat’s henchmen are discussing where he gets his money when the Punisher shows up and kills one of them. Before he can kill the other, Daredevil and Luke Cage appear and they subdue the Punsiher. Asked why he shot at them, Punisher says he doesn’t trust people in masks. Cage knocks him out and they walk out with him but Daredevil says he’ll break out of prison next month. Cage says Punisher has a point and if they are going to team up then they should know who each other actually is.

Elsewhere, Iron Fist and Jessica are staking out a nightclub when Diamondback appears, but he spots them taking pictures of him and confronts them. He flips their car easily and when Iron Fist tries to punch him, Diamondback catches his fist in one hand, to Danny’s shock. In front of the gathered crowd and an incredulous Jessica, Diamondback picks up Iron Fist and breaks his back over his knee.

Marvel's The Defenders is an American television miniseries created by Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez for the streaming service Netflix, based on the Marvel Comics characters Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, who form the eponymous superhero team. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledges the continuity of the franchise's films. The miniseries is a crossover event for several interconnected series from Marvel and Netflix. It was produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios, Nine and a Half Fingers, Inc., and Goddard Textiles, with Ramirez serving as showrunner.

The series stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and Finn Jones as Danny Rand / Iron Fist, all reprising their roles from their individual series. It also stars Eka Darville, Elden Henson, Jessica Henwick, Simone Missick, Ramon Rodríguez, Rachael Taylor, Deborah Ann Woll, Elodie Yung, Rosario Dawson, and Scott Glenn, all also returning from previous series, as well as Sigourney Weaver. Development began in late 2013, with Cox the first actor cast in May 2014. Petrie and Ramirez joined as showrunners in April, after doing so for the second season of Daredevil. Petrie left with the start of filming, which took place in New York City from October 2016 to March 2017. Cinematography and design work established the different color palettes from the characters' individual series, and combined them as the team is formed.

In January 2015, Netflix COO Ted Sarandos said that The Defenders was "eligible to go into multiple seasons for sure" and Netflix would look at "how well [they] are addressing both the Marvel fanbase but also the broader fanbase" in terms of determining if additional seasons would be appropriate. However, in July 2016, Loeb referred to the miniseries as a one-off event rather than a season of an ongoing story. Jones said the miniseries "feels like the end of Phase One" of the Marvel Netflix series, with the events of the miniseries leading into "the beginning of another phase", while Ritter said she would be happy to return for more after enjoying the experience making these episodes, despite it planned as a one-time event. In mid-2018, Loeb and Netflix vice president of original content Cindy Holland both said that there were "no plans" to continue the series.

In September 2018, Netflix renamed the Facebook page for the series to "NX", Netflix's "new geek-friendly division of genre content". Netflix did not alter the series' Twitter account in a similar manner. The change left fans upset at the apparent "bait-and-switch", with many suggesting they would have followed a separate page for NX had it been created in that manner. Kofi Outlaw of Comicbook.com felt this change was "a pretty big indicator that Netflix is done with The Defenders as one of its original series". In response to this, Loeb reiterated that there were still no plans for the series to continue at that time, but this did not mean that it would never be continued in the future, especially since a "Defenders" team was not actually formed in this miniseries and future Defenders stories could then focus on different characters.

Charlie Cox Knows What's Next For Daredevil In The MCU
Following his cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Charlie Cox hints he knows what is next for Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Following his cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Charlie Cox hints he knows what’s next for Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No Way Home brought Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men and their respective baddies into the MCU. Before Ned Leeds opened those portals, and the iconic pair talked to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker about great power and responsibility, Cox’s Matt Murdock aided Peter in his legal troubles.

Marvel’s street-level heroes defended the small screen on Netflix long before the MCU hit Disney+. Of Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, Daredevil led the charge as the most beloved series in the Defenders universe. Netflix’s cancellation of Daredevil in 2018 prompted campaigns ala #SaveDaredevil seemingly to no avail. Despite rumors that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen would return in No Way Home, Cox (like Garfield) played coy leading up to the film’s release. Now that virtually everyone has seen No Way Home, the actor can finally talk about his MCU return/debut.

In a recent interview with HeyUGuys, Cox discussed Matt Murdock’s No Way Home cameo and what’s next for his character. While addressing the fact that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has publicly said Cox is the MCU’s Daredevil, the actor spoke about (possible) appearances in future projects. Read the full quote below:

“I think at this point, I expect to be involved in some capacity. Otherwise, it would be a bit of a weird one-scene moment. I don't know much, I know a little, and what I do know I'm very excited about...there’s a chance it could be the next ten years of my life.”

Cox’s No Way Home return, as well as Vincent D’Onofrio’s role in Disney+’s Hawkeye, has revitalized interest in streaming Daredevil, The Punisher, and Netflix’s other Marvel shows. While those shows reference MCU events, they were never necessarily a part of it. On top of being much more mature than the MCU, the latter universe never acknowledged the Defenders. With many hoping for future Daredevil/Spider-Man team-ups and theories galore, it’s almost impossible to predict if/where Cox’s Murdock will appear next. That being said, Wilson Fisk's appearance in Hawkeye may foreshadow the “how.”