The unrelenting machine that is Marvel promised to deliver the goods this SDCC and yesterday, they followed through. Not only did they debut the first ever episode of The Defenders in Hall H where our very own Rhiannon was at, but they also released the latest trailer for us losers at home!! And boy is it a fantastic one. Here’s my breakdown and speculation of what we saw in those 2 minutes of epicness.
The thing about war is…. It only works of both sides believe they’re the good guys.
We open with Sigourney Weaver, as how trailers should begin. She’s giving a speech about the war she’s about to wage with four goobers and their city. We see Colleen and Danny arrive from whatever adventure they came from as they are greeted by a powerful tremor.
The truth is we’re not so different.
It’s a line I’m not generally fond of. It’s almost cliché at this point with every villain. We heard Fisk give the speech to Matt in the first season and they’re revisiting that idea again. Luckily, Sigourney just sells the line and makes it work.
We fight to get back what was once ours.
We’re given a ton of context on how that bright hallway fight plays out. Iron Fist bursts in whatever meeting Sigourney is having with her Hand executives. As expected, Danny Rand isn’t greeted politely. As he’s cornered and about to be carried away, in bursts in Luke, showing his continued disrespect for walls and doors.
Sigourney’s line is interesting as it pertains to getting back what was once hers. We know Alexandra is this big wig New York figure whose family – we presume – has strong ties to the city. Could her whole agenda as the leader of the Hand be to just regain the glory days of her family?
But in the end, and this is the end, it’s just a city.
We finally see Elektra and Alexandra in the same frame. Elektra has this childlike expression, unsure exactly of what the hell is going on. Elodie Yung did say in the Defenders panel that Elektra would essentially be an amnesiac so this definitely lends itself to that.
You’ll get used to watching them fall.
Okay so maybe Alexandra isn’t all about taking New York for herself. And it’s clear that she doesn’t plan on stopping there. Going by Stick’s story to Matt in Daredevil Season 2, the Hand has been known to topple civilizations to amass wealth. But what does it mean for Alexandra’s game plan?
There is no next move.
And there is no we.
Like the Avengers, the Defenders are another dysfunctional family trying to figure out how to not piss each other off. It’s easy to write off this kind of dynamic as overplayed but when you have a cast with chemistry that is infectious, the whole thing works like magic.
Are those pork?
No, that’s shrimp.
This guy’s got pork.
God, you’re weird.
Who knew that an argument about food would be the crowning moment of this entire trailer? We cannot wait for more scenes like this in the show!
I’m not looking for super friends.
Doesn’t matter. We can’t fight these people. Not even with whatever it is your hand can do.
We get a good glimpse of a fully costumed Elektra in the Hand armory about to pick up a pair of her signature weapons: sais. We saw her wield one in the last Daredevil show but it wasn’t as huge as the one she’s about to get her hands on.
Here we have Alexandra watching Elektra take down a batch of goons and ninjas with ease. Yesterday, we reported on a story about how Elektra would be more violent and bloody this time around. I feel bad for those guys who probably thought they were just going to spar with her.
Since the last trailer, I’ve been speculating that the mysterious lady in a black gown wielding a katana was Alexandra. Sigourney had a stunt double listed on IMDB (who stars as the multiplying Inhuman in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. btw!) so I figured that they were setting her up for major fight sequences. But from the looks of several shots in this trailer, its obvious that the lady in black is Elektra herself in what I’m assuming is a ceremonial garb of some sorts. Anyway, we see her take on the Iron Fist in this shot.
They’re hunting our friends and families. And they are not going to stop there.
We lasts saw Bakuto meet his demise in the penultimate episode of Iron Fist. But because Colleen and Danny refused to decapitate his corpse, Bakuto was bound to return. Here he is in the second round of his fight with Colleen. I’m super curious how he ties in to the overall Hand arc with Alexandra.
And that’s Foggy and Karen! Foggy looks square as ever with his new haircut as he unsurprisingly expresses worry and disdain on his face. It’s interesting how the dynamic between him, Karen and Matt has changed now that all of them are aware of Matt’s secret identity.
I have no idea who this dude is but I find it interesting that they featured him close up in this trailer. Could he be a member of the Chaste?
The guy in the middle is Sowande, a guy who seemingly went up against Luke Cage and Jessica Jones in one of the leaked photos. From the looks of his AK-wielding amigos, we’re guessing that Sowande is a part of a mercenary team tasked stir some shit in the middle of this Hand debacle.
More death is coming.
More tremors rock the streets of New York. We see Luke Cage save an innocent person from being crushed by a street lamp. What a hero!
And the only thing keeping Manhattan safe from crumbling to a pile of dust is the four of you.
Hot damn!! Madame Gao and Alexandra come face to face. I wonder what their relationship will be like and whether they’ll be on the same team at the end of the day. Gao has always struck me as a sneaky snake hatching her own plan.
We the four Defenders stand-off across each with Stick in what seems to be the subterranean ampitheater Finn Jones mentioned in one of the con rounds he made a several weeks ago. This chamber will be the location of a very interesting fight later on.
The war for New York, it’s over.
Elektra looms over New York while she’s carrying a katana. Something super interesting I noticed is that this location is the exact place where she and Matt decided to fight the Hand for good in the final episode of Daredevil Season 2. I’m guessing that her revisiting it as an awakened Black Sky means that she still has some of that memory left.
Stick faces the adversary he’s sworn to kill as the Chaste. Something tells me that he isn’t going to come out of this show alive.
Not yet.
A kickass shot of the team together. All that’s missing is Danny’s mask. I’m digging his entire ensemble.
Nice ears.
They’re horns.
Some of you know by now how nitpicky I am with Daredevil’s costume. This shot is why I think they should find a way to redesign Daredevil’s mask fit to Charlie’s wide head.
I can see you formed a kind of bond. I promise you it’s temporary.
We’ve seen shots of their restaurant fight in the previous trailer but we get a good look just how cornered they are in that restaurant. Didn’t expect them to face so many thugs!
Elektra?
After months of grieving over her death, Matt discovers that his college sweetheart is alive, brainwashed, and murdery.
They will disappoint you.
Matt throws his fists at Danny in the same location I mentioned earlier. We see Danny on his knees when Jessica intervenes to stop Matt. The fact that they placed this scene right after Matt’s discovery of Elektra leads me to think that a huge part of team conflict will be them deciding whether Elektra lives or not. Clearly, Matt isn’t going to be happy with what needs to happen.
I don’t know why but this shot of Claire got me. Maybe it’s because she’s at her wit’s end seeing all friends face death.
Holy crap! Madame Gao just stopped the Iron Fist with her bare hands!! I hope we see her full capabilities in the show.
Glad we found each other.
I’m not hugging you.
It’s as if they plucked Daredevil and Luke Cage’s relationship from the comics. My heart swells with joy.
And how can we not like the end tag in the train?
This Defenders trailer is easily one of Marvel’s best. From the music (I used this in my Jessica Jones video months back!) to the banter to the way it was shot, they really have something incredible with this show. I cannot wait to see it next month! Stay tuned to my Road to Defenders supercut too.
What do you think of this trailer? Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments below!
