It’s officially International Women’s Day and while I hope you are heading out to the theater to watch Captain Marvel, I also wanted to take a moment to give a nod to the kick-ass women in Netflix’s “Defender-verse”. The streaming service may have canceled all of their wonderful shows, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t appreciate every moment, because there’s a lot. It was hard narrowing down this list to just six and I know I have missed some, but here were the most satisfying moments within the Marvel/Netflix universe that really highlighted the kick-ass women in this franchise.
Colleen and Misty Fighting Off Drunk Bar Patrons (Luke Cage Season Two)
It might have been Luke’s show, but season two was all about Misty Knight. Played amazingly by Simone Missick, it was great seeing Misty take more of a larger role in the sophomore (and last) season of Luke Cage. Despite losing an arm in The Defenders, she still showed up to work and with some help from Colleen Wing and Danny Rand, she was able to get a new, upgraded arm. But, before she got said arm, Misty was still able to kick ass in a bar when a few drunken patrons decided to mess with the wrong ladies. Seeing Misty take down these guys, all with one arm; makes her such a powerhouse and I can definitely say, I’m going to miss her.
Colleen Fighting Crane Sisters (Iron Fist Season Two)
Also featuring Misty, this was a high-action fight scene that was completely enjoyable. We all have our opinions of Iron Fist season one, but Iron Fist season two gave us a lot of great scenes such as the Daughters of the Dragon fighting off the Crane Sisters. Colleen taking on multiple enemies at once was so satisfying to watch.
Elektra Fighting in Airport Hangar (Daredevil Season Two)
Love her or hate her, Elektra was born to be a fighter. Pair that with the fact that actress Elodie Yung is a black belt in karate, we can see why she’s so good at her fight scenes. I absolutely love in Daredevil season two when she’s speaking with the man at the airport hangar, who seems at first like he’s flirting with her, but in reality, he has been sent to kill her. With Elektra flat out asking if he is going to kill her and then telling him not to keep her waiting, we see that this guy clearly doesn’t know he is dealing with the Black Sky.
Dinah Madani and Frank Castle Face Off In Their Cars (The Punisher Season One)
Of course, I had to put a scene from The Punisher on my list. While Frank Castle didn’t appear in The Defenders, he’s still a part of this universe and say what you will, but Dinah Madani had what it took to go up against The Punisher himself. This is put into a literal sense when we see Madani in her own muscle car, staring down Frank on the opposite end of the road, both revving their engines. With her eyes set on Frank, she does not back down and charges ahead at full speed, and who knows what would have happened if Micro had not slammed his van into her car. To say that Madani is determined is an understatement.
Jessica Jones Telling Killgrave to “Smile” (Jessica Jones Season One)
Killgrave terrorized Jessica Jones and those around her in the first season and it wasn’t looking like there was any way to take down this superpowered master of manipulation. Even towards the end, we all wondered if his new serum made it where Jessica Jones wasn’t even immune to his powers. In the end, Jessica was playing him the whole time and we were able to watch that satisfying neck snap, ending Killgrave’s hold on everyone. What made it all the better was Jessica telling him to “smile” – not only was this something he’d frequently command her to do, but it’s a common and uncalled for request for many women to do in everyday settings. To see it used in this sense is the ultimate bad-ass moment.
Karen Page Tells Wilson Fisk She Killed Wesley (Daredevil Season Three)
I probably would have put the previous as “number one”, if season three of Daredevil didn’t give us Karen freaking Page going up against Wilson Fisk. Since season one, we’ve all wondered when would the truth come out? When would everyone know that it was Karen who killed Fisk’s confidant Wesley? Well, it came out. Not only to Matt and Foggy, but when Karen walked into Fisk’s home and sat right across from him, my heart was throbbing. I was sitting on the edge of my seat, wondering when it would come out. And when Karen leaned in and told him “I killed Wesley”, I just about fell off my seat. For her to sit there and let Kingpin know what she had done, took so much guts and when she held his gaze even when he stood up in anger? Yea, Karen is a badass.
Please let me know what scenes you especially loved that highlighted these strong women in the Defenders universe.
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
