Marvel Netflix shows after The Defenders, ranked

3. Luke Cage

Luke Cage was the tale of two shows, except in one season.

The first half saw the development of Luke Cage as the Hero of Harlem. Viewers learned of his origins and how he developed bulletproof skin, along with an encounter with Misty Knight that brought her into the show in the first episode.

From there, Luke battled Mahershala Ali’s Cottonmouth, who looked like the best villain of any Marvel Netflix series. The show gave him a detailed backstory and an eventual showdown looked likely between him and Cage… until Mariah Dillard killed him and aligned with Shades.

Diamondback, who was mentioned a few times in the early part of season 1, rose as the main villain. Along with the Hand, he was the most underwhelming villain, never giving viewers reason to care about his battle with Luke, which was the coup de grace of the 13th episode. The episodes he was featured in, while not the main reason, was maybe the worst of Marvel’s Netflix universe yet.

Given the end of season 1 of Luke Cage, it looks like Diamondback may not be back for a while. That will allow the show to go in another direction and return to its early-season prominence. If it succeeds, it could up in the ranking.