Credit: Sarah Shatz/Netflix
What comic book stories won’t appear now that the Marvel Netflix shows have been canceled?
Marvel and Netflix have seemed to have parted ways. So far, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil have all been canceled. Fans have also assumed that Jessica Jones and Punisher will both have their final seasons in 2019. Hopefully this is a ploy and when Thanos is defeated in Avengers: Endgame that these show will return. Too bad this is highly unlikely.
Besides the obvious sadness that the cast and crew will lose their jobs, this also means that there will be a lot of storylines from the comic books that we won’t see on Netflix. Disney may have plans to eventually bring back these characters, but it’s doubtful that they will have the same grit and darkness that they had on Netflix.
There are stories that were being built up that we will flat out never see. For example, Alice Eve’s portrayal of Mary Walker was unforeseen hit. She was easily the best part of the second season of Iron Fist. We’ll never get to see her Bloody Mary persona — a character they hinted towards at the end of the season. And what’s going to happen to Luke Cage now that he’s essentially the new kingpin of Harlem? These are also the comic book stories than that we will unfortunately never see with the cast of heroes and villains from the Marvel Netflix run.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
Jessica Jones and Luke Cage get married
In the comic books, Jessica and Luke Cage had a very weird beginning. At first, they had sex because Jessica got drunk at Luke’s bar and hit on Luke. The two ended up having sex. Jessica went to Luke later in the middle of the night for help. Luke sent her help that night despite the appearance that he turned her away.
Later, Jessica helped Luke find his father. Luke said this was the when he fell in love with her. They argued for a while, but when the chips were down, they were there for each other. Eventually, Jessica got pregnant with Luke’s daughter and they got married.
The chemistry between Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter was amazing. They complimented each other whenever they were on screen. It was everything comic book fans wanted from a Jessica Jones and Luke Cage relationship. Even though season 2 of Jessica Jones ended with Jessica dating someone else and Luke Cage ended with Luke essentially becoming the Wilson Fisk of Harlem, people still had hopes that the two would end up together in the future. With Luke Cage canceled, this may never come to pass.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
Daredevil goes to jail
One of biggest moments in Matt Murdock’s life was when the public found out that he was Daredevil. Criminals were let out of prison, Matt lost his license to practice law, and he was also sent to prison. Even if there was no hardcore evidence and his friends were dressing as Daredevil while he was locked up, Matt wasn’t let out. Eventually Matt was exonerated, but the public still believed him to be Daredevil. This one arc changed Daredevil’s life forever.
If you thought Matt was ruthless and desperate in season 3 of Daredevil, you haven’t seen anything.
In that story, Matt almost worked with Wilson Fisk and Bullseye in order to escape from prison. He did in fact work with Frank Castle (Punisher) to get out and he hates Frank Castle. This led him down a rabbit-hole of brutality that took years for him to get out of. It didn’t matter how many of his friends were there for him in his time of need, Matt seemed to not get over the justice system being okay with putting him in jail and taking guilty criminals out. This could have been the greatest season of comic book TV to date. It’s a shame we won’t see it.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
Moon Knight
Some characters are just perfect for Netflix. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Punisher are prime examples. Moon Knight is a little bit of them all. He’s a brutal as Daredevil, he does detective-like work like Jessica Jones, and he’s willing to kill like the Punisher. Moon Knight would have been the crown jewel of the Marvel Netflix shows. Since it seems like there won’t be anymore Netflix Marvel shows with them getting canceled them left and right, we won’t see the crazy and violent Moon Knight series we deserve.
Moon Knight could be a movie, but the origin of his character works better as a TV show. There are parts of his life that would take more than a little while to get into. Just his time almost dying and becoming Khonshu’s avatar is an episode in itself. Then there are the moments where he’s switching from one personality to the next. Things like this deserve time not given in a two-hour movie. Once he’s established he would make a great movie. Hopefully his debut won’t be rushed and handled properly.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
Orson Randall the Iron Fist
Iron Fist’s show didn’t get great reviews in season one. However, the problems that people had like the show being too long and not having a strong villain were fixed in season 2. Too bad that it may have been too little too late for anything to be done about it.
The season 2 finale showed a lot of promise. First, we saw Colleen Wing manifest the power of the Iron Fist through her sword. Second, Danny Rand regained his power and channeled it through two guns. Something comic book fans will remember seeing from Orson Randall. Orson was also the person Danny was looking for in the season 2 finale.
During the Rhode Island Comic Con, actor Finn Jones (who played Danny Rand) said that he saw the suit he was going to wear and it resembled the same costume that Orson Randall wore in the comics. Complete with belt straps and gun holsters. With this being the costume they were going with and the mention of Orson in the finale, it’s a shame we won’t get to see him.
In the comics, Orson taught Danny all sorts of new tricks. For example, Danny could use the power of the Iron Fist to heal himself faster and hypnotize people like a Jedi mind trick. This would have been an amazing season and possibly the one that put Iron Fist in the good graces of fans.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
More Bullseye
Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter played one heck of a villain in season three of Daredevil. At first, all we saw was his skill as a marksman and his creepy nature. Once he put the Daredevil costume on, he transformed into the Bullseye we saw in the comics. He was confident, cynical, and deadly.
The first fight between Matt Murdock and Dex was one of the best fight scenes in any Marvel TV show. Maybe better than some of the movie action sequences. In the end, we see Dex have the bulls-eye in his eye while getting surgery to fix his back. It was exciting, but a major let down once Daredevil’s cancelation was announced.
Bullseye is one of Daredevil’s deadliest villains and everything that Matt Murdock strives to not become. With Dex having a bone to pick with Wilson Fisk paralyzing him and Daredevil for helping put him in jail, his comeback would have been phenomenal. It also would have been a great moment to see the iconic scene where Bullseye runs Elektra’s sais through her stomach and killed her. There’s also the moment when he killed Karen Page.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
The death of Karen Page
Karen Page in Daredevil the show is much stronger than the Karen from the comic books. In the comics, Karen ended up succumbing to drugs. She needed a fix so much that she turned to pornography to buy heroin. She even sold the identity of Daredevil to get money to feed her addiction.
In the end, she got clean, but ended up dying to save Matt Murdock’s life when Bullseye tried to kill him with Daredevil’s own baton. She died in Matt’s arms in a church.
This was one of the worst moments in Daredevil comics. Maybe the saddest period. Karen Page went to Hell and clawed her way back to the top only to be killed by a psychopath. The drug addiction and contracting HIV may not have been the way to go in the series, but that’s a small detail that could switch to cancer or just selling Matt out to help a friend. A season ending with Karen Page dying could have been a tragic but memorable moment. It was only a matter of time before she died. Karen Page is to Daredevil as Gwen Stacy is to Spider-Man. The story can’t end with the two of them living happily ever after.
Until Marvel and Netflix cancel Jessica Jones and Punisher, stay tuned for reviews of upcoming Marvel Netflix shows.