Marvel Netflix: Ranking the 10 best seasons of the entire run

Mark Lynch

Photo Credit: Marvel’s Luke Cage/David Lee, Netflix Image Acquired from Netflix Media Center

What were the 10 best seasons of Marvel Netflix’s run?

It’s only been four years since Daredevil and Jessica Jones season 1 debuted on Netflix. Those two Marvel Comics shows made noise and spawned three more Netflix originals: Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders. There were some bumps along the way, but it seemed like every bump ended up leading to improvement in the following season. For example, Iron Fist season 1 led to a much better season 2 and ended with hints to a promising season 3. Unfortunately, the Marvel Netflix relationship is over. Season 3 of Jessica Jones is the last Marvel original series on Netflix.

Four years years may not have seemed like a long time, but it was enough to spawn some great moments. We’ll always remember Daredevil season 2 when Punisher debuted, as well as the first season of Jessica Jones when Jessica and Luke Cage first met and revealed their secrets to each other. We also saw Wilson Fisk become one of the best villains in the MCU and do so without having any powers. Since there won’t be any more Marvel Netflix shows, let’s count down the best 10 seasons of the Marvel Netflix era. Let’s talk about what made them good and why they’re ranked so high, or so low, on the list. Fun fact, season 1 of Iron Fist isn’t on this list.

Photo Credit: Marvel’s Luke Cage/Myles Aronowitz, Netflix Image Acquired from Netflix Media Center

10. Luke Cage season 1

After Luke Cage made his first Netflix appearance on the first season of Jessica Jones, everyone waited with anticipation for his solo series. Cage was perfect next to Jessica Jones, and we saw that the two characters had chemistry on screen. We hoped it would lead to the relationship they have in the comic books. When the season started, it was amazing. Luke Cage going up against Cottonmouth, played by the great Mahershala Ali, was a match made in Heaven. Cage had a villain he couldn’t just punch, and Cottonmouth had to play dirty to defeat Cage. Unfortunately, the season took a nosedive after Cottonmouth was killed off midway through the season.

His replacement, Willis Stryker, wasn’t a good villain. If that wasn’t bad enough, their backstory wasn’t something anyone seemed to care about and their final fight scene was cringeworthy. Maybe if the actor played the role better, we’d have more of a reason to care about their history and the storyline. Alas, this wasn’t the case. Even with the lackluster second half of the show, this season ended with some promise. Luke Cage gets arrested and sent back to jail but, of course, we all knew this wasn’t going to last long. And it did give the audience a reason to look forward to the next Luke Cage sighting, which was in The Defenders.

Photo Credit: Marvel’s Iron Fist/ Netflix Image Acquired from Netflix Media Center

9. Iron Fist season 2

Season 1 of Iron Fist was highly anticipated. The comic book’s version of Danny Rand is a fun-loving, naive, and extremely dangerous character. His Iron Fist power could literally crack a mountain in half. There’s No way it would fail. Unfortunately, It debuted and was met with terrible reviews. Enter season 2, and it improved on everything that people detested about the first season. The show moved faster, Colleen Wing had a bigger role, and there couple of villains we cared about. Ironically, there was less Danny Rand. The show may have been named Iron Fist, but he didn’t show that he could carry the series. Since this was the case, the show was centered around his story, but didn’t revolve around him.

Colleen Wing and Misty Knight were a bad-ass duo, so good that people hoped for a Daughters of the Dragon show. Davos was a good antagonist, but didn’t really hit his stride until the middle of the season. Thankfully, Alice Eve was incredible as Mary Walker and carried the load. When we did see Danny Rand, he was ten times better than he was in season 1. The show ending with him using his chi focused through bullets and Colleen’s through her sword was a perfect way to get people excited for season 3. It’s disappointing that we won’t get to see what happens next in their world.

8. Jessica Jones season 2

One thing that can make or break a show is a villain. The hero needs a strong antagonist to battle. Without that, everything will fall flat. There’s nothing for our protagonist to overcome. This is what Jessica Jones season 2 struggled with. Jessica spent a chunk of the season trying to find out who and what gave her powers. This led to her finding her mother, who turned out to be almost as bad as Willis Stryker from Luke Cage. At least Janet McTeer (Jessica’s mother Alisa) was a better performer, and Jessica had a reason to protect her. It also didn’t help that there was much more Trish Walker than anyone wanted.

Despite all of that, Krysten Ritter was still amazing as Jessica Jones, so much so that she carried this season on her back with superhuman ability. Jessica was still the loudmouth and tough woman we’ve come to know and love and continued to grow as a character. Trish Walker may have been annoying, but she was supposed to be. Everything she did set up for her playing a bigger role in season 3. As cliché as this sounds, their relationship was never going to be the same again.

Photo Credit: Marvel’s Luke Cage/David Lee, Netflix Image Acquired from Netflix Media Center

7. Luke Cage season 2

6. The Defenders

It was the moment we had all been waiting for. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Danny Rand (you know, the Immortal Iron Fist) were going to team up. The show begins with each character having a hint of their color representing them in the background (Daredevil red, Jessica dark blue or purple, etc), which was a cool way to introduce them. They all met at different times, but they all came together for a common cause. And when they had their first team-up, it was magical. It was a Defenders hallway fight scene, and it was glorious! After the fight, they met at a restaurant and this was where they decided to team up. Well, after arguing that they weren’t a team.

The best part about this show is that it only ran for eight episodes, which was enough to get in and get out without the series dragging on for too long. The Defenders wasn’t deep and wasn’t making itself to be that.

This was eight episodes of fighting, bickering, trash talking, and setting up for the next part of their lives. It gave the people what they wanted. Luke and Jessica remained close, with the latter even saying they should go get coffee sometime, and she didn’t mean Starbucks or Dunkin’. Matt Murdock woke up in a church, and Iron Fist was going to protect New York with Daredevil out of commission. This was also the best version of Danny Rand we saw in this entire Marvel Netflix run. A second season would have been more of the same and that would have been a good thing.

Photo Credit: Marvel’s The Punisher/Jessica Miglio, Netflix Image Acquired from Netflix Media Center

5. The Punisher season 1

This wasn’t going to be like any other Marvel Netflix show. The Punisher kills, tortures, and does it without remorse. If you thought what Frank Castle did in season 2 of Daredevil was brutal, you haven’t seen anything yet. We were going to witness something vicious, and it started with the very first episode. Frank tried to leave his violent life behind him but, after he saw someone get bullied, he stepped in and became a killing machine again. This started him on a journey to find out that it was his best friend who got his family killed. He also helped uncover corruption in the military along the way.

This season ranks in the top five because it was different than anything we had seen — a show that revolves around violence and still manages to have more than a few deep moments and great characters. Micro’s struggle to see his family, Dinah Madani realizing she slept with the guy who killed her partner, and Frank Castle being, well, Frank Castle. This season definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. However, if you take the time to look past all the blood and carnage, it was a good season, but the second is infinitely better.

Photo Credit: Marvel’s The Punisher/David Lee, Netflix Image Acquired from Netflix Media Center

4. The Punisher season 2

One thing Frank Castle hates more than most is people abusing women and children. When he saw Amy Bendix about to be attacked, he lost it. The protector in him couldn’t sit back and do nothing. As the saying goes, “Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in.” Frank embarked on a new journey. Protect Amy and destroy everyone who tried to hurt her. Together, with the help of Curtis Hoyle and Dinah Madani, they put an end to an evil, rich couple.

After season 1, people asked where the show would go next? It was a simple switch, but it made a huge difference. It toned down the violence and gave Frank Castle something to care about. Amy came into Frank’s life and completely ruined it. He was right back to being the Punisher. Except now, he had a person to protect. Try as he may, Frank couldn’t help but try to ave her. Amy showed the audience a softer side of Frank that people may not have known existed. When it came down to it, she was the reason John Pilgrim is still alive. Amy warmed his heart and was easily the MVP of this season.

3. Jessica Jones season 1

The comic book Alias with Jessica Jones was one of the first of its kind. It starred a superpowered woman (jessica Jones) who gave up the life of a hero and became a private investigator. She drank, cursed, smoked, and was completely independent. Her history along the way was incredibly tragic and made her who she is in the present. It was only a matter of time before someone picked this up for a show. Thankfully, Marvel picked the perfect person to play her. Krysten Ritter has the attitude and skills to play Jessica Jones, and she proved it from the beginning. On top of her, there was a villain that helped make this show a smash, David Tennant’s Kilgrave.

Kilgrave and Jessica Jones were brilliant on camera. He played the creepy villain just as well as he played a guy attempting to redeem himself. Jessica’s reaction to everything he did was just as good. They may have had the best rivalry in any Marvel project. Their backstory makes it easy to see why Jessica hates him. Kilgrave didn’t by himself any favors when he used Luke Cage to attack her. Jessica did defeat Kilgrave in the end. If you’ve seen season 3, you can debate whether or not he actually died in the final episode.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones

2. Jessica Jones season 3

Season 3 of Jessica Jones was going to be the final Marvel Netflix show. Since the creators of the show knew this, this meant that they had a chance to give Jessica a nice send-off, and they did exactly that. The season started off a bit slow but, in the end, everything worked out flawlessly. You could see how everything they did was leading up to something big. With 13 episodes, there wasn’t one wasted moment. Even the little moments that didn’t make sense at the time ended up having a purpose. The villain was easy to hate, Trish Walker got what she wanted and learned a lesson (finally), and Jessica Jones actually managed to be better than she already was.

Another thing this season deserves a lot of credit for is the use of side characters. Malcolm has been growing since season 1 and continued to the very end. Jessica’s assistant Gillian was damn good and added humor and sass whenever she was on screen. Erik was great and kept growing as the season progressed (he also would have been great on The Punisher).

And Hogarth was down right despicable and cold blooded. Every show needs characters that will help the lead, and season 3 of Jessica Jones had the perfect amount. You also have to commend the amount of diversity in this season, as well. It’s damn important that everyone is represented. If it wasn’t for how great out number 1 was, season 3 of Jessica Jones would have taken the top spot.

Photo Credit: Marvel’s Daredevil/David Lee, Netflix Image Acquired from Netflix Media Center

1. Daredevil seasons 1-3

If the Daredevil series season by season on this list, it would have taken away spots from other shows. Instead, let’s give this show the props it deserves. Daredevil was the best thing to come out of Marvel Netflix. Not only did the show start the Marvel Netflix franchise off right, it also was the most consistent show. From the very first to the last episode, it was a 10. It featured intriguing stories, and some of the best fight scenes of all time, some of which were completed in one take. Then, there are the stars of the show. The riveting characters that made this series iconic.

First, there’s the lead, Charlie Cox. He was perfection personified as both Matt Murdock and Daredevil. It was like the comic book hero had come to life. The next person to play the Man without Fear is going to be judged harshly after what Cox did. Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson was an incredible choice, and he astonished viewers. Every season he got better and brought more life to the character. Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page was amazing, so much so that she appeared in the Punisher series, as well. Ultimately, she played a crucial role in both series.

And last, but certainly not least, there’s the incomparable Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk. It can’t be said enough how great he was in the role. He was persuasive and ruthless as the Kingpin, and there were times where he was downright scary. All in all, the three seasons of Daredevil didn’t just make for a good Marvel or superhero show, they just made for good television in general.

Mark Lynch

Trying to become Earth's Mightiest writer or at least one that people look for. Marvel guy with a dash of DC. Find him on twitter at twitter.com/oldmanwadecom, email him at markawlynch@gmail.com, or leave a comment on everything he writes.