As of right now, we obviously know next to nothing about what we should expect from the highly anticipated event series, but that just makes speculating all the more enjoyable. For starters, who will be the villain? Either way, bringing all of these characters together requires a great bad guy.
What you'll find here then is a look at the eight most likely and deserving candidates for who The Defenders will be teaming up against next year. While there may be one or two who you might be expecting, I think it's fair to say that there are a fair few you'll be surprised to see make the cut. After all, Marvel has a lot of options open to them, and this team has faced all sorts of foes over the years.
8. The Wrecking Crew
For all we know, The Defenders is going to be a Netflix exclusive movie or six episode minseries rather than the thirteen part type of story we've grown used to after seeing Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Assuming that's the case, these characters assembling to take on a group like The Wrecking Crew could work perfectly, especially if they end up putting the whole of Hell's Kitchen at risk (the heroes could then go back to their own shows for their stories to continue playing out there).
This incredibly powerful foursome actually debuted in the pages of Defenders #17, and them assembling to take back New York City from the vigilantes who have started emerging could make for a compelling story if handled the right way. The villainous team deserves the live-action treatment anyway, and this feels like a good place for them to make their debut, even if it's ultimately revealed that they're just working for a bigger name bad guy.
7. Ghost Rider
After Sony dropped the ball on Ghost Rider on two separate occasions, Marvel Studios quietly regained the rights to the supernatural hero. The character getting another movie seems highly unlikely, but just like Netflix successfully rebooted The Punisher, so too could Johnny Blaze get another chance to shine in The Defenders. Of course, right about now, you're probably wondering why he's in a list of villains.
Well, depending on the host and who's manipulating him, the character has gone down a dark path at times, so him being pitted against the Man Without Fear and his team would make at least some sense. Even if it's just a one off battle at an early point on the show, Ghost Rider could learn the error of his ways and end up joining them (because, let's face it, four superheroes doesn't make much of a team). Then, the door would be open for the Spirit of Vengeance to get his own spinoff somewhere down the line!
6. Mysterio
Mysterio is classically a Spider-Man villain, but one of his most memorable moments came when he implemented a plan to destroy Daredevil's life. Using his powers of illusion to fool the superhero, Quentin Beck very nearly destroyed Matt Murdock's life before blowing his brains out, and while it would in some ways be nice to see him take centre stage in a Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel, he could just as easily be made to fit into the world of The Defenders.
It's admittedly a little hard to say what could lead to him crossing paths with the heroes, but the guy is insane, so something as simple as him getting a kick out of manipulating them into fighting each other could be enough to kick this story off when you think about it. Marvel would obviously need Sony's permission to use Mysterio here, and while a Spider-Man cameo is probably unlikely, The Defenders seeking the wall-crawler's help would be ridiculously cool...
5. Steel Serpent
Steel Serpent was teased in the first season of Daredevil, but other than some rumours, there's nothing which indicates that he'll be part of Iron Fist's TV series. Assuming the latter introduces us to the complicated mythology of K'un-Lun, him stepping up as a major new big bad in Hell's Kitchen who plans to take over New York could be just what's needed for Danny Rand to seek out the help of his fellow vigilantes.
In fact, Iron Fist could lead directly into The Defenders by setting up this story, and it would only take a few tweaks to take this bad guy and make him a foremidable enough threat that an entire team of heroes has to assemble to stop him. As well as wanting to steal Danny's powers, Steel Serpent has always had big plans, so he could easily be used here rather than in Iron Fist even if that show seems like a more feasible place for him to step up. Ultimately, it would boil down to how Marvel decided to handle the character.
4. Vampires
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist differ from the Marvel heroes on the big screen by operating in the shadows, so it makes sense that the threat they end up tackling will also fly under the radar of a team like The Avengers. Vampires invading Hell's Kitchen may sound like something of an out of the blue creative decision considering the fact that there hasn't been so much as a single Easter Egg pointing to their existence, but that doesn't mean this couldn't still work if that's established fairly early on in The Defenders.
Vampires invading Hell's Kitchen would be a refreshing change of pace to what we've seen in these shows so far, and like Ghost Rider, opens the door to Netflix further exploring the supernatural side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, it goes without saying that the biggest advantage of introducing these monsters would be that Blade could end up joining the team...
3. The Kingpin
My gut tells me that we won't see Wilson Fisk again until Daredevil season three, especially as it appears as if Marvel is working towards an adaptation of "Born Again." However, it's entirely possible that his plan for revenge could begin here, even if he's just seen pulling the strings behind bars. It's here that I have to circle back to The Wrecking Crew, as The Kingpin deciding to unleash them in order to wipe out the vigilantes in New York City before his release is exactly the kind of thing you might expect him to do.
Hell, The Defenders could even loosely adapt the story arc mentioned above by having Fisk deploy a group like that to take out Matthew Murdock before making things more personal a little further down the line. Regardless of how he ends up factoring into this team-up though, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to see the future Kingpin or Crime make his presence felt somehow.
2. The Hand
If season three of Daredevil really does adapt "Born Again", then it's extremely likely that The Defenders will deal with The Hand. They have after all been set up as a massive threat over the course of the Man Without Fear's first two seasons, so Matt seeking out the help of his fellow vigilantes to stop this deadly clan of ninjas (especially after what happened to Elektra) is a must. She would no doubt return here in some form, but now that The Hand has her, them implementing their plan - which has remained frustratingly vague to date - in this team-up series would be fun to see.
Chances are that the heroes will end up squaring off with Kirigi as Stone enters the fray and Matt struggles to restore Elektra to her old self, and though that's all very Daredevil-centric, the others wanting to help does make sense due to The Hand posing a threat to the city as a whole. Hopefully their stories could also tie into the villains in some way too though.
1. Mephisto
As things stand, Mephisto is the only villain who has actually been rumoured as being the big bad of this series. Had that not been the case, I'm not sure I would have included him here, but his involvement has some potential. For starters, after Iron Fist and Doctor Strange, a literal devil wouldn't exactly be too hard to believe in as a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and don't forget that he has some history with the Man Without Fear.
Mephisto's story could even be tied into The Hand, while he actually goes together nicely with Ghost Rider, so there are a few different directions Marvel could go in if they choose him as their big bad. Why exactly he would target this team is hard to say, but it could be made to work, and Mephisto is without a doubt a formidable enough threat to justify these heroes deciding to team up and fight for their city in a world where The Avengers have disbanded after a Civil War...
Which of these villains would you most like to see take centre stage in The Defenders? Have we missed any other deserving candidates? As always, share your thoughts in the comments section!