Marvel Netflix Unchained: Part 3 of "Things They're Enjoying on Earth-2 That We'll Never Get to See"

We live in an era of almost limitless entertainment options, the advent of the internet having generated a wide spectrum of new media for short and long-form text, audio, and video content. And as much as content consumers have benefited, Netflix more than most other content providers has proved itself to be the right company in the right place at the right time to capitalize on this bonanza--at least initially. But as different streaming services emerge, we will soon see if Netflix's hard-won supremacy can survive the gradual whittling down of its catalog in the face of competition.

Few Netflix ventures have been as critically successful as their recently canceled slate of Marvel TV shows--shows that reflect the ebb and flow of Netflix's creative and commercial dominance. It's hard to believe that it was only back in 2015 that Charlie Cox's portrayal of Matt Murdock, Marvel's Daredevil, first hit our screens. Building on the success of this surprise hit--leveraging a second-tier character and following up on a lackluster big-screen adaptation--Netflix and Marvel TV execs set out to build a franchise of multiple gritty, film noir depictions of street-level comic book heroes: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and--somewhat infamously--the immortal Iron Fist. And then as quickly as these heroes assembled to form The Defenders, they were gone--a casualty of Disney's aspirations to create their own streaming service.

But what if the Marvel Netflix gravy train had never ended? What if the collaboration had continued for several more years, Disney's appetite for individual success having not yet been sufficiently whetted by its performance on such platforms?

If the Marvel Netflix universe had continued to expand--much as I imagine it has for our neighbors on Earth-2--here are some of the shows I'm sure it could have encompassed: 

Moon Knight -- This one would have to be considered a virtual certainty. I believe that a Moon Knight show was rumored even before the rest of the Defenders roster had been finalized/publicized. And in truth, Netflix might have fared better if they'd inserted Marc Spector, the Fist of Khonshu, ahead of some of the other shows they aired. I realize that could have been problematic--as the embattled Iron Fist and Luke Cage are sort of a package deal--but I think you could have swapped Spector for Danny Rand in terms of the series rotation.

A mercenary turned masked vigilante with a history of mental illness and a strange relationship with an ancient Egyptian god that may or may not just exist in his head, Marc Spector could have checked many of the boxes that Iron Fist did from a plot standpoint. And I think the character's back story would have generated opportunities for inner turmoil and identity crisis that might have played better than the ones that fell flat in Iron Fist. Also, Moon Knight's numerous supernatural story arcs with vampires, werewolves and the undead would have opened the door for a more expansive mystical bent to the Defenders franchise.

The Thunderbolts -- I've heard that a Thunderbolts movie might be appearing in a future phase of the MCU, but I fear it will under-deliver on the potential of this super-team--which happens to be one of my all-time favorites. If the goal is to treat the Thunderbolts like Marvel's equivalent to The Suicide Squad--in an action-heavy romp with super-villains coerced into fighting bigger threats--then it doesn't matter much whether you tell that story in a movie or a TV show. But if the intention is to tell a nuanced story about deception and redemption, then TV permits you the time for a slow burn--for ongoing character development, stumbles, and plot twists.

The concept of the Masters of Evil--the Avengers' archenemies--posing as a group of heroes following Marvel's Onslaught crossover event was a masterstroke. It wasn't unusual for either of the two big comics publishers to introduce new books or characters following a big universe-shaking storyline, so I remember picking up the first issue with modest expectations. But when I flipped to the last page and realized who these "new" characters really were, I was hooked. From there, Kurt Busiek's storytelling didn't disappoint. I came back monthly to watch as Baron Zemo and his crew romanced a world starved for heroes in the wake of the deaths of the Avengers and Fantastic Four. And I marveled at how these once-hardened criminals started to enjoy the limelight, started to feel empathy for those they were saving on a daily basis, and how those feelings started to undermine their loyalty to Zemo and his evolving plan for world domination.

I can picture the gradual transformation of various team members into legitimate heroes and the resulting tension it would create across the group playing out very well over multiple season-long story arcs filled with noble sacrifices, surprising twists and the occasional assassination. Definitely a series that could make the most out of TV's episodic nature and longer collective airtime.

Squadron Supreme -- I've talked about the squadron elsewhere, so I won't take another deep dive here. Suffice to say that this group of heroes who conquer their world in the interests of saving it would be great fodder for a superhero show filled with personal betrayal, political intrigue, and espionage. (Imagine House of Cards meets Game of Thrones meets The Super Friends.) The likenesses of the squadron members being very similar to the Justice League and the substantial budget required to do their powers justice would both serve as complications. Nevertheless, I think there would be plenty of juice here to justify the squeeze. (It couldn't be more challenging than animating dragons, right?)

Alpha Flight -- For those not familiar with the history of Canada's premier super-team, this last one might seem like a reach. But this isn't just an expression of affection for the Great White North. Rather, it's an acknowledgement that John Byrne's 12-issue series-launching story arc is almost perfectly designed to be adapted as a binge-worthy Netflix-style franchise. Introduced several years earlier in the pages of X-Men, Alpha Flight was still largely a blank slate at the beginning of Byrne's run in 1983--its characters having been shown in battle but not yet fleshed out with individual personalities and back stories. So Byrne made a great creative choice and decided to build a team by deconstructing it.

Establishing a theme that would pop up numerous times in ensuing years, team leader James MacDonald Hudson (Guardian) and his teammates would find themselves at odds with their handlers in Department H--losing their official status with the Canadian government for the first of what would be several occasions. In this instance, it would lead to the various heroes--Sasquatch, Northstar, Aurora, Shaman, Snowbird, Marrina--being left to their own devices, heading off to pursue their own individual interests and (in some cases) personal demons. The next several issues of the series then took the opportunity to profile each character in depth before the team eventually reassembled at year's end to face a threat striking back at them from out of that collective history.

This story arc--which transforms a group of "work friends" into a legitimate family in the midst of unexpected tragedy--would take full advantage of Netflix's flexible format by bookending a series of "regular-sized" character-focused episodes between "double-sized" beginning and ending set pieces, much as the comic series did. And the first year of the comic is remarkably self-contained, so you could either tell as one standalone story or as the launching point for multiple seasons; I can imagine that the ultimate heart-rending conclusion of the initial arc would leave viewers clamoring for more even as they struggled to lift their jaws off the floor. It would be a perfect vehicle for a strong ensemble cast--much like the recently dropped Umbrella Academy. (I could picture them delivering the first 10 to 12 episodes at the same time and then treating the season-ending episode as a mini-movie with a later release date--just to turn the screws on an anxious fan base. But I suppose that's just the showman in me.) ;)

Next time: A "What If" lightning round to complete our list of comparisons between our Earth and its close cousins--to be followed by a breakdown of how fallen characters from Endgame might work their way back into the MCU.