When Does The Defenders Take Place: Timeline Explained

Marvel’s The Defenders is a TV Show created by Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez. The show is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and follows the team up of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist who all have to put aside their differences to save New York City from a common enemy, the Hand. The Defenders was met with positive reviews from critics as it provided fans with some much-needed superhero action and drama. Before The Defenders, Netflix launched several TV Shows that built up towards the events happening in The Defenders. So it is quite easy to get somehow confused about in which order to watch these shows in order to get the best possible experience. That’s why we are here and we bring you an answer and explain the timeline. So, when do The Defenders take place?

The Defenders take place a few months after Daredevil Season 2 and Luke Cage Season 1 as these two overlap. Iron Fist was the last show aired before The Defenders, but the storyline of The Defenders continues to build upon what has already been started in Daredevil Season 2.

Similar to Avengers movies, before the grand team-up Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the Iron Fist were first introduced to us in their own TV shows. Let’s see in detail how all of this gradually led to The Defenders and the timeline behind it.

When Does The Defenders Take Place: Timeline Explained

So, The Defenders take place a few months after Daredevil Season 2 and Luke Cage Season 1 as these two overlap. The timeline leading to the events of The Defenders goes as followed:

• Daredevil Season 1
• Jessica Jones Season 1
• Daredevil Season 2
• Luke Cage Season 1
• The Iron Fist Season 1
• The Defenders

Daredevil Season 1

In Daredevil season 1 we are introduced to Matt Murdock who was blinded as a child in an accident that also gave him superhuman abilities. We follow Matt as he tries to find justice for the people of Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil by night and as an attorney by day. We meet Madam Gao also, a character that will be important as the storyline of The Defenders develops. Daredevil is the first character of The Defenders squad we meet.

Jessica Jones Season 1

In Jessica Jones season 1 we meet Jessica Jones, a private investigator with superpowers. She is trying to rebuild her life, but her main enemy, Killgrave wouldn’t let that happen. We also get to meet Luke Cage at that point which works as a bartender and hooks up with Jessica but things go sideways when he finds out that the woman Jessica killed because of Killgrave’s mind control was his wife Reva.

Between Jessica Jones season 1 and Daredevil season 2, the events of Avengers: Age Of Ultron took place, but that didn’t have any considerable impact on the storyline we are following here through this article.

Daredevil Season 2

In Daredevil’s season 2 Matt Murdock is up against Frank Castle, a.k.a The Punisher, who is on a personal mission to kill all the criminals of Hell’s Kitchen after his family was killed in a crossfire. This divides Daredevil’s attention as he feels that The Punisher is going too far, while at the same time trying to stop Fisk from returning to power. We are also introduced to Elektra, Matt’s old fling who will be a big part of The Defenders storyline.

Luke Cage Season 1

After Daredevil’s season 2, what comes next in a timeline is season 1 of Luke Cage. We briefly met Luke Cage in Jessica Jones season 1. Luke Cage is a cop framed for a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. After being beaten nearly to death, an experimental treatment gave him powers like superhuman strength and bulletproof skin. He escaped prison and tried to clear his name. We also get to see a flashback of how he met his wife Reva whom Jessica Jones killed.

It is essential to say that Daredevil season 2 and the events in Luke Cage are somewhat intertwined and are happening at the same time.

In this show, there is a small reference to Iron Man 2 where we briefly get to see Justin Hammer, head of Hammer Industry, and Iron Man’s adversary who resells his high-tech weapon on a black market to Luke’s half-brother. Eventually, Luke ends up in prison again because of his escape before, but his attorney is Matt Murdock and that is how Daredevil and Luke Cage meet.

The Iron Fist Season 1

As the timeline goes further we reach season 1 of The Iron Fist. Danny Rant is the last Defender we meet. He is a billionaire who was presumed dead after his plane went missing, but he was actually in the mystical city of K’un-Lun where he trained to be a warrior. After defeating the dragon Shou-Lao, he gains the power of the Iron Fist. He returns to New York to take his place as the head of his company but soon realizes that there is more to his destiny than just that. He is confronted with the Hand and Madam Gao whom we met in Daredevil season 1.

And that is basically the timeline to follow, we met all the characters, got introduced to their abilities and backgrounds and some seeds for the Defender’s storyline have been planted. So, after the TV show Iron Fist, The Defenders are next.

The Defenders

The Defenders follows the team up of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist who all have to put aside their differences to save New York City from a common enemy, the Hand. The Hand is a powerful, ancient organization that’s been manipulating New York City from the shadows for generations, and they’re finally ready to make their move. Many of the characters that were dispersed through the shows mentioned above are finally brought to the same page and the build-up towards the events of The Defenders got its conclusion.