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One particular Marvel Comics superhero team is so strange that it might have trouble fitting into the world created in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Defenders #5, available now from Marvel Comics.
The Defenders are one of the most fantastical teams of superheroes in the Marvel Universe, and their latest adventure was more amazing than anyone could have anticipated. When the Masked Raider first called on Doctor Strange for help, neither of them knew what was in store for them and the colorful roster of heroes who shared their adventure. Unfortunately, this group of heroes and the stories they fill may be a little too much for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In their most recent series, the Defenders crossed through nearly every iteration of the Multiverse in their hunt for the villainous Carlo Zota. After traversing the mind bending world of the Fourth Cosmos, the team arrived in the Third Cosmos to witness the birth of heroes. In Defenders #5 (by Al Ewing, Javier Rodriguez, and VC’s Joe Caramagna), the heroes face a battle that is nothing like what anyone could have ever imagined. Rather than facing off against another Devourer of Worlds or Lovecraftian mage, the Defenders uncover the very first battle between the forces of good and evil, or more specifically between the Anti-All and Lifebringer One, also known as the First Hero. As these two abstract combatants fight, the fate of the Third Cosmos and every version of reality to follow is made uncertain. Thankfully, the Masked Ranger’s strange, time bending sacrifice proves to be exactly what the forces of good need to triumph over the embodiment of all evil in a way that might be impossible to translate outside of the comic book page.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is no stranger to high-concept adventures or reality warping thrill rides. However, the events of Defenders are still outside the realm of anything the MCU has adapted so far. While concepts such as the Multiverse have been adapted into the onscreen universe, those explorations don’t even begin to touch on the births of heroes, magic, and science as products of their own respective iterations of reality. As it stands, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a carefully crafted, albeit sprawling experience that is unlike anything that has come before. As compelling as the Defenders’ latest adventure was, the idea of peeling back the layers of the MCU to its most existential, symbolic roots is almost unfathomable.
Apart from all of this, there is also the incalculable amount of work that would go into setting the stage for such an expansive story. Doctor Strange has become the MCU’s face for all things Multiverse related, but the rest of the latest incarnation of the team has not been introduced to the cinematic universe as of yet. The stories of the Masked Raider and Carlo Zota could certainly be updated from their decades-old origins, but doing so would probably require years of carefully laid plans in order to properly build up the roots of the character. Just assembling the Avengers of the MCU was a massive undertaking that happened over the course of several years and almost as many films. If Doctor Strange’s Defenders were ever to follow suit, it would surely be just as long of a road for them to end up anywhere near the Third Cosmos.
The likelihood of seeing Doctor Strange’s latest Defenders lineup in the MCU might be low, but that doesn’t mean the Sorcerer Supreme of the silver screen is short on allies if he ever wanted to put together a team of his own.
With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness poised to reveal even more of the ever expanding Multiverse as well as introduce the dimension hopping fan-favorite America Chavez, the stage for a reality spanning epic in the MCU might not be as far away as it would seem. Even if the Marvel Cinematic Universe never delves quite as deep as the comics, both mediums have proven that there is plenty of room for exploration both on and off screen.
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