If you're a fan of comics or the superhero genre, it's time to get excited. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is bigger than ever. The MCU tends to put out several movies a year but after the cancelation of most Marvel series outside of Disney+, Marvel begins to interconnect its properties more than ever with a huge slate of television series for the streaming service. But as the world expanded, we also lost some phenomenal series. Shows such as Runaways and Cloak and Dagger that targeted younger audiences were cut from Freeform and Hulu.
But, what may be considered the biggest losses were the Netflix series that seemed to be pseudo-canon for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The events of The Avengers launched the Netflix series such as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage into action, but the larger movies didn't seem to acknowledge the Netflix shows. However, with the reintroductions of Charlie Cox's Matthew Murdock (Daredevil) and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk (Kingpin), these heroes and villains get newfound acknowledgment as they become players in the main narratives that drive the MCU forward. But with the confirmation and addition of these characters, the events already seen in their canceled shows also become canon and paint a slightly different picture of the MCU and New York City in particular.
Let's take a look at some of the biggest events in Netflix-Marvel's history to get a refresh on the events that also help shape the Marvel world.
Bombing of Hell's Kitchen (Daredevil)
The bombing of Hell's Kitchen, carried out by Wilson Fisk in collaboration with Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho), launched Daredevil into its groove and marked the first major event of Netflix's side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The attack on New York City spurned Fisk into taking action against the Russian mafia, wanting to consolidate his empire and have a tighter grip on the city to take control of it. An unscheduled delivery of Steel Serpent (Gao's line of heroin made with dragon bones) raised red flags at the Russian Mafia's warehouses, but it was too late for the majority of the organization when the disguised explosive went off. Fisk even sent the police on his payroll to take out the rest that escaped.
Not only do the bombings help set the action of Daredevil into the motion of its 1st season, but it also addresses the trauma of the battle in New York that only took place a few years earlier. This event helps take a magnified look at not just how these grand-scale Marvel conflicts affect the lives of heroes, but how it affected the everyday person living at the scene, and what they have to face every day because of what happened that was entirely out of their control.
Kilgrave’s Mind Control Encounters (Jessica Jones)
If multiple bombings weren't enough, Jessica Jones also adds a mind-controlling sociopath into the mix. Kilgrave (David Tennant) is a telekinetic who as a child was experimented on by his parents to try to cure neurodegenerative diseases but instead ended up with the power to control minds. After a chance encounter in 2013, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) caught his eye and he took control of her for months until one of his commands drove her to commit murder -- snapping her out of his trance.
Thought to be dead after the event, he didn't return for years. But when he did decide to come back, he returned with a vengeance. Wanting Jessica back, or revenge (most likely both), he went through an entire series of schemes and manipulation tactics to get at Jessica. From controlling the DA's wife to an entire police precinct to Luke Cage and other innocent New Yorkers along the way, Kilgrave terrified New York City until Jones killed him to stop his reign of horror. His thralls even prompted the creation of the Kilvgrave Victim Support Group, showing the profound impact he had on not just Jessica Jones and her loved ones but the borough as a whole.
Disappearance of K’un Lun (Iron Fist)
Not unlike Ta Lo (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), K'un Lun was a city that existed in another dimension. This city, however, could only be accessed in China once every 15 years. The city of K'un Lun wasn't just important as it became of the marooned and future Iron Fist, Danny Rand (Finn Jones), but it also was the birthplace of the frequent antagonist of the Netflix-Marvel series, The Hand. The Hand was formed from 5 members of the Monastic Order who were banished due to their seeking of immorality through chi.
After earning the title of Iron Fist, Rand decided to return to his home in New York, but in doing so left the mystical city without an Iron First to protect the gateway between the city and Earth. Rand wanted to use the title to do good outside of K'un Lun but ultimately decided that he needed more training. Danny trekked to the entrance but found dead Hand soldiers and bloody snow. Even more troubling -- K'un Lun had vanished. Although this event isn't the most flashy of these Netflix-Marvel moments, it does have grave spiritual consequences for not only the city but for the members of the Order of the Crane Mother now stranded on the other side.
Massacre at Central Park (The Punisher)
While the massacre at Central Park in 2016 took the lives of three civilians -- a mother and her children -- an NYPD officer, and multiple members of the criminals of the Mexican Cartel, Dogs of War, and Kitchen Irish, the massacre had a much bigger impact than what was first perceived. The gang war actually was an elaborate attempt to take out Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), a member of Operation Cerberus, and one of the only witnesses of the illegal acts executed by the secret operation.
The shooting was meant to look like a sting went wrong, with Ray Schoonover (Clancy Brown), one of the former leaders of Cerberus, orchestrating the ordeal to help cover up the illegal executions carried out by the squad as well its funding via Schoonover's illegal heroin enterprise under his criminal persona, "Blacksmith". However, the operation went awry when Castle survived a bullet to the head, and his children and wife were killed instead. This heartbreaking event sets the stage for Castle's arcs in Daredevil and The Punisher.
While this important event shaped Frank Castle's trajectory, it also paints a bigger picture of conflicts and actions of the American government in the MCU as well as shaping Wilson Fisk's position as well. Even though uninvolved in the massacre, Fisk ended up profiting greatly from it, meeting the punisher amidst his mission for retribution, in a different type of massacre, and using Castle to consolidate his grip on the city, even behind bars.
Ryker Island’s Massacre (Daredevil)
Another event tied to Frank Castle as his moniker, this brutal scene of violence was carefully orchestrated by Fisk, although the conclusion was far from what The Kingpin had initially planned. Vying for control of Ryker's Island, Fisk learned of his rival, Dutton's (William Forsythe), involvement with the Massacre of Central Park. Once Castle was arrested and sent to Ryker's Island, Fisk eventually convinced Castle to murder Dutton for his involvement.
But when Fisk predictably betrays Castle, locking him in the cell block with the remainder of Dutton's followers, Frank's military background kicks in, and he comes out on top, albeit bloody. Seeing Castle's abilities, Fisk changes course and lets Castle escape the prison, returning back to his crusade to make those responsible for his family's deaths pay, but now with new leads on the true motives behind the shoot-out.
Escape from Seagate Prison (Luke Cage)
Sometimes, the effort to put someone down by those with power can have unintended consequences. In 2014, Georgia police officer, Carl Lucas (Mike Colter), struggled with life in prison after a wrongful conviction. But Seagate Prison had a lot else going on.
Not only were corrupt guards running an underground fighting ring with the prisoners, but one of the doctors also conducted experiments to enhance the physicality of the prisoners. Considering Lucas's background, he resisted the idea of this ring, and eventually decided to report it. Punished for his betrayal, Lucas was severely beaten and on death's door when doctor Noah Burstein (Michael Kostroff) attempted to use his experimental healing chamber to save his life. However, when ringleader and security guard, Albert Rackham (Chance Kelly), attempted to kill Lucas in the process, he accidentally overpowered the machine and gifted Lucas with unbreakable skin and increased strength.
Lucas escaped the prison and swam to shore using his newfound abilities and relocated to New York City, specifically, Harlem, where he would be free to live, and eventually protect the city from multiple threats, under the name Luke Cage.
New York Bulletin Massacre (Daredevil)
Notice the number of massacres and attacks on this list? With Fisk's appearance in Hawkeye (set in 2024), it begs the question; what happened in the years that Marvel skipped past? In this event, Fisk once again incites violence from an arm's length away to ensure law enforcement couldn't have anything on him to worsen his already precarious position. With the New York Bulletin in possession of a witness who could expose Fisk, he sent Benjamin Pointdexter (Wilson Bethel) to eliminate the threat.
Making his way through the Bulletin, 'Dex' disguised himself with a perfect replica of the Daredevil suit. By the time he arrives and assassinated the leak, he murdered several Bulletin employees and an FBI agent. In addition to the main goal of his mission, Fisk also reaped the benefits of Daredevil's new status as a terrorist and public enemy as the press initially assumed the perpetrator was Daredevil. However, with the help of the real Daredevil, the FBI agent, Ray Nadeem (Jay Ali), begins to realize that Fisk infiltrated the FBI further than himself and becomes instrumental in taking Fisk down once again.
Destruction of Midland Circle Building (The Defenders)
If Avengers wreak havoc on cities and Defenders only destroy buildings, then maybe the former should take notes on the Defenders' timing. The heroes that protect New York came together to face The Hand, who want to use the Iron Fist to further their aspirations of immortality. The Hand's base, Midland City Financial, rested on top of a secret pit, blocked by a barrier that only the Iron Fist could break. After Matt Murdock's former lover, Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung), took over The Hand and successfully used Danny Rand to expose a pit of mystical dragon bones, The Defenders and their sidekicks (I mean allies) rushed to Midland Circle to rescue Rand and take down The Hand once and for all.
The team split up into two groups, one to rescue Rand and the other to set a series of bombs to bring down the building. All of the team but Matt Murdock were able to escape after a series of battles as he opted to stay behind with Elektra. In the end, he was able to wake her up in a sense, and the two shared a kiss before the building fell down on them, falling on the Hand members as well, effectively ending the threat. Unbeknownst to the world, however, Matt's body was carried away via sewage (ew) and he survived, but his absence still left a massive gap in the NYC superhero community.
The destruction of Midland Circle is arguably the biggest event that is canon to the MCU but flies under the radar as it is only referenced in the Netflix series. While The Defenders successfully defeated The Hand, the effects still verberated among the heroes, felt not only by them but their loved ones as well.
With the multitude of bombings, killings, massacres, and terror that spread throughout the city in the years following the alien attack on New York City, it's a wonder how anyone in the city gets through their day without encountering some form of fight for the good of the city. But now that these characters intersect with the more mainstream characters of the MCU, could things finally be looking up?