In a move not even Daredevil could see coming, Netflix has officially axed all of their Marvel Netflix content. A four-year-long process beginning with Daredevil will end with Jessica Jones’s third and final season later this year. The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but that still doesn’t make it any easier for fans of the series.
MORE: Netflix’s Marvel Shows Aren’t Moving to Disney Plus
Worse still, many of the shows left behind storylines and threads that we will never see resolved now. Let’s take a look and see what got left unresolved in the Marvel Netflix TV Universe.
Bushmaster Still Missing (Luke Cage)
The big bad of Luke Cage season two, John “Bushmaster” McIver is a crime boss with a penchant for holistic medicine (specifically nightshade). These drugs offer him increased strength and healing but at the cost of risking organ failure.
Bushmaster takes down Mariah Dillard and the Stokes family as retribution for the murder of his family in his family’s restaurant and the murder of his mother years ago. Despite sustaining injuries from the repeated use of nightshade, Bushmaster gets away and is in the wind at the end of Luke Cage season two. As of now, in the wind is where he’ll be forever.
Luke Cage Owning Harlem’s Paradise (Luke Cage)
At the end of the second season, Luke was given Harlem’s Paradise, a club owned by the criminal Stokes family and willed to Luke in Mariah Dillard’s will. The club has a history of being a criminal and underworld paradise, making Luke’s ownership of it eyebrow-raising. There were many in the show who feared that it would set Luke up to be a new crime boss, while he insisted he would use it to be the new sheriff of Harlem.
From all intents and appearances, it was looking like Harlem’s Paradise was going to be the eventual HQ of Heroes for Hire, Inc., Luke Cage’s and Danny Rand’s superhero business from the comics. Alternatively, seeing Luke begin to descend into a more criminal element would have been a great place to take season three. Hopefully one day we’ll know what was going to happen.
Trish’s Transition To Hellcat (Jessica Jones)
In Jessica Jones season two, Jessica’s long-time friend and adoptive sister Patricia “Trish” Walker began experimenting with experimental drugs from IGH, the company responsible for Jessica’s superpowers. These drugs (in a convenient inhaler form) are then mixed with the cat vaccine FVRCP in a procedure to give her powers permanently. At the end of the show, we see that Trish has gained heightened reflexes and abilities. This is significant given that in the comics, Patricia Walker is the hero “Hellcat,” albeit with different powers than what Trish seems to possess. Given that season three is still slated to premiere, there’s hope for this storyline to continue after all.
Madame Gao Is Potentially Still Out There (The Defenders)
Madame Gao has been popping up in Marvel Netflix shows since the very beginning. It’s revealed that she is one of the five “fingers” of The Hand, an ancient crime organization using martial arts and mystic powers to pursue their goals.
As The Defenders prepare to blow up Midland Circle and destroy most of The Hand, she briefly appears from nowhere to tell one of her fellow fingers that this is the end. We never see her again, and it is not clear if she survived the explosion. Given her tenacity in dealing with Daredevil, it can be assumed she survived and would have popped up at another point in the future. If there’s one positive to be had with the Netflix cancellations, it’s that hopefully, we’ll have seen the last of The Hand for a while.
Dr. Dumont Is Still Alive (Punisher)
One of the more subtly evil characters of the Marvel Netflix Universe is psychotherapist Dr. Krista Dumont. She quickly falls in love with Billy Russo and begins to assist his efforts of taking down Frank Castle and Agent Madani. She and Madani have a fight to the death in Dumont’s apartment, which ends with Madani throwing Dumont several stories out a window. We see at the end of the show that Dumont has survived the fall and is recovering from her injuries, but her fate is never stated. Given Frank’s cold murder of Billy and Dumont’s need for revenge on him and Madani, Dumont could have easily been a villain for season three. Sadly, we may never see what was to come with her.
Orson Randall (Iron Fist)
Iron Fist season two was a marked improvement from the first season, so at the bare minimum, we’ll have that to solace us.
When Danny Rand’s former-friend-turned-enemy named Davos stole the Iron Fist powers from Danny, he did so using the corpse of a dead Iron Fist. We learned at the end of season two that the man who sold it to Davos was named Orson Randall. In the comics, Orson Randall is a former Iron Fist himself, which was clearly the set up to season three. Given the cancellation, however, we’ll never see what Danny might have learned from him and where that path might have gone.
Colleen As New Iron Fist (Iron Fist)
One of the big shockers in Iron Fist’s second season was Danny’s removal as The Immortal Iron Fist. At the end of the show, it was determined that Danny would not take back his powers; they would instead be given to Colleen Wing, Danny’s girlfriend and mentor (and arguably his better half). The ritual proved successful and Colleen gained the powers of Iron Fist at the end of the second season. We, unfortunately, will not get a chance to see Colleen in action as Iron Fist, which might be the biggest disappointment to come from the Netflix cancellations.
Elektra Might Be Alive? (The Defenders)
Matt Murdock pulled off the impossible and survived the building collapse at Midland Circle. While bruised, bloodied, and damaged, he managed to eventually get himself back into fighting shape. When he awoke in the rain and rubble, we saw no sign of Elektra anywhere nearby.
Given that she was recently revived with the Black Sky substance and has a proven track record of escaping death, it’s not impossible to think that she survived. Now though, we’ll never see what Elektra’s ultimate fate was, despite actress Elodie Yung hoping to see her return at a later point.
Bullseye Is DEFINITELY Alive (Daredevil)
One of Daredevil’s most iconic enemies is that of Benjamin Poindexter, aka Bullseye. Bullseye is a psychopathic assassin and expert marksman who’s shown himself capable of handling and even defeating Daredevil numerous times. The same could not be said for Wilson Fisk, who managed to defeat and paralyze Bullseye when he attempted to kill Fisk.
The final scenes we see in Daredevil are of Bullseye in an operating room as surgeons attempt to repair his spine. He awakes suddenly, and we see in the iris of his eye what appears to be the rings of a target. Bullseye was clearly set up to return for Daredevil season four, but now Bullseye will never get the chance to hit his mark.
Claire Temple And Luke Cage (Luke Cage)
First introduced in Daredevil season one, Claire Temple has been taking care of the Defenders since the beginning. After spending more time with Harlem’s defender, Claire and Luke begin a romantic relationship together. While things start off well going into the beginning of season two, the couple’s relationship quickly deteriorates.
Sensing a growing violence and anger in Luke, Claire breaks it off and moves to Havana to be with her mother. For the time being, Luke and Claire are on the outs, and we may not see the two get back together (although this does leave open the possibility of Luke getting back together with Jessica Jones).
