The Punisher (Series)

His solution to crime is more permanent.

After his family is brutally killed, Frank Castle (perfectly portrayed by Jon Bernthal) makes it his quest to punish those responsible - and those like them - in very violent ways.

Obviously a show for an adult audience, there is a fair amount of good, visceral action in this series - though not as much as some would like. Indeed, there are many quiet moments, particularly in Season 1, that slow the pace right down. I didn't mind it too much, just don't expect to have gunfights each episode.

Boom. Head shot.

Season 2 fixes most of that (apart from the tepid first episode), but nothing really compares to his strong debut in Daredevil S2. That said, this two season series is still worth a watch.

The Defenders

Because the Avengers aren't available.

When a syndicate of mystical undead ninjas threatens the city, the local heroes Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist must band together to stop them! Crossovers are always fun, and while the writers had been sort of building up the ninja threat in some of the individual shows it still feels clumsily put together.

Possibly one of the reasons so many of their shows got the axe.

Most of the fault lies with the bad guys I believe, who are simply power scaled to whatever the plot requires. Regardless, if you like any of the shows of the aforementioned heroes then this one is definitely one will entertain you - though by that same token, you probably already have.

Due to Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Daredevil getting the axe, I think this doesn't have much of a chance of coming back, or if it does - it will probably be with a totally different team. We can always hope.

Daredevil (TV)

Charlie Cox does a fantastic job playing Matt Murdoch - lawyer by day and vigilante pugilist  by night. For the most part he hides his super human senses behind his blindness, just as he tries to keep his two lives separate from each other.

With a strong script, actors, cinematography, as well as fantastic fight scenes this is easily my favorite of the Marvel Universe shows. Yes, there are some parts that falter quite badly (looking at you S2 Elektra), but for the most part it is very enjoyable mainly due to Daredevil getting fantastic foils.

He's like a punching bag that keeps coming back for more.

These are in the form of Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin, Jon Bernthal's Punisher, and Wilson Bethel's Bullseye to name a few. My only other complaint is the conversations in foreign languages (especially early on) - I don't mind if a conversation is all in French or Japanese, but don't make one character speak one language and the other speaking English. It's just so unnatural!

Maybe that's part of the reason the show got cancelled after 3 seasons? Or maybe like Iron Fist and Luke Cage he just got Thanos-ed? Who knows! It's still worth a watch if you haven't seen it already. As a bonus the series ends on a non-cliffhanger so thumbs up for that!

Special thanks to Redbeard for giving me a heads up about the cancellation of this series.

Luke Cage

"Always forward, never back."

After being subjected to illegal human experimentation in prison, Carl Lucas (Mike Colter) gains super strength and near indestructibility then uses said powers to escape back to Harlem to lay low from the law, changing his name to the titular "Luke Cage", and reluctantly becoming a hero to that crime filled neighborhood.

There's a lot to like with this show, the acting is good, the lead is likeable, most of the villains are decent, season 2 has capoeira (always get bonus points from me), and most episodes showcase a band or music group which is fantastic even though half the songs aren't my sort of thing.

That said, for me this is the weakest series when compared to Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. The first season in particular is very slow paced and all the black references just for the sake of solidifying that this is a black show for black people just reeks of racism didn't do it for me.

It's like a punch to the face!

Fortunately most of that is fixed up in Season 2 but apparently it wasn't good enough to save it from the axe. Still worth a watch, and definitely better than the DC counterpart "Black Lightning" which was just way too ghetto for us to even make it past episode 1.