Though Marvel’s partnership with Netflix is over, fans can buy items from two of their shows, The Punisher, and The Defenders, in an auction this June. The partnership between Marvel and Netflix began in 2015 with the premiere of Daredevil, starring Charlie Cox as the blind, masked crusader. A lawyer by day, Matt Murdock dons the iconic devil outfit to defend Hell’s Kitchen. Well-received and very popular, Daredevil successfully set the stage for the multiple series’ to follow. Next came Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter as the super-strong, alcoholic P.I., Luke Cage, with Mike Colter playing the invincible hero, and then Iron Fist, the title character played by Finn Jones.
Not all of the shows were as critically acclaimed as Daredevil, but all were successful enough to lead into their team-up limited series The Defenders. The Punisher came soon after, as Jon Bernthal’s character was introduced in season 2 of Daredevil. Back in 2018, after Disney announced that Marvel would feature on Disney+, Netflix started pulling the plug on all of their Marvel shows beginning with Iron Fist. Jeph Loeb, the former head of Marvel TV, said that they were “blindsided” by the cancellations. Marvel TV moved on from the loss, quickly announcing a slew of new shows to come to Disney+ in the future, like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki.
According to Indiewire, Marvel and Prop Store announced the auction on Friday. It will feature an array of items from both The Defenders and The Punisher. The event will take place in Los Angeles, though there is no date yet. Bidding begins in May, and people can bid by telephone or online. Though the auction is advertised as only items from the two shows mentioned above, it seems that items from Netflix’s other Marvel shows will be included as well. A few things on sale are the Punisher’s vest and armor, Daredevil’s mask, and one of Jessica Jones’ leather jacket costumes.
Marvel held previous auctions both last March and December. At the first auction, Daredevil’s first showrunner Steven DeKnight bought the original Daredevil costume for around $55,000. Though Marvel’s television experiment at Netflix is remembered by most for The Defenders team-up series’ issues, the company succeeded in making unique and high-quality superhero TV shows. They proved there could be dramatic, ground-level shows based on superhero material. But because of their partnership with Netflix, legally Marvel must wait two years from the date of the show’s cancellation to use the characters again.
With that time fast approaching, Marvel TV can finally consider the possibilities of bringing back these characters into the expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, whether through the shows on Disney Plus or the movies. Marvel has been open about planning to bridge the shows to the films, stating, for example, that Ms. Marvel, a character who is getting her own show on the streamer, will appear in an MCU film right after. There are plenty of amazing characters in Marvel’s Netflix shows which deserve more exploration. While Marvel’s auction might feel like a goodbye to the characters of The Punisher and The Defenders, it’s most likely not the last we will see of them in the MCU.
More: Marvel TV Characters Who Can Now Join The MCU Proper
Source: Indiewire
