To be fair, 8 months ago I didn’t know what Marvel was. And full disclosure, I have never read a Marvel comic book in my life. If you feel like this doesn’t give me the right to tell you what Marvel tv shows to watch, now is the time to space out. But if you are interested in a layman’s view, experience and tips on some things Marvel, keep on reading. I am sharing 5 Marvel tv shows you need to watch ASAP. Because they are brilliant!

Marvelous

If you are a Marvel newbie, like me, I will explain what Marvel is (or do my best). If you are a ride or die Marvelist (is that what ya’ll are called or did I make that up?) then you can skip right into my recommendations.

Marvel is the brand name that harbors action heroes, like Spider Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and many more. They are all part of the Marvel Universe. It started as comic books, but there are also a lot of movies made and a couple of Marvel tv shows. It’s science fiction and/or fantasy – I don’t really know the difference – but just know it involves things like people with superpowers, aliens and time traveling,

1. Marvel’s Agents of Shield

This is where it all started for me. I had never in my life seen a science fiction movie. I (still) don’t know the difference between Start Wars and Star Trek. I have never read a comic book. But this show. O my, it is amazing! Okay, so the world is the world as you know it but there are alien threats. And there are these humans, with alien super powers. And this team of humans and “inhumans” has to protect Earth from alien invasions and eventually even save it from complete destruction.

If at this point you’re like, “wait whut, that’s not for me.” Don’t judge now. Watch it. As I said, I had zero interest in sci-fi. And now look at me, I am writing an entire blogpost about it. You need to watch Marvel’s Agents of Shield. The cast and characters are amazing (especially Henry Simmons), the storyline will keep you on the edge of your seat and the special effects are so cool!

2. Luke Cage

This isn’t the second Marvel show I watched. I saw Iron Fist and Daredevil first. But Luke Cage is the second show you need to watch, because Iron Fist and Daredevil are nowhere near as cool as Luke Cage. He is a framed ex-con that, due to an experiment at the prison, became bulletproof. When he breaks out of prison he becomes the protector of Harlem, NYC. The storyline is super dramatic and powerful. There is an important message throughout the entire show and the characters are very captivating and “layered”. Love it.

3. Daredevil

Daredevil is a NYC lawyer (Matt Murdoch) by day and a Hell’s Kitchen vigilante (Daredevil) by night. Due to a horrible accident as a kid he lost his sight. But the accident enhanced his other senses, like a lot. He is blind, but he can “see” through hearing and smell. He is also a really good fighter. It is a very exciting and cool show to watch. Matt Murdoch is a bit of a whiny guy though. I like that the Marvel hero’s have layers of feelings and experience (moral) struggles. The burden and responsibility that comes with being a hero weighs heavy on them – on top of the fact that they are all heavily traumatized – but sometimes I’m just like, get over yourself, dude.

4. Iron Fist

This is the first show I watched after Marvel’s Agents of Shield. I liked it, even though it wasn’t as good as Shield. It was a nice way to deal with my Shield-withdrawal. Danny Rand aka Iron Fist is a former rich kid that survived a horrible plane crash, that not only left him parentless and traumatized for life, but also in the hands of fighting monks in K’un lun – a mystical city in another dimension. There he learns how to fight and wins the Iron Fist by defeating a dragon. He returns to NYC to protect his city from “The Hand”.

The Immortal Iron Fist is definitely the most elegant fighter: martial arts is beautiful to watch and his girlfriend, Colleen Wing, is so freaking cool. But I don’t think the actor that plays Iron Fist is a good fit: he’s not convincing and he doesn’t draw you in. I guess that’s why the show got canceled after two seasons.

5. Defenders

What is also really cool about all of these shows is that, because these characters all “exist” in the Marvel Universe, certain characters “hop” shows. For instance, Misty – a very brave and cool detective with a leading role in Luke Cage – visits Danny and Colleen in Iron Fist. Foggy – Daredevils best friend and partner – helps Luke Cage out when he needs a lawyer. And then there is Claire, the nurse that patches all the superhero’s up (and sleeps with some of them). The more you watch, the more you will understand all the references, which is kind of cool.

Defenders is a miniserie in which Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones (she is still on my to watch list) all come together to defeat a common enemy. If you liked the previous Marvel tv shows you will want to watch this one too!

For my Dutchies: I watched these Marvel tv shows on Movies & Series XL from Ziggogo.tv and on Netflix.