All 6 Marvel Netflix TV Shows Ranked

Ever since Marvel's streaming collaborations with Netflix concluded in 2019, audiences have been waiting for the return of these characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the arrival of "Daredevil: Born Again," Marvel continues to re-integrate these Netflix heroes back into the mainstream MCU, and with the news that "Born Again" has been renewed for a third season, there's no better time like the present to revisit those streaming adventures.

After the initial success of "Daredevil," Netflix branched off to follow four other street-level heroes that had their own grounded and gritty stories to tell, before uniting a small batch of them in a standalone series. "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage," and "Iron Fist" hit the streamer in preparation for "The Defenders," all tackling subject matter that not even thunder gods or super soldiers would tread near. But which is the best of the bunch?

When you really step back and look at what was available, "Iron Fist" had all the winning moves to hold its own against the rest of Netflix's hard-hitting shows. Finn Jones was perfectly fine as the Living Weapon Danny Rand and Jessica Henwick repeatedly stole the spotlight as his friend and skilled fighter Colleen Wing. The show even boasted performances from the likes of Tom Pelphrey before he started turning heads in "Ozark" and "Task." Unfortunately, like every battle, it's all about the execution, and it's here where "Iron Fist" failed to land its hits.

Creator Scott Buck — who previously developed the equally disliked Marvel series "Inhumans" — feels like an ill fit for "Iron Fist" and the characters within it. Rand is a tolerable but not terribly compelling protagonist from the outset, going through the motions of being the estranged billionaire who takes on the mantle of a hero. By this point, we'd recently seen this kind of arc on the CW with "Arrow."

Unfortunately, when lined up alongside the likes of "Daredevil," "The Punisher," and all the others, the hero of K'un-Lun didn't have enough fight in him for what was a, frankly, boring story. Even by Season 2, things hadn't changed, leading to the least-impactful loss when all the MCU-adjacent shows were gradually put out to pasture.

What should have felt like a made-for-streaming iteration of "The Avengers" was ultimately lackluster by comparison to Earth's Mightiest Heroes. All that hard work of sticking with four different heroes spread across five seasons of television should've paid off. Unfortunately, no matter how cool it was seeing the MCU's street-level heroes uniting in "The Defenders," it just wasn't enough. What we ended up with was a dull and drawn-out story that took too long to get our gang of do-gooders together. This alone was an impressive feat for the wrong reason, given that it only lasted eight episodes.

It might be a team effort on the surface, but it doesn't take a blind man with heightened senses to see that almost all the attention is on "Daredevil" and the fallout from its second season (with some "Iron Fist" lore peppered in for good measure). As a result, the focus on the titular team never feels evenly split and becomes even more prominent when you consider who they're uniting to fight. Sigourney Weaver as Alexandra, the leader of the Hand, is a soulless, one-dimensional threat that doesn't cause enough of a stir compared to some of the other villains that the Defenders have faced on their own.

With Krysten Ritter returning as Jessica Jones in "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2, who knows who else from this briefly slung together team could return as well. We just hope it's better than what we got the first time around.

There's certainly an argument to be made that "Luke Cage" should be bumped up a little higher on the list than where we've placed him. Mike Colter's take on the Hero of Harlem is pitch-perfect, and his first season isn't something to sniff at either. Going up against Mahershala Ali's Cottonmouth was a compelling origin story for Luke, spinning off from his time on "Jessica Jones," that made him a hero worth rooting for.

There was also the extra supporting talent of Alfre Woodward as Black Mariah, and support from Rosario Dawson as the show-crossing night nurse Claire Temple. But sweet Christmas, things took a considerable nosedive when Season 2 rolled around. Things get frustratingly busier for the bulletproof hero, with too much time spent fleshing out supporting characters when Colter was clearly strong enough to carry the show on his own. Also, Mustafa Shakir's Bushmaster doesn't hold a candle to Ali's charismatic black hat, who was killed far too soon.

Add in that the Season 2 finale ends on a compelling cliffhanger, with Luke taking a crooked road to keep an eye on Harlem the only way he can, and "Luke Cage" really ends up feeling like a show that deserved more than it ended up with.

There's a lot to analyze when it comes to the standalone series that focuses solely on this vengeful vigilante. Following the events of "Daredevil" Season 2, the heavily armed one-man army with a score to settle has a pretty wafer-thin story to tell. "The Punisher" is filled with bullets, brutality, and two villains who either overstayed their welcome or lacked enough meat on the characters' bones to stay interesting. However, the actor behind the skull is so outstanding in the role that you're willing to overlook all the flaws in the show.

When Jon Bernthal first took on the part of Frank Castle on "Daredevil," he proved himself arguably the greatest live-action version of the character. Watching him portray Frank became almost addictive, earning him instant recognition for the part. The Punisher didn't have superpowers, but that didn't make him any less of a monster of a man. It's because of this — and the relentless violence that pushed boundaries even by "Daredevil" standards — that the two-season "The Punisher" earns its spot in third place.

We wanted non-stop, unforgiving action that saw Bernthal push his hero to breaking point, and that's precisely what we got. It's because of this that his return in "Daredevil: Born Again" was so exciting, and it's also why we're eagerly anticipating his standalone Punisher story that will be arriving on Disney+ in 2026.

It feels almost fitting that "Jessica Jones" doesn't get anywhere near the attention it deserves because, to be honest, that's probably how she would prefer it. The cold-humored private investigator with a drinking problem had a lot to live up to when she made her debut in 2015. After Netflix's success with the Man Without Fear, pivoting to Jessica Jones offered quite a different story for Marvel to tell, albeit laced with the same level of grit and mature themes that fans were already accustomed to.

A noir thriller highlighting toxic abuse and its fallout, "Jessica Jones" thrives because Ritter rounded out the character with ease. In fact, she was equally matched by perhaps one of the greatest villains that the rest of the MCU never really had. Had he been kept around as long as Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk, there's no doubt that David Tennant's Kilgrave would've earned just as much love for being a far more despicable character. Wielding the ability of mind control in such terrifying fashion, he proved that the second act of shows in the Netflix-Marvel collaboration could deliver.

Admittedly, as the show progressed, it never quite lived up to the standards of its debut season. However, the perfect casting of the show's titular hero kept us around for three seasons of "Jessica Jones." Ritter's upcoming return has us hoping this show could be revived, too.

Prayers were answered when Charlie Cox donned the shades and the makeshift vigilante suit of Matthew Murdock, aka Daredevil, in a gritty television series that proved just how mature Marvel could be. Netflix's "Daredevil" found the perfect balance to keep both Murdock's efforts in the courtroom and crime-riddled streets equally entertaining. Whether it was breaking criminals in the witness box or in a dimly lit hallway, the drama and the action were masterfully handled and further elevated by Cox's performance.

Cox is now as synonymous with the role of Daredevil as Hugh Jackman and Wolverine or Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man, and rightfully so. He pours every bit of charm, guilt, torment, and unbridled rage into the character, effortlessly making Matt his own. Following him every step of the way, though, is an equally enigmatic but brilliantly terrifying Kingpin (D'Onofrio), the street-level Thanos that became as compelling as the devil that was trying to bring him down.

Okay, so Elektra (Élodie Yung) and the ninjas might have slowed things down a bit, but those sins can be forgiven. Especially since the rest of the supporting cast — namely Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page and Elden Henson's Foggy Nelson — are so consistent throughout. The three-season "Daredevil" isn't just the best of the bunch, it's easily one of the greatest comic book shows ever made. It's no wonder that "Born Again" was creatively overhauled to keep in step with Netflix tradition on Disney+.