10) Midland Circle
If you’ve been keeping track of all the pieces of the puzzle that have been sprinkled across the past five seasons of the Defendersverse, you might recognize the name Midland Circle. Here, the fantastic four (oh, wait, that name’s taken) discover that the Hand’s base of operations is the Midland Circle skyscraper.
This has been built on top of the massive hole in the ground that Matt and Elektra discovered in Daredevil season 2. The site, in turn, used to be the location of the tenement building where Mrs. Cardenas lived in DD season 1. During that season, Daredevil also found some blueprints of the then yet-to-be-built skyscraper. Furthermore, Midland Circle was also referenced in an episode of Iron Fist.
Having the Hand as the overarching villain of these shows hasn’t pleased everyone, but you can’t deny that producer Jeph Loeb, showrunner Marco Ramirez and the rest of the team have been playing a very long game here.
9) Jessica Gets A Lawyer
At the end of episode 2, “Mean Right Hook,” we finally get to see the first meeting between Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones. When Jessica’s being questioned by Misty over the death of Midland Circle’s architect, Murdock bursts in and proclaims himself to be her lawyer. Despite offering her help, JJ isn’t pleased to see him.
This isn’t just a fun way to introduce the characters to each other, but is also lifted clean off the page. A very similar scene occurs in Alias #3 from Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, one of Jessica’s very first comic book appearances. The scenario is almost identical, right down to Jessica’s reaction, Matt’s dialogue and the fact that it was also the first time the pair met in the comics as well.