3) Claire Temple
Gao isn’t the only character tying the different Marvel Netflix shows together. Claire Temple is the unofficial Nick Fury of the Defenders; having befriended Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in previous series, she’s present and correct in Iron Fist to get to know Danny Rand, too. Again, Claire doesn’t get too much to do, but Rosario Dawson is a talented enough actress to make the most of what she gets.
Iron Fist is a usually dry show, and Claire hasn’t previously been used for bringing the funny, but her arrival in episode 5 comes with some welcome laughs. The character’s completely unsubtle barging in on Danny and Colleen’s date is chucklesome, as is her later reaction at finding out that she’s bumped into yet another superhero: “My mother says I can’t escape meeting people like you.”
Of course, Claire’s own superpower – using Macgyver-like methods to save people’s lives during ad hoc surgery – is all present and correct in Iron Fist, as well. Here, she miraculously uses a credit card to stop a man’s lung from collapsing. Could she go and become Night Nurse already, please?