As those involved with the upcoming Netflix series The Defenders head out to promote other projects, it’s inevitable that the growing anticipation for that small screen superhero team up will give rise to Defenders-related questions. Such was the case when acting legend Scott Glenn spoke to AOL Build about The Leftovers.
Glenn’s appearance as the mysterious Stick in the series Daredevil was undoubtedly one of the high points of that show, as he arrived in episode seven of the first season, and delivered an entirely different perspective on the titular vigilante lawyer. Revealed as the mentor of Matt Murdock, the dynamic between the two characters made for fascinating viewing – as we came to understand the way in which the evolution of Murdock led him to be almost diametrically opposed to his teacher in terms of morality.
When this dynamic is seen in conjunction with Stick’s relationship with an organization known as The Chaste, it adds a layer of complexity to the plotting of both Daredevil and The Defenders – because The Chaste is sworn to battle the evil force known as The Hand. That evil force is the threat that has been building against the heroes of Hell’s Kitchen across the Marvel series released on Netflix so far – Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.
So, it stands to reason that, as the heroes unite in the upcoming show The Defenders, the dynamic between Daredevil and Stick will once again come to the fore. But where will Stick stand within the landscape of heroism in that story?
“A weird grey area. It’s like Daredevil and Elektra are my kids and I essentially adopt them both, trained them to fight. The written problem I have with Daredevil is the one line he won’t cross – taking human life. He’ll beat people up horrendously, put them in a hospital, do whatever he has to do but he won’t kill people. All I do is kill people.
And working with the Chaste, I’m a blind assassin. […] I’m a Defender against the worst evil in the world and my only way of dealing with that is killing people. So it is a grey area kind of thing. I don’t think of myself as a bad person. But I don’t think of myself as a particularly good person either. And the way I work with that is that I’m a soldier in combat in a desperate war and that’s the way I have to behave.”
This moral conflict is one that will no doubt be reflected in the dynamics between the core heroes themselves, as they assemble for the first time to battle their biggest enemy yet. Though it’s still unclear how large a role Stick will play in that group of heroes, the idea of his desperate soldier engaging in a showdown with Sigourney Weaver’s powerful villain will certainly be too thrilling to miss when The Defenders arrives on Netflix on August 18th.