- "Mr. Rand, I'm sorry your exit from our meeting was so abrupt."
"You tried to kill us."
"Oh, them maybe. Not you." - ―Alexandra Reid and Danny Rand[src]
The Escape from Midland Circle was the first confrontation between the Defenders and the Hand, following the latter's attempt to capture Danny Rand.
Background[]
Seeking to replenish their supplies of Resurrection Elixir, the Hand sought to excavate the dragon carcass from underneath New York City, which would destroy the city in the process.[4] Under Murakami's orders, Nobu Yoshioka made an alliance with Wilson Fisk to acquire a specific city block, without disclosing that it was standing on top of the bones the Hand sought. Yoshioka's dealings with Fisk ended with the latter arranging for Yoshioka's to die in a fight with Daredevil,[5] although Fisk upheld his end of the deal and provided the Hand with the property they requested.[6] The Hand proceeded to construct Midland Circle at the site to cover up their excavation work, approaching Duncan + Dotter Design to design the building.[3]
The Midland Circle pit
Before the construction started, Daredevil and Elektra found out that the Hand was transporting workers and dirt from Japan and followed the trail to Midland Circle, finding the pit for excavation.[7] During their confrontation with the Hand, Yoshioka had been resurrected and revealed that Elektra was the Black Sky, a mystical weapon the Hand sought to achieve their goal of true immortality.[8] As Elektra refused to submit, she and Daredevil fought the Hand, but ended up being killed by Yoshioka.[9] On Alexandra Reid's orders, the Hand dug Elektra out of her grave and brought her back to life using the last supplies of the Resurrection Elixir. Losing her memories, Reid made her into a loyal Hand warrior, sending her on a missions to bring down both the Chaste and the Order of the Crane Mother.[3]
Being tasked with designing the Midland Circle, John Raymond uncovered the truth about the Hand's plans and was horrified that they were planning to level the entire city. He went off the grid and started hoarding the supplies of C-4 to bring the building down, afraid that his family could become targets. Michelle Raymond approached Alias Investigations to find her missing husband, but Jessica Jones brushed her off, assuming that Raymond was simply cheating on her. However, she did start to dig into it after receiving an anonymous call from Raymond, telling her to drop the case and not go looking for him. With Malcolm Ducasse's lead, Jones found Raymond's hideout where he kept the explosives.[10]
At that time, New York was shaken by a massive earthquake, which was caused by the Hand's efforts to excavate the dragon bones, although they were stopped by a sealing wall which could only be opened by the Iron Fist. Jones contacted the New York City Police Department about the explosives she found but refused to answer any questions, while the FBI and the Homeland Security investigated Raymond as a potential terrorist. Despite the warnings from Jeri Hogarth, Jones continued to dig into the case, specifically into the organization that Raymond was working for, unknowingly stumbling onto the Hand. She uncovered the paper trail connected to the Hand that was going way back into the past.
Meanwhile, Sowande started hiring young men of Harlem who were desperate for money, having them do clean-up work of the Hand's operations in New York, so they could keep a low profile. The police started looking into it when one of the workers, Sean Miller, was found dead in his car. Being briefed on by Misty Knight, Luke Cage attempted to talk sense into his brother, Cole Miller, but he refused to listen to him, as he was way to deep in. Cage continued looking into the situation and interrogated Turk Barrett, who told him about Sowande and his dealings around Harlem. Cage found Sowande and tailed him, when he picked up his crew to do a clean-up job following the massacre at the Wall of the Chaste.
Luke Cage confronts Danny Rand
Danny Rand and Colleen Wing returned to New York, following their encounter with Shaft who told them to be there, before being killed by Elektra. Wing recognized Shaft's katana and brought Rand to the workshop at the Wall, so they could find out if they have allies in the war on the Hand. There, they discovered bodies of the dead Chaste members and witnessed Sowande's crew cleaning up there, before moving in to attack them, and Rand tried to interrogate Miller. Cage stepped in to rescues Miller and confronted Rand, and during their altercation, Rand was able to strike Cage down with his Iron Fist. The police arrived soon after and took Miller into custody, while Cage and Rand rushed to retreat.
Returning to Alias Investigations Office, Jones encountered Raymond who was holding Ducasse at a gunpoint and demanded Jones to say why she was looking into him, assuming she was working for the Hand. Jones attempted to reason with him, but Raymond was too scared to be talked down, and Elektra burst in at that moment. She pushed Jones off and attacked Raymond for his betrayal, but he committed suicide before she could do anything, prompting Elektra to retreat. Jones tried going after her but ended up being arrested by Knight and taken to 29th Precinct Police Station, although Jones to refused to cooperate with Knight's interrogation.[11]
Matt Murdock meets with Jessica Jones
Matt Murdock introduced himself as Jones' lawyer, being asked by Foggy Nelson and Hogarth, Chao & Benowitz to look after Jones, however, she had no interest in accepting his services. Jones was released from the custody soon after and visisted Michelle, informing her that her husband died and she would continue investigating him. She soon noticed that Murdock was following her and managed to shake him off her trail, before seeing his acrobatics and action and deducing that he was Daredevil. Jones then visited Raymond's place of work and found out that he was working on the Midland Circle project and disappeared right after the building was finished.
Claire Temple brought Cage to Chikara Dojo and introduced him to Rand, trying to get them to sort out their issues as they were on the same side. Rand told Cage about the Hand and Sowande being a part of them, but Cage took issues with Rand going too hard on Miller, who was just a desperate kid caught in the wrong place. Rand insisted that the war on the Hand was bigger than all of them, but Cage called him out for going after the unfortunate, despite him having privilege and money to do much more. Cage then visited Miller and came to see his mother on his request, right before the Hand had him killed. When the news of his death reached them, Cage found a stack of cash and a Midland Circle parking ticket at his belongings.
Rand considered Cage's words and realized that he did indeed have the power to do more in his war on the Hand, and headed to Rand Enterprises with Wing. They asked the accountant to look into the Hand's holdings around the globe and she found out that all of them shut down after making a large deposit into Midland Circle Financial. Rand recognized the name as it was one of the companies Rand Enterprises used to work with, but Ward Meachum recently ordered to cease business with. He then realized that the company must be the front for the Hand and headed to Midland Circle, requesting a meeting with the CEO on behalf of Rand Enterprises.[3]
Escape[]
Alexandra Reid meets Danny Rand
- "We have to get out of here."
"Who's he?"
"Longer story. Who's he?" - ―Danny Rand, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage[src]
Being brought to the Midland Circle Financial board of directors, Danny Rand stated that their company transfered $243 million worth of assets through Rand Enterprises and made it clear that he was aware that they were the Hand. He encountered Alexandra Reid, who appreciated Rand's visit and asked him to continue telling them what was his intentions now that he was facing the Hand himself. Rand declared that his company built a case against them, uncovering the evidence of extortion, heroin manufacturing and human trafficking, and he was prepared to force the Hand out of hiding. Reid was amused by Rand's declaration and revealed her trap, having her aide to aim her gun at him.
At that time, Jessica Jones arrived at Midland Circle to investigate John Raymond but was soon stopped by Matt Murdock who was following her and said that they need to leave. Murdock told Jones that he was at that place before and her case was leading to something so sinister, it put her in a mortal danger. Jones disregarded his warnings and told Murdock to stay away, implying that she knew of his secret identity as Daredevil, prompting Murdock to break her camera with pictures of him. However, Murdock then heard a gunshot from the top floor and rushed there, concealing his face with Jones' scarf, while she followed behind him.
Rand engaged in a fight with the Midland Circle Financial executives, who revealed themselves to be the Hand operatives and had orders from Reid to take Rand alive. He was able to fight them off for a while, but soon found himself outnumbered and overwhelmed, as the Hand operatives pinned him down. As he was trying to summon his chi, Luke Cage suddenly burst in and witnessing Rand being attacked by the Hand, he joined the fight and helped him. Cage and Rand combined their forces, as Cage covering Rand from the gunfire with his bulletproof skin, while Rand swiftly took them out. As the fight progressed, Cage and Rand encountered Murdock and Jones who arrived at the top floor. Cage and Jones were surprised to reunite at such circumstances, but they had no time to catch up or talk about Murdock and Rand, as the latter insisted that they needed to go.
Danny Rand saves Matt Murdock from Elektra
However, Murdock sensed that something else was advancing on them, as Reid brought in Elektra to deal with the intruders. Jones recognized Elektra from before and told the others that she was bad news, but before they could escape, the Hand operatives confronted them. The four charged in against the Hand, while Murdock confronted Elektra but soon realized who she was, shocked that the woman he loved was alive and fought for the Hand. He called her by her name, which momentarily made Elektra flinch, but as she prepared to kill Murdock, Rand warded her off with his Iron Fist and saved Murdock. With all Hand operatives on their way defeated, Rand, Cage, Murdock, and Jones entered the elevator and escaped from Midland Circle.[3]
Aftermath[]
- "Bulletproof. Blind ninja. Whatever it is you are."
"Classy."
"I tried being a one-man army, and it failed. But this... This feels like something else is at work here. The four of us show up to fight a criminal organization at the same moment? How obvious does it have to be? This... This cannot be an accident." - ―Danny Rand and Jessica Jones[src]
Running away from the Hand, Matt Murdock, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, and Jessica Jones took shelter at the Royal Dragon Chinese Restaurant, barricading the entrance, while Rand convinced the owner to let them stay. The four took the time to check what each of them know, and three of them found out that Murdock had experience fighting the Hand, although were annoyed by his secrecy. Rand and Murdock then told the others about the Hand and their goal of achieving immortality and power over every part of the world. As they talked about Elektra, Murdock found out that Rand encountered her in Cambodia and Jones met her when she came after John Raymond.
The Defenders regroup at Royal Dragon Chinese Restaurant
Murdock then excused himself, claiming that he cannot stay around, while Cage voiced his distrust and confronted Murdock, saying that he cannot just leave like that after what happened. Jones spoke to Murdock privately, telling him that she knows about his secret and convinced him to stay, as they all needed each other to deal with the Hand. Murdock reluctantly agreed to stay around and returned Jones her scarf, revealing his name and his secret identity to the group. As they discussed on how to deal with the Hand without any more casualties or being incriminated, Rand suggested that the four of them should team up, but none of them were enthusiastic about his idea.
At that moment, Stick arrived at the restaurant and approached the group, as he found out where they were from Colleen Wing, who was in contact with Rand since the escape. Murdock was displeased to meet Stick, as he believed that he was going to rope everyone into the war on the Hand, while he revealed that the Chaste were killed by the Hand and he was the only one left. He informed the group that if the Hand succeeds, the whole New York City will be destroyed, but Jones was fed up with all of it and left. Cage went after her and tried to convince her to stay, as despite how bizarre it all looked, the people were in danger. Jones replied that she refuses to believe into all the mysticism and her only goal was to solve the Raymond case, parting ways with Cage and the group.
Back at Alias Investigations Office, Jones started deleting the photos she took during the case but then she noticed that some documents decades apart had the identical signature, which lined up with the Hand's goal of immortality. Jones went to check on Michelle Raymond and found out that her house was currently monitored by a man who claimed to be a police officer. She immediately grew suspicious and told the Raymonds hide, while confronting the man outside of the house. Despite his resistance, Jones was able to take him down and forced him to admit that the Hand had found the others and is going after them.
Alexandra Reid makes her offer to Danny Rand
At the restaurant, Stick told Murdock, Rand, and Cage about the Hand and their banishment from the Order of the Crane Mother, but Murdock kept insisting that Stick could not be trusted. As they later spoke personally, Murdock told him that he saw Elektra, but Stick assured him that Elektra was gone and the Black Sky was the only thing inhabiting her body now. They soon witnessed a van outside and became suspicious that the Hand was on their trail, but then they encountered Alexandra Reid there. She told Rand that his attempts to bring the Hand down all ended in failure and offered him in alternative, adding that forming bonds with the group would only get him in more danger.
Reid stated that she was willing to put the whole Hand together and endanger the entire city, unless Rand agrees to join her willingly, while promising to let his allies go free if he does. However, as Rand made his rejection clear, Elektra broke inside and confronted the group. But as she was about to advance, Jones drove the car into the restaurant, hitting Elektra, before joining the group in a fight against the Hand.[4] As the Hand reinforcements led by Madame Gao, Murakami and Sowande arrived, the fight broke down, while Murdock went out of his way to try and make Elektra remember herself. Elektra kept hesitating as Murdock called out to her, but she eventually pushed him away and fled.
As the Hand forces kept advancing, Sowande proved himself to be a danger even to Cage and was able to bring him down for a while, but soon ended up being defeated and captured by him. Meanwhile, Gao was able to subdue Rand and ordered her men to take him, however, Jones and Stick stepped in time time and rescued him, before getting Murdock and escaping from the Hand to Chikara Dojo. They regrouped with Wing and Cage also joined them, revealing that he had Sowande captured for them. Sowande was too powerful for them to break but he taunted them that the Hand will soon come after everyone they cared for, prompting the group to relocate people the closest for them under the police protection, arranged by Misty Knight.[12]
References[]
- ↑ Charlie Cox Wishes Daredevil Included One Important Scene
- ↑ Empire Magazine - August 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The Defenders: 1.03: Worst Behavior
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Defenders 1.04: Royal Dragon
- ↑ Daredevil: 1.09: Speak of the Devil
- ↑ Daredevil: 1.11: The Path of Rigtheousness
- ↑ Daredevil: 2.07: Semper Fidelis
- ↑ Daredevil: 2.12: The Dark at the End of the Tunnel
- ↑ Daredevil: 2.13: A Cold Day in Hell's Kitchen
- ↑ The Defenders: 1.01: The H Word
- ↑ The Defenders: 1.02: Mean Right Hook
- ↑ The Defenders 1.05: Take Shelter