So, Who Are Marvel's Defenders Anyway?

Starting today you're going to hear a lot about Marvel's The Defenders. The Netflix superhero show finally premieres on Friday 18th August after years of hype and teaser trailers. The series is essentially the Avengers of the streaming service's Marvel Universe, finally bringing together the four heroes of its already-established comic book adaptations: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil, and the newbie, Iron Fist.

As a promo for The Defenders promises, we'll see "the Devil Of Hell's Kitchen, the smart-ass detective, the righteous ex-con, and the kid with the glowing fist" all team up to save the soul of New York City. That means there will be lots of fist fights, kick-flips, and hallway battles. We'll even get a villainous Sigourney Weaver.

But, not everyone has watched every single piece of the Defenders puzzle. Some people may have only only tuned into Jessica Jones, which is understandable. And others may simply really enjoy the idea of an unbreakable Black man like Luke Cage (Mike Colter). So, we decided to give you the low-down on each of our four leads. Scroll through the gallery to find out everything you need to know about each Defender, from their powers and past, to whether or not they're hooking up with another superhero. Plus, we explain how everyone knows nurse Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), the common thread between all four series.