The Defenders
In the run up to Netflix’sThe Defenders , the bad team - up crossover of Marvel and Netflix ’s various solo serial publication , one of the biggest secret was the function and true identity of Sigourney Weaver ’s character Alexandra Reid . Ever since Weaver was revealed at San - Diego Comic Con 2016 to be playing the main adversary to New York ’s fine , speculation among fans was rearing as to who she is . Co - showrunner Marco Ramirez went on record at the time stating she was an original character , fueling discourse further - was Alexandra truly original , or would she secretly turn out to be a villain from the comics ?
As it would happen , Ramirez was n’t lying . Reid is an original instauration , with no risible parry - part she bears any kind of strong resemblance to . However , she ’s an original type within a very well - known framework : The Hand . The ancient , mystical chemical group whose criminal exploit and malefic ninjas have been plaguing the street of Hell ’s Kitchen and gravid New York City for years , The Hand have been the big bad the Defenders has been building to since time of year one ofDaredevil . Gradually , more and more of the mysterious organization has been unveiled across the various series , with it all do to head now as Daredevil , Luke Cage , Jessica Jones and Iron Fist face off with Alexandra and the other four members to save New York City .
Keeping with the theme go under by Wilson Fisk inDaredevilseason one , Alexandra Reid is a woman of eminent regard and model preference . She enjoy private melodic classical performances , for which she pays richly , and she eats at gamey end institution with the restaurant all too herself . She ’s very much ingrained in the behind - unsympathetic - doors , higher - course hierarchy each of the Defenders has been up against in different ways across their solo series . She ’s also , as we see in her introductory scene , choke from incurable harmonium - failure . Her and the rest of the Hand have been keeping themselves live unnaturally for centuries , and her consistency has start to wear out through very elongated old age .
The Hand
The Hand are a small mathematical group of five beings at the substance of a much larger initiative . Across C and around the public , they ’ve been shaping history to their own ends to exist and fly high , with Alexandra at the head of the board . Alexandra is their leader , guiding them towards their manifest destiny as they attempt to preserve themselves in eternal life .
Alexandra and The Hand formed while they trained together in K’un Lun , the antiquated city of eastern mysticism that take in and confer the great power of the Iron Fist on Danny Rand . They were banished from the lost metropolis after they corrupt the teachings there to pull in immortality . From then , they absorb in an ever - spreading web of criminal exploits and underarm dealings in fiat to shape the great unwashed of power and opportunities , allow for cover as they continue their attack to live always . to avoid death , Reid and the other fingers of The Hand – Madame Gao ( Wai Ching Ho ) , Bakuto ( Ram Rodriguez ) , Sowande ( Babs Olusanmokun ) and Murakami ( Yutaka Takeuchi ) – have been trawl the planet for position of mystic interest that contain Draco pearl to create an elixir that , if used on a regular basis , can forbid dying indefinitely . They masquerade as various companies and pot , transport plus around in an on-going front with Reid as the go back chief operating officer . Stick , whose rival group the Chaste have been battle the Hand for decades , point to two major diachronic events , the volcano in Pompeii and the atomic meltdown in Chernobyl , as having been triggered by the Hand to access these fossils .
New York City is their in vogue target – hinted at to be one of the last source usable - with Danny Rand ’s Iron First needed to access it , identify the to - be Defenders in lineal oppositeness to Alexandra ’s plan to ruin the city .
Black Sky
Elektra ’s issue is entirely thanks to Alexandra . Reid convinces the Hand to allow her to practice the last of their supply of their miracle death - cure to wreak Elektra back from the numb as a weapon , dubbed the ' Black Sky . ' It ’s known that the Hand have been hunting for a ' Black Sky ' for a while , after Stick murdered a young son in club to forestall from being used as one by the organization inDaredevilseason 1 .
Elektra is institute back to life a shell of her former self , and Alexandra trains Matt Murdock ’s former buff and bend her into a slavish assassin to the do the Hand ’s bidding and assist in kidnapping Danny Rand . Once the protector get postulate , however , things get complicated , and hearing Matt say her name actuate memories of her former life story that cause Elektra to doubt her new masters . To find Elektra ’s loyalty , Alexandra tell apart her about how her daughter die from cancer , which was the catalyst for Alexandra journey to K’un Lun . Reid sees Elektra as a replacement for the child she could n’t resurrect , and the whole idea of ' Black Sky ' is therefore a deeply personal venture for her .
It ’s implied that Alexandra is the most herculean of the Hand , but unlike the others , we never see her in active armed combat apart from how she handles Elektra ’s approach after her Christ’s Resurrection . However , she meets the threat of any revenge from a fellow phallus without a hint of fear , even as three of them begin to dispute her . She ’s plain brilliant , demonstrating keen knowledge of musical story and talk other languages on a whim , having made expert use of the many extra centuries to analyse her linguistics and keep up on the liberal arts . Like Wilson Fisk , she ’s evidently evil , but also openhearted and complicated . She ’s a grieving mother as much as she is a dominant materfamilias and as an adversary , and she ’s the sort of herculean challenge New York ’s Defenders may need to get used to .
Alexandra favors whites and metallics, while Elektra wears black with red accents.
Next:Does The Defenders Redeem Iron Fist?
Alexandra favors whites and metallics, while Elektra wears black with red accents.
