Also known as Clinton and Midtown West, Hell's Kitchen is the prime territory in which several iconic Marvel Comic characters go to battle for and protect. These characters include Matthew Murdock aka Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Frank Castle aka Punisher, and the Defenders. Given that Hell's Kitchen was once known for organized crime, it's fitting that Marvel Comics used it as a central location for superheroes to fight crime and protect its residents.
"As Daredevil, I get to save the world. As a lawyer... maybe I can fix it. I need them both. That's what I realized. The warrior and the lawyer. It doesn't work if I only have one."
Matthew Murdock aka Daredevil's story is mixed with joy and tragedy. His father, a boxer, raised him thinking his mother had passed away. Matt got his powers when he saw a blind man walking towards an oncoming truck and pushed him out the way. A radioactive isotope spilled out, striking Matt across his face, blinding him. Through incident, Matt was blind but had an enhanced, superhuman sense of hearing, smell, taste and touch, developing a "radar sense" that formed mental pictures of his surroundings. With these powers and rigorous fight training in taking after his father, Daredevil is superhero with an indomitable will.
"You shoot that gun at me--I will pull that bullet out of my ruined four hundred dollar leather jacket...and I will shove it up your ass with my pinky finger. And which one of us do you think that will hurt more?"
In the comic books, Jessica Campbell was born in Forest Hills, Queens. She attended Midtown High School with Peter Parker (Spider-Man). One day on the way home she was arguing with her brother before their car collided with a military convoy carrying radioactive chemicals. Her family was killed, she was exposed to the chemicals, and she developed superhuman strength and durability. During one of her story arcs, she was controlled by the Purple Man and ordered to attack Daredevil. She later on joined the Defenders that included Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist and fought against Hydra to save Manhattan.
"They laugh at the law. The rich ones who buy it and twist it to their whims. The other ones, who have nothing to lose, who don't care about themselves, or other people. All the ones who think they're above the law, or outside it, or beyond it. They know all the law is good for is to keep good people in line. And they all laugh. They laugh at the law. But they don't laugh at me."
Frank Castle aka Punisher was born in Queens, New York, to Sicilian immigrants. He has no particular superhuman powers except that he is an intense human being following his own moral code, he was in the U.S. Marine Corps. His entire family was murdered during an encounter with the mob in Central Park because the mob did not want to risk witnesses to their crime. Using his combat experience, guerilla and urban warfare techniques, Punisher pledges his one-man warfare against those who slayed his family to avenge them.
"I am Elektra Natchios. Not even the stars are safe in the sky."
Elektra Natchios was born on a Greek island near the Aegean Sea. Her father made her train martial arts while growing up so she has exceptional fighting abilities, beauty and brains. She attended Columbia University and that's where she met Matt Murdock and they go on to have a thrilling but tragic romance in the comic books. She teams up with Daredevil and the Chaste to fight the Hand, in which the Netflix series also brings to life.
"Sweet Christmas!"
Born as Carl Lucas, the superhero known as Luke Cage was born and raised on the streets of Harlem, New York City. While in prison because he was framed for a crime he didn't commit, Cage was immersed in the "Electro-Biochemical System" that contained an electrical field conducted by an organic chemical compound and the device was tampered with in attempt to kill Cage, it caused mutagenic change throughout Cage's body, fortifying his cells giving him superhuman strength and durability. During his tribulations as a crimefighter in New York City, he teams up with the likes of Daredevil, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones, his eventual partner in life.
"I am the Iron Fist. I hold back the storm when nothing else can."
Daniel Rand was the son of businessman Wendell Rand, who had once lived in the fabled city of K'un-Lun, which exists in another dimensional realm. In an attempt to re-enter K'un-Lun, Wedell Rand took his family with him and died in the process. Daniel's mother also died protecting him from wolves but the denizens of K'un-Lun took him in and taught him to become a master of martial arts. At age 19, Rand defeated the fire-breathing serpent Shou-Lao and gain the title of the "Immortal Iron Fist". He eventually returned to New York and has teamed up with the other superheroes of New York on many instances.
"The record of the Defenders has been a proud one so far. I am certain that whatever the future may bring, nothing will ever change that."
The Defenders began in the comic books with Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange as their leader. Their purpose was to defend Earth from the Underlying Ones. The Hulk, Silver Surfer, Valkyrie and Prince Naymore were just some of the famous comic book characters that were once a part of the Defenders. Later on, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist played their part in the epic superhero allegiance. As a result of the popularity of the Netflix Marvel superhero shows, the Defenders series was spawned as an action-packed mini-series involving most of the main characters that had standalone series (excluding Punisher).