'Luke Cage' Fans Have One Big Question About Season 2 & TBH, I'm Upset Over It

Marvel's version of New York City is packed with superheroes, but that does not mean that they get together all too often. Luke Cage was first introduced in the first season of Jessica Jones as Jones' ally and lover, but has since developed more of his own story through his own standalone series and last year's team-up miniseries, The Defenders. Now that Luke Cage is back for its second season, fans might be wondering, is Jessica Jones in Luke Cage Season 2? Let's break down which of the Defenders viewers will see pop up in the new season. Warning: Spoilers for Luke Cage Season 2 follow.

Unfortunately, it does not look like Jessica Jones will show up at all in Season 2 of Luke Cage. That may not be too much of a shock to fans, since although Cage was a big part of Jessica Jones Season 1 and they just teamed up again in The Defenders, the Marvel Netflix standalone series have become much more focused on individual heroes. Jessica Jones did not appear in Season 1 of Luke Cage at all, and Luke Cage did not make an appearance in the recently-released Season 2 of Jessica Jones, so it looks like the one-time lovers are just going to continue staying apart for now, especially after The Defenders did not offer any romantic reconciliation between them, and Luke is dating show-hopping nurse Claire Temple now. A lot of fans still think that Luke and Jessica's relationship is the endgame for the Netflix Marvel franchise, though, so it is very possible that they will reunite soon enough... just not right now.

While Jessica Jones and Daredevil may be absent from Season 2 of Luke Cage, one of the Defenders actually does pop in to help Luke out. Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist, does appear in Luke Cage this season to fight alongside Harlem's hero briefly, as well as fellow martial arts expert Colleen Wing. Colleen appears first, helping Misty Knight with her physical therapy training after losing her right arm in The Defenders finale, and Danny later offers Misty a mechanical arm made by his company. The team-up continues the alliance that Luke Cage and Iron Fist formed in The Defenders — after initially not liking one another, the two heroes actually became very close.

But for the bulk of the season, Luke Cage is fighting the good fight without any super-powered help. Season 2 of Luke Cage sees the bulletproof hero go up against the criminal underbully of Harlem once again, with the help of well-connected nurse Claire Temple and police detective Misty Knight. The two most threatening big bads of the new season are returning threat Mariah Dillard, the corrupt politician and arms dealer who Luke fought against in Season 1, and the newcomer Bushmaster, a mysterious Jamaican gang leader who is able to make himself bulletproof and strong just like Luke Cage.

And unfortunately for fans who love seeing the Marvel heroes interact with one another, it is starting to look like these Netflix shows may keep their distance from one another a bit more. Last year gave fans Netflix's equivalent to The Avengers with the big team-up series The Defenders, but it doesn't sound like the mini-series is going to get a second iteration. Earlier this year, Krysten Ritter said she does not think they will do another Defenders season, and even more recently, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb confirmed that a second season of The Defenders is not in the plans. That's not to say that Luke Cage won't show up in a future season of Jessica Jones, or Daredevil in Iron Fist, but it sounds like all four of the heroes in the same place might not happen again... at least not for a long time.