The Netflix Marvel co-production, The Defenders hit the streaming service to much praise and enjoyment by fans. Viewed by many as ‘The Avengers’ of Netflix this fun mini-series saw Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand (Iron Fist) team up to take on the evil forces of The Hand. Over the course of the 5 series (6 seasons total so far) Hip-Hop has played a large role in the Marvel Netflix Universe, with Ali Shaheed Muhammad beat maker for A Tribe Called Quest is one of the primary forces behind the excellent Luke Cage soundtrack. Another legendary Hip-Hop group that has been involved and heard is that of Wu-Tang Clan, which has seen songs from veteran members Ghostface Killah and Method Man, as well as RZA direct one of the most acclaimed episodes of Iron Fist.
One of the most enjoyable moments was seen in Luke Cage when the titular hero has a long and brutal hallway fight all set to the song ‘Bring Da Ruckus’. As enjoyable as the Netflix series has been there has been some criticism that the series are very stand alone and don’t seem to connect to the larger MCU, both movies and television in any meaningful way. One of the most popular requests has been for an appearance by Spider-Man, while this is an idea that will most likely not happen, it has been requested seeing as Spider-Man like The Defenders focuses on street level crime and villains who are lower caliber then what the Avengers deal with.
However, did you catch the fun reference to Peter Parker in The Defenders? If not let me remind you, in the final episode and finale of the Defenders mini-series. The Four heroes are all facing down The Hand in a final climatic battle over who shall have control over the bones of the dragon, about mid-way through the battle a catchy beat of the Wu-Tang Clan song ‘Protect ya Neck’ begins playing over the action. The whole song is rather long and contains a lot of dialog, however, the show chooses to include one particular lyric string rapped by Inspector Deck which just happens to mention Peter Parker. The lyrics are as followers
Swinging through your town like your neighborhood Spider-man
While this is not a narrative reference, this song and this particular verse were chosen on purpose to include in the final episode. Most likely this was just a fun little wink at the fans who listened closely, however, it could also be a reference for a future cameo by The Amazing Spider-Man himself, who knows!
Check out the full music video for ‘Protect Ya Neck’ below!
