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7 Times LUKE CAGE’s Claire Temple Proved She’s An Unsung Defender
BY The Screen Spy Team
Published 8 years ago
By Marcus Daniels
Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) made her first appearance in Daredevil season one as the woman who pulled Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) out of a dumpster and saved his life using makeshift stitches. From there she had a brief stint as his first season love interest before moving on to Jessica Jones, where she helped patch up the feminist icon and angsty private detective (played by Kristen Ritter) before saving undiscovered hero Luke Cage (Mike Colter) from a gunshot wound to the head.
Now in the first installment of Luke Cage’s own series, Claire has left the world of the ER and Hell’s Kitchen behind to take up a place next to Harlem’s hero. In this cultural mecca of black identity, Claire helps Cage find answers, encourages him to accept his powers and even learns to accept her own constant run ins with this unlikely set of heroes.
Despite memorable performances in Daredevil and Jessica Jones, Marvel’s Luke Cage provided Temple fans with what are perhaps the character’s most dramatically compelling and stellar moments. Claire grows character wise like never before, proving that our favorite nurse’s knack for saving heroes on couches is more than an accident. She’s fully embedded in this world of heroes, and she may be one of its most important members yet.
From handling a purse snatcher to finally getting a superhero name, Claire Temple’s presence in the first season of Luke Cage illustrated that this fan favorite character has serious longevity in The Defenders universe. More importantly, she’s got all of the qualities of the heroes she saves, making her one of Netflix universe’s most pivotal, but unsung characters.
Here’s a list of seven things from Luke Cage season one that prove Claire Temple is the true fifth Defender of New York City.
She’s Always Quick and Smart
Working with vigilantes means working on the go, but Claire’s careful work as a nurse can be difficult to do on the fly. Because the situations she finds herself in don’t always lend themselves to having the proper medical tools or facilities at her disposal — and because sometimes those tools mean almost nothing when it comes to people whose conditions transcend traditional medicine — our favorite nurse is forced to think on her toes.
Claire’s ingenuity, street savvy and ability to adapt are never more prevalent when she’s literally and physically saving our heroes’ lives. She drained Luke’s head through his eyeball during Jessica Jones and in Luke Cage threw a fan into a vat of acidic liquid to jumpstart Luke’s heart. S
he also patched Jessica up in her detective agency office and Daredevil on her own couch with nothing but her home medkit.
Any way you slice it, Claire Temple’s proved through three series and four seasons there’s no one better equipped to handle the often life-saving needs of The Defenders.
(L-R) Charlie Cox as Daredevil, Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple | Photo © Netflix
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