Sigourney Weaver's Character in THE DEFENDERS is Not Quite a Villain

Ever since Sigourney Weaver was revealed as the antagonist of The Defenders, speculations have abounded on who she would play. Going from thoughts that she would be "The Beast" that has been apart of the Hand for centuries, to the thought that maybe she is a reinvention of Mephisto. All we know is how she will be known in the series as Alexandra. Recently, however, Weaver has stated that she isn't really a villain at all.

In her words, she's said she's an adversary. Interesting take, but what exactly does it mean? Showrunner Marco Ramirez had this to say:

"In her career, she's come up against a lot of different people -- armies, mercenaries, devoted religious fanatics and all kinds of different groups -- who have tried to taker her down, but she's never met four people who are seemingly just interested in taking care of this one little part of New York. I think she's actually really charmed by it, and weirdly, because they're unlike anybody she's ever faced off against before, it's intimidating to her."

This is a great take on what kind of antagonist The Defenders should face. Marvel has done a great job at building sympathetic villains for the Netflix series, some that in their own right wouldn't be classified as villains at all. A perfect example is Wilson Fisk, who in the first season of Daredevil. While dark, he wasn't truly the villain until the very end of the series. Once he realized he wasn't the hero, he fully embraced being the villain. This is one step further I feel. Ramirez continued about what her motives are then if not villainous saying that her character is all about being a survivor.

"Above all else, she cares about living. She's about self-preservation, and self-preservation at all costs... She has the long game in mind, and she isn't thinking about this chess game, she's thinking about six chess games in the future. As such, I think she's seen a lot of beauty in humanity and in the world, but there are certain things that to her are expendable, and that's a really dangers worldview."

Wow. It's sounding like her role in The Defenders is going to be an amazing one. It almost reminds me of Ozymandias from the Watchmen, who was willing to kill millions and decimate cities, in order to bring the world to peace and hopefully protect other millions. It isn't necessarily the right kind of thinking, but it certainly isn't the basic evil for evil sake we're used to. It's about someone who does things for the "greater good". I'm intrigued to see where this goes and can't wait to see her plan play out. Whatever it may be.

Source: EW