Marvel's Netflix Phase 1 series - Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage - have all been big successes with fans, and 2017 is going to be exciting as the final Netflix Phase 1 series Iron Fist hits screens. After Iron Fist, entirety of the MCU Netflix Phase 1 saga will culminate with The Defenders, a series that brings all four Marvel Netflix "street heroes" together to defend NYC against the combined threats of The Hand ninja clan and a powerful unnamed villain played by Sigourney Weaver.

As we here at Comicbook.com have started to look at all the various threads of the Marvel Netflix shows that are building towards The Defenders event, we've come up with an important question: Is Wilson Fisk/Kingpin going to be in The Defenders?

The Powerful Evil Elite

Each of the Marvel Netflix series contains a basic formula that has become apparent, with secondary villain reveals, big twists halfway through the season, and a final episode where the traditional hero we know finally emerges.

However, there is a subtle connection between the bad guys in these Marvel Netflix shows, and it's that they all belong to a similar pool of NYC's wealthy and/or powerful business and political figures. Here's the recap:

Daredevilhas wealthy businessman/organized crime boss, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio).

Jessica Jones has high-powered NYC attorney Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) and her firm, Hogarth, Chao and Benowitz.

Luke Cage has political power player/organized crime boss, "Black Mariah" Dillard.

Iron Fist will introduce ruthless NYC business magnates The Meachum family: father Harold (David Wenham), son Ward Meachum (Tom Pelphrey) and daughter Joy (Jessica Stroup).

The Defenders will also add Sigourney Weaver's villain, who it is probably safe to assume is a white-collar sort of threat, rather than a blade wielding ninja or gun-toting crime boss (though with the Aliens icon, gun-toting ninja skills are definitely possible!). It's hard to see all these powerful people involved in these Marvel Netflix shows and not surmise they could be tied together by the events of The Defenders - and if they are, then Wilson Fisk would need to be a part of that miniseries.

The Kingpin Connection

Last we saw Fisk, he had graduated from ambitious and ruthless businessman to the official "Kingpin of Crime," running this from prison and setting up Matt Murdock to fail the Frank Castle case. In fact, Murdock's last meeting with Fisk went pretty violently, with Fisk beating him down, and indicating that he may be figuring out Matt Murdock's Daredevil alter ego.

There's no doubt that Fisk will eventually get himself freed from jail, and doing so in time for The Defenders would make sense. Since we know from a first teaser trailer that The Defenders will feature The Hand's big attack on NYC; Daredevil season 1 & 2 clearly established that Wilson Fisk is the bridge between The Hand's home in the East, and its operations in The West. So if Madame Gao and her ninja clan are making a big assault on NYC, Fisk would almost certainly be a prime chess piece to move.

We still don't know how Wilson Fisk first came across The Hand - only that his experiences with the clan gave even him a healthy respectful fear of them. There's no telling, then, how active Fisk would need to be in The Defenders; after all, he manipulated Matt Murdock and the Frank Castle case from a prison cell, so he could conceivably do the same in The Defenders.

...Of course, seeing the Kingpin back out on the street, possibly facing the team head-on in combat, would be pretty awesome, too.

Who Else is Involved?

The following other supporting characters from the Marvel Netflix series have already been confirmed for The Defenders:

MORE DEFENDERS: Iron Fist Trailer / Marvel Netflix NYCC Panel Recap / Defenders Villain Reveal / Defenders Take Stage / Iron Fist Clip / The Hand Revealed in Iron Fist

Daredevil seasons 1 and 2, Jessica Jones season 1, and Luke Cage season 1 are all available on Netflix. Iron Fist will premiere on March 17, 2017. The Defenders expected later in the year. The Punisher does not have a release date yet.