Marvel-Netflix four-series deal: Lesser-known Marvel superheroes star

Netflix has exclusively hosted the inner workings of Washington, the Bluths and women’s prisons, and it will now extend its reach to the super heroics of the Marvel universe with a new four-series deal.

But don’t expect Thor or Iron Man. Netflix is digging deep into the Marvel superhero barrel.

Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron First and Jessica Jones will each be given a 13-episode live-action series, exclusive to Netflix, starting next year. And in typical Marvel fashion, the series will culminate in the crossover miniseries “The Defenders.”

No other details -- casts, creative teams, etc. -- have been announced. (You can safely bet that Ben Affleck won’t resume his role as “Daredevil’s” titular hero Matt Murdock.)

If the other heroes don’t ring a bell, don’t worry -- each is a bit more obscure than his or her big-screen counterpart. “Hero for hire” Luke Cage debuted in 1972, followed by martial arts master Iron Fist in 1974, and Jessica Jones debuted in the 2001 series “Alias.” None has achieved the prominence of Thor or Iron Man.

Unfamiliarity aside, Marvel promises to take viewers into “the gritty world of heroes and villains of Hell’s Kitchen, New York.”

For a sense of the range of Disney’s upcoming Marvel projects:

“Thor: The Dark World” opens this weekend; the sequel “Captain America: “The Winter Soldier” as well as “Guardians of the Galaxy” launch next year, followed by “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and an Ant-Man film in 2015. Assuming it remains on air, the TV series “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” will run alongside those films.

Then there are the frequent hints that characters Doctor Strange and Black Panther will eventually make their way to theaters. Robert Downey Jr. is signed on for an inevitable third Avengers film. And Marvel president of production Kevin Feige has alluded to a road map leading up to 2021. Combine that with theme park plans, animated shows and upcoming Marvel films not led by Disney and you can bet that the public won’t be seeing the last of Marvel superheroes for some time to come.