Rosario Dawson: Perfectly Claire
The key element of the Marvel/Netflix Defenders project may not be any of the title characters.
While Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist are the star attractions, it’s resourceful and fearless nurse Claire Temple, played by Rosario Dawson, who serves as the glue holding this corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe together.
In the comics, Claire dates back to the early ’70s. She was an African American doctor who dated Cage for years and later was revealed to once have been married to another costumed hero, Black Goliath. The smart, feisty Claire was in some ways a revolutionary character. Presenting a young woman of color as a doctor who worked to improve the lives of her Harlem community was groundbreaking content for the often stodgy world of Bronze Age comic books.
In the MCU, viewers first met Claire when she rescued a badly injured Daredevil/Matt Murdoch and treated his wounds. Claire later encountered Jessica, who needed Claire’s help in treating a badly injured Luke, whose unbreakable skin posed a serious obstacle. Which Claire figured a way around. Claire crossed paths with Matt again, helping him on a case and getting attacked by zombie ninjas for her trouble.
In the current Luke Cage series, Claire gets a decent spotlight. Having left her hospital job, Claire is discovering her calling as the medical support provider for the hero community. One of the fascinating things about Claire is her obvious medical and scientific aptitude. That the MCU casts her as a nurse instead of a doctor is mostly due to merging her with another comic book creation, Night Nurse, who serves the role in comic books that Claire’s forging in the MCU.
But it’s also a subtle commentary. Claire is obviously highly intelligent, creative and skilled. That she’s more competent and has more natural ability than others who had more opportunity to pursue advanced education provides a subtle argument for the importance of STEM education for young students.
But beyond that, Claire is just awesome. She doesn’t take crap from anyone. She beats back a mugger and doesn’t sit still for a hostage situation. And she’s unsparing in telling the angst-ridden heroes what they need to hear. Fans still cheer the Daredevil scene where she advised “Saint Matthew” to get down off his cross and re-join humanity. Her point of view is crucial in helping Luke accept his role as the hero of Harlem.
Dawson infuses a lot of strength and savvy into the character. She embodies Claire’s confidence and cool under fire. But also her strong values and commitment to helping others. And she infuses Claire with a sardonic streak that’s often a welcome tonal oasis in this grittier corner of the MCU.
As the various solo series lead toward The Defenders, Claire is the crucial connection among the individual heroes. She provides a logical nexus to bring the street level Defenders together. And will be there to patch them up after they’re done fighting back whatever threat it is that unites them.
Dawson makes a good case for Claire as the MVP of the Defenders project. The shows couldn’t help but feel less interesting without her.
