On the eve of New York Comic-Con 2017, Marvel debuted a photo revealing that the second season of Luke Cage (starring Mike Colter yet again as the Unbreakable Man) will feature Finn Jones’ Danny Rand, aka the Immortal Iron Fist.

After meeting together and butting heads (and fists) in The Defenders, it was only natural that the two of them would come together once again to battle less world-ending threats. They are, after all, the Heroes for Hire, one of Marvel Comics’ most important and historical relationships.

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The Heroes for Hire first formed in 1978 as a partnership between Rand and Cage that combined private investigator work with classic superheroics. Power Man and Iron Fist quickly bonded, and have been virtually inseparable over the subsequent decades; despite their differences in background and wealth, the two have been what truly defines Heroes for Hire, even when other characters have joined their ranks, or on rare occasions outright replaced them. Really, theirs is the only relationship in the Marvel Universe that has yet to truly be fractured. Luke and Danny have, in some ways, quietly been the most important dynamic in the Marvel Universe; during Civil War II, for example, the pair made the wise decision to stay out of the conflict because neither wanted to see their friends fight each other anymore. As a result, they happened to star in the most interesting and nuanced tie-in story of the entire event.

In the comics, Heroes for Hire eventually gained a worldwide reputation on par with the Avengers, though they’re arguably more known for their street-level work than for full scale superheroics. Despite being on one of the many Avengers teams for the better part of the late 2000s and early 2010s, they both eventually left the larger superhero life in 2016. The latest Power Man & Iron Fist comic took them back to their street roots to do what they do best, and everyone in the Marvel Universe was wondering if the photos of them walking together through New York meant H4H was back. The possibility of seeing them on the streets is likely more of a selling point for many tourists than Avengers Tower or a glimpse of Spider-Man.

It’s virtually impossible to talk about either of the two without mentioning the other, and the seeds of a similar relationship were planted intermittently throughout Netflix's Defenders. If there’s one thing many fans agree on, it’s that the typically divisive Danny was a much better character when he and Luke were on screen together. Colter and Jones have natural chemistry with each other, like you’d hope, and it was more than a little awesome watching the them stand together, ready to fight the Hand. But the fun doesn’t have to stop there, if Luke Cage's showrunners play their cards right, this could be the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe being a genuine, living world.

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What makes interconnected universes so enjoyable is seeing characters from different territories come together. Not just for the big, heroic stuff, but just to help each other out or simply hang around. It’s why Marvel Comics fans have been drawn to these characters for decades; they don’t necessarily need to be doing something meaningful, they just need to be together and the fun will (hopefully) write itself.

In the ‘70s, Marvel would have random meet-ups, like the Thing running into Captain America at a carnival, just to show that the lives of these character intersects outside of their time punching bad guys. More recently, Greg Pak brought together a group of Asian heroes featuring the Totally Awesome Hulk, Silk, Ms. Marvel and Shang-Chi for an adventure that involved karaoke, Asian cuisine and visiting kids in the hospital. Moments like these are, in many ways, more important to character development than the action-packed events of their various solo stories.

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As strange as it sounds, the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t really felt all that connected. Sure, characters will pop in the movies of other heroes -- primarily the Avengers or Captain America films -- but so far, characters all feel isolated from one another until the plot demands that they come together. On the TV side of the MCU, there’s a little more connectivity, but not by much. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spent the bulk of its run making offhanded references to the movies before the HYDRA plot kicked in thanks to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, making its ties to the larger MCU feel more real. All things considered, Spider-Man: Homecoming is currently the best example of how this interconnected world can work; the movie is self-contained, but not so much that it avoids the grander Marvel reality, and what references there are to the larger world aren’t distracting or threatening to overwhelm Spidey as the main focus.

Netflix shows feature MCU ties even flimsier than the ABC shows, with characters ominously referring to the Chitauri invasion as “the Incident.” Even when one show is referring to the others, it’s always been done in a secretive way -- Claire's "I have a friend," Joy Meachum's "hired this drunk detective" -- that’s simultaneously knowing and frustrating. Yes, it’s done to not bog down those only interested in one specific corner of the MCU, but it's still a disappointment for Marvel fans.

The Netflix shows are a perfect avenue for making those ties to the grander Marvel machine more apparent, and the Heroes for Hire is as good a place as any to start. Because Danny is literally a subway trip or taxi ride away from Luke, it makes total sense for him to pop over to Harlem for a visit, especially after Defenders, where the Iron Fist clearly took Luke’s dressing down about his privilege to heart. In fact, Danny may just be heading over to Harlem just because he looks up to Luke like a big brother and wants to learn from someone who clearly has a better handle on the whole hero thing than he does. (Let’s face it, Luke has no real reason to go visit Danny and his corner of New York.)

Bringing together Luke and Danny may also be Netflix and Marvel’s way of testing the waters for a genuine Heroes for Hire series. Let’s face it, Danny’s solo show is the one was least liked by viewers, and with many agreeing that he’s more tolerable with Luke reining him in and forcing him to check his privilege, this would be the best solution for all parties involved. Two Defenders get to kick butt together, and it makes future crossovers less of a logistical hassle to deal with.

Should Heroes for Hire actually become a real show, it might pave the way for a series focused on the Daughters of the Dragon. Both Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) and Misty Knight (Simone Missick) got to meet during the final episodes of Defenders, and with Misty coming along for Iron Fist’s second season, the two are sure to get to know each other even better. If Colleen winds up taking the trip to Harlem with Danny for Luke’s second outing, further seeds could wind up being planted before Misty tags in to spend time with Danny.

Colter and Jones' respect for Luke Cage and Iron Fist shines on the screen, and Netflix’s writers know how to use a Marvel character’s solo show to set up future series and relationships down the line. After having the Heroes for Hire unite on Defenders, it’s hard to imagine that the two of them will be separate for long. The pair have a strong friendship, and if any relationship deserves to be the building block for linking together the MCU, it would be these two.