# DareDevil **URL:** \ **Category:** Martial Media and Popular Culture\ **Created:** [February 16, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414 "2003-02-16T01:15:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![\_PLUGO](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/_plugo/32/94_2.png) [@\_PLUGO](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/_PLUGO)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/41 "2003-03-07T18:59:16Z")
After they initially … “boinked” there was some down time where he & foggy hung out & then he recieved an invite via mail. You’ve got to consider that even if she got up the next day & had that invite made up and mailed out there’s at least one day inbetween. mail takes what 3 days to deliver? I figured there was about a week between their first meeting and her death… but that’s me. I like that it’s left uncertain weither she lives or died. Consider also that in the Comic “stick” was introduced well into the comic run. Before that, it was explained that he trained on his own and his supersences enabled him to develop advanced fighting abilities, as was indicated durring his “growing-up” sequence. If they added stick that would have been a whole other charactor to introduce, better to introduce him in contrast to the HAND as was done in the comic. ---
**Author:** ![quiet\_man](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/quiet_man/32/358_2.png) [@quiet\_man](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/quiet_man)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/42 "2003-03-08T01:10:07Z")
> Originally posted by Design Sifu > [B]Consider also that in the Comic “stick” was introduced well into the comic run. Before that, it was explained that he trained on his own and his supersences enabled him to develop advanced fighting abilities, as was indicated durring his “growing-up” sequence. If they added stick that would have been a whole other charactor to introduce, better to introduce him in contrast to the HAND as was done in the comic. [/B] I haven’t seen it yet… have to wait for two more weeks here. But I have suspicions about Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock. Ben is cool or at least believes himself to be, whereas Matt isn’t; not in the traditional sense anyway. He’s just a man, filled with doubts and fears, and superheroes aren’t supposed to be just men. James Spader (few years younger) - much better choice… Jennifer Garner on the other hand… oh la la. My fellow comic conaisseur Design Sifu 😉 is right about Stick. Too much work for just one movie. Still… it would’ve been nice, seeing him and his disciples Stone, Star, Wing and all the others. Maybe in the sequel… ---
**Author:** ![PHILBERT](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/philbert/32/147_2.png) [@PHILBERT](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/PHILBERT)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2003, 8:00am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/43 "2003-03-08T08:00:53Z")
The movie as is was almost 2 hours in length, so if they introduced Stick it would of been way longer more than likely. Or they could of done it like in the Spider-Man TV show: Matt has his super senses but doesn’t know how to use them and almost gets run over (again) by a truck until Stick saves him. Cut to about 5 minutes of showing Matt and Stick training showing him how to fight, boom Stick is in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Aren](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/aren/32/394_2.png) [@Aren](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/Aren)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/44 "2003-03-20T07:10:10Z")
_Major Spoiler_ Actually Elecktra did die, according to the DD comics he tells to a friend how the woman he loved died bleeding to his arms when Bullseye killed her. The necklace was there because she A) either left it there or B) we’ll see in the directors cut how she’ll return to the roof to leave it there. Also the Elecktra movie spin off that is in production is going to take place before the real events of DD or during the same time. Either way, we’ll probably see in that how she learned all the martial art moves in her early adulthood. Bullseye on the other hand didn’t die, if you waited in the theaters so that the first part of the credits end, you’ll see a final scene in which Bullseye is in a total body cast in a guarded hospital wing and how a bothering fly meets it’s doom when bullseye gets his hand on a syring. Personally I thought that Daredevil was a very good adaptation of a very good comic and that it beat last summers Spiderman silly. When the movie got darker and the themes more adult like (Spider man was a childrens movie no matter how you look at it) the movie got better. I thought that the best part in the movie was when bullseye throws electras dagger back at her and just when you think that she’s going to catch it, it pierces her hand. It comes to the viewer totally unexpecetetly and really makes and impact. Hopefully the sequel to Daredevil will be as good. I think that Ben Affleck is excellent as DD. ---
**Author:** ![\_PLUGO](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/_plugo/32/94_2.png) [@\_PLUGO](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/_PLUGO)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/45 "2003-03-27T18:54:15Z")
The [first official images](http://marvel.com/news/tv/23448/your_official_first_look_at_charlie_cox_in_marvels_daredevil_on_netflix)of the [NETFLIX](http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/80018294?trkid=13752289&tctx=0,0,daredevil:ebbdb40c-e74d-4a4c-a6be-f747676df81c) Dardevil has his looking like a ninja! sort of. Also it turns out Rosario Dawson will [not](http://www.avclub.com/article/rosario-dawson-play-someone-who-probably-elektra-n-206085)be playing Elektra. But she might play Night Nurse! ![800.jpg](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/uploads/kungfumagazine/original/2X/4/45bca37effa83f8b8c8558917b644cc9d72ad67c.jpeg) ![800.jpg](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/uploads/kungfumagazine/original/2X/7/745d9cd7863465372e36c189e1c43c4cf16b3674.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![\_PLUGO](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/_plugo/32/94_2.png) [@\_PLUGO](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/_PLUGO)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/46 "2014-10-13T19:03:44Z")
Ttt what he said. ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/47 "2014-12-23T23:20:22Z")
Coming to Netflix in May 2015 > [‘Daredevil’: Exclusive new photos from Marvel series](http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/12/19/daredevil-photos/) By James Hibberd on Dec 19, 2014 at 3:31PM @james\_hibberd ![](http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2014/12/14/TV/Daredevil.jpg) Netflix’s Daredevil is “the exact opposite” of Affleck’s much-maligned 2003 bomb, promises showrunner Steven S. DeKnight. Expect the classic origin story to remain unchanged: Blinded as a child, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is a lawyer by day who hunts criminals by night (he apparently doesn’t get much sleep). But this upcoming iteration of Daredevil—the first of Netflix’s multi-show deal with Marvel, which also includes adaptations A.K.A. Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage—is more influenced by 1970s mean-street films like The French Connection and Taxi Driver than traditional superhero titles. “There aren’t going to be people flying through the sky; there are no magic hammers,” says Marvel TV chief Jeph Loeb. “We’ve always approached this as a crime drama first, superhero show second.” There’s also more grown-up content here. “It’s a little grittier and edgier than Marvel has gone before,” says DeKnight, best known for the ultra-hardcore Starz series Spartacus, adding, “but we’re not looking to push it to extreme violence or gratuitous nudity.” The ‘devil will eventually get his iconic red costume, but first he’ll wear the black duds seen here—inspired by Frank Miller’s graphic novel Daredevil: Man Without Fear. For Cox, the biggest challenge was deftly navigating Murdock without using his eyes. Simple things like making breakfast or getting dressed suddenly become trickier than fighting bad guys. “Like, I put on a shirt but I can’t look where the buttons are, because Daredevil wouldn’t know where the buttons are. But I also can’t fumble,” Cox says. No pressure, but another thing you’re not allowed to fumble: Marvel’s winning streak. ![](http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2014/12/19/daredevil-02_612x897.jpg) Not pushing the “extreme violence or gratuitous nudity”? What’s the point of that? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/48 "2015-01-29T18:16:49Z")
wee zipper In the TMI category… > [NEWS/ Daredevil Scoop: Superhero Suit Secrets Revealed!](http://www.eonline.com/news/618698/daredevil-scoop-superhero-suit-secrets-revealed) > by MARC MALKIN Mon., Jan. 26, 2015 7:00 PM PST ![](http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2015026/rs_634x1024-150126145139-634.Charlie-Cox-SAG-Awards.ms.012615.jpg) Charlie Cox, SAG Awards Kevin Mazur/WireImage Get out the Vaseline! Sounds like Charlie Cox needs plenty of it to squeeze into the superhero suit for his starring role in Netflix’s upcoming much-anticipated Daredevil series. “It’s pretty tight, I’m not going to lie,” the Brit actor told me yesterday at the SAG Awards. “They’ve done such a great job. I can’t wait for fans to really see it. But put it this way, there is no world where you change in a phone box. It takes four people and about 45 minutes.” A very dark photo of Cox as the crimefighter was released in October. Thankfully, things don’t get too complicated when nature calls. “They’re very clever about it,” said Cox, who plays Jane Hawking’s second husband Jonathan Jones in The Theory of Everything. “You get three zippers. You zip them all up, but when you have to wee, you just have to zip one down—the wee zipper.” ![](http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/201475/rs_634x1024-140805090557-634-2charlie-cox-daredevil.ls.8514.jpg) Charlie Cox Splash News The big question is if he’s going commando in the suit. Cox smiled—a very big smile, mind you—and teased, “That is the big question.” We first got a glimpse of Cox shooting the show as Matt Murdock, Daredevil’s blind lawyer alter-ego, in August while filming in New York City. Alas, he was in an appropriate courtroom business suit and not his Daredevil costume. Cox headlines the new 13-episode Daredevil series that is the first of several planned Netflix shows based on characters from the Marvel comics universe. Other planned shows include series built around Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and a team-up series, The Defenders. Daredevil is the first to launch in 2015. The cast also includes Rosario Dawson, True Blood alum Deborah Ann Woll and Vincent D’Onofrio. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner costarred in a Daredevil feature film in 2003. Two years later, Garner headlined a sequel, Elektra. I think this drops on APR 10, 2015. ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/49 "2015-02-03T21:43:42Z")
teaser for the trailer [//youtu.be/stsqf9ljurA](https://youtu.be/stsqf9ljurA) i guess we’ll have to revisit this tomorrow…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/50 "2015-02-04T16:00:09Z")
All episodes drop April 10 [//youtu.be/XC7GPdBV9WQ](https://youtu.be/XC7GPdBV9WQ) Another Netflix binge imminent…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![sanjuro\_ronin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/sanjuro_ronin/32/793_2.png) [@sanjuro\_ronin](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/sanjuro_ronin)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/51 "2015-02-04T20:25:50Z")
Anything would be better than that crap Assfleck did, BUT this one actually looks like it has potential. ---
**Author:** ![\_PLUGO](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/_plugo/32/94_2.png) [@\_PLUGO](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/_PLUGO)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/52 "2015-03-05T23:13:31Z")
New details on Netflix’s Daredevil involving The Owl, Gladiator & more Read more at h [JoBlo](http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/new-details-on-netflixs-daredevil-involving-the-owl-gladiator-more-164) Says . . . > Brazilian website Omelete got a chance to visit the Daredevil set back in October of last year, and there’s some interesting new details on the Netflix series in the site’s report. Although it is in Portuguese and Google translate isn’t always super accurate, most of the report makes sense. Apparently Melvin Potter will have a big role on the show, and if you’re familiar with the comics you know that Potter is a former supervillain turned Daredevil alley who goes by the name Gladiator. One of the sets the site saw was Melvin Potter’s workshop, and Michael Jortner (part of the production team) revealed a few things about how the character will be used on the series. Jortner says Potter is “a very technical guy who develops many superhero uniforms, but mostly villains, with different characteristics and weapons” and he has created a kevlar suit for Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin/Wilson Fisk. Jortner also says we will see Potter working on armored cars for Fisk, and “other characters in the Marvel Universe” will appear on the series.The site went on to describe a scene being filmed featuring Wilson Fisk talking to Leland Owlsley/The Owl (Bob Gunton), who will be Fisk’s financial advisory on the show. Omelete also spoke with costume designer Stephanie Maslansky, and she says Daredevil and Kingpin have the same goal, telling the site that “Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk want to turn the Hell’s Kitchen in a better place to live.” Maslansky described Fisk as “a guy who has a heart and a past” and says he “is a deep and multi-layered character.” In addition, production designer Loren Weeks says Daredevil’s physical abilities are incredible, but still grounded in reality. What are your thoughts on these new Daredevil details? Read more at [http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/new-details-on-netflixs-daredevil-involving-the-owl-gladiator-more-164#rJDwj1kgP5lzqQLd.99](http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/new-details-on-netflixs-daredevil-involving-the-owl-gladiator-more-164#rJDwj1kgP5lzqQLd.99) ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/53 "2015-03-10T17:41:07Z")
new trailer [//youtu.be/jAy6NJ\_D5vU](https://youtu.be/jAy6NJ_D5vU) ---
**Author:** ![sanjuro\_ronin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/sanjuro_ronin/32/793_2.png) [@sanjuro\_ronin](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/sanjuro_ronin)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/54 "2015-03-11T15:09:29Z")
Nice trailer. ---
**Author:** ![mickey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mickey](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/mickey)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/55 "2015-03-12T18:30:28Z")
Greetings, For me, the best villain that Daredevil ever facer was Starr Saxon/Mr Fear. He was the only one who could get into Daredevil’s head and completely fukkkk with him. And he had that ability that from the beginning, which is quite unlike other villains like The Joker whose mental abilities were later planted and evolved, keeping in step with a maturing readership. The clashes between the two could go on for more than one season. The most recent character that approaches Starr Saxon, in terms of intense energetic presence, would be that of Gustav Fring in “Breaking Bad”, brought forth by Giancarlo Esposito. To bring that character to life, you need excellent writers who can create brilliant dialogue and an incredibly strong actor who can give his lines the epicness they deserve. mickey ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/56 "2015-04-06T20:55:51Z")
This Friday > 4/06/2015 @ 10:01AM 6,987 views > [‘Marvel’s Daredevil’ Review: Great For Marvel, Even Better For Netflix](http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2015/04/06/daredevil-netflix-review/) > Merrill Barr Contributor The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a blank canvass upon which many things can be drawn. If you want to give it a mega tent-pole alien invasion film, you can. If you want to give it a broadcast spy series, you can. If you want to give it a 1940s set period piece, you can. There are no restrictions on the ways the MCU can be portrayed because, at its core, everyone knows that events intertwine – so there’s no need to worry about making visual styles line-up. Because of this, it’s no surprise Marvel has found itself capable of pulling off a “dark” crime-drama in the first of its new Netflix NFLX +1.96% slate, Daredevil. Due to the events of The Avengers, New York City is on the rebound, and the re-construction has given rise to opportunities all over the city. However, there are no more greater opportunities to be found than in Hell’s Kitchen. Seeing this, the criminal element has begun moving in, in order to reap the benefits of a post-Battle of New York world. Thankfully for the neighborhood, though, this criminal onslaught doesn’t sit well with one man in particular, the blind attorney, Matt Murdock. ![](http://blogs-images.forbes.com/merrillbarr/files/2015/02/Daredevil-1940x1091.jpg) It would be wrong to say it’s surprising Daredevil is as good as it is because it isn’t. Going “dark” is something Marvel has wanted to do for a while now, but in the world of big budget PG-13 cinema there’s only so far you can push the envelope. You can’t get super violent or “mature.” You really can’t do it on broadcast television either. To an extent, you must remain somewhat family friendly. The reason Daredevil’s so enjoyable in its “lack of jokes” domineer is because it feels like a necessary departure from Marvel in order for it to expand its ever growing universe. However, while Daredevil is dark and mature, it’s not pretentious. Daredevil isn’t HBO adult, it’s TNT adult. Sure, there’s the occasional swear word – though not the big F, the occasional bone break and occasional blood splatter, but this isn’t a super “adult” series. In cinema, the only reason Daredevil would get an R is because blood actually accompanies its violence. In no way does Daredevil compete with the likes of Game of Thrones, Dexter or Banshee in terms of a TV-MA rating. But, while this is great for Marvel, it’s even better for Netflix. Since its original content beginnings, Netflix has only been interested in competing against the entities it thought were its competition: HBO, Showtime and the rest of premium cable. Netflix wasn’t interested in making dramas that could appear on basic cable because that wasn’t the “hip” thing to do. A Netflix show had to have F-bombs, just like an HBO show. A Netflix show had to have explicitly nudity and sex, just like a Showtime show. But Daredevil has little of either. This is good because it proves Netflix is willing to deliver series meant solely to entertain if given the right circumstances. Of course the content of Daredevil probably has more to do with Marvel not wanting to push too far than it does with Netflix wanting to pull back, but the result is ultimately the same. Netflix will now have an excuse to do more popcorn fare thanks to its Marvel slate. If it wants to do an action/adventure series in the future, no one will question. If it wants to do a procedural, no one will judge. A step into pulp will no longer be viewed as a negative for Netflix should they choose to go there, it will just be viewed as another step into expansion for the company. No one’s going to give Dardevil a major Emmy award for what it delivers, and that’s okay, no one’s going to give Age of Ultron a major Oscar either. Daredevil is precisely as excellent as everyone hoped it would be, but that doesn’t mean all the good it does will only affect the kind of projects Marvel can do in the future. Thanks to Daredevil, its network will benefit as well, and that alone is reason to celebrate its existence. Daredevil premieres Friday, April 10th on Netflix. I should start a thread here on blind martial artists… ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/57 "2015-04-09T16:02:44Z")
We’ll have something for you here for tomorrow…stay tuned. [//youtu.be/pgwjB2uzFHw](https://youtu.be/pgwjB2uzFHw) ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/58 "2015-04-10T14:55:17Z")
Start binging Read our exclusive interview: [Chris Brewster: Super Stunts, Marvelous Martial Mayhem and Netflix’s DAREDEVIL](http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1215) by Lori Ann White ---
**Author:** ![GeneChing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/geneching/32/96_2.png) [@GeneChing](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/GeneChing)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/59 "2015-04-15T17:11:15Z")
Still haven’t started watching this yet… …but Vanity Fair has… > A Non-Caped Crusader April 13, 2015 5:04 pm > [How Daredevil Became Marvel’s Biggest Triumph Yet](http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/04/daredevil-marvel-biggest-triumph) ![](http://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/04/13/552c3d6516d0331d2b4d58e5_daredevil-netflix-hed.png) by Joanna Robinson Netflix and Marvel promised that Daredevil, a new series based on the popular comic-book character, would be something different. But, after watching the 13 episodes that debuted over the weekend, it’s genuinely impressive how well they committed to that promise, and genuinely exciting how that “something different” might herald a whole new era of comic-book appreciation. Plunged “deep into the gritty world of heroes and villains of Hell’s Kitchen, New York,” Daredevil—the first in a planned four-part “Defenders” series—is as far away as you can get from the talking raccoons, green rage monsters, and hammer-toting Norse gods who have defined the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. The grim, violent world inhabited by Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and his foes has more in common with that of The Wire and True Detective than it does Captain America or Iron Man—unlike ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it’s departing from the Marvel house style in a way that might pique the interest of those who still have no idea what the Tesseract is. Here’s how Daredevil managed to emerge from the overcrowded superhero scrum as something wholly new, grounded, and groundbreaking. ![](http://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/04/13/552c05b5fd1bd1650719583a_daredevil-fallout.gif) Big Battles Have Big Consequences: ] Man of Steel may have faced all the pushback for the way it beat up New York City in the final fight between Superman and General Zod, but The Avengers broke the windows of Grand Central first—and Daredevil directly deals with what happened next. The 9/11 parallels are clear (as they were in Iron Man 3), with references to “half of New York being destroyed.” But there is definitely a Man of Steel jab or two when a scheming land developer says: “Heroes and their consequences are why we have our current opportunities. . . . Every time one of these guys punches someone through a building our margins go up three percent.” That premise alone does so much to bring Daredevil out of the rarified air that superheroes breathe and down into the everyday lives of those who suffer even in the aftermath of a rescue. It not only gives very real stakes to this show but, retroactively, to every Marvel property that has come before it. ![](http://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/04/13/552c07a316d0331d2b4d52a7_daredevil-origin.gif) It Turns an Origin Story Back into Character Development: Daredevil may have all the trappings of a stereotypical superhero story (a young kid gets exposed to a radioactive substance, loses a parent, and, before you can say Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne, commits himself to a life of vigilante justice), but, thanks in large part to the grounded nature of the comics themselves, this show manages to tell Matt Murdock’s journey as an actual human story first. Sure, we find out how Matt went blind, lost a parent, and learned parkour. But only eventually, slowly, and over the span of 13 episodes. And for all his powers (he can tell if you’re lying by your heartbeat!), Matt Murdock is very much a mortal. In this show, when people fall off buildings, their bones break. By the second episode, Murdock has collapsed a lung. There is an entire character—Rosario Dawson’s fantastic nurse Claire Temple—devoted to patching our hero up when he falls apart. (Thank goodness, this being a nuanced show, that’s not all she does.) Here is a man breaking and battering his body over and over in the desperate attempt to protect those he loves. ![](http://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/04/13/552c07b2fd1bd165071958da_daredevil-kingpin.gif) Finally: A Vulnerable Villain: And as well-rounded and meticulously developed as Murdock is, Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk may be an even rarer bird. Here’s a psychotic villain you’re somehow rooting for. D’Onofrio has made a career out of skating the razor’s edge between vulnerability and menace, and his Fisk is no exception. We first meet Fisk standing in front of a painting contemplating his own loneliness, and we get to know him through the eyes of Vanessa, the art gallery owner he sets his eye on. By meeting Wilson Fisk, awkward dinner date, before we meet Wilson Fisk, terrifying and violent power broker, the show captures our sympathies. Once again, that’s thanks in large part to D’Onofrio’s unique gift. For all their virtues, comic-book villains are normally an unrelatable breed, and the more cartoonish ones like Thanos, Ronan, Malekith, the Red Skull, etc., etc., etc. are oftentimes the weakest links in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki comes close to nuance thanks to his “father always did like you best” motivation, and I look forward to what DC’s Jesse Eisenberg does with Lex Luthor. But, so far, Wilson Fisk is without an easy parallel in the realm of filmed comic-book villain. Daredevil makes the battle less about the absolutes of good vs. evil and more about the shades of gray, and cuts closer to that theme than Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy ever did. ![](http://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/04/13/552c0b69fd1bd165071959a1_daredevil-comics.gif) Understanding the Visual Language of Comics: Daredevil is a dark show, and I don’t just mean content-wise. Nearly every shot is filled with inky shadows. That’s the most brilliant way Daredevil manages to look like a comic book without resorting to hackneyed canted angles or gimmicky multiple-pane compositions. (Sorry, Ang Lee!) Daredevil uses the natural setting of a bombed out Hell’s Kitchen to lean into the visual language of the source material. Sometimes the show even moves outside the shadows (like in this great shot of Deborah Ann Woll caught in the glare of a digital billboard) to create its stunning portraits. Marvel gets knocked a lot for its uninteresting visuals, whereas DC directors like Nolan and Snyder get a lot closer to capturing the artistic flair of the comic world. And while over-the-top visual feasts like Frank Miller’s Sin City or Snyder’s 300 are obviously reaching for pop-art visuals, none of their ilk has ever found the balance between real-world drama and dramatic composition like Daredevil. ![](http://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/04/13/552c134316d0331d2b4d55be_reference.gif) It’s Still Connected: For all the ways Daredevil is different from the other Marvel properties, it makes sure we know it’s still connected—but without resorting to the unrelentingly hokey foreshadowing that has made Fox’s Gotham such a clunker of a show. Daredevil uses a feather-light touch. “If you had an iron suit or a magic hammer” or “I could put wings on my head but that doesn’t make me Captain America,” is about as much as this show bothers to remind you that Tony Stark’s Avengers tower is just a subway ride away. ![](http://photos.vanityfair.com/2015/04/13/552beb9c16d0331d2b4d4d3d_daredevil-charlie.gif) The Perfect Gateway Drug: And that’s why Daredevil has such an important new part to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The staggering box-office receipts alone will tell you that Marvel doesn’t need help recruiting fans. But there are still holdouts, people who think comic-book properties are too silly or visually flat to watch. That’s where Daredevil comes in. Silly, it’s not. Visually uninteresting? Never. This is the show you can use to hook your skeptical friend or loved one. This is a show that promises grit and grounded stakes and delivers in a way other popular comic-book shows like Arrow, The Flash, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Gotham never have. And that’s O.K., we need sentient gorillas and earthquake girls on our TVs, too. But Daredevil has managed to become something completely unique, and in a pop-culture landscape stuffed to the gills with comic-book reboots. That right there is a superheroic feat. ---
**Author:** ![sanjuro\_ronin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/sanjuro_ronin/32/793_2.png) [@sanjuro\_ronin](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/sanjuro_ronin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414/60 "2015-04-15T17:15:15Z")
Haven’t had the time to watch it yet but I am MOST definitely going to. [Previous page](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414.md?page=2) [Next page](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/daredevil/18414.md?page=4)