When the Disney+ “Daredevil” series was announced, many were concerned that it would fall flat compared to the very well-received original “Daredevil” series, which lasted three seasons and was cancelled on a cliffhanger. The beloved blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night, appeared in other series, including “The Defenders,” “She Hulk,” “Echo” and “Spiderman: No Way Home.” Despite a concern for a new and different version of the original series, the new “Daredevil” series has defied expectations, including mine, and the series is off to a very promising start.
His appearance in “Spiderman: No Way Home” was his introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which had previously been separate from the Netflix series. His cameo was very short, with no fight scenes, and this made it difficult for fans to gauge how he would be treated in the MCU. After this short, but exciting appearance, fans were intrigued to see more of Murdock before the release of his new series.
We finally got more fight scenes with Daredevil in “She Hulk” which many fans were disappointed by, not appreciating his uncharacteristically upbeat persona, different from his constant misery and turmoil that we expect. This introduction of Daredevil (not Murdock) in the MCU was worrying to many fans who were already concerned that Disney would attempt to make his character lighthearted and less gritty, as is seemingly typical of the MCU. His character was made to be a joke in his cameo, the “She Hulk” series was much less serious, and so his character following suit made sense in the context and has proven to not be as such in his new series.
We also briefly saw Daredevil in the series “Echo” where he fought Echo. This scene was much more exciting and a great way to get fans excited for “Born Again” by showing us his beloved fighting style. This cameo is one of my favorites, though different from others, as he exclusively presents as his vigilante alias.
After some delays in production, “Daredevil: Born Again” was finally released beginning March 4, with the first two episodes released Tuesday night, and the rest being released weekly on Tuesdays. The creators of the show must’ve known the concerns that the show wouldn’t be dark and gritty enough, because they began it with the most painful thing that could happen to Murdock, and his surprising, but in-character reaction.
I must admit that the first fight scene had me worried due to the usage of CGI, as the hand-to-hand combat was typically performed by talented stuntmen in the original series. CGI punches by human characters stick out, especially when you’re expecting a realistic hand-to-hand combat fight. However, I found the following fight scenes to be very strong and in conjunction with his character as established previously. In these first few episodes we’ve had a stronger focus on Murdock, which I am a big fan of as I love the character, who has luckily remained the same. He doesn’t feel different, which I credit Charlie Cox with, as he’s been clear that he cares greatly about the character and his fans.
We’ve also been introduced to various new characters, while keeping crucial characters more or less the same. We’re reintroduced to Wilson Fisk, who we also saw in other Disney series leading up to “Born Again” as he runs for Mayor of New York and wins. This has been a long-waited involvement of Mayor Fisk, a popular version of Fisk in the comics. His character has also remained the same from the original series; he’s just as suspicious and evil, while pretending to be otherwise, and Murdock sees right through him.
While the series was introduced as separate from the original, only maintaining the original actors and characters of Murdock and Fisk, the series wrapped up loose ends of the original series, as well as brought in other important characters. This has proved to make the series more of a continuation of the original, which is my preference. Even though the story is different from the original, it feels like a fourth season, which is best.
We’re getting a reversal of sorts of the third season of the original series. There, Murdock left his life as Matt, killing that part of him, cutting off his friends and ceasing being a lawyer, opting instead to live solely as Daredevil, only to fight. This season we see the opposite, he’s sworn off fighting as Daredevil, instead opting to fight crime exclusively as a lawyer. As we saw in the original series, Murdock needs both of his halves to function as himself, and I doubt it’ll be long before we see him put on the suit and fight as the devil of Hell’s Kitchen yet again.
Only three out of the nine episodes in season one has been released at this point, but so far, my concerns about Murdock’s characterization haven’t come true. The story is strong and we’re exploring new sides of Murdock as he hangs up the suit. I can’t wait for the rest of the episodes, and to see whatever other characters are waiting to be introduced (or reintroduced).