The Marvel x Netflix era of superheroes was truly some of the best television produced in the recent past. The Marvel supremacy that began with Daredevil (not the Ben Affleck travesty, obviously) was outnumbered by the maddening fandom that grew by the second ever since Drew Goddard showed what heroes were truly capable of when brought down from the shiny Avengers Tower to the grimy streets of New York.
In that, Daredevil was the epitome of classic heroism – beaten and defeated at every turn yet standing up to fight simply for the sake of banishing evil.
Marvel’s Daredevil Gets a Reality Check at Disney+
Charlie Cox was the first of four street-level superheroes to occupy the pocket universe created within Netflix shortly in the aftermath of the Battle of New York and the formation of the Avengers. However, Daredevil merely gave birth to a movement that would rock the MCU fandom to its core. That did not necessarily mean that the comic adaptation of the Man Without Fear would be an accurate representation of all his powerful and extraordinary abilities. Where the Netflix series was premised upon the theory of “a glass half empty”, Disney+ took the superhero and made him into “a glass half full” prototype.
Also read: Why Marvel is False Marketing With Daredevil: Born Again That Will Definitely Disappoint Fans
Netflix’s 3-season run of the blind ninja was rooted in extreme realism. Splashed with soot black and blood red, Matt Murdock would take to the streets and truly become a living embodiment of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen because evil was rising and it had to be stopped. The Netflix version of Drew Goddard’s superhero did not stop to smell the roses because there is no rest for the wicked. However, Disney+ flips the script, gives Daredevil more time to connect with a fellow superhero, perhaps spend a night or two under the sheets, and walk barefoot across the lawn in a full superhero costume, mask included.
Fans in Support of She-Hulk’s Comic-Accurate Daredevil
While plenty of things get lost in translation, one aspect of why Netflix could slip past such an altered, bloody, fist-pommeling version of Daredevil was because he represented the baser instincts of humanity. The story didn’t stray from the end goal which was to defeat Wilson Fisk, meet the Punisher, fall in love with Elektra, exterminate The Hand, fight alongside the Defenders, lose all hope, and start over again.
The audience had had more than enough of the righteous symbol of hope and a beacon of light model of a superhero with Captain America and the godly Thor. What they wanted now was to come down from the billionaire philanthropist’s playboy mansion and find an anti-hero unafraid to hold back from the ugliness of mankind.
But one small alteration in this seminal live-action run of Daredevil when it was revived by Disney+ caused fans to do a hard double take and rethink what the superhero actually represented to a lot of comic-lovers. He was a superbly acrobatic ninja skilled with the aerodynamics of movement and high-precision martial arts style action. Disney+ gave a taste of that superhero when he was resurrected (again) and reintroduced to the people in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. And though some have grown attached to the past, the present-day fans are all for it.
No disrespect to Chris but She-Hulk actually showcased Daredevil’s acrobatic skills something the Netflix show lacked https://t.co/MNg1Rn9vJR
— T’Challa Fan (@2TChalla2Stan) July 2, 2023
Imo, the fight scenes weren’t even bad. It’s just the Netflix scenes were just THAT good.
I think it’s a balance with him, and one I’d wanna see done in his series and eventually w/ Nightwing eventually: Superhuman acrobats with brutal, but efficient fighting style.
— Immanuel Arriaga (@immy_future) July 2, 2023
The most acrobatic DD got in his show was when he started parkouring randomly and doing flips that made no sense and only slowed him down when he went spying on Electra in s2. It felt so out of place. His flips in She-Hulk however were sick af, idc if it’s cgi
— rafa ⚡️ (@blnkrfluid_) July 2, 2023
One of my gripes with the Netflix series after reading the comics is how they forget that Matt is more of a ninja than a boxer when it comes to fighting
— Purrlet 🌓🩸 (@purrleterian) July 2, 2023
i have to disagree with you there, the netflix show showcased his acrobatic very well, now in she-hulk it is amplified to 10, which is in honesty a bit over the top. However I think she-hulk was a pretty good showing of daredevil. pic.twitter.com/Z93ST60VUa
— Mario A. Tucker (@shotswithmario) July 3, 2023
A costume change, it seems, is not all that Daredevil picked up during his hiatus since 2018. A sense of humor and more lighthearted optimism came along with it too. With Wilson Fisk returning once again to wreak havoc on New York and in Daredevil’s life, the upcoming series titled Daredevil: Born Again will have a mighty task at hand to deal with.
The lengthy 18-episode series will also exercise the legal expertise of Matt Murdock, making it as much of a courtroom drama/procedural show as it is a superhero one – thus bringing to the table yet another aspect of Daredevil’s identity that the Netflix show overlooked.
Daredevil: Born Again will launch in 2024; the preceding 3 seasons and She-Hulk is available for streaming on Disney+ in the meantime.
Source: Twitter
