Netflix gave me a birthday present not to long ago when they launched their new comic book based TV show Daredevil. This show has nothing to do with the unfortunate Ben Affleck movie, well besides that it features the same character. It is still Matt Murdock beating up bad guys, but now it takes place in a believable world, and it is not pulling its punches.
It is a tale as old as time (sing it Angela). An orphan wants to makes his home a better place, so he uses his extraordinary abilities to take down crime. In this case that orphan is the blind Matt Murdock played by Charlie Cox who I am sure you know from Stardust. You don’t know him from Stardust? You are a terrible person! Well back to the review, Murdock, a local defense attorney, is trying to cleanup his part of New York City known as Hell’s Kitchen, but he is finding it harder than he anticipated.
What I love about this series is that it is so much more brutal than any other Marvel property as of late. When the good guys and bad guys go at it, they really go at it. There is blood and bone crunching, and people will die. While it fits nicely within the Marvel Universe, you can definitely tell this corner of it was inspired by Frank Miller’s (Sin City) run with the character in the 90’s. It has that dark washed out feel to it that is quite different than the bright and almost cheery Marvel Movie Universe.
If Daredevil is setting the tone for things to come in the Marvel TV Universe, I am very excited. It shows that Marvel is finding more stories to tell outside the Avengers. Not to rag on Agents of SHIELD which has now found its footing, but some separation from the movies will do wonders for these new TV shows. With the good work they have done with Daredevil, I can’t wait to see AKA Jessica Jones!