Let's be clear here: nobody in their right mind could posit the notion that Daredevil is a bad TV show. It's arguably the gold standard of superhero television; by far the most consistently excellent of all of Marvel's Netflix shows and streets ahead of even the most successful episodes of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. In fact, we would have a hard time arguing too vociferously with anyone who held it up as one of the greatest examples of 21st century American TV out there -- right up there with the likes of Breaking Bad and The Wire. With the recent release of its third season, the show has hit new highs of acting, action and story-telling excellence. We can only hope that despite the cancellation of both Iron Fist and Luke Cage as well as corporate restructuring at Marvel and Disney that the show will continue to reach new heights in further seasons.
The show does an exemplary job of striking the exact tone we'd expect from a Daredevil show -- 50% gritty crime drama, 50% legal procedural with a streak of comic book excess running through it. Yet, while the show is successful on a number of levels, there are fleeting moments that cause frustration to flare in the bellies of long-time Daredevil readers. Subtle yet oh-so-noticeable inconsistencies with the source material that some may find jarring or missed opportunities where the narrative would be better served by adhering more closely to the comic books. Here we'll look at 20 things which, for all its successes, Netflix just can't seem to get right about Daredevil...
20 ROOFTOP ACROBATICS
They call him "The Man Without Fear" but he's also been referred to as "The Blind Acrobat". Indeed, ever since his first outing in 1964 written by Stan Lee with pencils by Bill Everett death-defying rooftop acrobatics have been as much a part of his Modus Operandi as they have Spider-Man's.
While we've seen a few cool parkour sequences dotted throughout the show as well as in The Defenders, we haven't seen anything to truly capture DD's graceful feats of superhuman agility from the comics. Heck, even the 2003 movie did a much better job of this. Admittedly, however, this may be an issue of what can be accomplished with the budget and resources of a Netflix show.
19 STILL NO LOGO?
Our favorite superheroes are icons, recognizable throughout the world. Not only do people recognize them for their distinctive appearances, their iconic logos are also known the world over. Show virtually anyone in the world Superman's 'S' shield, The Punisher's distinctive skull logo or The Flash's white circle struck with a lightning bolt and the image will strike a chord.
While the Daredevil costume from designer Stephanie Malansky is a beautiful piece of production design, many fans still bemoan the fact that the suit eschews the quintessential logo. Like all great superhero logos, it's simple, elegant and an essential part of the character's iconography.
18 ROGUE'S GALLERY
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Batman, Spider-Man and The Flash have the best rogues galleries in comics. Still, ol' horn head has traded blows with some great villains too. While everything the show has done with Wilson Fisk has been phenomenal, Fisk is just the tip of the iceberg.
Though Bullseye has kind of had his debut on the show and the Marvel Netflix shows on the whole have spent a lot of time on The Hand it's a shame that none of Daredevil's other great rogues have been attempted. It would have been great to see the likes of Typhoid Mary (who recently debuted in Iron Fist), Mr. Fear or even Stilt Man pop up to service the B-plot here and there.
17 MATT AND FOGGY'S FRIENDSHIP
In all fairness, we've seen a lot of good stuff in terms of the development of Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson across the show's three seasons. Yet, infuriatingly, while Charlie Cox and Elden Henson have outstanding chemistry together, they have spent too long separated on-screen.
Whether by circumstance or Matt's sheer pigheadedness (a very comic book-accurate trait) the two have spent a lot of the show's run time separated or at odds. While the comics have certainly seen their fair share of conflict in this relationship, it would have been nice if the show had taken a little more time to build up what it tore down.
16 MATT'S PERSONAL CONNECTION TO HIS SUIT
The Daredevil costume is a wonderful piece of production design. Frankly it's a shame that it is (and will likely remain) the only bona fide superhero costume we've seen in this little pocket of the MCU. In the show, the costume is designed by Melvin Potter but in the comics Matt Murdock has a much more personal connection to the Daredevil suit.
In the six part mini-series Daredevil: Yellow it's revealed that the original iteration of Matt's costume was actually constructed from the remnants of his father's boxing paraphernalia. We're not saying we necessarily wanted to see Matt rocking the yellow suit, but the lack of a personal connection to the suit is a shame.
15 A LEAN INTO THE SUPERNATURAL
The great thing about the Daredevil title is that, like Batman it can function perfectly well as a street-level crime drama but it can also admit elements of the uncanny or supernatural without breaking the reader's suspension of disbelief. While the comics have woven urban crime narrative and dark fantasy seamlessly, the show has seen a little embarrassed about the paranormal elements of the mythology.
In fact, the whole Netflix universe seems ill-at-ease with the fantastical elements of the street-level Marvel universe. Even Iron Fist whose central character fought an actual dragon. We wish that the show would take more ownership of its supernatural aspects rather than glossing over them.
14 WHY DID THEY WRITE OFF BEN URICH?!?
Ben Urich is a seminal supporting character in the Daredevil title and has been present in a number of the character's most celebrated and iconic stories. He's not just a great point-of-view character whose perspectives and insights make the world of the comics feel more real and tangible to us, he's also a necessary ally in the press.
While much of this narrative duty has been assigned to Karen Page with great success, we're not convinced that Ben Urich had to perish way back in season one. Not only did we loose a beloved supporting character, we missed the warm and affable performance of Vondie Curtis-Hall.
13 MATT MURDOCK IS ACTUALLY A REALLY, REALLY GOOD LAWYER
Throughout the show, we've seen Matt Murdock play second fiddle to Foggy Nelson in the courtroom, and there's a modicum of source material accuracy to this. Murdock himself has always maintained that Foggy is a better lawyer than he, but what we've barely seen a glimpse of is Matt's talent as a courtroom practitioner.
In the comics we've seen time and again how Matt is able to have a jury eating out of his hand, producing legal arguments that are as powerful and elegant as his fisticuffs in the red suit. Again, we've seen bits of this in the show but we want more -- a lot more.
12 WE'VE ONLY SEEN HALF OF MELVIN POTTER'S STORY
Melvin Potter as played by Matt Gerald is always a dream to watch in the show. Gerald perfectly conveys the combination of raw power, machismo, vulnerability and unpredictability of the character. He's that puppy from a broken home that you want to pet, but you know that if you do he'll bite your hand off.
But comic book fans have only seen half his story. In his former life he was a deluded super villain called The Gladiator who reformed and got into the business of superhero couture. While we've seen Gladiator's logo and signature buzz saw weapons as cute easter eggs, it's a shame we haven't seen his backstory yet.
11 DO WE REALLY NEED TO EMPATHIZE WITH BULLSEYE
Admittedly, the character of Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter in season 3 of Daredevil is one of the most compelling parts of the narrative. But it is, in places, radically contradictory to the source material. Fortunately, Wilson Bethel's performance is so phenomenal that even the most die hard comic book fans can't bring themselves to complain.
Nonetheless, the Bullseye we know from the comics is really not someone deserving of the empathetic treatment the show afforded Dex. Like The Joker or The Terminator, Bullseye works best as an unknowable and unpredictable force of nature without nuance or depth. As Frank Miller himself says in the special features of the 2003 Daredevil movie, "Sure, he's a psychopathic killer... But he's really good at it!".
10 THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF NELSON AND MURDOCK
In the comics, Nelson and Murdock have been involved in some dramatic and compelling legal battles. Whether they're helping the Fantastic Four with the patent to The Baxter Building or representing a costumed superhero accused of murder, they're always on hand to help both the heroes of the Marvel Universe and the downtrodden of Hell's Kitchen alike.
While the show has given us some sterling legal drama, it's usually all been in service of the main plot. A few more varied and diverse legal cases thrown in as B-Plot elements would have provided us with just a little extra context, depth and dimension to Nelson and Murdock attorneys at law.
9 MATT MURDOCK: PLAYER
One superpower Matt Murdock possesses is his superhuman propensity for romance. Comic book Matt is quite possibly the Marvel Universe's most prodigious player. While Karen Page and Elektra are largely held up as the loves of Matt's life, he's also been romantically involved with virtually every other woman in the MU -- his little black book is chock full of paramours from Black Widow to Typhoid Mary.
While we certainly wouldn't want to see Matt portrayed as anything which could be interpreted as misogynistic it would be nice if he had the same heartthrob status in the show as he does in the comics. At the very least we'd like to see some more of Matt's love interests from the comics like Milla Donovan.
8 UNEXPLAINED SUPERHUMAN HEALING
One superpower Matt has that the Netflix series showcases very well is his astonishing capacity to take a beating. We've seen him beaten by Bullseye, nailed by Nobu, pounded by Punisher and kicked to the curb by Kingpin. Across the show's three seasons we've seen him take cataclysmic beatings and shrug them off a few episodes later.
In the comics there is a reason for this, albeit one that confines to the loose pseudoscience of comic book logic. Matt is, through, meditation and concentration able to accelerate the healing process. He's no Wolverine, but it explains how he is able to fight another day time after time. The show omits this, which kind of undermines its plausibility in this regard.
7 MATT'S "RADAR SENSE"
Say what you will about the 2003 Daredevil movie, one aspect of the mythology that the film absolutely nailed was the use of visual effects to illustrate how Matt's unique sense of hearing works. Often referred to by fans as "radar sense", he is able to sense sound waves as they bounce off of his surroundings, giving him a sense of perception that's superior to sight.
The Netflix show has added its own spin on this premise with Matt referring to his perception as "a world on fire". Unfortunately, the visual translation of this is never as interesting or engaging as it was in the comics or the movie.
6 MATT AND KAREN'S ROMANCE
While the Netflix show did bring us some romantic dalliance between Karen Page and Matt Murdock, their relationship has been largely platonic throughout its runtime. That's not to say that it hasn't been well handled -- Charlie Cox and Deborah Ann Woll have shared some remarkable moments together on-screen.
But along with Elektra and his former wife Milla Donovan, Karen is one of the greatest loves of Matt's lives and their romance has had a profound effect on him, even after it ended. Since the two have such great chemistry, it would have been nice if we'd seen more of the romantic aspects of their relationship.
5 DAREDEVIL CAN HAVE HIS LIGHTER MOMENTS TOO
We're aware of the ludicrous comments a few months back about how Carol Danvers didn't smile enough in the Captain Marvel trailer. We're not suggesting that superheroes should always smile and crack wise as they rid our streets of evil. Yet, while Daredevil is largely depicted as a dark character, even The Man Without Fear can have his lighter moments.
Mark Waid's run (which followed an extremely dark few years in Daredevil's publication) did a great job of walking the line between darkness and light. Even Kevin Smith's "Guardian Devil" storyline, while it had some extremely dark moments, still showed that being Daredevil wasn't a completely joyless pursuit.
4 THE BILLY CLUB
The Netflix series has given us some excellent use of Daredevil's billy club. It has showcased its efficacy as a projectile weapon while also showing how useful it can be in close quarters. The comics, however, have demonstrated that the billy club has the potential to be a much more multifaceted tool.
In the comics, and even in the 2003 movie, the club houses Matt Murdock's cane while also facilitating Daredevil's own equivalent of web swinging. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. In some issues, it even housed lock picks, recording devices and even nutrient pills. While we don't expect to see Matt crack open his billy club and start snacking, it'd be nice to see varied use of the billy club.
3 HE'S THE HERO OF HELL'S KITCHEN
On the page, Daredevil has often been depicted as a controversial figure. After all, what right minded journalist or politician would condone his extralegal and often violent brand of vigilantism? Nonetheless, while he may be condemned left and right by authority figures, he has always been beloved by the people of Hell's Kitchen.
There's a working class hero, people's champion quality to Daredevil that never quite comes across in the Netflix show. It would have been nice to see just a little more of Daredevil being celebrated by the people he protects, just like they did with Luke Cage in Harlem.
2 SHOW US WHY HE'S THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR
Throughout his publication history, Daredevil has been known as The Man Without Fear. Initially, the catchy moniker referred to his death-defying rooftop acrobatics. Later, however, writers like Frank Miller would make their own contribution to the mythology, showing the psychological reasoning behind Matt's rejection of this emotion. Even the name 'Daredevil' is retconned into a playground insult leveled at the timid young Matt Murdock, which he then re-appropriated.
Aside from a throwaway line, we haven't really seen any allusion to this in the Netflix show. While it fortunately doesn't make the character any less compelling it does make for fertile ground to cover in future seasons (please, please let us get future seasons).
1 ENOUGH WITH THE BLACK SUIT!
When we first heard rumblings that a Daredevil Netflix show was in the works many fans wondered (as fans are wont to do) what horn head's costume would look like. For the longest time, fans were shown only the prototype black suit from Season 1. It was a cool homage to Frank Miller's The Man Without Fear miniseries, but audiences had to wait almost 13 hours to see Daredevil in his iconic red suit.
For some, putting Matt right back in the black suit for Season 3 was a huge step backwards. If we're lucky enough to see a fourth season of Daredevil we have just one simple edict for Marvel and Netflix... enough with the black suit!