After a small but exciting cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock is poised to join the MCU. While his incredible performance as Daredevil in the eponymous Netflix series won him the love of Marvel die-hards, many fans are concerned that the MCU won't be able to build upon the original show's success.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has churned out hit after hit, but its detractors say many of its movies are formulaic and safe, steering clear of adult topics and situations. If there are too many changes to the source materials that made them great, characters won't feel like their comic counterparts and they'll be set up to fail. However, if the MCU leans into the positive aspects of characters like Daredevil, they'll keep the magic of the Netflix show alive and create truly special projects in the future.
10 Street-Level Problems Are The Show's Foundation
Saving the world from interdimensional threats can be exciting, but viewers are tired of the repeated "Avengers-level threats." This approach trivializes strong villains from the comics by giving them one-and-done appearances and can create unrealistic, unbalanced fights.
The best moments in the Netflix series focus on Daredevil’s fights with gangs in Hell's Kitchen, where he battles to keep the area he grew up in safe from gang violence. When larger threats arise in the show, he enlists help to combat them, making the stakes feel real.
9 The Dark, Gritty Tone Is Crucial
Marvel sanitizes their properties to reach wider audiences, despite it being a questionable choice for many of its popular characters from the comics. Deadpool and Logan were two movies that fully leaned into the adult nature of their respective characters, but they were not part of the MCU. So, the question remains: will Marvel allow that kind of violence and seriousness in their main movie universe?
To make Daredevil properly, they absolutely have to keep what made it unique. Even with Charlie Cox's acting ability, if the MCU prevents him and his fellow actors from being the characters Netflix fleshed out so well with a light, joke-riddled script, it could doom this great intellectual property.
8 The Daredevil Extended Family Needs To Return
Foggy and Karen are key components of Matt Murdock's world, and they have been since the comic began. The Netflix show expertly depicted these two characters via outstanding performances from Elden Henson as Foggy and Deborah Ann Woll as Karen, giving them both rich, ongoing storylines of their own that played out throughout the three seasons of the show.
Many rumors are swirling around that say both actors will reprise their roles, though nothing is set in stone yet. Kevin Feige needs to ensure that the supporting cast of the show, especially heart and soul characters like Foggy and Karen, return with Charlie Cox. Otherwise, the show will lose its depth.
7 Great Heroes Need Compelling Villains
Spider-Man may have an endless pantheon of villains to combat, but Daredevil only has a few that resonate from the comics. Kingpin and Bullseye are the most famous and the Netflix show does them both justice.
The first season of the show focused heavily on Wilson Fisk, played with fearsome strength by movie veteran Vincent D'Onofrio. His return in Hawkeye is a significant sign that his time as Daredevil's main villain, and the biggest street-level New York villain overall, is far from over. Similarly, Wilson Bethel's Bullseye from season three of Daredevil captures the unstable and dangerous nature of the character, who deserves to return and face off with his nemesis again.
6 The Brilliant Fight Choreography Has To Return
Lots of Marvel movies with higher budgets than Daredevil have fight scenes that look ridiculously campy and fake. Even characters like Hulk, who has the power to punch through buildings with ease, don't seem to do much damage because of the camera cuts and CGI effects that most MCU projects use. Viewers never truly feel the impact of the violence being shown, making even the biggest on-screen battles feel hollow.
Daredevil takes a very different approach with its fight sequences. Every punch Matt Murdock takes and receives in the Netflix show feels real and punishing. From the crunching noises of breaking bones to the close-up shots of the action, not even small fights with street thugs seem easy.
5 Daredevil Needs Strong Relationships With Other Heroes
Daredevil may only deal with street-level threats in the first season of the show, but larger issues emerge later, like the ninja group known as The Hand. In these situations, the show does what the Infinity Saga movies did so well and has heroes from different walks of life combine their powers to fight the larger threat.
Every hero who's introduced, from Jon Bernthal's ruthless Punisher to Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, has backstories that were built up in their own shows, making them believable, understandable characters from the beginning. The MCU should keep this core group of New York-based heroes in future Daredevil projects because they bring amazing crossover potential and a larger bullpen of collective villains to combat.
4 Elektra Supporting Matt But Flourishing On Her Own
Elektra Natchios is one of the most interesting female characters the MCU has yet to touch. Created in 1981, Elektra has been a mainstay of Daredevil comics, both as Matt Murdock's adversary and his lover.
While Elodie Yung only portrayed Elektra for 10 episodes throughout Daredevil's three-season Netflix run, she did a great job capturing the look and feel of the character, especially compared to the tragically bad 2005 movie starring Jennifer Garner. Including her in the MCU is an absolute must, not only to improve the Daredevil project with her presence, but as a starting point for the solo appearance she deserves.
3 Never Forget The Character's Origin
Like many of the best comic book characters, Daredevil has a backstory riddled with tragedy, which shapes him into the hero he becomes. The Netflix show does a perfect job of depicting this journey. The very first scene of season one shows the chemical spill accident that leaves Matt blinded. It goes on to show the boxing matches his father, "Battling Jack" Murdock was throwing to make money from local gangsters, including his final bout. He didn't throw the fight and the mobsters who were paying him off made an example of the older Murdock.
Seeing young Matt discover his father, shot outside the gym following his victory, was heartbreaking and perfectly handled. Referencing this origin Netflix built without retelling it is the best choice for the MCU's Daredevil project.
2 Morally Gray Characters Are This Show's Lifeblood
MCU characters can feel terribly one-dimensional. One of the most well-regarded performances by a villain in the MCU was Michael B. Jordan’s Eric Killmonger. He broke the mold by having realistic, understandable motivations beyond senseless world domination or hate for his counterpart.
In Daredevil, every character has the time to develop into a fully realized human being, making Wilson Fisk and other villains interesting and worthy of screen time. In the same way Watchmen made superheroes into real people readers could relate to, Daredevil made characters viewers could imagine existing in their world. The MCU needs to take a page from Daredevil and keep the show's character-building prowess.
1 His Signature Radar Sense Is An Important Power
Displaying Daredevil's abilities is difficult to do on the big screen, as 2003’s Ben Affleck movie evidenced. In that film, Matt Murdock would "see" things in a blueish-shadowy way, giving him what seemed like a kind of sound-based vision. The effects were one of the better things to come from this adaptation of Daredevil, but of course, the Netflix show did a better job presenting Matt's powers.
First shown in Season One, Episode 5 titled "World on Fire," viewers are shown how Matt sees the world, via outlines of figures in burning orange and red colors. The MCU should retain this look, not only for continuity but because the "world on fire" concept is very much a part of Matt's dark thoughts about human nature and are a key reason he takes on Daredevil's mantle.