It’s been seven years since we were first introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with playboy billionaire Tony Stark riding in a humvee across a desert in Afghanistan. The MCU has come a long way since “Iron Man,” where the title character was battling terrorists, to films now involving magic hammers, talking raccoons and (arriving this May) an army of robots. Not only has Marvel Studios taken the box office by storm these past few years, but they’ve also moved into television with “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Agent Carter” and now “Daredevil.” This new series takes us back into a setting more like Tony Stark’s in his debut film, which is more grounded in reality without the aliens, advanced technology and other-worldly realms we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.
“Daredevil” takes us several blocks away from the Avenger’s Tower in Manhattan to the neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen where local crime reigns. The protagonist, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox, “Boardwalk Empire”), is a lawyer by day and a vigilante by night, trying to protect citizens when the law can’t. What makes this particular hero unique? Well, he’s blind. Stay with me here — he lost his vision as a child but his other four senses were heightened, giving him a special “sight” based on what he hears, touches, smells and tastes.
The show starts off with Murdock already fighting crime, but he’s not Daredevil just yet. He isn’t donning his signature red costume with his batons. Instead, he goes around fighting crime in a homemade black costume that’s kind of ninja-like. Outside of his moonlighting as a vigilante, Murdock and his best friend Foggy (Elden Henson, “Deja Vu”) are starting up their own law firm. The conflict begins when they are hired to defend Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll, “True Blood”) who’s been framed for the murder of a co-worker after uncovering an embezzlement scheme. From there, the plot thickens as Hell’s Kitchen comes under more and more danger due to the one and only Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio, “Run All Night”), Daredevil’s archenemy from the comics.
One particular aspect that separates this Marvel storyline from all the others is its depiction of violence. Overall, the MCU films are family-friendly, but “Daredevil” takes violence to another level where people end up spilling pints of blood and leaving fights with plenty of cuts and bruises. It’s a much more graphic and darker story. It’s from this deeper level of violence and mature themes that makes it kind of hard to believe that “Daredevil” is supposed to be in the same universe as “The Avengers,” where an entire city was under attack and we were having a rock n’ roll of a fun time watching it. And don’t expect to see Daredevil fight alongside Thor or Iron Man anytime soon. Daredevil is a more local figure who’s still adapting into becoming a hero. He would probably get his butt kicked if he tried to fight hordes of aliens or robots during this stage in his career.
Netflix is a very fitting place for “Daredevil” to be as opposed to broadcast network ABC where the lighter “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” resides. It’s nice to see that Marvel is still taking risks and exploring new territory. However, this is new territory only for Marvel and doesn’t really offer any dark and gritty themes that we haven’t already seen in numerous other shows. It’s still a good series, but it’s really not exploring anything not already covered in previous entertainment like “The Dark Knight” or “Breaking Bad.”
