By Owen Quinn author
So from the outset, let me make it clear that I was never a fan of the original Daredevil series. I know, I know, I’m in the minority but it just didn’t appeal to me. Even Punisher bored the tits off me which causes my buddy quite a bit of consternation, by the way.
Don’t get me wrong. I read the comics as a kid and knew all about his background and nemesis Kingpin. I remember him teaming up with Spider-Man and when Matt Murdock ended up as Peter’s lawyer, it was a thrilling moment from me. However, the series as a whole left me very, well….take it or leave it.
I liked the characters and Vincent D’Onofrio is the definitive Kingpin. He’ll be in Dublin this year for their summer 2025 show so get your tickets. So, when I heard it was coming back as Daredevil Reborn, I was excited. I just thought they were just churning out yet another bore fest Marvel series. Yes, I’m looking at you Hawkeye, The Marvels, She-Hulk, The Acolyte and Secret Invasion.
Oh wait, The Acolyte belongs to the other House of Mouse franchise that it is slowly destroying. Sorry, wrong universe but it seems the multiverse is being eroded with half assed productions that they think fans will love. Sadly, this is failing faster than Martin Fowler in the rubble of the Queen Vic.
Then I heard they had scrapped what had been filmed and were starting from scratch. This, unfortunately, is all you seem to hear these days with Marvel movies and series; reshoot after reshoot and this never inspires confidence in the most positive of beings. They released photos of the new costume; again, yawn from me.
So, between Reacher Season Three, I sat down to watch the new Daredevil. Now what I did like, as I said, was the trio of characters, Foggy, Matt and Karen. It was nice to see them all together again as if time had not passed.
I was looking forward to going on a new journey with these three but sure, when in life do we ever get what we want? Happiness is fleeting in the world and especially if you’re a superhero. Bullseye attacks a cop bar and guns down Foggy and almost shoots Karen before Matt swoops in and beats the life out of him. Enraged, he tosses him off a building with the intention of killing him.
I have to say that this was an opening and a half and we’re only minutes in. Get the right hook and the audience will stay. You can feel both Karen and Matt’s agony as their friend lies bleeding to death. There is no drama or last word, just the cold stare of a dead man in the same way as Tosh did in Torchwood’s Exit Wounds. They both died looking into the eyes of their friends and it is the last thing they see. This took me by surprise and I have to say, as a non-fan, I was in.
We jump to a year later and Matt has hung up his devil horns and is just now a lawyer working with a new company. Foggy’s death has destroyed his and Karen’s friendship and they too part ways in a taut scene at Bullseye’s sentencing. Matt is devastated to this day and cannot bring himself to be so open as to save his friendship. Karen leaves him one of the horns from his helmet. It is a clear message that the city of New York needs Daredevil and now.
We get to see an even more human side of Murdock in these two episodes as he deals with grief and loss which impacts him. He is desperate for someone to confide in which you can see in his interactions with Karen at the courthouse, but he messes that up totally.
But life has a way of bringing you back to your true path. When a man is lost, life will find a way. He can be dragged to the darkest places by grief and be trapped like tar. But when Matt hears a man being threatened by cops to admit to a crime he never committed, his senses are piqued. The discovery that the man is in fact fellow vigilante White Tiger makes it harder as there is a growing anti-vigilante movement. New York has lost its way without someone to hand out justice and a new hope arrives in the form of Kingpin who run and wins the race to become the new mayor of New York. One of his policies is ‘no more vigilantes’ who, if they step out of line, will face the full force of the law.
Stripping Matt down and getting rid of all that we are familiar with is actually a smart move. This show has always been about the war between Kingpin and Daredevil. On learning Fisk is back on the scene and a seemingly changed man, they meet face to face.
This scene is the most important of the first two episodes as it perfectly shows the powerful dark dance between these two enemies. Charlie Cox plays the Doubting Thomas brilliantly while making sure Kingpin is fully aware he will be watching and ready to move if he puts a step wrong. Equally, Fisk makes him aware that if he dares make a move as Daredevil, it will not go well for him. You can feel the tension between the two as they face an uncertain path. There are references to Echo which are nice. The former criminal becoming the benevolent king of the city? It’s a hard pill to swallow and as the commissioner finds out, Fisk will do what he has to in order to get what he wants. Even his marriage counselling session with Matt’s new girlfriend makes us stop and wonder if Fisk is actually genuine.
Daredevil Born Again is a poorly disguised commentary on the current Trump situation in America but what makes this stand out for me is the electricity between the foes. Events are forcing Matt to reconsider his position. Kingpin knows full well Matt is a formidable enemy but equally knows full well that after what happened to Foggy, this is a man who will kill now. Fisk portrays himself as enlightened, but Matt is steeped in the darkest of emotions including a deep frustration of how he can deliver justice to a system that is twisted. The tide is turning as Fisk cements himself as the new saviour of New York and the scene of celebration and support from the citizens for their new light in the dark on the streets could have been lifted straight out of any newscast.
So, as a non-fan who was quite meh about this show coming back, will I be back for the rest of the series?
Are you ready for the answer? Are you sure? Maybe some of you reading this should frame it because it is indeed a new day rising.
Daredevil Born Again episodes one and two were an exquisite example of how to bring new life to old characters and make them relevant again to a new audience.
I absolutely was hooked ten minutes into the first shocking episode, and it’s kept me swinging from one side to the other as to how long Kingpin will remain a good guy. This new unpredictable Daredevil is a dangerous one and if unleashed will bring his full wrath down on his enemies without compulsion.
To let the recent garbage Marvel has spewed out put you off this show is doing, and this show, you a disservice.
I’m in wholeheartedly for the full journey. This is unmissable. And if Daredevil does not appear in Secret Wars and Doomsday, Marvel need a kick in the arse.
Daredevil is back and badder than ever and so am I. Now there’s something you don’t see every day.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 