It’s been nearly two weeks since Marvel rolled out its bold experiment on Netflix, telling a superhero story in 13 episodes with Daredevil. The show has been a hit with fans and critics, largely because it succeeded in breaking away from what’s become a familiar formula. Daredevil had to do something different to stand out, which is exactly what executive producers Drew Goddard, Jeph Loeb and Steven S. DeKnight accomplished.
The series deconstructs the superhero stories we’re used to seeing, giving us a fresh take on the genre. Here’s why it worked so well.
It’s Not an Origin Story
Almost every superhero narrative begins with the origin story. There has to be some explanation for how a seemingly normal person gained extraordinary abilities, what sequence of events led him or her to put on a costume to combat evil. The first hour of a movie or initial episodes of a series build toward our hero adopting that masked identity. But as viewers, we just want to get to the good stuff.
Daredevil disregards that formula right away. Yes, the show begins with the formative incident that stole Matt Murdock’s sight and boosted his remaining four senses. He has to deal with tragic circumstances at a very early age. But the hero is already donning his stealthy black costume and pounding on thugs from the story’s outset. We quickly learn that Murdock (played by Charlie Cox) has been doing this for a while, grappling with the morality of his vigilantism. He’s trying to justify his rage, so troubled by it that he feels the need to confess as his Catholic upbringing taught him to.
Along the way, through flashbacks and exposition, the story depicts the events that led Murdock to the point where he felt it necessary to take matters into his own hands, to exact justice when the law could only extend so far. He’s all too familiar with that, since he’s a lawyer in his civilian life. This is one of the central conflicts of the character.
But the origin isn’t the story that drives the series through its 13 episodes; it’s just part of the narrative. We follow Murdock’s development from the beginning stages of vigilantism to becoming the symbol and champion that the oppressed citizens of Hell’s Kitchen need. We take the same path with the story’s villain, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). This is “Daredevil Begins,” but it’s more about the hero and villain both finding their identity, realizing their purpose and confronting the consequences of those choices.
The Villain is the Romantic Lead
Usually, it’s the hero — presumably the main character — that gets the love story, right? There are some elements of that with Murdock, who falls into a potential relationship with a nurse, Claire (Rosario Dawson), who finds the beaten-up vigilante and tends to his wounds. But the pairing is ultimately doomed, because of what it’s based upon. He goes out to fight crime, she patches him up. He protects her, but she’ll always be in danger associating with him.
Those who have read the Daredevil comic books know that Murdock and his secretary, Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), are destined to be a couple. But eventually, their paths go in different directions and Frank Miller took Page down a very dark path, one which eventually costs Murdock everything. The show hints at a sordid past for her, which is something that will probably be explored in future seasons. And we have the beginnings of a love triangle involving Page, Murdock, and his law partner/best friend, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson). But even if you haven’t read the comics, you can see where things are going.
The real love story of Daredevil belongs to Fisk and his desire for a companion while surrounded by ruthless people who do terrible things to people for their own benefit. He becomes infatuated with an art gallery owner, Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), who senses a lonely soul yet also seems intrigued by his ambition and vision. This woman gets him. But the pursuit of a relationship in Fisk’s line of work speaks to a naive belief that he can have everything. More importantly, Fisk wants what he’s never had.
D’Onofrio does an excellent job conveying Fisk’s inner conflict. He has an outward appearance of authority — maybe even menace — but around Vanessa, he’s unsure of himself and eager to please. (Fisk lashes out violently at an associate for interrupting a dinner with her and embarrassing him.) Is that why she falls for him? Is she protective of a psychologically wounded man-child? Or is she basically Lady Macbeth, goading Fisk’s lust for power and encouraging him to follow through on his vision, regardless of the lives it will cost?
Does He Bleed? He Will
We’ve seen superheroes get beaten up before. In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman was pummeled and had his back broken by Bane. In Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film, the web-slinger gets pulverized by the Green Goblin. But the hero takes beating after beating in Daredevil, to the point where you wonder if he’s actually any good at this vigilante-superhero thing. Though he’s a skilled, athletic fighter, Murdock never seems to take anyone down easily.
That perception is surely influenced by Cox not being a very big guy. He’s in great shape, filling out those black compression shirts well, but isn’t the hulking, imposing figure that Chris Evans is as Captain America or Ben Affleck appears to be with his version of Batman. This hero wins his fights through determination and will, as best seen in the fight scene you’ve probably heard about at the end of episode two. Murdock goes into a building to rescue a kidnapped child and takes on eight gangsters by himself.
The fight scene that follows isn’t a choreographed dance like you’d see in a Steven Seagal movie, where each bad guy waits his turn to take a shot at the hero. Murdock essentially attacks them all at once, though the cramped hallway setting allows him to systematically beat each gangster down. But it’s not easy. You see him get tired. He leans against the wall to catch his breath. He stumbles. He throws his body into each punch.
This superhero isn’t shaking punches off and accompanying each strike with a catchy zinger. He looks exhausted. The sequence doesn’t have the kinetic energy of a fight scene from The Raid or the hallway scrum in Oldboy. But it’s not supposed to. This is a slog of a brawl. It’s ugly and desperate.
But Murdock truly gets his ass kicked in episode nine. Not only does he take lethal punches and kicks from his opponent, with blood splashing from each blow, but he gets torn up by the bad guy’s weapon of choice: A blade attached to a chain. He gets sliced across the back and chest. At one point, the blade lodges in his abdomen. And after that, Murdock gets beaten even further by Fisk, who could probably easily punch through a wall. Though he manages to escape, he doesn’t recover from this mauling quickly.
Secret Identities Don’t Stay That Way
Recovering from his severe beating and multiple lacerations takes some time. The writers don’t even try to explain how Murdock could somehow go back to work at his law office and explain the assorted bruises and cuts he bears. He takes roughly two episodes to recuperate. And in the process, Foggy discovers his best friend’s secret life, realizing that he’s been lied to for years.
Shows like Arrow and The Flash have twisted themselves in knots trying to figure out ways for their heroes to continue fooling friends, family and colleagues about their double lives. Supporting characters end up looking dumb for not deducing what’s really happening or writers just acknowledge the problem and virtually everyone finds out the hero’s secret identity.
Daredevil dances with that early on in the series, as Murdock is mysteriously unavailable when Foggy and Karen need him or a dangerous situation causes them to worry. But after getting punched and sliced to within an inch of his life, there’s just no way for this superhero to hide anymore. Rather than try to contrive a situation in which Murdock can somehow explain his whereabouts, let alone his injuries, the show’s writing team just confronts the issue head-on.
And the series doesn’t just present the revelation and try to move on. Daredevil devotes an entire episode to two longtime friends having a painfully honest conversation, with Murdock attempting to explain something that just can’t be explained (whether it’s his extra-sensory abilities or the fact he puts on a costume to go out at night and beat people up) and Foggy trying to process the betrayal he feels over his best friend being someone he barely knows.
To basically screech the action to a halt for some deep character development is a bold choice by showrunner DeKnight and writer Doug Petrie. Some might argue that the show spent far too long on this part of the story and should have driven back toward the action sooner. But the series earns this by establishing the relationships between characters and getting us to care about them. Murdock’s decisions and subsequent actions wouldn’t have nearly the same meaning without this.
The Superhero Reveal is Kind of a Letdown
Something else Daredevil takes its sweet time with is getting to Daredevil — or more specifically, the suit that we know the character will eventually wear, the one appropriate to his nickname. Does it take far too long to get Murdock out of his patched together ninja outfit and into a more practical suit with body armor? He doesn’t suit up in the iconic dark red costume with horns on his helmet until the last 15 minutes of the season’s final episode. And the crescendo of the story kind of feels rushed from there. So, yes — maybe that took a bit too long.
However, it doesn’t feel as if DeKnight and company are deliberately pushing that reveal until the very, very end. There probably was some thought to dangling that carrot for fans and viewers to get them to that final episode with a big payoff. But during the course of the series, it does feel as if Murdock has to reach a point where there’s really no other choice than to upgrade his battle gear. To not do so would be suicidal (if it hadn’t been already). Claire cracks that his outfit “sucks” after patching him up the first time. And Murdock acknowledges that he needs some better production for his crusade.
But the story builds to it, leaving clues as to how he might acquire the necessary materials for a better costume. It’s probably a bit of a jump from “I found a guy who can make me body armor” to coming up with a suit as elaborate as the one Daredevil finally sports. Yet at least there’s an attempt at plausibility, something important to a show that tries to keep a “street-level” view, rather than take to the skies and stars like the Avengers. (By the way, the outcome of The Avengers has a direct bearing on the events in Daredevil, which makes for an intriguing connection.)
However, I was surprised at how underwhelmed I was by the final reveal of the Daredevil suit and Murdock getting the final weapon he needs to take down Fisk. I think that’s mostly because Murdock becomes so believable and familiar in his ninja vigilante outfit, made up of compression and combat gear with a bandana concealing his face. Dressed all in black, he’s actually a scary presence in a nighttime setting. So when Daredevil leaps onto the scene, with hands on hips, shot from below to look superheroic, what’s supposed to be a money shot — the moment we’ve all been waiting for — seems kind of corny.
From there, what’s been a compelling examination and deconstruction of the superhero narrative becomes a typical superhero movie, with good guy and bad guy having their climactic battle. That was probably inevitable. You spend nearly 13 episodes trying to make a somewhat realistic crime story and then inject a bit of the fantastic at the end. There’s going to be a difference in tone. Too much has happened by that point to derail the show, and maybe that’s why DeKnight and producers waited so long to get there.
But the trip to that final destination was a lot of fun, making for arguably the best story that Marvel has ever produced in its live-action endeavors. Getting 13 hours to tell a story made for a rich, complex narrative that felt much more fulfilling than a two-hour movie. Daredevil also gave itself plenty to build on, with at least a few threads left to dangle for a second season. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Netflix quickly decided, less than two weeks after its release, to renew the show for another run.
Though it will be interesting to see if Daredevil continues to play with the traditional superhero formula or has no choice but to eventually embrace its comic-book roots (which have typically been far more pulpy and noirish than other Marvel heroes), the important thing is that the show leaves you wanting more. What could be better, really?