Join us in a brand new discussion feature – a spinoff of sorts from our popular Hangouts feature – in where we come together to discuss with you, the reader, whatever it is that’s currently buzzing around the world of comics and the movies and TV they inspire.
In the debut edition of Kabooooom’s ongoing discussion feature we’re talking Daredevil – the newest addition to the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe and the latest offering from Netflix Originals. All 13 episodes of the series dropped on Netflix’s instant streaming service last Friday and over the course of the weekend comic-loving nerds watched little else.
Judging by the initial reactions across social media and critics’ early reviews – the series is a hit! Forget the 2003 Ben Affleck-starring feature, because Netflix’s Daredevil is a grittier and more faithful adaptation of the man without fear. Daredevil establishes Hell’s Kitchen as a decidedly darker section of the MCU; one where it can difficult to distinguish between the heroes and villains and everyone gets beaten to a bloody pulp.
Now that most have had a chance to at least get a taste for this new chapter of the MCU, we want hear what your initial impressions are of Daredevil? What do you think of the casting of Charlie Cox as ‘lawyer by day, vigilant by night’ Matt Murdock? Do you like the series’ darker and edgier tone? How about Daredevil‘s depiction of Marvel’s iconic villain, Wilson Fisk as played by Vincent D’Onofrio? And that fight choreography! Chances are you loved the fight scenes, but let us hear from you in the comments below!
However, please mark any SPOILERS as such. Not everyone will have burned through all 13 episodes in a weekend binge-a-thon.
Kabooooom! 
As of the moment, I’m only five episodes in and I’ve left off on an agonizing cliffhanger! Agh! But don’t worry, I’ll be watching more tonight.
Overall, I’m already really impressed with how Daredevil is establishing itself as part of the wider MCU (there’s a mention of the Battle of New York, for instance) but it’s still very much its own thing. Hell’s Kitchen is its own little corner and Tony Stark isn’t going to come walking down any of those alleys.
Plus, it’s dark. SO DARK. At times, maybe a little too dark (or that’s just poor contrast on my TV). But for this series, the dark shadows and the eerie lighting works really well. And you have to imagine that for someone who’s blind, the world is only seen in different gradients of light.
And seriously, that fight choreography. Just… wow. I think this might be one of the best choreographed series I’ve seen when it comes to fight scenes. Doesn’t hurt it has such fantastic camera work, too. It’s the example every brings up, but that hallway scene in the second episode is brilliantly shot.
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I totally get why the show is so dark, but the first thing my wife said to me (with the appropriate sarcasm and irony) when we watch the first episode is, “Can’t Daredevil do some stuff during the daytime.” It may be obvious, but I love that the view almost experiences certain sequences needing a radar sense. I think, though, the sound editing is so well done that you know exactly what’s going on even if you can’t see it. And, like you said this is portrayed perfectly in the 2nd episode.
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Maybe it was just because I was watching it on my HD computer monitor, but I actually thought the show was brighter than Gotham and Agents of SHIELD….
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Yes. The now infamous fight-scene at the end of the second episode is fast becoming one of the things about this show everyone points at as a symbol of quality. Mainly because it is one of the few things we can talk about without really spoiling any details.
I just finished watching the 13th episode this morning and…. wow! This series builds on itself like nothing I’ve seen.
If I were to compare it to anything else on TV right now, I’d have to say Arrow. Not just for the obvious gritty low/no power superhero connection but for how the series takes a gradual approach to revealing the characters’ backstories through the flashbacks.
One thing that Daredevil improves upon relative to Arrow, however, is how well the supporting cast is utilized. Every character in the ensemble – Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, Ben Urich and even Kingpin’s seneschal James Wesley – all seem like fully-rounded characters with their own stories going on. This is especially true of Karen Page, who is far more than the secretary Foggy and Matt both flirt with and feud over.
On that note, for all the talk of how well this series captures the essence of the Frank Miller Daredevil comics, I found that it drew just as much upon the original Stan Lee series, but in much more subtle ways. Sure, we see Miller’s favorite punching-bag Turk and Josie’s Bar. But the general attitude of Matt Murdock in costume is far more smirky and funny than Miller’s take on the character, owing a lot to Stan Lee’s swashbuckling Daredevil.
The show’s writers, who draw off the rich mythology of Daredevil but aren’t afraid to work against it and the usual comic book cliches, deserve a heap of praise and awards. The characterization is top-notch and the dialogue just snaps, both dramatically and comedicly.
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You got that right about Daredevil’s supporting characters! Nobody feels like they’re just filling space on the screen.
I was a little worried about Karen at first, but she is quickly proving to be a really interesting character with a lot of depth. (She’s no Laurel, that’s for sure!)
And Dawson has just been fantastic as Claire. It’s an interesting role, too, his first accomplice and the moral dilemmas she had to deal with by choosing to help him.
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I binge watched this over the weekend, and got to the finale Monday night. I don’t remember a time that I want to set aside everything else for a TV show like I did with Daredevil. I was worried before I started watching that something was going to go wrong–that I’d dislike a characterization or how DD’s powers where visualized, but man was I wrong.
I think among the multitude of strengths this show has subtlety is definitely one of them. The subtle references to other plotlines or easter eggs dropped throughout the series; the casual turn of the head that symbolizes Matt’s focus, and the odd little ticks that portray the nature of Wilson all build a great tension throughout each episode.
The main thing that I keep thinking about now that I’m done with the series (and rewatching as my wife goes through the episodes at a slower pace) is how once I was done, I wanted to immerse myself in Daredevil mythology–not only rewatching the series, but rereading everything from Bendis, Brubaker, and Waid’s runs to Shadowland and everything that came before.
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