A Series Without Fear: the legacy of Daredevil’s Netflix Show

“My dad, he used to come to this church back when I was a kid. He was a fighter. Old school. Boxer. Lost more than he won. Had a 24-31 record before he, uh… But he could take a punch. Jesus, he could take a punch (…) Yeah… guys he went up against used to say it was like hitting oak. And nights when he was outmatched, my dad’s strategy was to let ‘em hit him ‘til they broke their hands. Never got knocked out, my dad. Knocked down, sure, but he, uh, always got back up. He was always on his feet when he lost. Every now and then, he’d get hit and something inside would snap (…) And you’d see it sometimes in the ring. His eyes would go dead… and he’d start walking forward real slow, hands at his side like he wasn’t afraid of anything. And the other guy, he’d see that look, and he’d try to get away from him. Nah. My dad, he’d catch him and trap him in the corner. Let the devil out. Yeah. Now, I didn’t understand it, you know? What he was feeling inside, I didn’t understand it. Not back then.”

• Matt Murdock.

That’s it. Daredevil was cancelled after three seasons.

Getting into details about why the Netflix series was cancelled is something that I’m not going to dwell in because there are multiple opinions, theories and statements that turned that topic into a tortuous task. The important task ahead, at least from my perception, is to focus on what this show represented and the impact that it had.

Daredevil was part of a project that Marvel in Netflix that would go around about several lesser known characters in their comic book universe by giving them their respective series. The story of blind lawyer Matt Murdock was the one that kick started this universe and later we got the likes of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, The Punisher and the crossover event The Defenders, all having different results and receptions. But Daredevil and his war to protect Hell’s Kitchen always stood out, being a much more complete and satisfying product than the rest of his peers.

While there are rumors of a possible comeback in Disney’s streaming platform, Daredevil’s Netflix series is, for all purposes, cancelled, so we are going to have a look at what made this show so successful, so highly-regard by fans and critics alike and what is the legacy of the Man Without Fear for the TV world.

When we discuss about series or film adaptations of a book, a comic book or anything of a similar ilk, we often mention the matter of fidelity–that tends to be one of the first questions regarding an adaptation, excepting the usual “Is it good?”. But it makes sense, though: the people that tend to show interest in these adaptations are the ones that are more familiar with the source material, so it’s natural that they want to see the characters, the story arcs and even some very specific moments come to life, which is something more than justified, especially considering a character like Matt Murdock and his alter ego, that has some of the finest stories of the entire Marvel Universe.

This series did take a lot from the source material but, unlike the film adaptation of the early 2000s starring Ben Affleck, it didn’t focus so much on copying the moments. For example, Elektra’s death is different to the legendary one in the comics, Karen Page has a very different role to the one it had in the original stories despite still being Matt’s love interest, the firm Nelson & Murdock is not nearly as successful as the one in the comics–hell, even Matt’s iconic red Daredevil outfit, much more spandex and slim-fitting-oriented in the comic books, is more of a battle armor here (although I think it has some influence from the Fall From Grace outfit of the early 90s, but that’s just my personal take). There’s no memorable arc from Frank Miller’s influential run that gets adapted here or even attempts to do so, regardless of the influence it might have. Sure, Matt’s background story is almost identical to the one exposed in Miller’s The Man Without Fear story, even using his black suit, but the Netflix series focuses on something much more significant and vital: the concepts and the themes.

If there’s something that you need to grasp in any kind of adaption but especially when it comes to comic books character is to implement the themes and concepts that made said characters so appealing to the public and doing so in a manner that works in your medium (in this case, a series).

Daredevil’s biggest theme throughout its many years of publications has always been the delimitations between right and wrong and how you can make justice work. Matt Murdock’s profession, unlike many other heroes, as a lawyer actually influences the way he operates as Daredevil because he believes in the law, he believes in not killing criminals and taking them to the court so the system can do it was meant to do: to provide justice. How the death of his father and his Catholic beliefs structures the way he sees injustice and how he feels that he has to take the matter in his own hands. This is something we clearly see from the very moment that the series starts and as the episodes developed we saw how complicated was to Matt to uphold said perceptions of the world, which is one of the key elements of the source material and that the series manages to show to great effect.

Charlie Cox did not have an easy task ahead of him to play the Man Without Fear. While Ben Affleck is certainly a great actor and his performance as Batman proved his doubters wrong in the superhero camp, his Daredevil was certainly lackluster and it had such a poor reception that the character needed more than a decade to be adapted once again. Fortunately, Cox found the perfect balance between the emotionally reserved lawyer and the stoic vigilante, which is essentially playing two characters, thus becoming a main character that we care about, that we understand and whose crusade against criminal activity is often perceived as an epic of sorts with that urban feel that Miller installed in the character decades ago.

Naturally, this needed a counterpart and, man, what a counterpart we got! Wilson Fisk has gone on to become Matt Murdock’s antithesis as the Kingpin of crime and his biggest arch nemesis, but Vincent D’Onofrio took the character to far greater heights. In the hands of the wrong actor, Fisk would be a run-of-the-mill mobster and somewhat of a lackluster rival to Marvel’s favorite vigilante, but D’Onofrio offers a depth, a determination and a humanity to the role of Wilson Fisk, that you can’t help but to feel at awe to his performance. Daredevil has many antagonists, threats and sub-plots, but Wilson Fisk in the ultimate foil to the Man Without Fear and here we have an actor that I may dare to say that delivered the version of the character that would be the standard for further adaptations.

There’s also the subject of the side characters. Compared to the other Marvel Netflix shows and even the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Daredevil has a very strong cast of side characters. Sure, we’re mainly here to watch the perennial struggle between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, but to see characters such as Foggy Nelson, Karen Page Ben Urich, Bullseye or Elektra come to life in such a powerful and lively manner is something that makes the story much more enjoyable because every scene and sub-plot becomes much more interesting.

This isn’t a superhero show in the classic way. Sure, there’s lots of great action and scenes that show Daredevil in all his badass glory, but to see elements such as Matt and Foggy’s bromance, Karen and Matt’s relationship growing more and more, Elektra’s dynamic and dangerous attitude towards life itself, Ben Urich’s quest to become the journalist he always knew he was while tendering his sick wife… all of these elements and many more deliver what is a series that feels timeless, classy and powerful at the same time. The final confrontation between Murdock and Fisk at the end of the first season is one of the finest moments that I have seen in any comic book adaptation; it has electricity, buildup and resolution that, from my perspective, encapsulate what the whole series (and the character himself) is all about.

Each season has an overarching plot that maintains the stories coherent and consistent with a certain theme, which is a major difference to most superheroes TV adaptations. This and an accessible amount of thirteen chapters per season makes for enjoyable escapism, which is something that great fiction always has to deliver. Add to all this the aforementioned urban feel, a dark atmosphere in the nights of Hell’s Kitchen and a wise execution of the resources at hand –TV shows always have to work with lesser budgets than films- and you have a show that is going to have a lasting effect.

And it’s just fun. Everything boils down to that, regardless of how insightful, well-designed and structured any adaptation is: to entertain and to make the viewers forget that he or she is watching a work of fiction. Daredevil is a thrilling experience from beginning to end, mixed with the influence of Frank Miller’s run that made the character what he is today and adding the producers’ own liberties –which worked, by the way- to create the product that we have at hand.

I truly believe this is the finest Marvel live-action adaptation. It delivers the thrills of the MCU with a bigger depth, grasp of the core themes of the story and understanding of the storytelling principals, all in 39 chapters of pure excellence. It’s based around two iconic characters that were interpreted in great fashion by two highly underrated actors in Cox and D’Onoffrio. It has one of the finest side characters that I have seen in a Marvel adaption and it delivers a few seasons for the ages.

Daredevil didn’t get knockout. Knockdown, sure, but never knockout. It was a series that died on its feet.

“It was just like you said: not everyone deserves a happy ending.”