Kingpin haunts Matt Murdoch/Daredevil (courtesy Marvel and Netflix)
I’m definitely a Marvel guy over DC. My favorite movies are Iron Man and the Captain America series, and I’m pretty sure that nobody really died in Infinity War. My favorite character is Ant-Man/Scott Lang because he’s a regular guy who gets sucked into the Big War and I can empathize for him.
So I’ll admit I’ve watched every episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. My favorite is Phil Coulson. I really wish they had reconnected him with Tony, Cap and the gang. Even though there’s apparently going to be a season six my hopes are dimming.
That brings me to the Netflix shows. I like Luke Cage. I’m not a huge Punisher fan; the story seems too repetitive to me. I really wish Jessica Jones wasn’t so full of bad language, because I love the character and the more gritty setting of the show.
But Daredevil.
This show gets Marvel right on the small screen for me. The grit of Hell’s Kitchen is just right, and I love the glimpses of the city life. The characters are almost all unpowered humans, and even Daredevil himself isn’t imbued with superpowers. Matt Murdoch’s power resides between his ears – in more ways than one. As a blind man, his ears create a sensory experience that he claims is even more rich than a sighted person could be a part of. Add in the martial arts and the premise is set.
But, we need a villain.
Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin is, in my opinion, the best and baddest Marvel antagonist. He literally gives me the heebie-jeebies when I watch him move and speak. You know that he’s already orchestrated the desired outcome and everyone else is playing into his hands. I can’t even imagine going up against him.
In Season 3, Matt Murdoch is back from the dead (not really) and in hiding, trying to understand why God spared him. That’s another thing I like about Daredevil; it’s the only Marvel series to talk openly about God as a real entity. Matt’s connection to the Catholic Church and the orphanage he was raised in is another of my favorite bits within the storyline. Now, though, Kingpin has engineering his own release from prison and the FBI is mixed up his plans. I like Season 3’s pitting of the NYPD against the Feds. Foggy is running for Assistant D.A. and Karen Page is getting in too deep again. All good, and I’m only four episodes in! Things are going to blow up. The prison riot sequence is one of the best fight scenes I’v seen in a long time. No holds-barred, homemade weapons and fists and knees. Daredevil is in over his head.
Daredevil Season 3, much like Season 1 before it, reminds me so much of the Batman movies. I mean the good ones starring Christian Bale. The societal chaos, the gritty Gotham, the police, Feds and reporters. And (almost) no superpowers needed.
I am looking forward to watching the rest of the season.