The “Man Without Fear”, Daredevil, is a little different in the MCU, but that doesn’t contradict the version from Netflix’s Daredevil. After the Marvel Television shows on Netflix were canceled in 2018 and 2019, MCU viewers were eager to see well-established characters such as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk make their way into the MCU canon. Daredevil was finally introduced to the MCU in Spider-Man: No Way Home, though it’s the final two episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law where the character gets some real development. Since then, there’s been some debate over whether the MCU version of the character is simply too different from the Netflix version.
While the Netflix Daredevil series displayed a darker and grittier version of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, Daredevil actor Charlie Cox stated during an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the more light-hearted and wittier version in the MCU is one-and-the-same. Many have suggested that the different tone for Daredevil contradicts all the work put into the Netflix version, but this in fact isn’t the case. While being very grounded and heavy, Netflix’s Daredevil also introduced audiences to a Matt Murdock who jokes with his friends and has an incredibly entertaining, dry sense of humor, which translates perfectly into the tonally lighter world of the MCU.
Why The MCU’s Daredevil Choices Were So Divisive
Daredevil was perhaps the most popular of the Marvel Television shows on Netflix, due in part to its dark depiction of a city trying to rebuild in the wake of the Battle of New York. Charlie Cox’s performance as Matt Murdock received high praise, bringing to life the torment of the city with some truly brutal moments, like those in Daredevil’s famous hallway fight scene. When Daredevil was confirmed to be joining the MCU, many questioned whether these heavier tones would be lost in the transition, since the MCU has proudly upheld a more tongue-in-cheek approach throughout. The perfect test for this came during She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which saw Murdock team up with Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She-Hulk.
She-Hulk’s branding as a legal comedy meant that Daredevil’s personality would need to be adapted to fit the tone, toning down the brutality that made the character so popular on Netflix. While this small change did spark some debate among die-hard fans, Daredevil is a character packed full of warmth, charisma, wit, and levity, meaning he fits perfectly into the world of She-Hulk. In his EW interview, Charlie Cox stated that he had “a really good time” exploring how to fit into the world of the MCU without portraying a different character to the one that viewers fell in love with.
Marvel Has Proved Daredevil Can Be Great In The MCU
Daredevil is set to be featured in his own, 18-episode Disney+ series, Daredevil: Born Again, in 2024, so his appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law have been something of a practice run for the new and improved version of the character. The more light-hearted feeling of the MCU means that Charlie Cox gets to test the limits of his much-loved character and find new areas of his personality that the Netflix Daredevil series couldn’t reach. The fact that Matt Murdock has had time to develop since his time on Netflix, and the character has moved on from constantly being dark and brooding to having a much more overt sense of humor means that Daredevil will only go from strength to strength.
Marvel Studios has already proven that this version of the character works in the MCU, especially in the final two episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which show him develop a relationship with the titular hero. Daredevil and She-Hulk’s banter is hugely entertaining and is the perfect addition to the series, while also proving that the horned hero can interact with other MCU characters while hanging onto that special thing that makes him so watchable, spelling good news for Daredevil’s future MCU projects. The character is the same as the one from Netflix, but stronger because of the added element of his wit and dynamic range.
Born Again Will Have More Of Netflix’s Dark Daredevil, But Shouldn’t Lose The Humor
Viewers were given a glimpse of the dark Daredevil that they’ve come to know and love during She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, where one of those hallway fight scenes was taking place before Jen’s interruption. This proves that Marvel Studios are committed to giving audiences the same version of the character that was introduced in Netflix’s Daredevil. Even so, the levity that Matt Murdock expressed during his Netflix series can be enhanced tenfold in his new Disney+ Marvel Studios show, Daredevil: Born Again. It wasn’t all doom-and-gloom on Netflix, in fact, Murdock’s moments of comedy were made even brighter because of the darkness that surrounded it, such as his brilliant banter with friend and business partner, Foggy Nelson, including dubbing themselves “Avocados-at-law”.
Daredevil: Born Again will surely be a thrill ride if it can find the perfect combination of darkness and humor. Fans of the Netflix series will want to see the same brutality in the MCU version of Daredevil, but She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has proven that this will still be the case, while also adding a whole new spectrum of emotions to the character’s personality. This could be the best choice for the character who is set to make his next MCU appearance during Echo before his massive solo series, which will put the brand-new (but still the same) Daredevil directly in the spotlight.
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