Season 3 of Daredevil is a hit on Netflix, the opportunity to return to this Marvel character well known to aficionados. The devil of Hell's Kitchen is back while his buddies Danny Rand and Luke Cage are kindly thanked. Daredevil is a fictional character created in 1964 by Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett. He was the subject of a first film in 2003 and since 2015 is the hero of his eponymous series directed by Drew Godard. But do you really know Daredevil?
A cult character in comics
Daredevil is a bit like the Batman of the Marvel universe. But without the wealth, without the flow, without Robin and without the Batmobile. Well actually say it like that it feels like it's a poor man's Batman. But Daredevil is much more than that, thankfully. Like Bruce Wayne, Matt Murdock applies his own vengeful justice at night, under a horned mask, to remind us of the Devil. Yes Daredevil as Batman wants to inspire fear in his enemies. Like the Black Knight, the Fearless Man is tortured by an inner duality on the conception of good: where justice ends and madness begins. Daredevil does not hesitate to kill his enemies, while the Batman continues to scare them again and again. So certainly his enemies shit in their froc, but come back again and again to torture him. Daredevil does not have this problem, his justice is expeditious. And finally Marvel ended up inventing its own Batman in the person of Moon Knight (tortured and exciting character that we highly recommend).
Well his story you know it, that's what was told in the very good film of Mark Steven Johnson. No we laugh it was obviously a dung, but still more pleasant to watch than the sequel / spin-off centered on Elektra. After an accident, Matt Murdock loses his sight. His other senses will therefore develop, so much so that they will become super-human. After the death of his father and the disappearance of his mother (finally very much alive, became a nun). Daredevil is taken under the wing of Stick (totally forgotten in the film) who will teach him the basics of fighting. Daredevil's powers are exciting and based on a more than credible theory. Because of the loss of his sight, his other senses will develop radically. His hearing, smell, touch and taste will become super-human. He will also be adorned, like bats, with an internal sonar that will allow him to glimpse his universe. Thus he is able to feel the heartbeat of his interlocutor and know if he is lying. Practical when practising as a lawyer.
In addition to Stick as a mentor, Matt Murdock is also surrounded by other allies. There is of course Foggy, the nice argue, the chubby, close friend of the devil of Hell's Kitchen, legal partner. There is of course Elektra, the super killer trained by Stick. There is also Karen Page, important protagonist of the series, and Ben Urich, the journalist who lets his nose drag in Daredevil's business. Finally, Daredevil has a special relationship with Iron Fist and Luke Cage, hence these choices in Netflix series. On the side of his enemies, Daredevil often finds himself struggling with The Caid, this cold and calculating king of the New York underworld. But his worst enemy is of course Bullseye, the best shooter in the Marvel universe.
2003: Daredevil is ransacked on the big screen
At the same time, why give the direction to Mark Steven Johnson? This American will tear down 4 years later another Marvel character with his moldy adaptation of Ghost Rider. Don't give this gentleman any more comic book adaptations. Daredevil is based on a rich cast. Ben Affleck wears the mask of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. If he is not the most considered actor of his generation, he is nevertheless at the top in the early 2000s and does the work, without genius, but with assiduity, and we understand how the role of Batman ended up being attributed to him. But Ben Affleck remains a cold actor in his acting, content as usual with the strict necessary level of expression, but this characterization is relatively adequate with his character. Then comes the excellent Michael Clarke Duncan in the role of Wilson Fisk, aka The Caid. Far from the brilliant performance of Vincent D'Onofrio in the series of Drew Godard, it does not prevent that the actor of The Green Line has in the belly. He plays a cold and violent Caid, a great representative of the high spheres, relatively faithful to the character of the comics. The Caid was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1967. He seeks to become the ultimate boss of the American mafia, but also deals with other secret organizations like HYDRA. His worst enemy remains Daredevil, but the Caid is regularly struggling with Spider-Man, see the Punisher.
But he is not the only character to cross the road of the blind vigilante since the film features the love of his life: Elektra. Portrayed by Jennifer Garner, Elektra is a killer, ninja, mercenary, also trained by Stick. It was created in 1981 by the great Frank Miller, who signed many stories of the red devil. Elektra Natchios is the daughter of a Greek ambassador. As in the Daredevil and The Defenders series, Elektra was corrupted by The Hand's organization when she tried to infiltrate them. She has also worked for HYDRA and SHIELD. And lately she was a member of the Thunderbolts. As in the movie, Elektra is killed by a Bullseye sent by The Caid. We can at least leave that to Mark Steven Johnson, it is that his adaptation of Daredevil remains very faithful to the character of comics.
In addition to a Foggy Nelson, friend and colleague of Matt Murdock, played by the excellent Jon Favreau, director of the first two Iron Man, it remains to present Bullseye. It was in 1976 that this character landed under the pencils of John Romita Sr. and Bob Brown. The man who would later be called The Shooter (Leonard or Lester, real identity partially unknown) was a formidable pitcher in Baseball. During World War II, he enlisted in the army and took cruel pleasure in killing his enemies. Bullseye has no real power but his ability is superhuman: he can kill an individual with any object, is the best viewfinder in the Marvel Universe (ahead of Hawkeye), has remarkable physical abilities and sharp combat techniques. Finally, his skeleton (spine) was partially recreated based on adamantium following a violent fight with Daredevil, which had left him paralyzed. He took the place of Clint Barton in the skin of Hawkeye alongside Norman Osborn in the Dark Avengers arc. This nemesis of Daredevil is interpreted by the excellent Colin Farrell for the purposes of the film. The Irish actor caricature slightly, but is very credible thanks to his mentally ill look.
In short, a relatively failed adaptation, but which remains very faithful to the paper characters. Bulleseye remains a good nemesis to the fearless man, who faces a Caid perfectly camped by Michael Clarke Duncan. The final fight from the top of the glass tower is superb, fast, precise, and allows a conclusion specific to this wobbly film. Daredevil is not the worst superhero movie, far from it, but remains a B series, failing to be more than an average action movie. It must be said that Daredevil has also taken a little old, especially in its special effects.
2015: The Resurrection of the Fearless Man
Drew Goddard is a distinguished screenwriter and the recent director of The Cabin in the Woods, and the upcoming Dirty Times at the Hotel el Royal. Daredevil is not back on the big screen, but does his resurrection on the little one. Marvel Television and Netfix dust off the character to give him a new face: that of Charlie Cox. The actor offers a more fragile Daredevil, just as cold, but with more weaknesses. Less imposing than Ben Affleck, he plays a Daredevil more human, closer to his entourage and the spectator. Charlie Cox offers a very good Daredevil, who still knows how to give well-placed blows.
The direction of the show is relatively licked, offering some stunning action scenes with perfectly executed sequence shots. But the great strength of this first season is obviously the antagonist: The Caid. Vincent d'Onofrio is perfect in the role, and plays a Caid more ambiguous, more interesting and above all deeper than the film version. This time it is not just a bully at the head of the mafia, but has a wife, a musical and culinary sensibility, an interest in art. He is not the violent mafia boss but a member of high society, cultured and refined. This creates a real break when the character gets angry and becomes a real killing machine, violent, uncompromising and above all extremely brutal. In short, it is the villain who makes a good hero and there is no need to say: Vincent d'Onofrio makes an excellent Caid.
The secondary characters are unfortunately more boring like the Foggy less funny than that of Jon Favreau or the eternal Claire Temple, present in all the series, but still as boring, and it is certainly not because of the talent of Rosario Dawson. But come season 2, and certainly the best appearance of the Marvel series: a Punisher under coke in the skin of Jon Bernthal. The character does nothing but his head and offers superb confrontations between two anti-heroes at the top. This season 2 allows a real duality between the two superheroes. The Punisher will allow Daredevil to put a foot on the wrong side of the line, great plot of this third season. The two characters don't seem so different.
The Daredevil-centric show is unquestionably the most successful of the Netflix Marvel series. While Iron Fist and Luke Cage bite the dust, the Fearless Man makes his way with a season 3 that seems to be unanimous. But when will we return to the big screen?
