She-Hulk offered us a great Daredevil
It took a long time to wait, it fooled us into being able to arrive at any moment, but in the end the Guardian Devil officially became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The eighth episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law allowed Matt Murdock to go beyond the lawyer role we met him with in Spider-Man: No Way Home, giving fans of the franchise (and especially those of the Cornetto) ) the chance to enjoy one of the most anticipated beginnings of the long saga of Marvel's heroes on the big screen. Although it was known that Jennifer Walters would be introducing Daredevil to the franchise, the appearance of the Guardian Devil in this episode was met with a mix of emotions from the viewers, considering that it takes place within a production with a comic tone, which therefore imposed to the character a certain characterization. And this explains why bright tones have risen on the internet for this presentation of the Cornetto, so much so that many fans are accusing the new Cornetto of being too different from the original paper version. Yet, in these parts the thinking is the opposite, to the point that one does not hesitate to say that She-Hulk's Daredevil is a perfect Matt Murdock.
Subscribe now to Disney + for € 8.99 per month or € 89.90 per year A small but necessary clarification, when it comes to characters born sixty years ago on the pages of a comic. Six decades of long publishing life means having behind us an impressive team of authors who have succeeded in recounting the adventures of a character, different voices who have been able to give different visions of the same 'life', often capturing antithetical nuances. If we think back to Daredevil: Giallo it is undeniable that Loeb and Sale's Daredevil is ironic and bold, while Miller's Cornetto has a tougher approach, without bothering Nocenti management or stories like Battlin 'Jack Murdock and the most recent runs, culminating with Devil's Reign, in which dark traits of the character emerge. An authorial plurality that leads us to ask ourselves who the real Daredevil is, a question to which we could answer with a Pirandellian 'one, none, one hundred thousand'.
A perfect Daredevil is shown in She-Hulk
From Netflix to the Marvel Cinematic Universe The Daredevil of the Marvel Cinematic Universe The irony of DaredevilFrom Netflix to the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The truth is that for the public less accustomed to the cartoon character, the reference Daredevil is of the Netflix series, without exacerbated by the reconfirmation of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, a role he played for the first time in that production. It is impeccable that the Netflix series, especially Daredevil and Punisher, had a particularly raw approach, which went to enhance emotional aspects far from the typical grammar of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Marvel's Daredevil In the Netflix series, Matt (even before Daredevil) is a tormented man, isolated from the world and who lives his existence as a continuous struggle. You can see it in his fighting style, you can feel it in the almost bestial enthusiasm with which he rages against his enemies, ruthless, unstoppable. Bad, in some moments, to the point that it is almost doubted that he is a hero, but taking on more the tones of the vigilante. It is therefore normal that those who appreciated this portrait of the Guardian Devil had precise expectations for his arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but on several occasions it had been clarified how it would be difficult to transport this vis of the character within a franchise that tends to sweeten certain drifts.
It was so fun to be able to do it, as we do with every character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to take them from the environment everyone knows, much more dramatic and oriented towards the action, and involve them in our world, make them dance to the rhythm of She-Hulk. And they have to explore a lighter aspect of their personality.
And from this premise an ironic Matt Murdock could only come out, capable of making his debut in the courtroom with a joke about his blindness, before showing off a legal ability capable of defeating Jennifer's certainties in no time, while maintaining another promise made by the same interpreter as the blind lawyer from Hell's Kitchen.
We know that it will consist of eighteen episodes, and for me it's a really explosive thing. What I hope to achieve is that this allows us to dedicate space to characterization of the characters and to spend a lot of time describing Matt Murdock's life as a lawyer.
And this desire to fully respect the essence of the character already appears in this little appearance of his in the She-Hulk series. Presence that does not insult the character but rather makes the Daredevil of the Marvel Cinematic Universe potentially one of the best interpretations of the original paper.
The Daredevil of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Veterans from the overwhelming experience of the side obscure of Netflix's Guardian Devil, it is inevitable to feel close to this interpretation, thanks to the excellent work done by Cox at the time. However, as we have said, that kind of biting and aggressive narrative could not find space in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, except to be adapted for a less demanding context, especially if the character is presented in what, to date, is the most sparkling proposal of the entire franchise. On the other hand, Jessica Gao had always been transparent in her approach to Daredevil for She-Hulk:Daredevil is a special case. Most of the time, what we do is dig into movies and comics, picking characters we want to use, and then think about how to use them in the best and funniest way in our stories, asking Marvel for permission. But Daredevil was a dream we didn't even dare approach. We thought 'No, there is no possibility, let's not even consider it', it hadn't even crossed our minds. And then, one day we are hinted not only that he was available, but that Charlie Cox would return as Daredevil; therefore, we immediately started thinking about how to put it in our series. Even if we had a poor chance of having him in the series, we should have taken it.
A declaration of intent that does not mean betraying the character, in the essence of him. In addition to the comic side revealed in the episode, the attentive eye of the spectators can notice how Suits and Costumes allow us to see a more violent side of Matt emerge, which not surprisingly appears when his superhero identity, Daredevil, faces of the bad guys.
Mindful of the spectacular fist fights of the Netflix series, we can see again in this fight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe an aggressive Daredevil and unwilling to compassion, capable of hitting hard and raging on a enemy on the ground. It indicates an attention to the authentic spirit of the character, which has always been in conflict with this duplicating nature of his, which is also explained by Matt himself during an interview with Jennifer:
As I see it, Jen Walters can helping others using the law when society fails. And She-Hulk, she helps them when the law fails
A conception that is the basis of the character, since its origins and that has evolved over the course of its editorial history. A long journey that, even if it seems incredible to those unfamiliar with comic book Daredevil, is also made up of irony and light moments.
The irony of Daredevil
Despite being one of the most tragedies of the Marvel Universe, Daredevil has in its history shown to have an often irreverent and ironic approach. If in the first stories his approach to fighting crime was based on a series of comic jokes, as his life evolved, especially during the runs of some screenwriters who aimed at the darker characterization of his double nature, it was partially lost this approach.Yet, in comics we have seen moments in which Daredevil was capable of both an involuntary comedy (as in Smith's and Quesada's Guardian Devil) and a particularly vivid sarcastic streak , which led him for a time to ironic about Matt Murdock's accusation of being Daredevil, with a dramatic comedic spike when Matt shows up at a dinner with colleagues in a sweater that reads, literally, 'I'm not Daredevil' . But there are numerous examples in comics with which you can point out the typical comedy of a character who sees in a joke, even if calm and subtle, a way to remain true to himself, a trait that was also preserved in the Netflix series. , where Matt, with the complicity of his eternal friend Foggy Nelson and his beloved Karen Page, was capable of giving flashes of light irony.
Finally, we must not forget that this first taste of Daredevil's personality seen in She-Hulk takes place in a precise narrative context, which therefore favors the funny aspect. It will be up to future appearances, such as Echo, to offer fans of the Cornetto the opportunity to explore other traits of Matt Murdock, aware that in the future of the Guardian Devil there is a titanic project, Daredevil: Born Again, which will present us the Devil of Hell's Kitchen in all its splendor.
