Why You Should Watch 'Daredevil'

Regardless of how the Disney version of this show ends up, the Netflix/Marvel collaboration remains one of the finest superhero adaptations out there

As a general rule, any show produced by Netflix and is said to have “Catholic themes” should rightly be viewed with suspicion.

However, Marvel’s “Daredevil” (no, not the 2003 movie with Ben Affleck) is actually a deeply respectful and reverent superhero show that wears its canonically Catholic superhero protagonist as a badge of honor. There is just A LOT of violence.

Developed by writer Drew Goddard, whose intentionally violent Cabin in the Woods was a not-so-subtle knock at the excess of the “slasher” genre, the show is only tangentially a part of the larger MCU: while there are some throwaway references here and there, the story is primarily standalone. (The new show on Disney+ will aim to “retcon” the story as always having been in the MCU).

At the heart of the show is Matt Murdock (played by Charlie Cox, who portrayed St. Josemaría Escrivá in 2011’s There Be Dragons), AKA Daredevil. Murdock is an Irish-Catholic, and although throughout the show he is not a “practicing” Catholic (there are no scenes of him attending Mass that I recall) he does regularly keep up confession, especially as his vigilante antics cause him to question the state of his soul. His regular confessor is Father Paul Lantom (Peter McRobbie), who appears throughout all three seasons and is one of the best characters in the entire series. He is a father figure to the bedeviled Murdock, and not once is the character made to do anything irreverent or act like anything but a benign, charming old Irish priest.

Matt’s primary “superpowers” lie in his heightened senses after an accident stole his vision as a kid. Despite his lack of sight, he is still able to navigate and use his advanced hearing and smell to great effect both as a crime-fighting vigilante and as a full-time lawyer. But to the world, he is just another blind man: no one would suspect how truly attuned to his surroundings he really is.

Murdock’s primary nemesis is Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) AKA Kingpin. There have been many incarnations of this character (most recently in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse) but D’Onofrio’s performance is not only one of his all time best, but is up there with Heath Ledger as one of the great supervillain performances. Fisk, a product of a violent childhood- similar to Murdock’s- truly wants to make a difference in New York and wants to give everything to his beloved, Vanessa. The only problem is he will do absolutely everything necessary to achieve his goals.

Also surrounding Murdock throughout the show are a complex and diverse array of classic Marvel characters such as The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), Elektra (Elodie Yung), and Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) who all only serve as mirrors for our hero to reflect upon what kind of vigilante he is going to fully end up becoming. Matt’s heroic life is balanced out by his “normal” life of being a lawyer, although his legal life only becomes increasingly intertwined with his undercover life the further along the show gets. By his side in the office (and as his friends) are his partner “Foggy” Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Page (Deborah Woll), whom Matt increasingly struggles to keep his persona from as they uncover more and more of what’s really going on in their city.

Aside from Father Lantom’s appearances, the show, much like Frank Miller’s run on the character in the comics (a major influence on this show), is laced with Catholic imagery and features characters with strong moral codes. However, viewers should be warned that there is a lot of excessive violence, particularly in the first season. Aside from prior R-rated outings like Blade and The Punisher, this was the first “TV-MA” show for a Marvel character, and it’s clear the showrunners were keen to differentiate this show from the PG-13 MCU fare that was playing in theaters. However, the character of Matt does have a code against killing, and any excessive violence is usually caused by the villains to further show how badly Murdock needs to stand up against them. While a few scenes pop up here and there, sex and nudity are fairly minimal throughout especially when compared to, say, an HBO show.

All in all, Daredevil is a well-written, thought-provoking superhero saga that makes the bold choice to include the Faith both prominently and, more shockingly, in a good light. Heroes (and anti-heroes) strive to help others and wrestle with their conscience throughout, providing interesting moral dilemmas that leave them changed and (usually) for the better. Season 1 is really strong, Season 2 begins with a bang but peters off a bit when it begins to carry the weight of all the spin-offs, but then Season 3 brings it all home for a satisfying conclusion. It is uncertain how much of the vision from this iteration will carry over to the new series, but it is a good sign that much of the former cast came over, especially Cox and D’Onofrio.

Check out all three seasons of Daredevil on Disney+, and Daredevil: Born Again premieres with two episodes tomorrow on the same service at 9:00 PM EST.