He fights for the good guys. Check.  The bad guys fear him. Check. He believes in justice. Check. He is Daredevil and the Marvel Comics superhero has made a ferocious TV debut. The vigilante of Hell’s Kitchen - who by day is Matt Murdoch the blind attorney and by night is Daredevil - gets the platform to show his skills, something he wasn’t able to do in the Daredevil movie 12 years ago!

How is Daredevil’s TV version different from the film?

When Daredevil released in 2003, featuring Ben Affleck as the Devil in Hell’s Kitchen, it failed to get good reviews. There was an unnecessary love angle featuring Jennifer Garner and the other characters weren’t given much importance. Despite the criticism, there were some redeeming factors, such as the ‘Daredevil Eye View’ where our superhero could sense things instead of watching them like normal people. In the TV show however, there are a handful of scenes in the entire 13 episodes. In addition, Colin Farrell played Bullseye in the movie, but in the first season, there weren’t many bigwig villains except Wilson Fisk.

A super-sensory human touch

Daredevil can smell a person from three floors below but when beaten, he gets hurt. That’s the kind of Superhero he is. because a) he is blind and b) he is human. Charlie Cox does well as Matt Murdoch/Daredevil who saves his city by being a threat to those who consider them above the law. The 32-year old actor carries the complec character and is helped immensely by the extremely talented Vincent D’Onofrio who is unrecognizable as Daredevil’s nemesis Wilson Fisk. As the bald ‘philanthropist’, Vincent makes you love and hate his character at the same time, such is the conviction with which he acts. The backstory of both Matt Murdoch and Wilson Fisk is given enough time to let the audience decide as to who is to be cheered for and who isn’t and Murdock Jr.’s story about going blind at a young age through an accident involving ‘radioactive cargo’ seems more believable.

And then there are those who don’t have any powers but help the protagonist just by being there. Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson of Nelson & Murdoch Attorneys At Law provides the odd laugh while Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page evolves from the damsel-in-distress in the pilot to becoming the able secretary who knows how to get things done for the boss. Even Scott Glenn (Silence of the Lambs) gets to make an appearance as Stick, the blind man who taught Matt the tricks of the trade and rescued him when he was a youngster who didn’t know how to control his powers.

Amazing action sequences

Daredevil stands out from other superhero shows due to its well-choreographed action sequences. The one-take corridor fight scene in the second episode is not only breath taking but is also unbelievable and unlike anything seen on TV. In it, Daredevil enters a corridor, takes on a dozen men and rescues a kidnapped boy all within three minutes! Similarly, there are times when you would wish you could enter the screen and join Daredevil fight the villains because he not only dodges bullets and punches, he delivers flying kicks as if he wasn’t blind but with more senses than those who could actually see!

The strong storyline

So there is good acting, there are fight sequences and stunts but there is also a strong storyline that evolves in 13 episodes. Both Matt Murdoch and Daredevil solve cases (they are one and the same person!) and help their city become a better place. Each and every actor has given strong performances whereas the smart writing and brilliant execution has helped the series generate a fan following that has now pushed the impressive Agent Carter to second place in Marvel’s TV list. Daredevil’s success ensures that he will return next year with more adventures; he may be blind but so is Justice and both can see in the dark.