The small screen hasn’t always been kind to the MCU.
“She Hulk?” ’nuff said.
Netflix’s “Daredevil” proved a powerful exception. Now, the character gets a second life via Disney+’s “Daredevil: Born Again.” Everything that worked the first time scores once more.
Charlie Cox is perfection as Matt Murdock, the blind Hell’s Kitchen warrior. New York City feels like the grit wasn’t power washed away as is often the case on TV. And few superheroes have adversaries as complex as Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin.
What’s not to love? Maybe the show’s aggressive retooling in the show’s early moments.
Matt is still practicing law, but he’s left his alter ego behind. We can’t share why for spoiler reasons.
He’s got a new legal team but feels lonelier than ever. That matters less when he learns his old foe Wilson Fisk – AKA Kingpin – is running for Big Apple’s Mayor.
And, like a certain real estate mogul, Fisk defies the odds and shocks the city. Is this a new, improved Kingpin, or will he use his political might to crush his enemies?
And, by extension, a certain maroon-clad warrior?
The new show’s storylines endlessly mirror real life. It’s likely “Born Again” came to pass long before Donald Trump’s Nov. 5 victory. The storyline still feels Trumpian.
Mayor Fisk vows to clean up the city and put his villainous past behind him. He’s a populist hero who defies all conventions. New Yawkers, exhausted by crime and disorder, turn to a felon who in no way, shape or form acts like a standard leader.
Sound familiar? A key subplot even echoes the Daniel Perry case in New York.
If you doubt the Trump connection, consider the hats worn by Fisk’s biggest fans. They’re blue, not read, and they read, “Fisk Can Fix It.” Fisk’s base is as rowdy as MAGA, too.
Yeah, we get the message.
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It’s a miracle that none of it feels like partisan storytelling, and the series shows Wilson Fisk as a complex figure worthy of respect. A typical anti-Trump yarn would treat him in only one dimension.
See Apprentice, The.
Not here.
Plus, recasting Kingpin as a political brute is brilliant. D’Onofrio does the rest, relishing his character’s rebrand.
His every gesture is a measured marvel. He makes eating breakfast a must-see moment, slowly devouring it as if it were his last meal. Those dramatic pauses make the star’s sly charisma pop.
An early scene where Matt and Wilson quietly threaten each other is another treat. A showdown is coming …
The first three episodes prove light on superheroics. It’s Matt Murdock, lawyer extraordinaire, and his efforts to track Kingpin’s mayoral moves. The first episode’s opener is an exception, delivering a raucous battle you’ll want to rewind and savor.
Surprises abound in the show’s early episodes, toom, from Easter egg moments to shocking twists. Again, no spoilers. Just buckle in!
The show clicks on two critical levels. We’re engaged with the current storylines and intrigued by what’s sure to come next.
Can “She-Hulk” get “born again,” too?
Why even write anything if all you can say is Trump = villain and villain = Trump? MAGA are rowdy? How so? Like the protesters in all black that go to MAGA events to pick fights, pepper spray people just for being there or sucker punch elderly people? Since when did any MAGA do that? Or maybe you mean the MAGAs who leave trash everywhere after their rallies–no, that would be the liberals, anarchists and the cowards in black masks.
Maybe you missed the past four months but Trump won, overwhelmingly, and as seen by the President’s speech to Congress the night before, its the Democrats that are anything but American! They refuse to cheer a 13yr old survivor of brain cancer, a woman who nearly died from a MAN competing in a volleyball game against her, others who were attacked by illegals–that you Dems couldn’t bring into the country fast enough! All they could do is sulk and hold up signs written on ping pong paddles! And today, female Dems make a video that is nothing but previously unseen levels of cringe as they pretend to be knock off Mortal Kombat characters?! Gimme a break!
If you’re going to review a show, how about just an honest review of the show and leave your sore-ass feelings out of it! Go get some Preparation H for your butt hurt!
While certain aspects of this season might reflect current events, there was a run of comics where the Kingpin became the mayor of NYC, so that’s not totally based on Trump.
Nice to hear that Disney+ doesn’t ruin everything it touches, though.
The fact that Matt used to be identifiably Catholic, and now he’s not, and he’s now also surrounded by bland supporting characters gives me a real pause.