Daredevil Netflix

Written by:
David Kozlowski

Last Updated:
May.5.17

Next Update:
After Daredevil Season 3

Welcome to the LRM PRIMER. This exclusive and ongoing feature will explore many of today’s most popular TV shows and major film franchises, explaining what they’re about and what viewers can expect. The Primer is for new fans looking to jump into a show or movie, or returning viewers who just want to catch-up quickly. We’ll update this content before, during, and after each season.

Marvel’s Daredevil is a live action television series that follows the journey of attorney Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), who in a tragic accident was blinded as a boy, but became imbued with extraordinary senses and trained as a world-class fighter.

Murdock sets up practice in his old neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen, New York where he now fights against injustice as a respected lawyer by day and masked vigilante at night.

The Netflix version of Daredevil borrows liberally from the character’s long comic history. Season 1 was heavily inspired by the “Man Without Fear” comic series (1993) by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. Season 2 adapts many different storylines from creators including Frank Miller and Steve Dillon published in the early ’80s, wherein Miller introduces fan-favorites Elektra and the Punisher to the series.

Real Name: Matt Murdock

Profession: Lawyer

First Appearance: Daredevil #1 (Marvel Comics, April 1964) by Stan Lee and Bill Everett

Daredevil airs on the Netflix streaming service.

There are currently two seasons of Daredevil available on Netflix (a third season was recently announced). Each season of Daredevil consists of 13 episodes, each approximately 55 minutes in length (no commercials). Netflix drops each season in its entirety on a single day; consequently, viewers can watch any episode in any order on the day they all drop.

Rating: Mature (graphic violence, profanity, sexual situations)

Season 1: April 10, 2015

Season 2: March 18, 2016

Season 3: 2018 (TBD)

Daredevil is the first of several Marvel/Netflix shows (including Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher). This infographic contains important information regarding themes, tone, style, and storytelling to help determine whether this is the right show for you.

Daredevil is set in New York’s legendary “Hell’s Kitchen” neighborhood (aka Clinton or Midtown West). The name Hell’s Kitchen generally refers to the area from 34th to 59th Streets. Starting west of Eighth Avenue and north of 43rd Street. Most of the buildings are older, and are often walk-up apartments.

The area consists of nearly 60 city blocks overlaps the Times Square Theater District, the Garment District, the southern edge of Central Park, and borders both the Hudson River and the West Side Highway. Key landmarks include the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Studio 54, and Hearst Tower.

Although the show is set in modern-day, it references a version of “the Kitchen” from the 70s, when it was a gritty, working-class neighborhood of Irish and Hispanic immigrants.

Current Population: 45,884

Area: 0.841 square miles

Daredevil’s unwavering sense of justice brings him into the orbits of some of New York’s most violent and deadly underworld forces, which includes street gangs, international crime rings, and mysterious cults who practice the dark arts.

SEASON 1:
Russian mobs run the docks, importing young women as part of a sex slavery ring. Wilson Fisk (aka The Kingpin) already controls crime in Hell’s Kitchen, he maintains a tenuous alliance with the Russians and also a secretive drug trafficker named, Madame Gao.

SEASON 2:
A gang war erupts between the Mexican, Biker, and Irish mobs in Hell’s Kitchen. Amidst the growing chaos of these rival, warring elements, a new player emerges: Frank Castle (aka The Punisher). Castle is a decorated Marine war veteran who is distraught over the murder of his family in a drug deal gone wrong — he seeks revenge in a bloody, personal vendetta that invites Daredevil’s attention!

Later in Season 2 Murdock’s old flame, Elektra, returns to rekindle their former relationship. Elektra is a trained assassin who is hunting down members of an elite sect of ancient ninja warriors, called The Hand.

SUMMARY:
During both seasons of Daredevil, Matt Murdock’s alter ego faces off against Wilson Fisk, Madame Gao, the Russian Mob, Frank Castle, the Dogs of Hell motorcycle club, and The Hand. He battled these enemies alone during Season 1, but in Season 2 he tenatively works alongside both Elektra and Castle.

DAREDEVIL’S ARCHENEMY
Of all the epic fights over the course of the first two seasons of Marvel’s Daredevil, undoubtedly the most important ongoing conflict is between Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin and Murdock’s Daredevil. The entire first season was dedicated to their escalating feud, which has paid off in several face-to-face brawls. Season 2 picks up their storyline and takes it to some very exciting and unexpected places.

The cast of Daredevil consists of an eclectic and dynamic group of actors from incredible television shows like HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and True Blood, as well as amazing films, such as Martin Scorses’s The Wolf of Wall Street and Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.

DAREDEVIL’S POWERS AND ABILITIES:
Daredevil is a blind lawyer who fights crime at night in Hell’s Kitchen. He was trained as a child by a sadistic martial arts master, Stick (Scott Glenn). Murdock’s father was a professional boxer, which creates an interesting fighting style of brawling, grappling, and a variety of Asian fighting techniques. Murdock may be visually-impaired, but his enhanced senses allow him to see the world in 360-degrees.Daredevil also fights with a pair a of specially created billy clubs, which also contain a monofilament line and grappling hook, used to scale walls and swing between buildings.

WARNING: *Spoilers* follow…

SEASON 1 RECAP:
Daredevil’s origin story is explored over 13 episodes. We see the formation of Nelson and Murdock law firm, and begin to explore the dynamics of Hell’s Kitchen, a vibrant and vital part of New York City. Murdock encounters and battles Wilson Fisk (aka The Kingpin) and his sprawling crime organization. He does not earn his famous red costume until the final episode.

SEASON 2 RECAP:
Things become much more complex in Season 2. Kingpin is in prison, but he’s establishing a new power base. A gang war is exploding in Hell’s Kitchen, inviting multiple new threats, such as The Punisher, Elektra, and The Hand.

SEASON 3 SPECULATION:
The Hand were defeated, but they only grow stronger. Nelson and Murdock dissolved their law firm, but external forces will push them back together. Daredevil finally learns how to be part of a team, he realizes that he cannot survive on his own. Fisk leaves prison, he discovers Daredevil’s identity and begins a process of destroying his life (from Frank Miller’s epic “Born Again” comic storyline).

<br />

SERIES TIMELINE:
The following timeline expresses many key moments during the entire lifespan of the series. Think of this as a 50,000-foot overview, to highlight major events and key character introductions.NOTE: each callout below references a specific episode from a particular season (the number corresponds to the specific episode).

SEASON 1:
The following video clip appeared in Season 1, Episode 3, titled “Rabbit in a Snowstorm.” Children have been disappearing throughout Hell’s Kitchen, Daredevil follows a lead to a secluded warehouse where he confronts nearly a dozen Russian Mafia in a brutal, pitched battle that was an early highpoint for the series.

<br />

SEASON 2:
The following video clip appeared in Season 2, Episode 3, titled “New York’s Finest.” Castle has chained Daredevil to a rooftop and duct-taped a revolver (loaded w/ a single bullet) to his hand; he forces Murdock to make a choice: either shoot Castle (and save a murderer) or kill the murderer himself. During their fight Castle fires a 20mm grenade from his M203 rifle into a row of Dogs of Hell motorcycles — as you can imagine, the bikers don’t take this too well.

<br />

VIDEO GALLERY:
The following gallery contains several tesaers, trailers, featurettes, and other video content from Netflix’s promotional materials.To view different videos, click the row of icons below the main video.

Daredevil Netflix

Recent