What to Know About Daredevil

One month until Disney Plus releases all episodes of Echo. The titular character Maya Lopez was introduced in Hawkeye, but never under her comic book alias. Since she has a history with Wilson Fisk/Kingpin and both Kingpin and his nemesis Daredevil/Matt Murdock are set to appear in Echo, I wanted to do a little run down on Daredevil’s MCU history. At Dallas Fan Expo 2023, Charlie Cox said you don't need to watch Netflix's Daredevil for the new stuff, but still it's sorta canon. But instead of doing a binge list for this hero, I’m just going to highlight his history, since plenty of our readers won’t want to watch Netflix’s TV-MA Daredevil series. Without further ado, here’s the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.

The Origin Story (Pre-2015)

As a young boy, Matt Murdock was blinded and given enhanced senses due to a chemical spill. He grew up a devout Catholic, even after his father died. A blind man named Stick taught him to fight in preparation for the war with the Hand… but Matt wasn’t into a war.

In college, he became friends with Foggy and later they started a pro bono practice. Near the beginning of the series, Karen begins working for them after they save her. And that’s the beginning of their law firm: Nelson and Murdock. And the beginning of our story. 

Daredevil Season 1 (early 2015)

In secret, Matt chased down criminals (child/sex trafficking-type criminals to be exact) until he chanced upon Fisk’s name. Over the course of the first season, Matt keeps taking down parts of Fisk’s criminal empire. Even once Fisk is in the open, he can’t be taken down. With the help of a crooked cop saved from Fisk’s kill list, they’re able to put Fisk away legally… until Fisk escapes. But the newly armored Daredevil is able to take him down and send him to jail!

Daredevil Season 2 (late 2015)

When the second season opened, Nelson and Murdock took on a client from the Irish mob. But that’s just the beginning. After being set up the DA, their client is killed by Frank Castle (aka The Punisher). In turn, Castle becomes their next client (despite Foggy’s protests) and he almost cooperated… until Fisk’s men got to him. But I’ll talk more about the Punisher’s story at a future time. Meanwhile Matt’s college girlfriend Elektra joined his vigilante crusade against “the Hand”… until she was killed by their ninjas. And then the Hand brings her back. What?!

The Defenders (Spring 2016)

So, as Matt is trying to leave Daredevil behind him, he’s practicing all by himself and trying to do that every day good guy thing. But the Hand makes its move and the earth starts to shake. He’s thrown together with the likes of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Danny Rand, trying to stop the Hand and a resurrected Elektra. As the Hand’s plans literally blow up in their faces, Daredevil dies in the rubble… oh so we’re led to believe. 

Daredevil Season 3 (Late 2017)

Just as Matt’s friends finish mourning his death, he shows up, having been nursed back to health by nuns (one in particular who turns out to be his mother). In his soul-searching, he tries to leave Matt Murdock behind and only be a vigilante. Take a wild guess how that worked out. Especially with Fisk working his way out of prison and a copy-cat Daredevil on his payroll. In the end, using evidence collected by Matt Murdock and friends, Daredevil gets Fisk to agree to go back to prison, to keep his new wife safe. (And yet he’s at large in Hawkeye, so maybe he changed his mind after the Snap?)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (Late 2024)

It’s left unclear, as of yet, whether Matt Murdock/Daredevil survived the Snap. But after the Blip, he’s able to get working again obviously. By the time Spider-Man’s identity was revealed to be Peter Parker, Matt has enough success to be the Parkers’ lawyer (unless that’s part of his pro bono work?). He only appears for one scene in No Way Home (two scenes in the extended version) just long enough to demonstrate his abilities. Just enough to raise some eyebrows if you never watched Daredevil.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Summer 2025)

By this point, business is apparently pretty good. While still doing pro bono work, Matt admits to having some higher profile clients, including Luke Jacobson who, by that time, had made Matt a new superhero suit. In defending Luke in court (and subsequently from kidnapping) Matt meets and hooks up with Jen Walters/She-Hulk. He was headed back to New York, but that was before Jen did her little fourth-wall break. 

So that’s where that leaves us leading into Echo. There’s a distinct chance this Disney Plus series will show once and for all if the Netflix series are in continuity with the rest of the MCU. But even if this Matt Murdock isn’t the same as the Netflix Matt, that just puts the Netflix/Hulu series in a separate branch of the multiverse (I wonder what their nexus event was). For more about the multiverse, you can check out episode 5 of the LDS Geeks Podcast. Or you can just stay tuned for Echo in January. Between her being deaf and Native American, it should be an interesting story.

People Will Argue About This She-Hulk Review

The internet will argue over anything. How many times have I seen arguments on Facebook or Reddit about Star Wars, Fantastic Beasts, Rings of Power, or MCU movies? Don’t get me wrong, you can dislike the Star Wars sequels, Thor: Love and Thunder, or whatever you want. But when I see comments come up like “This show is trash” or “I’d never watch garbage like this” I want to scroll right past. Let’s have some articulate discussion, instead of toxic insults.

All of this came to mind repeatedly with the first season of She-Hulk, which recently concluded. Let’s be clear, She-Hulk isn’t for everyone. That’s fine. But I enjoyed it. If it isn’t for you, I respect that and I’d love to discuss what you think it lacks. In my opinion, She-Hulk’s nature as a legal comedy diverged from Marvel’s norm in a way that many fans didn’t like. And that’s okay. That’s the great thing about all the content Marvel is putting out! There’s something for everyone!

Now to get into actually talking about She-Hulk:

I mentioned before in my review of Love and Thunder that Marvel is trying out many different genres these days, horrors (like Multiverse of Madness and Werewolf at Night), romcom (like Love and Thunder), animated shorts (like I Am Groot), and teen drama (like Ms. Marvel) to name a few. She-Hulk is just the latest in their experiments. That’s great! Marvel has a long history at this point of making superhero action movies with comedic timing. That format (which was called out in the She-Hulk finale) served the MCU for a time. Now they have the ability and the money to take some risks and try new stuff. Again, this is great! Superhero action movies don’t strike everyone the same way. Now with a variety of mediums, Marvel Studios can attract a wider variety of fans. Put that in your algorithm, K.E.V.I.N.

Jen Walters has the wit, sass, and comedic timing to strike my funny bone almost every time. And her fourth-wall-breaking has given her the opportunity to say things fans have been saying for years. You know what that means? It means Marvel is listening to us! How wonderful is it to have a studio that cares about its fans!

With its tone, and with Jen’s job as a superhero lawyer, we were given the opportunity to glimpse heroes new and old. Despite what Jen said early in the season, it kind of was THAT kind of show that embraced a cameo-of-the-week gimmick. Returning we got to see Bruce/Hulk, Emil/Abomination, Wong, and the long-awaited Matt/Daredevil. After seeing Doctor Strange and Daredevil, it was refreshing to see Wong and Matt in less serious settings. And despite what some haters think, I loved seeing the chemistry between Jen with Matt; they’re a cute couple.

Now this wouldn’t be a very thorough review if I didn’t address some issues I had with the show. Let’s start with the end. What was up with that finale? I have no issue with She-Hulk smashing her way through Disney Plus and confronting K.E.V.I.N. Actually, I thought it was a creative way to progress the story. And it really did fit Jen’s character more than smashing through a superhero smackdown. However, I’ll take issue with how the story progressed after Jen visited Marvel Studios. I expected the show to “rewind” and start the lodge scene again with Jen’s changes. Instead, it just cut away and left the scenes disjointed. I felt like I'd missed a scene. I honestly wasn’t sure how to process the story with the sudden adjustments. That being said, I liked having Daredevil and Hulk back for a moment. (Also, Hulk has a kid?!?!?!)

My other complaint: the bad guys were vastly underutilized. Todd as the big bad? I get that he wanted to steal Jen’s powers, but it just seemed like a complete 180 from him being a She-Hulk superfan. And then there was Josh. Honestly, with how tricky and manipulative he ended up being, I think he would have fit better as the big bad. It would have even given Jen the chance for justice when she ended up suing Intelligencia in the finale. Finally, there was Titania. She was teased as if she were going to be the big bad, but obviously that was a red herring. That being said, I loved her rival-chemistry with Jen/She-Hulk. I just have one annoying question: what was she doing at Emil’s lodge in the finale? How did she end up in the mountains (where she should have had minimal cell coverage by the way) crashing into the lodge and then livestreaming the arrest of Todd and Intelligencia? Just more questions I have about the finale, I suppose.

Overall, I liked She-Hulk, but it’s okay if you didn’t. Invitation still stands, let’s have a discussion about the show so I can understand better why it disappointed you. And to those who just want to trash the show, She-Hulk already lawyered her way to calling you out in the finale.

She-Hulk Binge List

We’re in the final stretch waiting for She-Hulk to premiere. She might be a newcomer on the scene, but we already know her cousin: Bruce Banner. And with Bruce/Hulk set to return, alongside his foe Blonsky/Abomination, maybe it’s time to rewatch some of their adventures.

The Incredible Hulk (1 hour 52 min)

Before we had Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, the Hulk’s alter-ego was played by Edward Norton. Despite the different actors, this movie is still MCU canon. And it’s better than its critics say. This is where we get our first glimpse at Bruce and his arch-enemy the Abomination. Also, this movie introduced General Ross and I wouldn’t be surprised if he appears in She-Hulk.

The Avengers (2 hours 23 min)

Enter Mark Ruffalo as our new Bruce Banner. This is his first adventure alongside SHIELD and the Avengers. He seems to have his anger under control (to some extent) as he and the others stop Loki and the Chitauri from taking over Planet Earth. It’s also when Bruce can finally stop running from the authorities it seems.

Iron Man 3 (2 hours 10 min)

This movie is all about Tony Stark and his issues after the Battle of New York. Honestly, we don’t even see Bruce Banner until the credits scene. All the same, this comical scene is often forgotten (even by me). Probably due to the fact that lots of fans dislike Iron Man 3. I still like it though, despite what haters say.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2 hours 21 min)

Hulk and Banner come back into the picture as they seemingly take down the last of Hydra (unless you still consider Agents of SHIELD canon--which I do). But in the course of it, the Maximoff twins mess them up emotionally. This movie also introduced the brief romance (if you can call it that) between Banner and Black Widow. Could have done without that, but whatever.

Thor: Ragnarok (2 hours 10 min)

When Banner/Hulk went missing on Earth, he was stranded on Sakaar for a few years. With the Hulk in charge almost the whole time. It wasn’t until Thor arrived that Bruce came back. This movie showed a more intelligent side to the Hulk. Instead of just growling and yelling “Smash” the titan was able to carry on conversations.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 29 min)

Still traveling with the Asgardians, Bruce/Hulk was caught in the middle of Thanos’s massacre. Sent to Earth to warn everyone, Bruce was around when the mad titan’s forces began attacking. Unfortunately, and for reasons not really explained, the Hulk wouldn’t come out to fight, so Bruce was left to battle in the Hulkbuster suit instead.

Captain Marvel (2 hours 4 min)

Another movie where Bruce doesn’t appear until the credits. All the same, I think this movie is still worth watching. I honestly don’t know why people hate it so much. But after Carol’s story from 1996 is shown, we get a flashforward to the present day when the Avengers are assessing the post-Snap damage. This is where Bruce, Natasha, and the others finally meet Carol Danvers.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

After a brief stop in the present day, the story fast-forwards five years and all of a sudden we have a Bruce/Hulk mashup, sometimes known as Professor Hulk or Smart Hulk. I still don’t know what I think of this version of Hulk, but that’s okay. After Bruce is able to snap Thanos’s victims back to life, the big battle ensues. It’s because of Tony’s sacrifice they’re able to win in the end… but it’s not happily ever after.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2 hours 12 min)

Bruce doesn’t appear until the credits (again) but the Abomination shows up in the fight club with Wong. Blonsky hadn’t even been mentioned since he was said to be in custody seven years prior in the SHIELD episode “T.R.A.C.K.S.” But here he’s free and fighting Wong for cash. Later on, during the credits, we see Bruce analyzing the Ten Rings. But he’s human again. No more Professor Hulk.

There’s a lot to unpack with She-Hulk. Why is Bruce human again? How did Blonsky get free? Maybe we’ll finally get word on where Betty Ross is after all these years. Regardless, I’m looking forward to another awesome MCU series!