Things are heating up in Hell’s Kitchen
The superhero hype train shows no signs of slowing down. With the official reveal of Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War earlier in March, and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice coming to theatres this weekend, it seems like the capes and cowls craze is only becoming bigger and more bombastic with each passing month.
It’s a relief, then, when Marvel decides to release the much smaller second season of Daredevil as a palate cleanser between all of the larger than life spectacles of 2016—even if Hell’s Kitchen is getting a bit more crowded.
The big news that has had fans clamoring for the second was the announcement last fall that The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal would be co-starring as the one man force-of-nature Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher. Castle was originally a Spider-Man villain, but went on to become one of Marvel’s more popular characters during the eighties when comics made the gradual shift over to more adult themes and a grimmer sense of storytelling. He was used throughout the past decades as a way to question the difference between a vigilante and a killer, and where morality factors in when delivering justice. The bleak and bloody tone of the first season was just begging for the inclusion of one of Marvel’s primary antiheroes. After watching the pilot, so no fear of spoilers in this rundown, I can say that Bernthal has been a good fit so far, though admittedly I can’t say I’ve ever really been a fan of the character. The Daredevil team seems to be treating Castle as a walking natural disaster; as if it’s [pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…where morality factors in when delivering justice.[/pullquote]
better to batter down the hatches and wait for him to blow over rather than to stay and try to fight.
The Punisher is not the only vigilante that will make their presence felt in Daredevil’s neighbourhood this season, as the trailers have shown that Elektra and the rest of the Hand will also be appearing. Elektra was created by Frank Miller, the same man who wrote 300, Sin City, and whose Batman work greatly inspired both the Christopher Nolan trilogy as well as the forthcoming Zack Snyder flick. The show looks like it will take a more grounded approach to Miller’s ninja assassin, starting off by giving her a proper costume instead of her flipping around in a full-length dress.
Marvel has done such a strong job in their television universe by fleshing out their female protagonists (if you haven’t watched Jessica Jones yet you owe it to yourself to see the best crime drama in ages) and hopefully the trend will continue by developing a character that has historically been used as a plot device to further Matt Murdock’s own drama.
With Netflix releasing Luke Cage later this year on Sept. 30, and an Iron Fist series in the pipeline, Marvel has been quickly nurturing a television universe to stand alongside their big budget, big screen blockbusters. All 13 episodes of Daredevil season two are now up on Netflix, with the first season still streaming, so hunker down and get ready for a devilishly good time!