I’ll be the first to admit it; I was never a Daredevil fan. While the thought of a blind guy out there kicking all the ass and taking just as many, if not more names…well, it intrigued me at surface level, but, I just never got into him in the comics. I couldn’t tell you (until recently) about his past, his motivations, anything really. If I lose street cred, oh well.
I always figured he was just born that way (cue Gaga) and with being in the legal system for so long, he was fed up with the bullshit. After watching the entire 1st Season of Daredevil on Netflix I was quickly educated on more of the background, which I will do my best to keep from spoiling (I promise nothing!).
I was never a huge comic nerd, I knew enough to be dangerous. The early 90s was really my era for reading. Darkhawk, my second favorite character(right behind Scarlet Witch) had his short run, and I remember being so bummed when early in his series I see him teamed up with Captain America and Daredevil, ugh. I got over it, but, that same time is when I really got to know Kingpin.
As a kid I still didn’t know much, he was a big dude, a boss obviously…and he got under the skin of Spidey, Punisher, Daredevil, and countless others. How did he get here? What are his motivations…those are things adult me asks now. Netflix begins to help paint the picture a bit more for me.
We slowly begin see why the monster known as Kingpin got to this point, and along the way, perhaps we begin to see things through his eyes. It’s an odd duality. Like many, I don’t feel Wilson Fisk wakes up every morning and says “I’m going to be a bad guy today”, his perspective perhaps is shifted from what most would perceive as the norm, but, at the end of the day he believes he is just in his actions. Perhaps he admits his methods are a bit less than desirable, but it’s for the greater good; whether that’s the good everyone else envisions is really irrelevant, in his mind its right. His antagonist is Daredevil, a man who stands in his way.
Just like many question Daredevil, when we compare and contrast the two, we see so many similarities, and the line starts to blur a bit. They both believe they are making something better. Both fiercely loyal to those in their circle. They both hurt people along the way. The both have pasts that brought them to this point. The list goes on and on.
So what do you think? Remember, we’re usually heroes in our own stories, and he is just telling his. Is he the bad guy…or are we? Regardless of your thought, if you haven’t checked out Daredevil on Netflix, it will make you a believer. A truly incredible season, and if it can turn me into a fan, that’s saying something. The cast definitely doesn’t hurt.
Tell me your thoughts here and on twitter, until next time, I’m @thecrunkpanda – Make Mine Marvel!
