“The Swashbuckling Adventures of Daredevil & Friends” feels like a fever dream that went by so fast—Matt at his happiest & perhaps most reckless? I wish we saw more.. The inevitable tragedy would’ve hit even more harder than it already did

Daredevil’s reintroduction into the main MCU timeline was really reminiscent of the more lighthearted Daredevil stories, such as the modern Mark Waid run, and more specifically, the early silver age comics where Daredevil was created and mainly portrayed as a more conventional, swashbuckling public hero. It was definitely a nice tribute to that era and a great entry point for Daredevil after season 3 ended. It was a perfect follow up to that hopeful season 3 ending and seeing Matt having a flourishing career as Daredevil, while also maintaining his relationships with Foggy & Karen.

I would’ve loved to have more emphasis on how happy and unstoppable Matt must’ve felt during this period. Apart from just wanting to see him perform greater feats, fight against more outlandish threats, and possibly interact with more prominent heroes/Avengers (since it’s unlikely we’ll ever get to see him return to this point again), I think this period perfectly highlights moments of recklessness through his neglect of keeping his identity a secret—catching the brick in front of Peter Parker, Happy & May without a thought, not thinking about the possibility of suspicions of Daredevil & Matt Murdock both being in LA during She-Hulk, and walking around casually in the suit during the day (barefoot nonetheless!!).

Some might think it’s jarring tonally and out of character, especially when comparing to the previous portrayal which was more grim & sophisticated, but I think it’s a great way to show how as Matt continued to succeed, he stopped thinking about the consequences. This only makes the opening scene of Born Again even more tragic—when he is given a stark reminder of the harsh reality he lives in and everything that he could lose. Tragedy will follow Matt everywhere he goes when he chooses the dark path of a vigilante.

Commentaires

Ancient-Gate-26582025-12-09 23:56

Damn that’s true. I wasn’t big into the lighter Daredevil as I found it jarring with the original series but you’ve definitely turned me around on it.

maverickassembled2025-12-10 01:14

Glad I could bring in some new perspective :)

I would say I was in the same boat as you intially. I hated the moment where Matt does the walk of shame barefoot and in the suit. In ways it felt like character assassination. But it helps if you think about how neglecting his secret identity and being overly comfortable and goofy would eventually lead to someone finding ways to exploit it.

ghost_spidah2025-12-09 23:57

It was very Mark Waid era daredevil. I appreciate that daredevil is a character that allows for both darker stories but also kind of have a happier go lucky vibe. Matt’s not spider man or Batman, he’s kind of in the middle when it comes to humor vs darkness.

maverickassembled2025-12-10 00:53

Yeah, exactly. Matt can work well in most environments you put him in. There’s the light hearted stories, while the gritty, tragic stories are always there to ground him. I hope that element isn’t forgotten forever because Born Again really put him in a point of no return. Some cameos in other projects would be nice

AdditionalBanana95852025-12-09 23:58

Fucking finally! Someone gets it! I will never understand the people who argue that he's tonally inconsistent in She-Hulk when the last time we saw him, he was arguably at his happiest. He rekindled his relationships with his best friends who finally accepted him for who he is, he met his mom, and defeated the Kingpin without having to sacrifice his soul. It'd frankly be out of character for him to act like he's regressed since then. At least not without first seeing why he'd return to a downer mood. Not only that, but She-Hulk is hy nature a lighter, heighten series that doesn't take itself seriously. So of course a cheerier DD would feel dialed up to an 11 in those circumstances.

maverickassembled2025-12-10 01:03

Rightttt. It’s a period of grace and leisure after his victory against Fisk. Like a substantial amount of worry & terror has been lifted off his shoulders, and he can pretty much dominate the playing field—easily take out more enemies, ones that are far less threatening than Fisk. And so yeah, that would give Matt a couple of years to develop a lot more confidence, to learn to properly balance his two lives to the point where it feels effortless and not a big deal, and feeling like it’s all working out. And then that seamlessly transitions to Born Again where being too overly comfortable ends up breaking him down.

Sylar_Lives2025-12-10 08:59

There’s a consistent pattern of the MCU keeping the more light and triumphant periods of the heroes adventures off screen between movies and series. Strife and turmoil just make for more engaging storytelling.

Obskuro2025-12-10 10:38

It was nice for him to get out of Kingpin's shadow and fight someone as goofy as Leapfrog for a change.

redsyrus2025-12-10 19:03

With you 100%. I grew up with a dark-but-less-dark original era Daredevil, but Frank Miller just took him too far that way. Don’t get me wrong, the Daredevil shows have been really good, but my favourite moments have been when he was at his happiest, and at a certain point the relentless punishment and self-flagellation really gets repetitive. You’ve hit the nail on the head here about the need for balance, but also I think his long-term character arc. I want to see him truly become the man without fear, who weathers every storm with grace and humour.

Hadesman12025-12-11 02:07

I just saw Charlie cox’s new movie Merv, and it really convinced me he could’ve pulled off the full depth of the waid run, shame cause born again just doesn’t do it for me

BetaRayPhil6162025-12-11 22:35

Love this take. I would caveat it by saying this 'light hearted' era works better as only fragments/spots in other shows - a whole series of this wouldnt be as compelling. But as s starting point for born again, its perfect.

atomcrafter2025-12-14 09:40

The yellow costume is the best he's ever had.

There are plenty of elements in Born Again that are great, but I can't stand bearded, screaming Daredevil.

“The Swashbuckling Adventures of Daredevil &amp; Friends” feels like a fever dream that went by so fast—Matt at his happiest &amp; perhaps most reckless? I wish we saw more.. The inevitable tragedy would’ve hit even more harder than it already did

Commentaires

“The Swashbuckling Adventures of Daredevil & Friends” feels like a fever dream that went by so fast—Matt at his happiest & perhaps most reckless? I wish we saw more.. The inevitable tragedy would’ve hit even more harder than it already did