Daredevil - Blog Posts
there’s no fucking way that i find out that the guy who plays barista-boyfriend-monster (whatever) in netflix’s wednesday is the same person who plays the muse in ddba through rewatching amanda the jedi’s wednesday review like… ok?? i was jumpscared by his dandelion curls
in dd setting this photo feels like this in a way that matt doesn’t want to kill anyone and dex is like # yeah fuck the fisks but also # yeah fuck you matt (🏳️🌈) and your morals. he for sure would have his shit eating grin
the question is who would be taking the photos… oh my godd imagine fbi agent dex with the rr sign for a second where corrupt cops would be like giggling and taking photos with it bc haha they think they can do something while dex would be like oh my god they do not know I’m the bullseye and they will never know how funny it is if i take photo with them AND this symbol
do i make sense. lets put the time management of fbi and bullseye arcs and the ddba season 2 aside💔
I’ve been thinking about it again and people on twt mentioning how built wilson bethel is and that his body looks like one of a swimmer made me think that well yes WHAT IF dex became a swimmer in a way that its a “clean” sport. swimming makes him relaxed/helps him clear his mind which if we’d be to keep his - in this reality - intrusive thoughts about murder and his stalking swimming could be a good metaphor for “cleansing” himself. it would also be a nice route for him to follow if he maybe wanted to pursue “being normal” this way distancing from the harmful talent of his
+ bonus points as this version would replace his usual smell of cleansing (?) bleach to the smell of the pool bleach does it make sense idk how to distinguish them matt would sense it
thinking about dexmatt olympics au and i dont know what sports would fit them the best..
obvious choices for dex would baseball/softball/archery but i think that biathlon would suit him better because he would soon realise that those sports are too boring for him whereas biathlon is more competitive and competitive skiing in combination with fast-paced shooting is more of a “fun” choice. OR he could be in athletics! in original lore he got tired of a singular discipline really fast, so maybe keeping it as versatile as possible is a good option for him - javelin, different types of running, jumping etc etc. (javelin and other throwing disciplines keep his “bullseye” shtick)
matt is a harder one to choose for because it’s kinds hard to determine what kind of sport in paralympics would realistically be a good choice AND fit him. there’s such discipline as blind football and it could work! however idk if its the best fit and maybeee going less real-world reliant is an option and he could participate in para archery or para shooting which I think would be a better fit for him (keep his supersonic hearing or something?). however martial arts work too (and i think it’s the best fit!) and it would be the best lore-wise option as well because maybe his dad got him into this discipline by training him some boxing, then stick could be a grumpy coach that helped him after dad’s death
fun fact - there has actually been a blind martial arts winner in para judo! her name is Theodora Paschalidou and she won 1st place in 2020 so, yeah, maybe matt can be a martial arts athlete! however there are not that many disciplines to choose from - judo and taekwondo. judo is more self-defence reliant and is grappling based, whilst taekwondo is more aggressive and relies on kicks to win. SO maybe matt could’ve started off with judo early in his career and then switched to taekwondo? is that a thing? by mastering more than one martial art he could also stay a martial arts master that he is originally
if anyone has any other suggestions I’m all ears😋😋
DID I HALLUCINATE A FIC omgg I just had flashback of a fratt (?) earth-65-esque fic with a very specific scene where frank is a cop and he was in the matt’s car and that’s where they would meet to discuss business and matt was the kingpin???? its too detailed to just be my fantasy I HATE IT when this stuff happens
it seems like the cop who pushed dex and the guy who got killed by his tooth are the same person
he had it coming i guess
thinking about dexmatt olympics au and i dont know what sports would fit them the best..
obvious choices for dex would baseball/softball/archery but i think that biathlon would suit him better because he would soon realise that those sports are too boring for him whereas biathlon is more competitive and competitive skiing in combination with fast-paced shooting is more of a “fun” choice. OR he could be in athletics! in original lore he got tired of a singular discipline really fast, so maybe keeping it as versatile as possible is a good option for him - javelin, different types of running, jumping etc etc. (javelin and other throwing disciplines keep his “bullseye” shtick)
matt is a harder one to choose for because it’s kinds hard to determine what kind of sport in paralympics would realistically be a good choice AND fit him. there’s such discipline as blind football and it could work! however idk if its the best fit and maybeee going less real-world reliant is an option and he could participate in para archery or para shooting which I think would be a better fit for him (keep his supersonic hearing or something?). however martial arts work too (and i think it’s the best fit!) and it would be the best lore-wise option as well because maybe his dad got him into this discipline by training him some boxing, then stick could be a grumpy coach that helped him after dad’s death
fun fact - there has actually been a blind martial arts winner in para judo! her name is Theodora Paschalidou and she won 1st place in 2020 so, yeah, maybe matt can be a martial arts athlete! however there are not that many disciplines to choose from - judo and taekwondo. judo is more self-defence reliant and is grappling based, whilst taekwondo is more aggressive and relies on kicks to win. SO maybe matt could’ve started off with judo early in his career and then switched to taekwondo? is that a thing? by mastering more than one martial art he could also stay a martial arts master that he is originally
if anyone has any other suggestions I’m all ears😋😋
Turns out I’m still a slut for Matt Murdock 👹
Daredevil: Born Again teaser
Counter offer; Frank Castle: Danger DILF
Elektra Natchios: Murder MILF❤️
I know Frank Castle is a killer, but ‘Convicted Murderer’ is kinda
Ok so I’ve only just managed to finish Hawkeye and….
Oh. My. GOD!
That episode 5 ending has me SCREAMING!
Not only did I not see it coming, this solidifies Charlie’s Daredevil into the MCU (along with that No Way Home cameo). As an absolute slut for Daredevil, I’m so psyched!!! 🤩
relatedly: i’m honestly kind of disgusted that the daredevil fandom is so horrifically unwilling to put in image descriptions on photos/gifs/videos
like, this is always something that you should be doing and something you should be aware of, but if you’re actively engaging with a piece of media that has a blind protagonist, you seriously need to put in some effort to make your content about that blind protagonist accessible to actual blind/vi folks
otherwise you need to think damn hard about who the intended audience of that media is and what that says about the structures of accountability it (doesn’t) have in place, what the implications of that are for representation, and how that ties into the call for “nothing about us without us.” and then, as matt murdock says to people he catches doing crime, change your life.
a small collection of canon facts about neurodivergent matt murdock
matt sleeps under a thick heavy blanket (deep pressure therapy) (netflix series)
matt sleeps in silk sheets because “cotton feels like sandpaper on [his] skin” (sensory processing) (netflix series)
matt’s costuming in the netflix series is specifically oriented towards texture, with his suits, ties, scarves, and other clothes all chosen to be interesting and comfortable texturally
relatedly listen matt wears a compression shirt in the black vigilante costume on the show and that feels 100% to me like a piece of that
i also have a lot of very complicated things to say about matt’s glasses in comics and show, and i had a whole section on them in my paper, but like. the way he uses the glasses is very complex and engaging but maybe not relevant here
this is almost definitely just a superhero/comic book thing, but the fact that matt wears his costume under his other clothes at all times strikes me as a very autistic thing to do (all)
matt wearing his original costume UNDER his other costume strikes me as even more autistic just saying (vol. 4)
speaking of that new costume, the idea that someone tells him he needs to change his look and that he no longer has to wear a cowl and he responds by dramatically changing ever element of his appearance he can think of while still wearing his old costume underneath is just. yeah. (vol. 4)
matt is very sensitive to taste and texture of foods and has certain foods that he can’t comfortably eat (”oysters. a challenge, texturally”) (vol. 4)
matt goes into sensory overload that is NAMED as sensory overload- “What I wasn’t taking into account was maybe my greatest weakness: sensory overload. For me, [moving to San Francisco] is not just about warmer weather or navigating traffic. Because of my hypersenses, everything out here is new to me. But the human brain, no matter how smart, can only process so much data at any given time. The more there is to learn, the more difficult it is to maintain your normal level of concentration.” (vol. 4)
i’ve said this a lot but also even outside of sensory overload, just the way his brain processes sensory input and the amount of noise he has to wade through to get what he’s searching for is very very SPD
in some things he has to sleep in a sensory deprivation tank because it’s so much all the time
matt continues to use his cane even after his identity is revealed, presumably because it is familiar to him, so that he doesn’t have to devote as much energy and concentration to orientation and mobility, and as a shortcut for communication (vol. 4)
matt gets sound and smell sensitive migraines (all)
matt hates crowds because of his heightened senses (all, but vol. 3)
matt has frequently gone manic in response to traumatic events in his life and has stayed manic for months on end (vol. 2 esp)
matt also
matt is prone to episodes of paranoia and is especially susceptible to gaslighting (vol. 2, vol. 3 esp.)
matt is incredibly self-destructive, especially in situations like when he believes foggy has died when he beats his fists bloody against the wall of his cell and has hallucinations (vol. 2)
Foggy: “Did he cure you of a lifetime of self-destructive depression?” (vol. 3)
Foggy: “You’re self-sabotaging. You’re not used to being this happy for this long, so you’re instinctively fighting the unfamiliar. I would invite you to consider that this is your depression lashing out. Being happy doesn’t fit the patterns it knows.” (vol. 4)
matt word-for-word canonically describes himself as having depression (vol. 4)
matt falls into specific behaviors in response to a depressive episode being triggered including a specific body position and apathy (after the accident, vol. 4 purple children)
also listen just this whole thing where matt doesn’t know how to fight against the weight and inertia of depression but as soon as the purple man calls on him to be afraid he’s like “that. that, i know how to fight.” (vol. 4)
also “Get up. You have momentum now. Don’t lose it. Don’t let the shadows pull you back in. Inertia is the enemy. Do something. Move. Move, Matthew.” (vol. 4)
actually just literally everything with the purple children, that’s all
matt is a massive fidgeter and fidgets extensively with the handle of his cane and makes those same gestures even when he’s not holding the cane (netflix series)
matt uses a script to approach situations, repeats even if the script is not 100% appropriate- “world on fire” for claire and foggy (netflix show), “i’m blind” in response to being questioned by police/media (vol. 2, 3), “i’m not daredevil” (vol. 3)
fisk is so autistic-coded in the netflix series that many of the things that are parallels between fisk and matt are actually autistic-coded things
matt wears huge ear protectors and a dust mask when sleeping in college to mitigate the sensory input of trying to sleep in a room shared with foggy (vol. 3)
matt has super-extreme empathy levels for the people in hell’s kitchen, but is basically okay with crime happening as long as it occurs outside of his neighborhood (all, but shadowland esp.)
“Matthew only had one love- Hell’s Kitchen. Its safety, its health. These are what he lived to protect.”
matt in general develops extremely close, strong connections with a very limited number of people, and generally only has a few close friends at a time (all)
because of his self-loathing and the degree to which he cares for these people, he strongly believes they would be better off without him
“I should live in a cave and have no friends.”
matt is very skilled at scripted or arranged speaking (he’s amazing in the courtroom) but he is truly terrible at spoken, informal conversation (all, including netflix show)
fun example: “Fun Daredevil fact: every single time Matt has to improv, he course-corrects by overacting.” (vol. 4)
matt is very resistant to telling other people his secrets, and naturally is inclined to keep his experiences to himself, not least because he is used to being forced to keep secrets and not having people around him who can relate to his experiences (all)
matt’s emotionality is considered atypical given his circumstances
foggy comments on this when matt is happy-go-lucky in vol. 3
matt is so known for this that he’s literally called The Man Without Fear (it’s not that matt has no fear, it’s that he presents it and responds to it differently)
this is very much working with parallels rather than with evidence but the way that matt uses alternate input to determine someone’s behavior and tone and to anticipate what they’re going to do next feels very much like the methods ND folks often develop in lieu of or in addition to NT social cues. it’s much more of a conscious effort, it’s far more intentional, it relies far less on traditional methods of determining someone’s intentions
this is made even more clear for me by the difficulty with which matt interprets these signals from other neurodivergent people who don’t match with what he’s expecting/used to interpreting
he actually can’t tell if people are lying or not if they’re taking certain medications (this is from a comic i can’t remember what it is. um.)
matt has developed specific coping mechanisms and behaviors to respond to certain sensory input/pain/etc
“Three-hundred-some pulse rates just doubled. I can’t unhear them, so I use one of my mental exercises. I picture all those hearts as instruments in a giant orchestra.”
meditation
“You don’t hurt anymore?” “No, I hurt a lot. But I’m done with it now. I have other things to do.”
fun fact: I told my therapist this quote and she told me to “channel my inner daredevil” and I was like “ok miriam ok”
matt is incredibly obsessive and often over-responds to things regarding those obsessions- for instance, declaring himself the kingpin, ruining relationships because he can’t focus on anything else
“Matty, you have two speeds: underthink and overthink. Right now, you’re overthinking.” (vol. 4)
matt is deeply self-loathing and fully in doubt of the idea that he could be loved by anyone else ever
matt has also internalized a lot of ableism
matt also has just a ridiculous amount of guilt
matt on the show reading and rereading and quoting and referencing thurgood marshall is very autistic
matt absolutely has ptsd and struggles incredibly with the after-effects of things like elektra’s death, karen’s death, milla’s institutionalization, his father’s death, shadowland, the accident
foggy draws attention to this when he tells matt how worried he is about matt writing a memoir
it’s also shown time and time again as he struggles with building relationships in the wake of the loss of his previous loves
Elektra about Matt and Shadowland: “It will leave him scarred forever.”
[two screenshots of marvel’s daredevil. karen looks down at matt, concerned. CC: “Look at you.” matt sits at the table, silent, with a face that says, “how, karen. how do you want me to do that.”]
so i’ve been thinking a lot about the moment when karen comes to visit matt after he’s beaten by nobu
he answers the door without wearing his glasses, which i believe is the first time since he’s spoken to karen about being blind in the first episode (when he takes them off and then immediately puts them back on) that he’s not worn them when she’s there; he even puts his glasses back on when he’s sitting with foggy going over files and karen comes in
so matt answers the door looking like this
[image: screencap of matt, battered and bruised, no glasses.]
karen and him exchange what passes for a greeting between them at this point, and then matt immediately goes to the counter and puts his glasses on while karen takes off her coat
[images: two screencaps of karen taking off her coat in the hallway while matt puts on his glasses at the counter]
then he grabs a beer and turns back around, glasses firmly in place
[image: matt, beer in hand, standing behind the counter with his glasses on.]
so i’ve been thinking about why he would put his glasses on so quickly if he’s willing to answer the door without them on. because it makes sense that he answers the door without them because he’s hurt and tired and sick of everything, whatever reason he’s had to keep them on seems unimportant in light of everything that’s happened, etc. and i’d say it would make sense that he went to the door without his glasses, realized it was karen, and then put his glasses back on (because karen is different, because it’s Karen, because he knows how karen reacted to seeing his eyes before) but matt has supersenses, matt knows it’s karen long before karen reaches the door. so what makes him put his glasses on?
i think what’s different is this
[image: karen stands in the doorway, matt turned away from her. CC says: “you look like shit.”]
matt hears karen say that, hears karen say “you look like shit,” and matt murdock puts on his glasses, which do next to nothing to hide his abundant injuries or uncomfortable gait or obvious pain, especially given that karen has already seen them. matt murdock, who is so rarely seen without his glasses in the comics and the show, who wears glasses even in situations that seem incredibly deeply impractical, even in his own home, even with people who know him well (and here’s a post about this, and tw for some well-meaning ableism + in-comics ableism) - when karen says “you look like shit,” he puts on his glasses. because matt associates looking like shit with people being able to see his eyes- with being visibly disabled. because matt has to live with not only all of the guilt that comes with his daredevilling and with his super senses and with only being able to do so much, but also with internalized ableism.
and here we have a small collection of images i like to call “Canes: Does Anyone At Marvel Actually Know What They Are” because i did like the base level amount of work to feel comfortable even making a casual tumblr post about daredevil and much of this seems like shit
[images: a collection of panels from marvel’s daredevil in which either matt murdock or his wife milla donovan, both of whom are blind, are holding or using a cane]
image 1: literally what the hell. matt has a short red crooked support cane that is not even facing the correct way. this panel is very old and not from volume 2 but i included it because it’s just wild, even though crooked canes like this for the visually impaired were popular in, like, post-WWII era, because it’s so short and facing the wrong way and so out of time
image 2: thirty years later and matt has a support cane again, but at least he’s holding it right and at least it looks closer to the right length (this came after a good run of matt actually having a reasonably effective looking cane, so i was understandably pissed)
image 3: matt has a collapsible cane that… doesn’t work… like any collapsible cane i’ve ever seen does
image 4: matt is holding a cane that looks closer to me to being right, except it’s very short even for a guide cane and it looks like it has a strap at the top except he’s holding it like it’s a handle, and that is an incredibly awkward way to do anything
image 5: that cane looks short as hell, again, even for a guide cane
image 6: that cane looks long as hell, even for a long cane and especially for a straight cane because then it’s unadjustable, and why are you holding it like that
image 7: milla, how is holding your cane straight out from your body like a gun going to be helpful AT ALL ? why is your grip so weird
image 8: milla, how is holding your cane two stairs down helpful at all, and are you just holding onto the top of it
i have a few more ideas so there will be more of these
3/?
i’m making three of these
these three are my beloveds
Daredevil (1964) #175 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Bob Sharen, Christie Scheele, Joe Rosen, Ralph Macchio, and Dennis O'Neil
I would call it blind judgement
ok but Matt Murdock is so funny bec he’s like ‘i would never judge anyone ever’ and then proceeds to be the most judgemental bitch ever
It's funny bc "they glare at each other..." But Matt Murdock is blind xD (he is blind but he can see, I know xD)
…se tonight
I'm back on my haha silly "These two both belong to Disney" and are my favorites nonsense
Just saw the finale episode of Daredevil: Born Again so I thought I'ld share my thoughts on the whole first season.
Spoilers by the way.
First of all the Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio were fantastic as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, two of the best performances in the entire MCU in my opinion. Everyone loves Matt (for good reason) but Fisk has always been my favourite. He is one of my favourite MCU villains and the writing for him is always great.
The scenes with Frank are great. In particular the scene between him and Matt in episode 4 is one of the best scenes in the whole show.
I liked the stuff with White Tiger. R.I.P. Kamar de los Reyes, you did a great job.
I liked Muse, he was good villain. Kinda reminds me of the serial killers in the Hannibal tv show (that's a compliment btw that show is great). I wished he wasn't killed off after two episodes, would've liked to see more of him.
I liked the Pointdexter scenes. Everytime he appeared I was thinking 'oh fuck' especially during and after his breakout in episode 8. Also the use of blue and red lighting in episode 8 is so good.
I liked Vanessa. She felt more like her own character and had more to do compared to the original Daredevil show (granted I last watched Daredevil about 3 months ago so maybe I'm misremembering)
Didn't expect Tony Dalton to show up in this but I'm glad he did. He was great in the Hawkeye show and he's great in this. Hopefully he'll reappear in season 2.
Buck was alright, though I do wish we had James Wesley instead. This is not a fault of Born Again, I just wished they didn't kill him off in Daredevil season 1. I liked Daniel, he had some good scenes. I liked BB as well. Didn't really care for any of the other new characters though tbh.
The bank episode was fun, I liked seeing Yusaf Khan. I want to see Matt have dinner with the Khans now. Also Matt whistling while walking into the bank during an armed robbery is so fucking funny.
The fight scenes and choreography was great. When Fisk killed the commissioner I audibly said "Holy shit! What the fuck?!". It's so brutal and gory, I kinda love it.
It was sad that they killed Foggy but thankfully it didn't feel like an unnecessary kill. Everything surrounding Matt and everything he does in some way has to do with his death.
Anyway I really really liked this. It is my favourite Disney+ Marvel show (though Loki is a close second) and I cannot wait for season 2.
marvel will have to pay for my therapy bills after s1 e10 of daredevil like im pretty much bawling my eyes out here
finally started daredevil and i've only watched 5 episodes so far but im so in love with matt murdock it's insane