The skinny on Daredevil is that he was blinded as a child by a mysterious substance and gifted with enhanced senses to compensate which have aided him in achieving physical perfection. He’s generally either really happy or really sour and arguably the biggest Marvel property not to have enjoyed major success in motion pictures.
To be fair, most of you have probably already seen Mark Stephen Johnson’s underrated 2003 version of Daredevil. You know, the one Batman was in. That film and the general Bennifer-fuelled Affleck backlash cast a shadow over the character that has seen a decade pass with not so much as a whiff of a sequel or reboot. There were rumors and aborted attempts, sure, with the most interesting being that Frank Miller (who wrote and drew the series between ’79 and ’93) wanted to direct Jason Statham in the role and that Joe Carnahan pitched a version set in the 1970s, but despite the comic series going from strength to strength in that time, ol’ hornhead has mired in development hell.
There are a number of key stories worth tackling here. Miller’s legacy – the expanded origin and the Elektra relationship – was fairly treated in the 2003 film but could stand to be reintegrated into the new series. His other major contribution to the character was 1986’s Born Again, in which one of Matt Murdock’s exes sells his secret identity for a quick fix and it falls into the hands of The Kingpin, who systematically destroys Matt’s livelihood and reputation before the inevitable comeback. It’s one of the best comics stories ever and deserves wider recognition. It would also fit a thirteen-episode season perfectly if it weren’t for the fact that it depends quite heavily on existing character establishment. Still, if they ever get to a second season, Born Again is the way to go.
Another notable classic is Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s run from around a decade ago, in which an increasingly furious Daredevil elects to and succeeds in cleaning up Hell’s Kitchen despite the throes of a mental breakdown after his identity is revealed to the public. It’s heavy stuff, but one of the best runs for the character. It’s low on superheroics and high on crime drama and would fit the segmented format perfectly.
Whichever way Marvel and Netflix choose to go, there’s arguably too much material available for them to screw it up. By the time it airs they’ll have had over fifty years of stories to choose from and at least three great authors’ work would make for essential viewing.