The rise in excitement for Daredevil: Born Again has ushered in an intense need for me to rewatch Netflix’s original Daredevil series. And in revisiting the show, we can see a lot of elements that made us hyper aware of who Matt Murdock is.
As we get closer to Born Again’s eventual release, I want to talk about one episode at a time, starting with season 1 episode 1, titled “Into the Ring,” which establishes so many things that carry on throughout all three seasons, as well as what we’ve seen in things like Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Echo. In looking at the first episode, we see a lot of what makes Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) the hero we know and love.
From the first moments of the series, a younger Matt (played by Skylar Gaertner) ends up losing his sight because he saved someone’s life. Yes, it is an origin story that helps the audience learn about the character and how his blindness plays into his abilities as a superhero. What we also get to see in that scene is Matt’s relationship to his father, Jack (John Patrick Hayden), and exactly why Matty got hurt in the first place. He was selflessly trying to help someone else, and watching as a 9-year-old sacrifices himself for another gives us a lot of insight into who Matt has always been.
This episode really works as a pilot is because it gives us all of the pieces to just get Matt as a character. Right out of the gate, you know exactly who you’re dealing with and whether you’re going to love him or if Daredevil isn’t for you.
We knew right from the start who we were dealing with
Outside of Matt saving a man as a 9-year-old, the next moment we see is our Catholic boy in confession. One aspect of Matt that’s clear throughout the entire show is how he struggles with religion and his feelings on it. That is established within moments of meeting him in Daredevil. Then, we see him in the night, stopping bad guys before we’re introduced to another side of him: flirty Matt Murdock.
All of this factors into why we love Cox’s portrayal of Matt Murdock, but we know right there who he is. We never have to sit and guess about him or wonder if there’s something lurking in the darkness, waiting to be revealed. Within the first eleven minutes of this entire show, we have all the facts.
Matt Murdock is a lawyer who has a firm with his best friend, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson). Foggy lets us know how much Matt loves to flirt with pretty women and how much it (teasingly) bothers him that Matt can constantly do so and find a woman to fawn over him. He’s still a “good Catholic boy” who wants forgiveness from the church, and at night he is a vigilante.
The only thing we don’t learn in those first few moments is that Matt loves to box just as his father did. That is saved for the very end of the episode when Matt needs to unwind. Still, everything you need to know about Matt Murdock is told to you in the pilot of Daredevil and that’s brilliant storytelling and a wonderful adaptation of a hero.
(featured image: Disney+)
