Thursday, June 23, 2016

Daredevil Season 2 Follow-Up: Heroes and Supporting Characters


Image Courtesy www.screenrant.com

This Monday I finished up my review series on Daredevil season 2.  Conveniently, I also finished up my series of Captain America: Civil War follow-up articles last week.  I’m already planning out articles for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. looking ahead to season 4, as well as at least a couple of articles about the upcoming Cloak and Dagger series, but before getting into those Marvel TV shows, let’s talk a little more about this Marvel TV show!

We’re going to start off this week with the possibilities for some of the Daredevil characters moving forward.  Like I did with the Captain America: Civil War series that just concluded, I am breaking this up into three articles.  This week we will talk about the heroes and supporting characters.  Next week I’m going to single out Foggy because I think he needs a little more than just a passing mention with several others.  Finally the week after will be all the villains.

Obviously this will have spoilers for Daredevil season 2.


Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com
Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil

Thus far they have not announced Daredevil season 3, though I expect it to come sooner or later.  However, at this point it seems much more likely that Matt’s next appearance will come in the team-up, The Defenders, which will probably be released around this time next year.

In this season he did a spectacular job of pushing or driving away everyone who cared about him—Claire, Foggy, and Karen.  The law firm self-destructed after the Castle trial imploded.  As of now the only real relationship he has left is with Karen (which I will talk about a lot more down below).  For now, he has whole-heartedly embraced the role of the loner vigilante.  Assuming that there is a third season, I expect him to realize that he needs other people and try to rebuild his relationships.  However, this will probably start to some extent in The Defenders when he realizes that there are some things that he can’t handle on his own or with a friend:  having a team isn’t such a bad thing.

Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com
Frank Castle, a.k.a. Punisher

The Punisher has already been announced as an upcoming Marvel Netflix series (the first new series announced since the announcement of the four solo series and team-up miniseries).  My guess is that it will come out right after The Defenders, next fall or winter.  However, that may not be his next appearance; I personally think there is a possibility of him getting a cameo in The Defenders even if he does not officially join the team.

Following Daredevil season 2, Punisher has cut just about all his ties to his old life (by burning down his house) and has been officially declared dead.  He also succeeded in killing the man ultimately responsible for his family’s murders.  His goal moving forward seems pretty clear:  he will bring his brand of justice to the streets of Hell’s Kitchen by taking out all the criminals he finds.  Before burning the house he did grab a disc labeled “Micro” (a possible reference to his tech support guy from the comics, who has already been namedropped on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a hacker contact of Daisy’s).  However, beyond “all the criminals in Hell’s Kitchen,” there’s really no indication of who the main villain might be for The Punisher.

Claire Temple (Night Nurse)

We already know that Claire is confirmed to have a sizeable role in Luke Cage, and they even announced that her mother will also appear in that show.  From this information it seems pretty obvious that after quitting her Metro General job, Claire is going home to Harlem.  What she’s going to do in Harlem isn’t quite clear, but she could certainly continue her unofficial side job of patching up superheroes.

At this point she knows three of the four Defenders, and at some point she will have to meet Danny Rand, a.k.a. Iron Fist.  This introduction could come near the end of Luke Cage, or it could happen after she (presumably) returns to Hell’s Kitchen at or near the end of Luke Cage/beginning of Iron Fist.

Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com
Karen Page

Karen is now working for the New York Bulletin as a reporter.  It’s a bit surprising that she managed to solidify a job so quickly without any previous experience or training (that we know about), but it’s still plausible, especially when you show the boss that you have what it takes to do the job.  In this position she could easily appear anywhere in the Marvel Netflix universe as an investigative reporter tracking down leads about other vigilantes active in Hell’s Kitchen and New York City.  After all, she’s already come into direct contact with both Daredevil and the Punisher, so who better to investigate other vigilantes?

The Karen/Matt relationship will also be an important element of her story moving forward.  Like I said in my finale review, I think that Matt outing himself as Daredevil to her at the end of the season was a bid for her attention and affection.  And I think she will be interested, especially after he saved her life multiple times.  Just knowing that the reason he is so distant is because of his vigilantism will probably improve their relationship moderately.  I wouldn’t hazard a guess how long this relationship can last—in the comics it—along with all Matt’s romantic relationships—eventually comes to an end—but at least through their next appearances I expect this to be a “thing.”

Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com
Melvin Potter (a.k.a. Gladiator)

Through two seasons of Daredevil, Melvin hasn’t quite gotten through his full origin story.  In the comics he actually becomes a costumed hero/antihero/villain in his own right as the Gladiator.  Thus far, he was Wilson Fisk’s personal armorer (and through him the armorer for the criminal underworld) and is now Daredevil’s armorer, having designed armors for both Daredevil and Elektra, and also designing Daredevil’s specialized billy club.

In this capacity, Potter could fit into any of the Netflix series as an armorer who helps keep them safe and designs specialized weaponry.  This is less important for characters like Luke Cage and Jessica Jones who don’t really need armor or weapons (even though Jessica could use something since she doesn’t have unbreakable skin).  Conversely, the Punisher could certainly use Potter’s assistance in designing armor.

Potter’s character could also take a huge turn in his next appearance.  In Daredevil season 1 he was worried that if Fisk discovered that he was helping Daredevil, Fisk would hurt Betty (his girlfriend/wife/therapist from the comics) in revenge.  However, Matt promised to keep Betty and Potter safe in exchange for his help.  If Fisk were to somehow find out about Potter’s arrangement with Daredevil and either threaten or kill Betty, that would drive Potter over the edge, perhaps into becoming a villain.  It would be especially interesting and tragic if Fisk forced Potter to betray and fight Daredevil in order to save Betty (particularly in connection with a Matt/Karen subplot involving their relationship’s impact on his vigilantism).  This would mean Potter finally going full-on Gladiator, something that they’ve been teasing for 2 seasons.

Potter could appear next in the assumed Daredevil season 3, but he could just as easily appear in either The Punisher or The Defenders.

Conclusion

Obviously the character I’m most interested in seeing in the future is Daredevil himself, but if I had to pick another character from Daredevil season 2, it would have to be either Punisher or Potter.  Both of them could go any number of different directions, and whichever direction they choose would be really interesting.

Did I miss any characters that you think should be included?  Which character do you most want to see in the future?  Let me know in the comments!

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