Daredevil Fans Should Be Glad He Didnāt Join The MCU Civil War
Marvel Comicsā massive 2006 eventĀ Civil WarĀ from well-establishedĀ writer Mark MillarĀ and artist Steve McNivenĀ spanning across several Marvel titles, becameĀ a high stakes battleĀ over government oversight asĀ a vast majority ofĀ the Marvel UniverseāsĀ superhuman community are caught in the action. Unlike 2016ās Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) adaptation, the Civil War of the comics is an expansive universe-wide crossover thatĀ goes well beyond the Avengers and includes the likes of the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the street level catalog of superheroes. WithĀ grounded heroes involved, itās only natural that Hellās Kitchen defender Daredevil wouldĀ make his way toĀ the battle between Captain America and Iron Man. ThoughĀ the Man Without Fear would ultimately side with Captain Americaās Anti Registration Team of outlaw superheroes, Civil Warās variation of Daredevil is notĀ the fan-favorite iterationĀ that most readers have becomeĀ familiar with.
Related: Avengers: How Daredevil Earned His Place Among Earthās Mightiest Heroes
FollowingĀ a public outing by notorious New York City crime boss Wilson Fisk / The Kingpin, Daredevilās civilian alter-ego of Matt Murdock has been incarcerated at Rykerās Island. During this period at Marvel Comics, independent writerĀ Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Uncanny X-Men) had taken up writing duties for the main Daredevil title, which followed Mattās time in prison during the Civil War event. In an effort to helpĀ mislead the public, Daredevilās ally and fellow vigilante Danny Rand a.k.a. the Immortal Iron Fist had taken up the Daredevil mantle. While Matt endured his prison sentence, it was Danny representing Daredevil during the legendary feud over civil liberties. However, if Civil War readers were not picking up Brubakerās Daredevil title on a monthly basis,Ā fans wouldĀ miss out on theĀ drastic measures taken by Rand to help clear Mattās name. Rather thanĀ retain his own identity, the natural blonde DannyĀ had bleached his hair a reddish-brown to fully embrace his newfound dual role. This decision initially left several comic fans and evenĀ major characters such as Tony Stark out of the loopĀ on the true identity of the man under the Daredevil cowl.
Had fansĀ received their wish, thereās no guarantee that Daredevilās lead actor Charlie Cox would return asĀ Matt Murdock for the Civil War film, given the heroās situation in the original comic storyline. Netflixās Iron FistĀ starring Game of ThronesĀ actor Finn Jones was released in the spring of 2017 to much fan criticism and ultimately became theĀ black sheep of the Marvel / Netflix experiment. If Captain America Civil War were to follow its source material in a closer manner,Ā it may have beenĀ Jonesā Rand in the Daredevil costume sharing scenes with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.
Marvelās Civil War may be aĀ landmarkĀ for reigniting Marvelās staple crossover events, but itāsĀ inadequateĀ at delivering a storyĀ unaccompanied by aĀ messy continuity, of whichĀ DaredevilĀ was a major component.
Next: Shang-Chi Is The Perfect MCU Movie To Reintroduce Iron Fist
