Daredevil Fans Should Be Glad He Didnât Join The MCU Civil War
Marvel Comicsâ massive 2006 event Civil War from well-established writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven spanning across several Marvel titles, became a high stakes battle over government oversight as a vast majority of the Marvel Universeâs superhuman community are caught in the action. Unlike 2016âs Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) adaptation, the Civil War of the comics is an expansive universe-wide crossover that goes well beyond the Avengers and includes the likes of the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the street level catalog of superheroes. With grounded heroes involved, itâs only natural that Hellâs Kitchen defender Daredevil would make his way to the battle between Captain America and Iron Man. Though the Man Without Fear would ultimately side with Captain Americaâs Anti Registration Team of outlaw superheroes, Civil Warâs variation of Daredevil is not the fan-favorite iteration that most readers have become familiar with.
Related: Avengers: How Daredevil Earned His Place Among Earthâs Mightiest Heroes
Following a public outing by notorious New York City crime boss Wilson Fisk / The Kingpin, Daredevilâs civilian alter-ego of Matt Murdock has been incarcerated at Rykerâs Island. During this period at Marvel Comics, independent writer Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Uncanny X-Men) had taken up writing duties for the main Daredevil title, which followed Mattâs time in prison during the Civil War event. In an effort to help mislead the public, Daredevilâs 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 Brubakerâs Daredevil title on a monthly basis, fans would miss out on the drastic measures taken by Rand to help clear Mattâs name. Rather than retain his own identity, the natural blonde Danny had bleached his hair a reddish-brown to fully embrace his newfound dual role. This decision initially left several comic fans and even major characters such as Tony Stark out of the loop on the true identity of the man under the Daredevil cowl.
Had fans received their wish, thereâs no guarantee that Daredevilâs lead actor Charlie Cox would return as Matt Murdock for the Civil War film, given the heroâs situation in the original comic storyline. Netflixâs Iron Fist starring Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones was released in the spring of 2017 to much fan criticism and ultimately became the black sheep of the Marvel / Netflix experiment. If Captain America Civil War were to follow its source material in a closer manner, it may have been Jonesâ Rand in the Daredevil costume sharing scenes with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.
Marvelâs Civil War may be a landmark for reigniting Marvelâs staple crossover events, but itâs inadequate at delivering a story unaccompanied by a messy continuity, of which Daredevil was a major component.
Next: Shang-Chi Is The Perfect MCU Movie To Reintroduce Iron Fist
