From Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do #4, by Kevin Smith and Terry and Rachel Dodson
If you’re like me, you enjoy Silver Age Daredevil. Not “enjoy” in the sense that you consider it to be a great example of the literary merits of the comic book medium, or even in the sense that you’re reading something that makes sense. Comparing modern Daredevil to its Silver Age equivalent is like comparing filet mignon to macaroni and cheese. They both pass for food, they are both enjoyable in their own way, but they’re not really comparable in any other sense.
Naturally, I have a preference for filet mignon and, more importantly, I don’t want anyone trying to rub mac and cheese in my face while I’m eating my steak (or vegetarian substitute, if that’s your choice). There’s no point in dragging old leftovers out from the darkest corners of the freezer when there’s perfectly good food in the house. If you’re wondering what I’m trying to say with this odd analogy (and no, I haven’t eaten in the last few hours so I would go for either right now) is this: Not everything that’s in continuity needs to be acknowledged. In fact, a lot of the time it’s much better not to.
In the panel above, which is taken from the fourth issue of the Spider-Man/Black Cat mini written by Kevin Smith, with art by Terry and Rachel Dodson, it’s not only Matt who is uncomfortable. It has me cringing too. Yes, any hardcore Daredevil fan will know that Matt was involved in an extended storyline during which he pretended to be his own twin. It was written more than forty years ago, and, aside from the entertaining nuttiness of it all, it was quite possibly one of the most ridiculous plot developments in comic book history. It’s perfectly okay to pretend it never happened.
In this case, I suspect that Kevin Smith is trying to flaunt his knowledge of continuity and score some points with the über-geeks, but the fact remains that it adds absolutely nothing to the story. If anything, it only serves to alienate new readers who are deliberately left out of the loop.
I’m not going to suggest that awkward moments like the one above are particularly common, but I will take this opportunity to throw in my two cents on the commonly discussed topic of comic book continuity generally. My opinion is that the concept of continuity is worth protecting. As primarily a Marvel reader (not counting the odd Vertigo TPB), I like the organic feel of a natural progression that comes from the shared Marvel Universe where slates are rarely wiped completely clean and characters have a past. However, past events generally range from central to the development of the character, to altogether forgettable. Being truly respectful of continuity means knowing which events have contributed to what makes a character special while allowing the less than stellar ideas gently slip into oblivion.
It’s okay to pretend certain things never happened. Mike Murdock doesn’t need to be mentioned, and the same thing goes for all the times Matt has faked his own death. Personally, I prefer to think of Daredevil’s trip to space in Daredevil #2, his piloting the Avengers jet in Daredevil #100 and the entire Jack Batlin era under Chichester’s pen as strange anomalies that are difficult to reconcile with the Matt Murdock we see today.
So, what are your thoughts on continuity and past events? Do you have a hard time – as I do – thinking of Silver Age Daredevil and modern Daredevil as the same character? And, how do we find the best balance between tapping into the richness of continuity and drowning in its complexity?
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I think someone like the Punisher is a little more believable: he’s a guy with lots of guns who keeps himself in peak physical condition and has trained extensively in martial arts and weaponry. Really, any of the depowered heroes fall into this camp, e.g., Hawkeye or Black Widow (unless you think whatever age-defying serum she took is a super-power).
Christine is a thirty something Daredevil fan from Sweden who spends way too much of her free time writing posts for this blog. Check the
The new Daredevil movie – Dos and Don’ts
by Christine on February 7, 2010 in Commentary
As excited as I am to hear of the new Daredevil movie that’s in the works (though I’m not really expecting anything before 2013 or so), I can’t help feeling a little nervous about it. A movie is a big deal. It will be seen by millions of people who don’t read the comic. Because it is such a big deal, we’re naturally desperate for the movie makers to get it right, and treat the character and his universe with the respect they deserve. To get the conversation going, here’s my list of what I would tell the people whose job it is to bring the Man Without Fear back on the silver screen, if I had their ear.
Don’t be afraid to cast an unknown in the lead
I honestly don’t feel that Ben Affleck was horrible in the title role in the 2003 movie, but his performance was crippled by cheesy lines, an uneven script, and the fact that he really didn’t look the part. He was also a huge Hollywood star at the time, and you don’t ever want that to get in the way. Many interesting names are being tossed around on people’s personal lists of who they’d like to see play Matt Murdock, and while most of them have solid acting careers, no one seems to want to see any Hollywood A-listers in the lead. I wouldn’t mind a new face myself.
Do remember who your audience is
Daredevil is not Spider-Man. There’s nothing wrong with Spidey (ironically, Spider-Man 3 is on TV and playing in the background as I’m writing this), but kids are not going to rest their little heads on Daredevil pillow cases. While I don’t see a specific need to have Daredevil be an R-rated movie, it needs to be targeted to adults and older teens. It needs to feel free to break every superhero cliche in the book. I’d love to see Fox approach this as a tense, character-driven movie that just happens to be about a superhero, not as just another superhero movie.
Don’t be a slave to the comic
This may be a little controversial, but I don’t particularly need to see an adaptation of something we’ve already read in the comic, I just want a good Daredevil story that feels true to the character. One of the problems with the 2003 movie was that it was a jumble of elements and scenes taken straight out of canon, but assembled in a way that was new but not improved. Having said that…
Do know your canon
Maybe it sounds like I’m contradicting myself here, but a solid knowledge of canon is vital. Don’t fudge around with the characters, the origin or anything else that you don’t need to. Like I mentioned, I’d love something new, using established characters, but that requires that the writer and director know their stuff.
Don’t feel like you have to do the Elektra saga
I guess I sort of covered this already, but I’d go as far as to say that Elektra doesn’t need to be in a Daredevil movie at all, especially considering the Elektra movie that is already out there and how doing something too similar to the first movie would make it hard to sell it to audiences as something new and different.
Do try the low tech approach
One of the things that bothered me about the first movie was the excessive use of CGI. At the risk of repeating myself, Daredevil is not Spider-Man, and he shouldn’t move like Spider-Man. Keep it down to Earth, keep it physical, and use great stuntmen. Make it look real.
Don’t do an origin film (necessarily)
It seems that the first installment of any superhero movie franchise always needs to include the origin story. This makes sense, of course, but it eats up a lot of story time. I happened to love the scenes between Matt and his father in the original movie and would love to revisit that, but the events that created the hero don’t need to be told in a linear fashion at the beginning of the movie. It could be done through flashbacks or in some other way that breaks the traditional mold. I would like to see Stick mentioned in some way though.
Do your research
The details matter, and it seems a shame to spend millions of dollars on making a movie and not taking the time to check out the small matter of what lawyers do, and what they don’t (like prosecute cases). While you’re at it, spend an hour or two checking out blindness-related paraphernalia. Or, let me just save you some time: White canes? Yeah, they’re supposed to be long enough to touch the ground when the person using it is walking!
Don’t put something in your movie just because it “looks cool”
I think they’ve probably learned their lesson this time around, and I hope we won’t be seeing any flaming ‘D’s in the subway, sensory deprivation tanks or playground scenes. While I still find plenty to actually like about the Daredevil Director’s Cut, there’s no denying that both versions of the movie were flawed, and that Mark Steven Johnson would have been well-advised to kill his darlings, as the expression goes. Not every brilliant, or not-so-brilliant, idea needs to go in the movie. Keep it clean, and make every scene count and make sense, and we’ll be fine.
Well, that was my list of things that came to mind. What do you want to see and what can you do without? Let everyone know in the comments!
Tagged as: Commentary, Meandering musings, The movie(s)
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