4 Storylines For DAREDEVIL Film Reboot

With talk of the new Daredevil movie gearing up to perhaps begin production next year, attention is turning to what story will be used to reboot our favourite crime fighting lawyer for the big screen after the much derived 2003 film starring Ben Affleck. First of all though, I didn't think the original Daredevil movie was as bad as everybody makes out. It wasn't perfect and yes it did drop the ball on several occasions, but I still enjoyed it like a Saturday morning cartoon and there are a lot of things to like about the movie. The post-theatrically released directors cut went a ways to fix what was wrong, and is a much better movie but no fan of that movie would deny the character of Daredevil does deserve better. He deserves more than a succession of montages set to rock music, campy acting and a watered down version of the Man Without Fear. Daredevil is a tortured soul. For all his good deeds, he receives nothing but pain. For every stranger he helps, a loved one suffers. But still he battles for good. Because he can. Because he has to. A Daredevil movie should emphasise that, it should ground the character, not turn it into a cartoon. Hopefully the new film can do that. David Slade is a good director and 30 Days of Night and Hardy Candy are fine films. He made the Twilight Saga somewhat tolerable for me and there is a hint of darkness in all his films, that has me excited to see the work he can do with the character. The script is still being written, pointing to a continuation of the story from the first film, something along the lines of The Incredible Hulk (they acknowledge some events from the first film, but it essentially a reboot). While no details are forthcoming as of yet, I decided to do a wishlist of story lines that could be adapted from the books long history.

UNDERBOSS

Brian Micheal Bendis' and Alex Maleev's first work on the title finds Daredevil caught up in a power struggle between Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, and one of his associates, Sammy Silke. Discovering that the Kingpin knows the secret identity of Daredevil but does nothing about it (he and Daredevil having reached a truce after an earlier confrontation), Silke organizes a coup within Fisk's organization, even drafting Fisk's son, Richard, to his side. On the big screen, this could go one of two ways. As a continuation of the first film, the vacuum left by Fisk's incarceration could lead to different lieutenants vying for control, bringing them into conflict with Daredevil who is trying to dismantle the last of Fisk's empire. As a reboot, the power struggle could escalate into an all out gang war, threatening to tear New York apart, forcing Daredevil to get involved. Since Silke is quite an obscure character, his first and only appearance being Underboss, he would have to swapped out for another villain, a good choice being Tombstone. The super strong, invulnerable villain would offer a real physical threat to the Man Without Fear. The storyline would also offer the chance to introduce the Kingpin's enforcers The . . . . . . . . . Enforcers. The storyline forgoes the colorful spandex of some previous story lines, and tackles the human drama in Daredevil's world. Bendis and Maleev were praised for bringing a gritty realism to the book, and grounding the character. This realism would work well in a new film. I hate to say this but it worked for Batman. If any Marvel character can be compared to the Dark Knight, it would be The Man Without Fear.

YELLOW

Okay, lets take a different tack, and go in a complete different direction from the grittiness of Underboss. Part of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Spectrum series (where they weave stories set in the early life of well known Marvel heroes, naming them after a color that was synomous with the hero at the time), Yellow chronicles the early crime fighting career of Daredevil. A simpler time when he wore a yellow costume, and battled outrageously garbed villains such as the Matador. This is purely in the realm of fanboy fantasy, and would probably never come to pass in a million years, but why does a Daredevil film have to be set in modern day? I think a 60's set movie, capturing the heyday of costumed heroes in the Marvel Universe would work perfectly. It makes sense that Captain America's debut in the 40's would inspire similarly powered individuals to take to wearing costumes, and it would give the universe Marvel Studios are trying to build a great sense of history. Yellow is also a fantastic story, fleshing out history of Matt Murdock, his reasons for becoming a lawyer and vigilante, and his friendship with Foggy Nelson and budding romance with Karen Page. As a reboot, it would be the perfect place to start. As for the villains it provides, The Owl and The Purple Man play the biggest part. The Owl's presence (in this iteration) lends itself to the henchman role, while the unhinged Purple Man and his ability to control peoples mind due to proximity, would provide a chilling and dastardly criminal mastermind calling the shots.

BORN AGAIN

This storyline has already being rumored to be the inspiration for the new movie, and it's not hard to see why. Marking Frank Millers return to the title he helped reinvigorate four years previously, it finds Daredevil at his lowest, and helped redefine the character. Finding out the heroes true identity, The Kingpin decides, rather than going after Daredevil directly, to destroy the life of Matt Murdock. His assets frozen by the IRS, his reputation in tatters, and his home destroyed, Murdock is left destitute and alone. Hunted by hit men sent by The Kingpin, he slowly reevaluates his life and the role Daredevil plays in it. A refreshing approach to the character, a movie version of this storyline would go a long way to erase the disappoint many have with the first movie, and show that there is more to the character than the red spandex and acrobatics. My only call for a change to the story would be the handling of Nuke, a failed experiment to recreate the project which gave Captain America his powers. Brought in the final chapters, he felt, to me, tacked on, as if the Marvel creative staff had a really interesting character but no idea what to do with him. This point of view is backed up by the fact that we wouldn't see him used again properly till nearly twenty years later. More screen time should be given to the character, to flesh him out, and give him more to do that be a punching bag for Daredevil.

OUT

The aftermath of Underboss finds Daredevil's secret identity leaked to the press. This forces Murdock to evaluate his costumed life and whether or not he should continue, all the while denying the accusations to save the credibility of his firm, and to protect his friends. I'll admit not much happens, action wise, in this storyline, so the outing of Matt Murdock, and it repercussions, would only serve as a jumping off point for a much bigger story. Continuation or reboot, it wouldn't take much to establish that Daredevil's secret identity is know to at least one reporter, this information could be later found out and used by a villain. Any one of Daredevil's villains could be the big bad in this. My top choice would Mister Fear, who's M.O. is similar to the Scarecrow. Using the information to incite fear in the people of New York, he could turn the public opinion against Daredevil, effectively making the entire city his enemy. A very different take on a well worn cliche, Out, like Underboss, finds the human drama lost amidst the colorful costumes. There you have it. Any Daredevil fans out there have their own choices or opinions?