7 Redeeming Features Of The Marvel Netflix Series

Look up almost any Marvel (or DC) release from history and you’ll notice one very consistent thing – every single one of them is rated PG-13 (or 12 in the UK) with rare exceptions like Deadpool for obvious reasons. Studios have always pushed for this rating to allow for the widest possible cinematic audience, as the likes of advertisers and merchandisers are more hesitant to touch anything considered more ‘adult’ (America lacking an equivalent to the UK’s 15 rating and jumping straight to R-rated after this).

As a result, mature themes are frequently omitted from films. It took the MCU 13 years and 26 films to feature a sex scene (and a very tame one at that), for instance, whilst its violence is mostly fantastical (its fine to destroy huge armies of CGI aliens and robots, but rarely are human characters subject to anything gory) and the language is limited to the one profanity that the PG-13 rating permits.

Unbound by the same restrictions the Netflix series feel far grittier as a result. Characters speak more realistically, action sequences (particularly Daredevil’s) are enhanced by their bloodiness and the inclusion of sexual themes allows more elements of the characters and their relationships (such as Jessica and Luke’s depression-fuelled dependencies on one another) to be explored.