Tag Archives: daredevil

Daredevil: Born Again S2 E5

Posted on by

Spoilers

“The Grand Design”

Daredevil: Born Again S2 E5 is a rough one. Vanessa survived the initial injury at the hands of Bullseye last episode, but eventually succumbs at the end of the episode. The episode played like a “life-flashing-before-here eyes” for Vanessa as she flashed back to the art gallery and the night she met Wilson Fisk.

The episode had a bunch of flashbacks because this is the long awaited episode that saw the return of Foggy Nelson, albeit in flashback only. I know there were a lot of people who were in the “Foggy faked his own death” camp, but this sure feels like an end to those wishes. I do have to say that I am not sure what the purpose of the flashback was for Foggy, outside of getting Foggy back on screen. Foggy’s acquaintance from his youth who they got off the charges he was facing was a strange situation too. I feel like this guy is coming back in the story at some point.

We also got some appearances from Wesley from the original series during these flashbacks. Of course, Karen killed Wesley back during that original run on Netflix.

Daredevil and Bullseye are on the run from the AVTF after the confrontation at the gym. Bullseye seemed ready to die and tried to get Matt to leave him behind, but Matt was not having any of it. When he brought Bullseye into the hideout where Karen was staying, she gave Matt a look like she was ready to rip his throat out before she killed Bullseye. This might be a spot where the relationship between Matt and Karen is tested.

Daredevil dropped a hint about a “nurse” he knew that could help Bullseye. Could this be an allusion to Night Nurse aka Claire?

Speaking of being tested, what will Wilson Fisk do now that Vanessa is gone. When the doctor walked in to talk to Fisk, I joked that he was going to be killed if Vanessa did not make it. I am now worried about that doctor.

The doctor is just one step. The Kingpin is going to bring the fire to New York City. This is going to lead to the arrival of Jessica Jones, I bet.

I was also very worried that BB was in the trunk of that car that Buck and Daniel drove to Albany. I was concerned for Daniel too, as Buck seemed to be preparing to kill him as the leak. I have heard the online speculation that Daniel might be the MCU’s Rose, and I wondered if this was going to be proven untrue today.

This was a great episode highlighting Vincent D’Onofrio’s performance as Wilson Fisk when Vanessa came to for a short time. He is absolutely stunning as this character and having what has been Wilson’s heart ripped away from him. He deserves an Emmy nomination for this work.

Amazing episode that was tricky, but it hit every beat.

Daredevil: Born Again S2 E4

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Gloves Off”

Wow, what an episode.

We get so much Bullseye in this episode and a huge shock at the end.

Wilson Fisk’s big boxing match is up next, and I know I do not want to be the opponent facing him. The giant monster can pound away.

It does seem as if the whole thing is a plan to try and lure Daredevil and/or Bullseye out. And in that case, it did work. Just not exactly how Fisk had planned.

He had sent Vanessa away. Off to see the Governor. She did so and seemingly swayed her over to their side. However, she made it back for the conclusion of the fight, watching Wilson pummel some poor schmuck ( who was like 30-2 record wise) into oblivion.

Bullseye shows up, killing members of the AVTF members with knives and all kinds of other projectiles, marching his way toward the Fisks. He threw a crystal figure of Fisk in NYC, which was shattered and one of the pieces went into Vanessa’s skull. The imagery of the red blood pouring from her skull across her white dress as she laid on the boxing ring mat was unbelievable.

If Vanessa is dead, I don’t know what Wilson Fisk is going to do. he is barely stable as is and losing her would absolutely send him over the edge.

He’s going to blame Daredevil as well, as DD deflected a bullet that was going to kill Bullseye when Fisk picked up the gun that Venessa had and measured an already injured Bullseye. This led to Bullseye escaping from the boxing venue before anyone could catch him.

Even if Vanessa survived, Fisk is going to even more unhinged. I have a feeling that this is where we get Jessica Jones from very soon.

Things are going to be wild from now on.

Daredevil: Born Again S2 E2, E3

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Shoot the Moon”

“The Scale & the Sword”

This week, Disney + dropped episode two and three of Daredevil: Born Again tonight.

There are some amazing things happening in this series. The highlights of these two episodes include:

  • Trial of the Swordsman. Spoiler… it was fairly rigged and he was found guilty.
  • Reveal of the Mayor Kingpin online person: It’s Bebe.
  • Matt and Karen lead an attack on the AVTF base in Red Hook.
  • Daredevil got all the caged individuals out.
  • White Tiger returns… kind of…
  • Bullseye is running around. He killed two AVTF agents in the elevator- brutally.
  • Heather continues to slip into darkness.
  • Fisk was preparing to box, killed his trainer.
  • Daniel is concerned that the leaks were coming from his laptop. He warns Bebe.
  • Gallo’s death is covered up as a car wreck.
  • Karen and Matt are roused out of the bar where they are hiding out.
  • Cherry is safe, gotten out of the hospital before the AVTF got him.
  • Vanessa has weird dreams
  • Kingpin had the ship blown up, killing the workmen on the ship.
  • Karen captured a AVTF agent who wants to help them stop Fisk.
  • Karen and Matt take up residence in Frank’s place.

The Daredevil fight scene at Red Hook was awesome, with DD and Jack fighting brutally.

I am anxious for Jessica Jones, who has yet to appear. I am excited to get her into the show.

Episode two was a little slower, but I thought the characterization is great. This show has done a really great job including the story of the ensemble cast around Matt and Karen.

It did feel a little easy for DD to get into the cages and to get the people out of the prison.

However, I did not want episode three to end. When it went to black screen, I literally yelled out. I wanted it to continue. I am excited to see next Tuesday.

Daredevil: Born Again S2 E1

Posted on by

Spoilers

“The Northern Star”

Daredevil: Born Again premiered its first episode of season two tonight on Disney + and I am all in already.

This was a great first episode which featured some exciting action, some intriguing characters, and enough suspense to build on moving ahead.

Matt Murdock is missing. Or at least, he is not showing his face around New York. Meanwhile, the Mayor of New York, Wilson Fisk, has armed up the battle against vigilantes and has empowered his brutal strike force to be able to do whatever they want. It is kind of close to home these days.

Matt and Karen Page are working together, in the shadows, trying to bring Fisk down. Daredevil (with the awesome DD on his costume chest plate) kicked off the episode by boarding a ship that was smuggling weapons into New York. When the captain realized that Daredevil was there, he sank the ship. He said it was his orders.

Fisk was involved in the arms smuggling, of course, so he is anxious to salvage what had sunk. When the attorney general came to see him, it seemed as if Fisk was in some trouble, with words like oversight being bandied around.

However, into the office strolled Matthew Lillard, suddenly taking over the scene completely. Lillard is playing someone named Mr. Charles, and he apparently has some big time connections in the MCU. While he was grandstanding in the Mayor’s office, the attorney general received a phone call after which he immediately folded. During the one-sided conversation, we heard him say the name Ms. de Fontaine.

What??????

Obviously, this is a reference to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the character played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Falcon & the Winter Soldier, Thunderbolts and Wakanda Forever. Last we saw Val, she was head of the CIA and putting together the New Avengers, in a backhanded, manipulative manner. I did not expect that name drop to come, but it only added to the curiosity and intrigue that I felt for Mr. Charles. I look forward to seeing this guy moving forward.

Heather Glenn is back and being a horrendous person. She is on the hook in the Kingpin’s organization doing dirty work, such as falsifying the psych report on Swordsman to make it look like he is not a balanced individual. Yet, it seemed that Heather may be the one who is less than balanced as she is hallucinating images of Muse. I hope this use of Muse will be able to rebuild him from the character assassination that took place in season one. The way Muse was written and the lack of development of Muse was easily the worst part of season one. Maybe this will be a fascinating way to bring the specter of Muse back in a scary way. Plus, who deserved it more than Heather?

The episode ended with the AVTF beating up Cherry at the end, but not before he was able to signal Matt to come help him. Matt showed up in his Daredevil outfit, but Cherry was having a heart attack, which distracted Matt. The AVTF agents were able to get down the distracted DD and peeled off his mask, finding out that Daredevil was Matt Murdock. Before they were about to put a bullet in Matt’s head, several sniper-like bullets came through the window and killed the agents.

It was a shocking end to the episode and I, like I am sure everyone, thought this was Frank Castle. However, when the knife came flying into the room with the symbol on it, with the words “You’re welcome” written on it as well, I realized it was not Frank Castle who saved Matt’s life.

It was Bullseye.  Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter himself. The man who shot and killed Foggy in season one. It certainly appeared as if Bullseye could be part of Daredevil’s team to oppose Mayor Fisk, proving the old adage that the “enemy of my enemy is my friend”… well, maybe not friend. Reluctant ally? Blood feud enemy?

This was a great kick off to the new season. I loved Matthew Lillard and just how brutal Daredevil is. I am excited about seeing the return of Jessica Jones, who is not in this episode. Can’t wait for Krysten Ritter to reprise her Netflix role. Jessica Jones is actually one of my favorite comic characters and I loved season one of her show. Season two was okay, and I never saw the third one, but I am so pleased that Jessica Jones is back in the MCU.

Daredevil: Born Again S1 E4

Posted on by

Spoilers

“Sic Semper Systema”

We are getting closer and closer to Matt Murdock resuming his crusade as the Man Without Fear. After the death of White Tiger at the episode’s end last week, this week Matt is facing a lot of struggles.

Matt wants justice for Hector, and this leads him throughout the episode. He comforted Hector’s niece, who came wanting to see her uncle. Matt would not let her. Groundwork being set for the niece to assume the mantel of White Tiger, as she does in the comics.

Matt’s new case is a tough one. His client insists that he get probation, despite this being a multiple offense. Of course, it was just stealing caramel corn. These scenes between these two were quite powerful and, you could tell, spoke to Matt. Oh, and the client, who was on tape stealing the caramel corn, asked if it could have been Skrulls. LOL!

Matt went to see Frank Castle, aka Punisher, after he found a bullet with the skull on the casing. We all knew Frank had not been the one to shoot Hector, but Frank did not seem to anxious to come out of his bunker to help Matt out. The scene with these two was the best scenes of the show so far, and that is saying something considering how strong the acting has been so far.

We also saw Wilson Fisk struggling with his instincts. He does not seem to fit in the role of the mayor very well. Certainly Adam, the man who Vanessa had an affair with, would agree as Fisk has him locked up in a cage.

And… watching Fisk desperately trying to keep himself in control as this group of children sang to him (terribly, by the way) was funny, as was Fisk’s rapid departure after the first song.

Two-part episode next week. I have a feeling we’ll see the costume make its full return.

Plus….. there was Muse!

Daredevil: Born Again S1 E3

Posted on by

Spoilers

“The Hollow of His Hand”

Holy crap.

My jaw is still agape after the dramatic end to Daredevil: Born Again episode 3.

The episode’s main drive is the Hector Ayala case and Matt’s desperate attempt to free him. Things were looking good for awhile since Matt had the witness in his custody, the man who the police were roughing up when Hector came across them. However, the witness proved to be a little weasel, and decided to change his story on the stand.

Hector was in a lot of trouble and Matt decided to put him on the stand. Matt dropped the bomb of all bombs… Hector Ayala was the White Tiger.

The judge and the D.A. were angry at Matt’s grandstand play, especially after Matt had argued that Ayala’s life as White Tiger should be kept out of the case.

Moving forward, the reveal of Ayala as White Tiger took the breath out of the case against him. It removed the motive for Hector to have attacked these police officers. Despite D.A. “Hawk” Hochberg’s talented closing, hector is found not guilty on all counts. It had to be that way. There was no reason why Hector would attack these cops just out of the blue and the jury knew that.

Wilson Fisk was not happy about this. He summoned BB Urich to talk to her about vigilante’s and the rule of law. Fisk indicated that he would need to step up with these vigilantes.

And then it happened.

As Hector dressed up in his White Tiger gear, and he went out and gets shot in the head. I have to say I was kind of expecting it. What I was not expecting was seeing the gunman walk away with a big skull on his chest.

Frank? That can’t be you, right?

Unbelievable moment that drove this episode. It appeared that Matt did not murder those cops in that apartment so that is a good thing, but they really do not bring it up much. The one cop only had a black eye. Sounds sure made it seem as if bones, like neck bones, were breaking.

Anyway, back to the Punisher. My guess is that this was one of the police officers who had the skull tattoos that shot Hector. I can’t believe that Frank Castle would kill Whiter Tiger.

Good episode with a major ending.

EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week

Posted on by

July 3, 2024

It is another week, and it is time for the Favorite Comic Covers of the Week. Now, there were several Marvel books that were not delivered to Comic World, so the choices this week are fewer. But I was able to pick out three winners.

Bronze Medalist

The Boy Wonder #3

Cover art by Juni Ba

I have been somewhat disappointed by this series so far, but I really liked this cover. In fact, #2 was in consideration for a medal too. This one with the red cover and the cool design of the characters truly stand out.

Silver Medalist

Public Domain #6

Cover art by Chip Zdarsky

The return of Chip Zdarsky’s Public Domain after a long interval is very welcome, and I did not know that Chip Zdarsky, who is one of my favorite writers working, could create a cover this cool.

Gold Medalist

Spider-Man Reign 2 #1

Variant cover C

Cover art by Leinil Francis Yu

What a compelling cover. And I like his hair much better than I did in the book itself. Older Spider-Man pulling his mask off looks cool.

Echo

Posted on by

Spoilers

Everybody thought this series was going to be an utter mess. They said that Disney was dropping the episodes all in one day because they just wanted to get it done with and past it. Echo was supposed to be a waste of time.

This turned out to be an excellent five episode show. 

I was not a fan of the character of Echo in the Hawkeye series. She was probably the weakest point of that series and felt almost added in.

This show does a sensational job of taking some of the Maya scenes from the Hawkeye and blending them into the series, particularly the first episode. The tone of these scenes felt completely different and worked in the surrounding sections.

I liked the progression of Maya and her character. She was cold at the beginning and as she slowly accepted her Choctaw Nation generations. Alaqua Cox did a fabulous job as Maya Lopez, unable to speak, but still using facial features and body language to provide an understanding of the character.

The supporting characters in this show are very interesting and are some of the best written characters. Maya’s childhood friend Bonnie, her grandparents Skully (played by the wonderful Graham Greene) and Chula, her cousin Biscuits and his dog Billy Jack, her friend Henry and, of course, her ‘uncle’ Wilson Fisk.

Vincent D’Onofrio returned to form as Kingpin. He is always so great as this character. Lots of people hated his Wilson Fisk from the Hawkeye series, but I did not mind it. It was not as good as his appearances in the Daredevil Netflix series, but characters can be different. Here, he is closer to the way he was in that Netflix series. The connection of Kingpin and Maya was a major piece of the show.

The Echo series took a lot of criticism for dropping the shows all at once, but this feels as if the show was designed to be binged and it works that way.

This also makes the Netflix Daredevil series MCU cannon, which has been questionable over the years. They go right into the Wilson Fisk backstory with his father (how he bludgeoned him to death with a hammer). Oh and the first episode fight with Daredevil was spectacular.

I will say that I feel as if the final episode was a little rushed. I did like how the Maya-Fisk relationship ends up resolving. I’m not sure if I liked how the ‘Echo gives the others power too to fight’ because it seemed to be kind of add.

However, for the five episode series, I think Echo is an excellent series and was better than I thought it was going to be.