- "I'm just trying to make my city a better place."
- âMatt Murdock[src]
The First Season of Daredevil premiered on Netflix on April 10, 2015.
Synopsis[]
Marvel's Daredevil is a live action series that follows the journey of attorney Matt Murdock, who in a tragic accident was blinded as a boy but imbued with extraordinary senses. Murdock sets up practice in his old neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, New York where he now fights against injustice as a respected lawyer by day and masked vigilante at night.
Plot[]
Origins of Daredevil & Kingpin[]
Matt Murdock at the age of nine tried to save a man from being hit with a truck filled with hazardous waste. But, in the process a barrel exploded and landed in Matt's eyes, blinding him. while simultaneously enhancing his remaining senses to superhuman levels. Not long after, his father, a Boxer named Jack Murdock got involved with the Irish Mafia in a rigged fight. He made a deal with Roscoe Sweeney that he would lose a fight against Carl Creel. However, Jack won the fight anyway and shorted the mafia, being hit by them that very night. Matt, with no relatives to care for him, was sent to Saint Agnes Orphanage, suffering the complications due to his heightened senses. However, a man named Stick taught him how to manipulate them, not only to be controlled, but to help overcome his blindness. Stick also trained him in Martial Arts, with the intention of turning Murdock into a warrior to fight the Hand. But after he realized despite all his hardship Murdock had gone through, he still retained a sense of innocence and left Murdock's life completely without an explanation. After that he led a mostly ordinary life, where he went to college and befriended Foggy Nelson. The two of them studied law and had ambitions of becoming conscionable lawyers. Later, founding the Nelson and Murdock law firm.
Wilson Fisk had a traumatic, unstable childhood. Though his mother, Marlene Vistain was kind and gentle to him, his father, Bill Fisk by contrast was violent and abusive. Bill would frequently beat Marlene and have Wilson stare at the wall, not seeing but still hearing the terrible violence. Bill made it a goal to teach Wilson to terrorize and harm anyone who stood in his way, encouraging him to brutally beat a neighborhood bully even after he agreed to change his ways. One night when Bill was once again beating Marlene, Wilson finally had enough of his father's wrath and bludgeoned him with a hammer to death. To prevent all knowledge of what happened, Wilsonâs mother helped get rid of the body, but the guilt of the incident weighs heavy on her. Even well into his adult years, his fatherâs dark lessons in cruelty, power, respect, and control helped mold him into the man he is today, the Kingpin.
War in Hell's Kitchen[]
After the Battle of New York, Hell's Kitchen is struggling to recover. Crime is in an all-time high due to the rise of a crime syndicate working under the successful construction company Union Allied Construction. Utilizing drugs, weapons, and gangs to de-value the local property, it was their plan to make certain areas un-inhabitable so they can move in to remake them into new crime-controlled buildings as a major staging area for future endeavors.
Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson set up their law firm, Nelson and Murdock in Hell's Kitchen within the midst of this crisis. Just starting their practice without any clients, they get occasional tips from the New York City Police Department to gather cases to help start their business. Shortly after getting their very first client, Karen Page. A woman framed for murdering her friend and co-worker by Union Allied in an attempt to protect their criminal activities from being outed. Union Allied eventually tried to go after Page when she attempted to get legal help, but Murdock disguised in a black suit, used his martial arts skill and superhuman senses to protect her. Legally, Murdock and Nelson successfully used the law to help free Page and absolve her of all criminal charges. Grateful for the duoâs save, Page decided to work with the two as their secretary and the trio form a strong bond as friends.
Murdock continued his vigilantism, secretly prowling the streets after work to help the innocent affected by crime. While waging a one-man war against the Russian Mafia. While he continued to do this, he was ambushed and badly beaten by them, barely surviving the encounter. He was later found and helped by Claire Temple. Because he was unmasked, Temple saw his face and fact he was blind, she was baffled that despite that he had an extra-sensory perception of his surroundings. With the help of Temple, Murdock recovered and was able to find and rescued a kidnapped boy, but not without also drawing the anger of the Russian Mafia and Union Allied.
In between the events of Murdockâs one-man war against the crime syndicate. Wilson Fisk, the unofficial head to their operation, recently took a fancy to art curator, Vanessa Marianna. In love with her, he made every effort to court her. Meanwhile, Vladimir and Anatoly Ranskahov, brothers and leaders to the Russian mob werenât pulling their weight due to Murdockâs intervention; Anatoly thought he could smooth things over by personally reaching out to Fisk, but he accidentally ruined Fiskâs romantic dinner with Marianna and scared her away. Humiliated and enraged, Fisk personally killed Anatoly by smashing his head with his SUVâs door and used Mattâs mask to blame it on Daredevil; Vlad swears vengeance for his brother. Fisk knew the ruse wouldnât last forever and plotted a means to end their partnership with the Russian mob.
Ranskahov heard a rumor that Fisk and Murdock were actually working together, and readied his men to turn on him. However, Fisk was prepared and he had Ranskahovâs base bombed to get rid of him. However, Murdock was also present and Ranskahov managed to survive the bombing. Because Fiskâs name was rarely mentioned, Murdock has been actively investigating him, which led to the same warehouse the Russian Mafia was tied up in. Murdock survived the explosion, however. In order to learn more information about Fisk, Murdock brought Ranskahov with him as a group of corrupted cops are in pursuit.
Ranskahov at first thought he was meeting his brotherâs killer and still wanted revenge. However, he later realized Murdock was a scapegoat and Fisk was the true killer. Fisk also hired his own personal group of corrupted cops, working for him to eliminate evidence of his activities. Should his name be mentioned to the police, someone would eventually have the witness murdered. Ranskahov knew he couldnât last long and decided to help Murdock escape capture by the police, but at the price of his life.
While investigating on one of Fisk's associates, Leland Owlsley, Murdock ambushes him disguised, and tries to get some information out of him. However, Stick affected his concentration and Owlsley escapes. Stick returns to call for Mattâs help to prevent Fiskâs Japanese partner, Nobu Yoshioka, from successfully transferring a living weapon called Black Sky. Stick knew of Murdockâs moral feelings about killing people and made a farce agreement to not kill anyone. However, as soon as Murdock realized Stick was going to kill a young boy, he intervened. However, Stick still managed to kill the boy later, enraging Murdock for the two to fight inside his apartment, eventually managing to actually overpower Stick for the first time. Despite their friction, Stick left behind his personal combat weapons for Murdock to use.
Meanwhile, Nelson and Page had been secretly working with Ben Urich to build a credible case against Fisk. Page's recent misfortunes have been tied to Fiskâs schemes and the three helped investigate the matter to find a means to arrest him. Murdock eventually learns of this plan later and helps everyone as a lawyer and a vigilante. However, just as they are about to create a means to take on Fisk, he appears in the public media to identify himself as a philanthropist and major investor interested in injecting money into Hellâs Kitchen to reform it. His daring move took away any leverage they had, and Urich could not continue on.
Murdock would later encounter Yoshioka and the two would face each other. Yoshioka was eventually believed to be killed, but Murdock was heavily wounded by the fight. Fisk appeared to confront him afterwards. Because of his previous wounds from Yoshioka's blade, Murdock was nearly beaten to death, but still managed to return home, passing out from exhaustion on his living room floor. Nelson came into Matt Murdock's Apartment and unmasked him, only to realize it was Matt the mysterious masked vigilante the entire time. Nelson was enraged and felt lied to. Matt tried to explain everything that had happened, but the revelation was heavy on Nelson as he felt betrayed. Nelson still loved Murdock enough to keep his identity a secret, but the turmoil between the two affected things professionally and privately, causing Page to feel uncomfortable as neither of the two could explain the sudden change in attitudes between two best friends. However, Nelson later learned to forgive Murdock and accepted his vigilante tendencies.
All these near-death encounters made Murdock realize he needed body armor. While fighting with Fisk, Murdock realized he had some sort of tough, light-weight armor on him. He managed to track down a man named Melvin Potter, the mentally unbalanced engineer that helped Fisk make his armored business suits. Potter actually agreed and later made him the iconic suit he would later use. In between, Page and Urich investigated Fisk's past and found Fiskâs mother, Marlene Vistain in a retirement home. It was from her they learned about his dark past; Fiskâs assistant, James Wesley, learned about this and threatened to hurt her friends if she continues. Feeling cornered, Page gunned down Wesley and made a run.
With the Russians and Japanese gone, Murdock redirects his wrath on the Chinese Triad. Led by Madame Gao, she has a group of blind Chinese immigrants act as drug mules that distribute the drugs throughout the city. Murdock intervenes and attempts to stop Gao, though he is not able to physically stop her, he essentially destroys the drug processing plant. With all of Fiskâs partners gone, Urich wanted to publish his story about Fisk through his newspaper company the New York Bulletin, but they didnât want to; Ben published it online instead. Urichâs choice incurred the wrath of the Kingpin and Fisk personally choked Urich to death.
At Urichâs funeral, Page felt responsible for his death; Murdock reassures that Fisk will face justice and Urich's wife, Doris Urich, absolved Page's guilt. Earlier, Marianna drank poisoned champagne during a public outing and Fisk would later learn it was Owlsleyâs and Gaoâs plans to end her as Marianna has been affecting Fiskâs mentality thatâs against their wishes. Owlsley tries to blackmail Fisk, but an enraged Fisk simply grabs and throws him down an open elevator shaft.
After gathering enough credible evidence against Fisk, Murdock and the police was able to charge Fisk for criminal activity and was arrested. However, Fisk had people paid out of his wallet; he managed to create a personal army via former commandos, police officers and SWAT Agents who helped Fisk escape capture. It wasnât long that the engineer that made Fiskâs armor completed Mattâs armor. Finally donning the Daredevil costume, Murdock personally takes on Fisk as Daredevil, and wins after a fairly difficult fight. Fisk is now arrested and in jail; Marianna escaped and left the city. Murdock, Nelson, and Page enjoy the thrill of victory while resuming their work; within the city newspaper, that renamed the Hellâs Kitchen Devil to officially "The Daredevil". Murdock continued on his guardianship and vigilantism over the city as the Daredevil.
Cast[]
Starring Cast[]
- Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Masked Man/Daredevil
- Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page
- Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson
- Toby Leonard Moore as James Wesley
- Vondie Curtis-Hall as Ben Urich
- Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsley
- Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Marianna
- Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple
- Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk
Supporting Cast[]
- Skylar Gaertner as Young Matt Murdock
- John Patrick Hayden as Jack Murdock
- Scott Glenn as Stick
- Peter Shinkoda as Nobu Yoshioka
- Wai Ching Ho as Madame Gao
- Peter McRobbie as Father Paul Lantom
- Nikolai Nikolaeff as Vladimir Ranskahov
- Gideon Emery as Anatoly Ranskahov
- Rob Morgan as Turk Barrett
- Royce Johnson as Sergeant Brett Mahoney
- Susan Varon as Josie
- Judith Delgado as Elena Cardenas
- Amy Rutberg as Marci Stahl
- Matt Gerald as Melvin Potter
- Tom Walker as Francis
Episodes[]
Image | Title | Number | Airdate | Writers | Directors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Into the Ring | 1.01 | April 10, 2015 | Drew Goddard | Phil Abraham | |
Murdock's vigilante crime fighting and his new law practice find equally dangerous challenges in a murder case tied to a corporate crime syndicate. | |||||
Cut Man | 1.02 | April 10, 2015 | Drew Goddard | Phil Abraham | |
Murdock makes a near fatal error while trying to save a kidnapped boy, and finds an unlikely ally when he needs saving himself. | |||||
Rabbit in a Snowstorm | 1.03 | April 10, 2015 | Marco Ramirez | Adam Kane | |
Murdock and Foggy take on a mysterious wealthy client, but Murdock is convinced that there's more to the case than just the facts. | |||||
In the Blood | 1.04 | April 10, 2015 | Joe Pokaski | Ken Girotti | |
Two vicious Russian brothers working for Fisk strike back against Daredevil. Fisk moves to further consolidate his power in the criminal underworld. | |||||
World on Fire | 1.05 | April 10, 2015 | Luke Kalteux | Farren Blackburn | |
Fisk moves forward with plans that threaten to rip Hell's Kitchen apart. Murdock and Foggy take on a case helping tenants victimized by a slumlord. | |||||
Condemned | 1.06 | April 10, 2015 | Joe Pokaski & Marco Ramirez | Guy Ferland | |
Daredevil finds himself trapped in the fallout of Fisk's plan to take control of Hell's Kitchen. Ben Urich digs closer to the truth. | |||||
Stick | 1.07 | April 10, 2015 | Douglas Petrie | Brad Turner | |
An important figure from Murdock's past reemerges seeking his help to battle a new enemy threatening Hell's Kitchen. | |||||
Shadows in the Glass | 1.08 | April 10, 2015 | Steven S. DeKnight | Stephen Surjik | |
While Murdock, Foggy and Karen's mission becomes clearer, Fisk's world spins further out of control in his battle for Hell's Kitchen. | |||||
Speak of the Devil | 1.09 | April 10, 2015 | Christos N. Gage and Ruth Gage | Nelson McCormick | |
When Fisk gains the upper hand, the goal to destroy him becomes even more difficult, while Daredevil faces his own demons. | |||||
Nelson v. Murdock | 1.10 | April 10, 2015 | Luke Kalteux | Farren Blackburn | |
Murdock and Foggy's relationship is put to the ultimate test while a new enemy against Fisk emerges. | |||||
The Path of the Righteous | 1.11 | April 10, 2015 | Steven S. DeKnight and Douglas Petrie | Nick Gomez | |
Fisk and Murdock wrestle with the consequences of their chosen paths, while Ben and Karen get closer to Fisk's true past. | |||||
The Ones We Leave Behind | 1.12 | April 10, 2015 | Douglas Petrie | Euros Lyn | |
Fisk seeks revenge while Karen is haunted by recent events. Daredevil makes a startling discovery about Fisk's financing. | |||||
Daredevil | 1.13 | April 10, 2015 | Steven S. DeKnight | Steven S. DeKnight | |
In the season finale, a boxed-in Fisk and a desperate Murdock, Foggy and Karen are forced to play their end games. |
Videos[]
Trailers[]
Music[]
Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
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Beautiful Crime | Tamer |
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