Ever since Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock re-entered the MCU with Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans have been waiting to see him suit up as Daredevil again after his Netflix series ended in 2018. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law finally delivered that as Murdock teamed up with Jennifer Walters for some superhero action and romance.
Despite the excitement to see Daredevil return, many have expressed concerns as to how Marvel Studios will adapt him into the typically PG-13-rated MCU after his previous dark and mature ventures on Netflix. This follows years of constant debate as to whether the Marvel series Daredevil is even canon to the wider MCU.
WARNING - The rest of this article contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8, "Ribbit or Rip It."
She-Hulk may not have delivered a definitive answer to the canon debate and Murdock may behave slightly differently to the past, but that doesn't mean the Disney+ outing wasn't loaded with references to his Netflix history, including some of Daredevil's most famous fight scenes.
Daredevil's Latest Hallway Fight Explained
Speaking to Marvel Entertainment, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law producer Jessica Gao discussed the unexpected Daredevil hallway fight from Episode 8. The scene - which saw Jennifer Walters and Matt Murdock take on Leap-Frog's goons at the Lily Pad - paid homage to the famous hallway encounters of Netflix's Daredevil.
But just as the stage was clearly set for Daredevil to deliver another of his iconic hallway encounters, She-Hulk dropped through the roof to take down the goons and remind everyone of exactly whose show this is, just as she has been trying to do throughout the series.
Explaining the decision, Gao explained the desire to "subvert a trope or defy expectations" in an effort to remind everyone this is She-Hulk's show. So, in this case, they decided to "acknowledge and tease" the famous hallway fights of Daredevil, with Walters intentionally entering to "undercut" the moment:
"We have to keep reminding people that this is Jen’s show, this is She-Hulk’s show. Everything in the show is like, how can we either subvert a trope or defy expectations or ground something in funny reality. That’s kind of the ethos of the show. So of course, it was just natural for this show, being so meta, that we would acknowledge and tease the classic Daredevil hallway fight. But then, of course, we would have to undercut it with our girl, She-Hulk."
The She-Hulk producer went on to address the romantic spark between the legal superheroes, explaining that it was Murdock's "charming and magnetic" nature that attracts Walters to him:
"As they’re talking in the bar, he’s so charming and magnetic that she’ll tell us, her friends, the audience, that she’s kind of feeling it. But she’s not really saying it to him. Then when she kind of puts herself out there in that little moment in the bar, she mistakes the fact that he has to go run and do Super Hero stuff for him not being interested and for her misreading it, which happens so often to us in life. There are these little points of near misses where they’re really-- they both feel it, but no one’s really saying."
Gao noted how the writing team was "banking on them having amazing chemistry" in this episode. She added that the goal was for the duo to have a "very quick back and forth" but also a "poke and prod" as they avoid outright sharing their romantic feelings with each other:
"I really wanted their dynamic to have this kind of Howard Hawks, very quick back and forth where they’re attracted to each other, but they have to kind of poke and prod at each other. They’re not just coming out and saying it. At least not to each other— 'Hey, I’m into you.'"
She-Hulk Brings Classic Daredevil Back
She-Hulk may have dropped through the roof to undercut Daredevil's special hallway moment - and rightfully so with this being her Disney+ series - but that didn't make the set-up any less thrilling for fans of the red devil's Netflix series. After all, Daredevil's iconic one-shot hallway fights have become among his most famous moments.
Hopefully, Daredevil: Born Again will follow through on She-Hulk's tease by delivering another of these legendary fights. Speaking of promises, it seems there will be more involvement of the hero's comic-styled acrobatics that came into play in this Disney+ episode, which were largely absent in the Netflix Daredevil adaptation.
Whether Netflix's Daredevil is canon to the MCU or not, She-Hulk was certainly determined to pay homage to the roots of Charlie Cox's hero. Not only was there this reference to the famous hallway fights, but the first mention of his superhero persona even came with a snippet of the iconic Netflix theme music.
With these elements already being referenced in She-Hulk, perhaps Marvel Studios' Born Again series will stick closer to the Netflix series than many thought. Six years have passed in-universe since Daredevil Season 3 concluded, so Born Again has the opportunity to follow a far more experienced take on the same hero.
Whatever the plan for Born Again, fans ought to learn more soon as production on the 18-episode Disney+ revival will begin in the coming months in New York City, running through the whole of 2023. Although as of now it remains unclear whether this serves as a continuation or reboot of the Netflix original.
Learn everything fans need to know about Charlie Cox's Daredevil returning to the MCU in She-Hulk here.
The first eight episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law are streaming now on Disney+. Daredevil: Born Again will premiere in Spring 2024.
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