Daredevil Season Two – First Impressions

We’ve recently had the great privilege of seeing the first seven episodes of the upcoming second season of Marvel’s hit Netflix series “Daredevil” (you can check out our review of season one here) and it’s another slam-dunk for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Coming less than a full year after The Man Without Fear’s first adventure, the difference between season one and two is like the difference between “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”!

Our hero Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, has a whole new challenge thrown at him with the arrival of a new, far more merciless vigilante on the streets of New York named Frank Castle, dubbed “The Punisher” by the media whose lethal methods The Man Without Fear takes great exception to. Things are further complicated for Matt with the arrival of his old flame Elektra Natchios, who has a vendetta against New York’s underground yakuza bosses that Matt finds himself reluctantly pulled into.

As you can see, season two is trying to accomplish much more than its predecessor (I haven’t even gotten into the courtroom drama side of it) but after walking the tight-rope of legal thriller/ninja flick so flawlessly in season one, the series is much more sure of itself and ups the ante significantly in season two. It’s also still the best destination in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for martial arts fans to absolutely gorge themselves on some seriously prodigious action.

Not since the “Blade” films has a Marvel Comics adaptation delivered martial arts action this stunning, and one hopes that we get to see Daredevil and Marvel’s other Netflix characters kicking butts alongside Captain America, Black Widow, and The Winter Soldier before too much longer. To give the most spoiler-free summation of the level of action in season two, let’s put it this way: Charlie Cox (who plays Daredevil) recently commented that season two has a fight sequence that’s like season one’s famous one-shot hallway fight “on crack”. Well, let’s just say you can go ahead and take his words to the bank right now!

With “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Captain America: Civil War” right around the corner, 2016 is shaping up to be the year of superhero conflict, and if “Daredevil v Punisher” is any harbinger of things to come it looks like we’re in for, to paraphrase one of Bill Withers’ greatest hits, a lovely year!

“Daredevil” Season Two will release on Netflix on March 18th. Stay tuned for more info on the series and Marvel’s other Netflix shows as it arrives!