Disney +’s Daredevil Can Finally Do The Hand Justice
Netflix’s Daredevil series is considered one of the best Marvel shows to date, even with the addition of the various Disney + series that take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite this, there is one major flaw that was not just present in Netflix’s Daredevilbut also in Iron Fist: the portrayal of the deadly ninja cult, The Hand. Now that a new Daredevil series has been picked up by Disney + and is set to continue the Netflix show, can The Hand get the treatment it deserves?
The recent Disney + series, such as WandaVision spirit Moon Knightalong with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, show that the MCU can handle magical and fantastical elements from Marvel Comics. Given this positive track record of successfully exploring magic, can the MCU finally succeed where Netflix failed?
The early days of the MCU focused more on science than magic. Even the first Thor movie shied away from exploring magic, insisting that what humans perceived as magic was just a form of advanced technology. However, magic began to become more of a centerpiece as the MCU progressed into its third phase. After the introduction of Doctor Strange and later the multiverse in both WandaVision spirit Lokithe MCU began expanding its potential.
Unfortunately for Netflix’s Daredevil, it came out at a time before magic was seen as a commonplace in the MCU. As such, the show took a very grounded approach. And while Matt Murdock is a dark, gritty and grounded character in the comics, there were elements of magic and mysticism present throughout the comic run. This came in the form of The Hand. Similar to the show, The Hand is an ancient ninja cult that is heavily involved in organized crime and assassination. While this may seem like proper portrayal on a surface level, that’s as deep as the portrayal went on Netflix.
The Hand should’ve been on the level of HYDRA in terms of both secrecy and danger. Both secret organizations use cryptic alchemy to achieve their own nefarious purposes. So why was The Hand portrayed so poorly? Although HYDRA utilized the Tesseract to create weapons of mass destruction, it was grounded in the realm of science rather than magic. Meanwhile, The Hand’s goal of finding the Black Sky was seen as more mystical, which conflicted with the dark and gritty tone of Daredevil. Additionally, the goals of HYDRA were better fleshed out compared to The Hand, whose goals were never really explored.
Despite Netflix’s poor handling of magical elements, fans of Daredevil should not be concerned. The MCU has the perfect test run for a Daredevil series on Disney + in the form of Moon Knight. The series perfectly balances dark and gritty storytelling along with magical and mystical elements. This is perfectly portrayed in the mental asylum scenes where fans are given a deep dive into Marc Specter’s origin. Meanwhile, the season finale showcases Mr. Knight fighting similarly to Matt Murdock, even down to using a plethora of acrobatics, kicks and two batons as his primary weapons. With Marvel’s success on Moon Knightit’s safe to say that The Hand will be done justice in the new Daredevil series on Disney +.
Read Next
About The Author
No comments: