Marvel: All 3 Daredevil seasons ranked from worst to best
2. Daredevil season 1
Daredevil season 1 premiered in April 2015, seven years after Iron Man kickstarted an interconnected universe of superhero movies and series known as the MCU.
By that time, Marvel had found success in unconventional projects such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor, both of which featured a lot of cosmic elements in their stories. Doctor Strange was also about to expand on the mystical side of the MCU with its mind-bending use of magic. And while there was room for a lot of crazier stories to be told, Marvel found great success in the least expected place: A dark and grounded series featuring a street-level hero.
Daredevil became one of the best superhero projects to ever be released. While the series did reference the events of The Avengers, and its main protagonist is a blind man who’s able to fight ninjas, Daredevil took a realistic approach when crafting its story.
Supernatural elements were tossed aside in favor of a story about corruption and abuse of power. Big action sequences were replaced by beautifully choreographed fight scenes that were brutal and visceral. Its 13 episodes allowed for a lot of character development, resulting in one of the best Marvel villains to date in a live-action project.
Daredevil is as good as superhero shows get.
The first season of the series perfectly captured Matt’s conflict when trying to find justice in a world where the law isn’t enough. As a lawyer, Matt tries to help ordinary people who don’t have enough money to be represented by any firms in New York. But as a vigilante, he understands that sometimes a court of justice isn’t enough to keep the bad guys away. That leads him to pursue justice on his terms, even if that goes against his own morals and values.
One of the first scenes of the series shows Matt confessing at a Catholic Church for sins that he’s about to commit, and then he proceeds to beat down a group of human traffickers who tormented Hell’s Kitchen. Matt Murdock did feel remorse for his actions but needed to do them anyway. That resulted in a deep and conflicted character that made for an amazing protagonist from the get-go.
Wilson Fisk also made an appearance as the show’s main antagonist, and for the first time in seven years, Marvel crafted an iconic villain who was more than the evil version of its hero. The Kingpin came across as a vulnerable man deeply committed to building a better city. He even fell in love in one of his first scenes in the season, proving he was capable of being more than an evil stereotype. Wilson Fisk was a three-dimensional character constantly tormented by his father’s abuse. However, even when he had a soft side to him, the Kingpin could also be relentless, violent, and dark. This contrast made him one of Marvel’s greatest villains and a worthy opponent to Matt Murdock himself.
Sure, the Daredevil suit wasn’t all that good-looking, and the final face-off between Matt and Wilson Fisk wasn’t as climatic as many would have hoped. But aside from that, season one of Daredevil was mainly flawless. It had great supporting characters, amazing fight scenes, and a great story. It was one of the best seasons of the show, only to be surpassed by the final chapter in Matt’s adventure.