Board 8 > Han continues watching the MCU (digi)

(+) Yeah! (+)

That single-take hallway fight seen is my favorite scene in TV history
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That single-take hallway fight is awesome. But there's a better single shot scene that I've seen recently that I can't remember.
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One of the Russian brothers is Balthier from FFXII!
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Fun fact: there is a chiropractor in Hamilton, OH named Matt Murdock.

Murphiroth posted...

One of the Russian brothers is Balthier from FFXII!

He's the real main character!

At one point in Daredevil, Leland Owlsley tazes Matt and drives away. He could have ran over him there and killed him. The Owl is quite a buffoon.
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I forgot how deliciously cold Kingpin's mom is.

Guy had a fucked up family.
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Thats kind of the philosophical point of the series
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That people with fucked up families will do fucked up things?

The show usually only uses a bit of slow-mo throughout, but his fight with Nobu at the beginning of ep9 has a lot.
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Its testing Matts philosophy. He doesnt kill because he believes that redemption is possible for anyone, and to deprive them of that opportunity is wrong.

Kingpin challenges that idea by presenting the reality of a man so warped by his childhood that he may just be inherently unsavable.
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Theres also some religious allegory. Wilson and Matt ultimately are fighting for the same ideal: a better, peaceful Hells Kitchen. Wilson through absolute control, in the manner of the Old Testament God, and Matt through offering salvation, in the manner of Christ.

His Catholicism is no coincidence, and neither is the name of the setting.
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Yeah, I know a solid deal about Daredevil. I've read a few runs of him. Really great character.
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These episodes are so long. Only 4 more to go, but man, I've psyched myself out and I feel like I'm just pushing to get through to AoS Season 2.

It's a shame. Daredevil is REALLY good, but I don't have any of the first-time wonder in watching it right now, so I feel pretty stunted in updating in my usual style.
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Did you catch the super duper low key tie between Daredevil and AoS?
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Unless it's Claire's ex's name being Mike, then I don't think so.

I heard one thing about Captain America, but I may have missed the tie-in.

Do tell.
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Theres an old boxing poster in the gym hyping Murdock vs Creel
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A gym in AoS?
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Skye and Matt both mention that they stayed at St. Agnes Orphanage in their youth.

While it'll probably never happen I want them to run into each other out heroing and Matt to recognize her.
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Murphiroth posted...

Skye and Matt both mention that they stayed at St. Agnes Orphanage in their youth.

Ahhh yeah! I remember hearing him say that and thinking "that sounds really familiar, why do I recognize that?"
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S2 E1 of SHIELD also has a much bigger tie in but I'm not spoiling it.
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Yeah whoops! Silly watch order confused me

My tie in isnt relevant yet
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Unless it has to do with The Hand, I have no guesses.

Ohhh does Creel make an appearance in AoS? Or something about the poster? Eh, I don't care. I'll figure it out soon enough.

Let's see... Daredevil came out shortly before the end of S2 of AoS.

That said, the CMRO agrees that Daredevil comes first, sooooo

Interestingly, they do put Agent Carter in the middle of AoS Season 2... I think when it actually released?
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Idk why people are talking about this....
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HanOfTheNekos posted...

Unless it has to do with The HandInterestingly, they do put Agent Carter in the middle of AoS Season 2... I think when it actually released?

Yeah
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You should definitely watch Cap 1 before Agent Carter, and the framing device of Cap 1 places the movie not first but in release order
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In retrospect, I would put Cap there as well. The CMRO order looks like it might be a little better than watching the chronological order.

The chronological order is so easy to read through tho.
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By the point you are now, plus what youve already watched ahead, I doubt there would be much difference here on out
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Ugh I love Melvin Potter.

Karen killed a guy! She's worse than Matt! Wait no, Matt lit a guy on fire.

Wesley's death is kinda sad. He was Fisk's friend, and did everything for him.

Madame Gao's homeland is a considerable distance further away than China. The only place further away from China than the US is like... Sri Lanka. Is she... an ALIEN?!

Man, I completely forgot they killed of Ben. What a fucking waste. Urich is one of the best characters in Marvel. In a world of super-people, he dominates as a normie. "Internet blog" Ben would have been an interesting take on the character... but I guess the writers felt "man, despite having him kill a bunch of dudes, we made Kingpin really sympathetic. Let's make sure we throw that out the window". Well they fucking succeeded with that.

Assholes.
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Yeah I def agree killing Urich was unnecessary.
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The collapse of Fisk's empire to Nessun Dorma is beautiful. They spent too long on the first guy, but all the big players being taken out is great. Especially the part where Urich's boss is exonerated. That makes you feel really good because it shows that the guy's friendship for Ben was sincere.

Even through all of this... you realize Fisk has people in play. I love the Good Samaritan story... especially where Fisk finally comes out and says he's not the priest, or the Samaritan, or the traveler... but the ill intent who plagued the traveler. Finally, the parallel between Murdock and Fisk is shattered.

Melvin Potter has a long pair of pants in his garage.

And FINALLY Matt gets the suit. Fucking finally. So hype.
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HanOfTheNekos posted...

Melvin Potter has a long pair of pants in his garage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilt-Man
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Marvel's Daredevil

I'd like to thank Scarlet for exposing me to Bendis's run of Daredevil. Really helped me to see how good a character he could be (speaking of which, Scar, drop me some of Bendis's DC work).

Strangely... it was easier to watch through Daredevil again than Guardians of the Galaxy. Perhaps that's an effect of writing, cinematography, format... or maybe I just remembered the events of the shorter movie more than the miniseries. Either way, I had no problem binging through Daredevil.

I remember the first time I watched through Daredevil. I was hooked. I loved getting to explore the characters... learn about this version of Matt and Foggy. Meet Karen. Get to see how they slowly bring Fisk into the picture. From the end of the first episode, the cabal that was set up was clearly defined, letting you know the whole picture of what the budding superhero would have to deal with. Russians in human trafficking, Japanese in real estate, Chinese in drugs, nocturnal birds in money, and of course, the Kingpin of it all... hidden in the shadows, to start.

This series was written from start to finish, to be complete. DD season 2 didn't necessarily need to happen... we were introduced the character, saw his origin, saw him take out his primary antagonist, and saw him set his place in the world. That's all that's necessary for a good story. That sets him up for a crossover series. Heck, you could leave it there and pull him into Avengers or Spiderman or whatever you want at that point. Basically, this was a complete story. And that feels really good.

Main characters were thoroughly introduced and developed. Side characters were given their spot in the limelight. And even supporting bit time characters all got just enough to be considered useful. Melvin, Urich's boss, the crooked cops hired by Fisk... all the little guys had just enough to be worthwhile, and not a bit more. That's skillful. To write that many characters in effectively.

Most of the secondary characters were done well... maybe this is where the show was weakest with characters. Gao was great, and the Russians were exemplary. Owlsley's end was... meh. Aside from that, he was properly utilized. Nobu got the short end of the stick here. Guy was alluded to be related to the Hand, but his execution was probably the most poor. Also, he was technically killed by Matt, which kinda defeats his whole "no murder" thing. Still, pacing called for his quick removal, which was fine. Oh and Wesley was phenomenal. Right hand man of the Kingpin... really, the guy kept everything together. Matt doesn't know just how key Karen was in taking down Fisk, here.

Foggy was great. Exactly what you'd want from him. Karen was done well too... just got attacked way too many times. I get that they're trying to play on comic fans, but man, it's hard to see the girl go through so much and come out... ok. I liked that they were building something between Foggy and Karen... didn't like that it fell apart at the end. Screw comic purists, those two were so cute together.

I've said enough about Ben prolly.

Matt Murdock... the character was nailed. A blind man, pretending to be blind... I wonder how many takes they had to do every time the actor demonstrated a slight inkling of being able to see. The subtlety of Matt's senses, and how he downplays them while acting the alter ego really sells the character. As Daredevil... he's action hero. I wonder if he would've spoken with a deeper voice had the Nolan Batman trilogy not existed. Still, his development throughout the series is very solid, with him consistently fighting to determine who he is.

In the end, taking out Fisk with the law is what saved him. He came to realize it was possible, with the help of Foggy and Karen. That's what allowed him to beat the shit out of Fisk without killing him. He knew he didn't have to. He could be the good guy he wanted to be.

(cont.)
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Fisk had ups and downs. He was played as having flaws... which makes sense, given you want a round character. This season was used to establish him in the same sense it established Matt. But now that Fisk has his origin story... it would help to use him again. Otherwise, his flaws having a part in taking him down are... a little sad. A character should have flaws, but Fisk's almost made him appear to be weak at points, and not deserving of the title "Kingpin". He didn't really come across as the leader he should've been. Things fell apart around him too easily.

That said, the parallel between him in Matt was excellently played. Both hiding in the shadows, attempting to one-up each other at every angle. However, Matt always had something Fisk didn't - mercy. Thus, the irony in Matt playing the Devil is so much more delicious. In their combined origin story, Matt came out ahead, as he should. Fisk was a worth opponent... for a novice hero.

I feel that Netflix really hit a home run with this one. Hopefully the bad news I heard about Iron Fist isn't enough to halt Netflix Marvel shows too much.

I really loved Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Daredevil just holds a place in my heart. It's so complete and engaging. Can't beat it.

TV Shows
Daredevil s1
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. s1
Agent Carter s1
Agent Carter s2
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Hate for Iron Fist is really overblown, I thought.

Also at the risk of starting a conversation that shouldn't be in this topic, I'm mostly done with Luke Cage Season 2 now and I think it's been an improvement over Season 1. Hopefully it doesn't drop the ball in the last act.
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Iron Fist stands out as disappointing because of the quality of the other Marvel Netflix stuff.

If it was a random Marvel show on broadcast TV, everyone would be like "yeah, this is decent", but I feel like there's a certain standard that the Netflix stuff provides and it falls short of that.
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Did you see Jessica Jones yet? Best one.

davidponte posted...

Iron Fist stands out as disappointing because of the quality of the other Marvel Netflix stuff.

If it was a random Marvel show on broadcast TV, everyone would be like "yeah, this is decent", but I feel like there's a certain standard that the Netflix stuff provides and it falls short of that.

maybe this is the reason I'm not that disappointed with Iron Fisk, because I'm not that impressed with the other Marvel Netflix series
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Iron Fisk sounds like it would have been a much better show imo
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I want it to be about Popeye

I yam a man wit an iron fisk, blow me down
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Kingpin is the Iron Fisk?
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2!

Starting with... Peg! And the Howling Commandos!

Snoopy Skye is cute haircut.

Ugh stop having Talbot be a person. His moustache sucks.

This bald guy turns into diamond. He's almost like Colossus.

I like Skye bangs.

Fitz is back! And he's being a jerk. This sucks :( poor guy

Ohhhhhhh bald guy is Creel!

Awwww no Simmons left. Fitz is actually crazy :(

Coulson's new team all just died.
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Any guesses as to the Obelisk?
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I missed it if you already talked about it, but are there plot elements or other things from further in the show that you already know about?
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The only thing I know about Agents of SHIELD is that Ghost Rider shows up at some point.

And apparently this lame looking dude is Skye's father.
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For some dumb reason in my memory I envision that guy as Bryan Cranston, even though I know he wasnt played by Bryan Cranston
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What the heck why is Dr. Faustus in AoS? Wasn't he already in... later in, Agent Carter?
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What makes you think hes in AoS?
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I hate Skye with bangs.

That is all.
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HanOfTheNekos posted...

I like Skye bangs.

I like the phrasing here
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Jakyl25 posted...

What makes you think hes in AoS?

This guy is literally being called Dr. Faustus?

They're sure tossing in a number of new characters. Bobbi, tall dark and handsome, not Scottish dude. Definitely shipping Bobbi and Simmons.

"Your cover is what, Ron Burgundy?"

Simmons is totally brainwashed.
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Hmm I definitely remember Dr Faustus from Agent Carter
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HanOfTheNekos posted...

I'd like to thank Scarlet for exposing me to Bendis's run of Daredevil. Really helped me to see how good a character he could be (speaking of which, Scar, drop me some of Bendis's DC work).

I'm glad you enjoyed the Bendis DD run. It really is a great choice to watch in conjunction with the first season of the show!

Bendis is currently wrapping up a Man of Steel mini-series and I would recommend it. It's pretty much his first DC project. Action Comics #1000 and this mini-series lead into his Action Comics/Superman run.
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