My Not-So-Favorite Intros: Daredevil (Netflix)

Daredevil in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t have Netflix so I can’t check out the new Daredevil, part of the Marvel Live Universe. (I know the official term is Cinematic Universe but once TV and the internet got involved it’s not just in the cinema, is it?) However, Marvel’s YouTube page was nice enough to post the intro to the series. As someone who reviews intros I had to take a look.

I’m not a huge Daredevil fan. I like him well enough, more so that the Fantastic Four, but I don’t have any strong interest in him. Still, I didn’t hate the Ben Afflick movie (which I may do a video review on someday) and I did like his appearances in other shows. But the intro to the Netflix series leave a lot to be desired.

Not having seen the show I don’t know if the actual show includes actor credits in the intro, but if it doesn’t then what you have is somebody’s video art piece. I also don’t know why everything is this red…I’m going to call it paint because I don’t know what it’s trying to represent, but I doubt it’s his radar sense, which would work better considering it’s what Daredevil is known for as much as his costume. Speaking of which, from what I’ve heard the red costume doesn’t make its debut until later. Instead he has a black suit, similar to his appearance in The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk. So why all the red now?

The real misstep though is that it doesn’t tell you anything about Daredevil. Maybe fans know the significance of Statue Of Justice, signifying that justice is blind. But they also throw in a church, an angel statue (both symbols used in the movie but not ones I’ve seen specifically tied to the Man Without Fear) and then a small section of New York. Daredevil is in New York but that’s all you get? The red paint tied to his costume? What does this tell me about the show? A good intro tells you the important details you need if you came in on episode 7 or something. You don’t need to have everything spelled out, just enough that you can follow. This CAN be done visually rather than exposition. We learn nothing except Daredevil wears red (not in the first few episodes) and lives in New York. The radar sense, the billy club, the lawyer aspect (only briefly hinted with the statue)–all of these should have somehow been included in the intro since they are what makes Matt Murdock Daredevil instead of just a lawyer who moonlights as a superhero.

So what do I like? Well, the paint thing is trying I guess, the logo is nice, and I like the music since it does match the visual. Otherwise, you could have done a better job, guys.