Arrow S06 E05: Deathstroke Returns

When Deathstroke returned last season I wondered aloud if a spin-off was in the wind.  Certainly there’s been more effort to spotlight the character on “Arrow” than the other two spin-offs, one successful (“The Flash”) and one aborted (“Suicide Squad”) in favor of a movie.  Here again in this episode, it seems they’re trying again. 

Thematically this season with Oliver abandoning his Green Arrow identity to make more time for his son William, he has much in common with Slade Wilson who is searching for his lost son.  In the comics, Slade’s son Joseph was the New Teen Titan known as Jericho, a deaf hero who not only had the ability to possess people by eye contact, but also frequently fought against his father with the Titans.  With a Teen Titans TV series in production, one wonders how much, if any, of that will translate to “Arrow.”

Considering that Joe has changed his name to Kane Wolfman (Nice homage to his co-creator Marv Wolfman) and Slade has been tracking him around the world, I’m guessing it won’t.  Kane has also gone into the ‘intelligence’ business and has wound up a prisoner in Kasnia, a fictional nation of tumultuous leadership that has turned up time and again in the DC Animated Universe, once even being ruled over by Vandal Savage.  Slade needs Oliver’s help to save his son. 

If this is a backdoor pilot for a Deathstroke, it’s a poor one.  Despite the title of this episode I was bored.  The B-plot back in Star City was far more interesting and compelling, if predictable, even with the dark matter twist.  Anyway, we get some bad espionage that reminded me of some of the more boring Bratva episodes of last season, followed by Deathstroke going all Punisher on the generic bad guys before being confronted by his son, the new leader of the Jackals.  Slade will get another chance to prove himself show worthy next episode. 

We actually open however on the councilwoman, who is pushing for vigilante legislation, being targeted by a sniper.  Based on the ‘previously on Arrow’ catch-up showing Vigilante, and realizing, hey, he’s still at large, it’s obviously him.  Prometheus made us forget all about this weak subplot that by all intentions should have been Adrian Chase. 

In a clash with Black Canary, where her sonic cry shattered Vigilante’s visor, he took off his mask and she got a good look at him.  He’s Vincent Sobol, her old partner, whose face looks like he somehow survived that gunshot to the head.  That of course is his metahuman ability, some sort of regeneration, possibly coupled with brain damage or derangement.  Either way it looks like he’ll be hanging around a bit, forgotten subplot or not. 

Samanda Watson continues to question and investigate.  She is either playing dumb of she’s figured out exactly who everyone on Team Arrow is.  If nothing else, shouldn’t have found that all these folks all hang out at the same abandoned warehouse at all hours of the day?  And how is it the FBI can’t cooperate with say, the DEO or ARGUS on this investigation?  She’d have all the answers, and a cease and desist as well by now. 

Our ‘flashback island’ this episode is thirteen years ago, in New Zealand, as Slade tries to balance his secret life with a camping trip with son Joe.  The analogy to Oliver and William painfully obvious and my back hurts from being hammered only moments in.  I did find it intriguing that Slade calls his son ‘kid’ just like he does Oliver.  Too bad he probably also traumatized his son for life, but we’ll see for sure next time.

I found it interesting that Felicity mentioned attending Iris West’s bachelorette party over on “The Flash,” but there’s no reason given why Oliver didn’t attend Barry’s bachelor party, nor is it even acknowledged.  I know Oliver can be a real stick in the mud and funless at times, but could it be he wasn’t invited?  Would Barry choose party crasher Ralph Dibny over Oliver? 

Another nice bit was Nylander calling Slade the Terminator.  Interesting sidenote, Deathstroke the Terminator was originally the villain’s full name until some James Cameron flick called The Terminator came out and DC Comics toned down its use of that term.  We also get another piece of the puzzle of what happened on Lian Yu in last season’s cliffhanger.  John says to Felicity that Slade left them in the island. 

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode, anything else in the Arrowverse, or anything in the Marvel or DC television or cinematic universes, please join the Marvel DC Movies TV group on Facebook.

Next: Promises Kept!

Daredevil S02 E09: Seven Minutes in Heaven

In the last episode of "Daredevil," we witnessed several revelations, not the least of which was the Punisher's cliffhanger meeting with the Kingpin.  One of the others was just more disturbing than dramatic.  After fighting to release Elektra from under Stick's wing, Matt finally sees her true nature - she's a sociopathic killer.  Love can't change that kind of stuff usually, at least not in the rough and tumble soap opera world of superheroics. 

As we open, it appears this opening sequence at least will go in a different direction, picking up from the end of last season with the incarceration of Vincent D'onofrio's Wilson Fisk.  He is advised by his lawyer to keep quiet, keep his head down, and remembering his performance last season, that's D'onofrio's golden range, silent and menacing. 

When challenged and warned by the 'kingpin' of the prison, an inmate named Dutton played by perennial bad guy William Forsythe, Fisk's instincts kick in and he attempts a coup.  He moves all of his last resources to gain an inside posse, bribe guards, and eventually bring the Punisher to him - bringing us up to date with the criminal mastermind.

Whether it's true or not, Fisk intimates to Frank Castle that Dutton orchestrated the murder of his family, and offers him a chance at closure.  Of course such a thing would benefit Fisk.  Kingpin plays the Punisher like a harp, and although Frank does get in one shot, calling him a 'has-been mob boss,' Fisk is clearly in control here. 

Meanwhile, Matt is busy breaking up.  First there was Karen, who over the last two episodes he subtly and indirectly kicked to the curb in unloving and uncaring fashion.  Now, after fighting for her freedom from Stick, he changes his mind as an afterthought and can't handle her being a sociopath who enjoys killing.  Seriously, this is the first time he's noticed that quirk??

So it's no surprise when Matt breaks up with Foggy too, not caring about either the friendship or the law firm.  Sure, we're watching from the omnipotent outside, but hasn't it occurred to anyone what Matt is really doing?  He's cutting people he cares about out of life, like someone preparing to commit suicide.  Does he really consider going after The Hand a suicide mission? 

Karen, with the law firm in limbo, is becoming more and more involved with the New York Bulletin, Ben Urich's old stomping grounds since Netflix can't use the Daily Bugle.  Her investigative skills have won her the attention of Ben's old editor, Michael Ellison, and he's looking to groom her for a job.  She's that good, but I miss Ben.  Great actor, great character, unnecessary death. 

After a trip to see the medical examiner whose testimony was trashed by Elektra, some pieces start to come together.  Ellison offers up Ben's old office for Karen to work in.  Seriously, it's been untouched for how long?  And how old is that bottle of Pepto-Bismol??  On the desk there's a file on Karen. Last season there was some hint of a dark secret in her past.  In the comics, her father was the super-villain Death's-Head, but here it appears she may have accidentally killed her brother. 

In prison, the Punisher gets his seven free minutes, referencing the episode title with demented glee, with Dutton.  Before Castle mortally wounds him, Dutton tells him of another player who was pulling the strings the day his family were killed - someone called the Blacksmith.  Now there is a Marvel villain called Blacksmith, but he's Skrull, and I really doubt that's where this is going. 

After Dutton, Fisk covers his ass and tries to have the Punisher killed by opening all of the cells in Dutton's block.  It's a free-for-all to kill Castle. Much like last season's hallway fight and the stair fight earlier this season, and even the arrow in the chest combat last episode, it seems like the show wants to keep one-upping itself in fight sequences.  The Punisher taking on and beating a dozen or so inmates is a good attempt. 

Of course when Frank is brought before Fisk later, there's another beatdown that the Punisher is not on the easy end of.  I was never fond of the Kingpin/Daredevil matching as I always considered Kingpin a Spider-Man villain, at least originally, but based on the performances in this episode, I could dig Fisk as a Punisher foe, maybe in the spin-off series? 

The Kingpin decides that the Punisher would be of more use to him on the outside than on the inside, and arranges for Castle to walk free.  That can't be good.  We close on Fisk, hospital bedside with Dutton, eating his dinner, waiting for him to drown in his own blood.  Chilling. 

In the background of everything else, Daredevil makes a strike on The Farm, a Hand facility.  There he finds children in cages with their blood being pumped from them.  It's pretty horrific.  There's also a ninja who nearly beats Daredevil to death.  As he escapes with a pod, possibly containing Black Sky, he unmasks.  It's Nobu Yoshioka. 

Daredevil gasps, as do the viewers, "you're dead!"  To which Nobu simply states, "There's no such thing," and disappears into a downward elevator. Cue closing credits.  Well, Stick did say they'd discovered the secret of immortality.  How can Matt stop The Hand, when he can't even beat one of their ninjas?  With Matt alone, and Elektra, the Punisher, and Nobu all on the loose, these last four episodes should be interesting...

Next: The Man in the Box!

Daredevil S02 E08: Guilty as Sin

In the last episode of "Daredevil," the Punisher went to trial, from which Matt was absent, Elektra tampered with a witness, and Foggy and Matt had it out finally.  Oh yeah, and Daredevil and Elektra discovered the Yakuza guarding a seemingly mysterious bottomless hole about forty stories deep.  As we open, they're beset by ninjas, and this is only the beginning. 

Just before the ninjas nearly take them out, Daredevil and Elektra are rescued by Stick.  Cue opening credits.  As they try to escape by car, wave after wave of ninjas attack.  This is, no doubt, The Hand.  Badly wounded, they go to Matt's apartment where Stick does some wacky holistic voodoo on Elektra to save her.  Then the revelation comes that not only does Stick know her, he trained her. 

Obviously, Matt doesn't show up for the trial the next day as Frank Castle's former commanding officer takes the stand.  Colonel Schoonover is played by perennial heavy Clancy Brown, formerly The Kurgan, the voice of Lex Luthor, and most recently General Wade Eiling on "The Flash."  He tells a gripping tale of Castle's heroism on the battlefield, adding more pieces to the secret origin of the Punisher. 

While The Kurgan weaves war stories, Stick tells a tale of a different war, an ancient one involving The Hand.  These 'pieces of shit,' as Scott Glenn's Stick calls them, learned the secret of immortality in ancient times and used it to run rampant over much of Asia and the rest of the world.  They seek power and weapons, specifically something called Black Sky, which Daredevil ran across last season in the form of a child. 

The Hand has only one enemy, The Chaste, those warriors trained by Stick to oppose them, to fight them without mercy.  And Elektra is one of them.  Hell's Kitchen is to be ground zero for the battle between The Hand and The Chaste.  Matt treats this tale as a fiction, a power fantasy of Stick's to excuse his homicidal sociopathic behavior.  Unfortunately it's all he's got right now. 

Sigh.  This isn't the Daredevil series I want.  Yeah, it's good, very good, but rather than the Punisher, and Elektra, and The Hand, I think I'd rather have Gladiator, the Owl, the Stilt-Man, hell, even the Jester.  I guess I'm too old school for this stuff.  If they wanted to do a Punisher series (which is already on the schedule) or an Elektra series, why didn't they just do it? 

Frank Castle meanwhile is going to take the stand, supposedly in his defense.  Knowing they will need Matt to question him, Foggy sends Karen (perhaps deliberately?) to tell Matt.  She does, and gets a full view of not only crazy old blind man Stick, but also the dying/recovering Elektra in Matt's bed.  Kiss that relationship goodbye. 

In court, Matt makes a good case for both a mentally ill Frank Castle and the Punisher as the kind of hero we need, and then Frank starts talking, seemingly prodded by a guard.  Screaming that he's guilty, that everyone he killed deserved to die, and that he'd do it again - Frank effectively buries anything his defense was trying to accomplish. 

Back home, Matt throws Stick out after convincing Elektra to stay with him, and stop killing.  As soon as Stick makes his exit, a ninja of The Hand attacks and puts an arrow in Matt's chest.  Despite this obstacle, Matt and wounded Elektra finally subdue him.  The arrow made this fight for me, another wonderfully choreographed combat. 

And then Elektra kills him.  Just because she can, or wants to.  Elektra has a problem, a bad habit.  It would almost be funny if it wasn't so serious.  She's a killer, a sociopath, a psychopath.  All Stick did was channel her sick energy toward his goals.  I doubt Matt can do the same.

The mic drop of the episode is at the end where the suspicious guard takes Frank Castle through the prison to a gym area occupied by one man.  He turns around and we see him - Vincent D'onofrio as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, mentioned several times but unseen since the season one finale.  Cue end credits.  Now this should make things interesting. 

I'm ambivalent about the return of D'onofrio and Fisk.  While admittedly one of the most interesting characters and intense performances of the Marvel Netflix Universe, I would like to think his arc is done.  This is television, not comics where villains return every two months.  Still, I'm game to see what happens. 

Next: Seven Minutes in Heaven!

Daredevil S02 E07: Semper Fidelis

The trial of the People of New York v. Frank Castle is on, and we open the pre-credit sequence with jury selection. It's hard, because everyone has an opinion on Frank Castle, many of them both mirroring and polarizing my own, but as the judge so succinctly says, "This is New York, everyone has an opinion about everything." Let the trial begin.

So, courtroom drama. This is kinda what I have always hoped "Daredevil" would not be about. I know that lawyer shows are popular, always have been, but despite Matt Murdock's calling, this is a superhero show. I want to see superhero stuff. Yes, it is intriguing to put the Punisher on trial, but come on, less suits and more tights please.

I shouldn't really worry however, as the dry lawyer stuff is counterbalanced by Matt playing hooky with Elektra. As with their relationship a decade before, now she is still exerting a bad influence on our horned hero. What is done to the professor who translates the Roxxon ledger is not much better than what the bad guys might have done. Daredevil and Elektra might as well have been mob enforcers.

Later when they pursue a shipment learned of from the ledger, the violence is extreme. It is almost as if Daredevil doesn't care how he's hurting his opponents and that Elektra has forgotten her promise not to kill. I enjoyed the scar discussion and was glad it didn't go where I thought it would, you know, Jaws territory. It was actually more like foreplay with no pay off.

Of course Matt's late night shenanigans with Elektra make him late for the opening remarks in the Punisher trial. Foggy has to step in, and as Elden Henson has throughout this series, supports the more powerful players. Where's his Emmy? When Elektra doesn't like being sidelined by Matt's day job, she tampers with a witness, bringing the brewing hostility between Matt and Foggy to a head.

The fight between Foggy and Matt is intense, and has been simmering since this show started. Now it threatens Matt's relationship with Karen. Matt brings all this anger to Elektra as Daredevil, and to the pseudo-Yakuza. As if to divert our attention from the emotional drama going on, Daredevil and Elektra discover the Yakuza are guarding a hole, with no bottom. Cue end credits.

Not my favorite episode, more of a placeholder really, the bane of binge-watching, but at least the story moved, character was revealed, and significant stuff happened. I just wanted more from it.

Next: Guilty as Sin!

Daredevil S02 E06: Regrets Only

We open this episode of "Daredevil" in Quentin Tarantino style reminiscent of Kill Bill as motorcycled Yakuza drag through the streets on their way to take on Daredevil and Elektra to the sound of "Date with the Night" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Cliche and apropos, but I loved it. Great opening. Too bad our 'heroes' make short work of them. The horrifying part is at the end where Elektra, clearly enjoying herself, wants to go out for a bite.

As we know from the last episode, Elektra is more than an adrenaline junkie, she's a sociopath. At the diner sucking down soda and inhaling French fries she matter of factly tells Matt she knows all about Daredevil and even though he wears a mask, "you can't mask that ass, I'd know it anywhere." Another secret identity out the window.

A deal is struck, no killing, and Daredevil will help Elektra with the Yakuza. And if you think that's an unholy alliance, things get more interesting when Nelson and Murdock decide to take DA Reyes on head to head. To keep the Punisher from getting the death penalty, they're going to defend him. I don't like the Punisher, but I like when this show surprises me, and this is one of those times.

The Matt and Karen relationship is moving along wonderfully, as long as you remove the factors from the equation that ruin it all - the Punisher and Elektra. This dishonesty just flushes all the fun and sincerity of Matt and Karen's sweet innocence right down the toilet. It's like a magician doing tricks when you can see the wires and mirrors. Not fun, and not cool.

Karen is pulled deeper into the Punisher's past when he gives a hospital bed confession of his secret origin to her, and her alone. The fact that she knew about his family allows him to trust her. In this way, the Karen/Castle relationship is just a bit more pure than hers with Matt, and it's a shame. Still, even bound to a bed, Jon Bernthal shines in this role.

Meanwhile, Matt and Elektra attend a ritzy Roxxon/Yakuza party. The heist vibe is strong and it's interesting how Daredevil's powers are put to use in this situation. I'd like to see more of this. They get away with something called the Roxxon ledger while a pseudo-reveal is made that this isn't the Yakuza. The Hand, perhaps?

It gets worse. Though convinced to plead guilty, when he gets in front of the judge, Frank Castle pleads not guilty. That means it going to trial. Matt may have to choose between Elektra and the case now. A good episode, more linking than anything else, but good just the same.

Next: Semper Fidelis!

Daredevil S02 E05: Kinbaku

At the end of the last episode of "Daredevil," the Punisher had been apprehended and Elektra had made her first appearance, however momentary, in the series. Like it or not, we probably haven't seen the last of either of them.

Now as one of the few people on Earth who actually liked the 2003 movie and Jennifer Garner as Elektra (heck, comics continuity aside, I even thought her solo film was kinda fun in a wacky way), I have to confess, that much like the Punisher, I don't like the comics character.

In my opinion Frank Miller's work at both DC Comics with The Dark Knight Returns, and at Marvel Comics with Daredevil and the Elektra saga brought on a dark age of grim and gritty violence that comics still haven't recovered from. I respect the genius of the work itself, but the bleed over into the rest of the industry is simply tragic. This type of garbage still resonates, not just in the comics, but the films based on those characters as well. Superman should not be grim and gritty, case in point: Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Seriously, wtf? So there's that, I'm not a fan of Elektra.

"Kinbaku" opens ten years ago as Matt and Foggy try to crash a high class party. When Elektra catches Matt's attention and saves him from being ejected from the party, it is a beautifully framed moment, with bracelets clacking and sound vibrating from fingers on wine glass rim. Props go to Floria Sigismondi, a photographer and music video director, perhaps best known for The Runaways, who directed this episode.

After the title sequence however we are jolted back to reality, and the present, with Elektra's comment that Matt's German beer tastes like piss. Quite a contrast. Elektra Natchios is played by Elodie Yung, whose willowy body and proper British accent take a moment to get used to in the role.

Elektra is back in town for Matt's legal help, and perhaps to rekindle their old romance. Matt is having none of it, even when she goes into an extended exposition on the Roxxon Corporation. She has a business meeting with them and wants his expertise. She makes it seem innocent but also seems game for playtime as well. Matt gives the impression that their time together was a mistake he doesn't want to step in again. All things considered, she's exactly the kind of personality who would make s good assassin.

Back at work, the subplot ruse of Matt being an alcoholic to explain his disappearances is getting old. Speaking of old, Karen seems to be still obsessed with the Punisher, the authorities are keeping things covered up about him. Reyes wants all of the firm's files on the Punisher. And then there's that kiss between Karen and Matt. Oh, the webs we weave.

I loved the Indian restaurant where Matt and Karen's date eventually ends up. So cool with all the neon chili peppers, I'd like to eat there. It's just too bad that the date is colored by both Karen's obsession with the Punisher and Matt's obsession with Elektra. Any goodness there could be is ruined by subtext. As in the comics, I think this relationship is surely doomed before it even begins.

The story jumps back and forth between the decade ago flashback and now, telling the tale of Matt and Elektra. The fight/sex scene in the boxing ring after Elektra suspects Matt isn't blind is so well done, cray-cray, and reminiscent of the playground duel/foreplay scene in the 2003 movie. And of course as the episode goes on we learn what a dangerous sociopath she can be.

We see another date, this time in the home of Roscoe Sweeney, the man who long ago killed Matt's father. Perhaps it's time to discuss the title of the episode. Kinbaku is a particularly tight and nasty type of Japanese bondage. It's not only how Elektra binds Sweeney in the flashback, but the kind of grip she seems to have on Matt, tight and nasty. She still has that grip, as she has brought the Yakuza to her penthouse, and Matt there as well. She knows he's Daredevil, and wants to play.

Next: Regrets Only!

Daredevil S02 E04: Penny and Dime

We open this episode of "The Punisher"... um, I mean, "Daredevil," with the arrival of Finn Cooley in New York City. In the Punisher comics, this IRA explosives expert walks around with half of his face blown off, but here he's played by suave Scottish actor Tony Curran, who I know best as Vincent Van Gogh from "Doctor Who," but has quite an impressive career beyond his cool geek cred.

After wrecking his own family's funeral Finn goes on a meticulous and vicious rampage that gets him closer to the Punisher than Daredevil in three episodes. I mean, it's not like it's old hornhead's show or anything. As what's left of the Irish mob leaves Frank's apartment, with his dog in tow, kidnapping it John Wick style, the Punisher watches. Yeah, this is going to be ugly.

After the credits, Karen goes to pick up Matt, and they share an intimate tie knotting moment, before attending the lonely funeral of Grotto. Also in attendance is Foggy and, returning from last season, Father Lantom. Even though the gigantic church is empty and echoey, Lantom performs the service as if it was full. His sermon reinforces the drives of both Matt and Karen.

While Karen goes in search of the Punisher, Daredevil pays a visit to Melvin Potter. He's got a new cowl for him as well as gauntlets. He also mentions old contacts are back in town coming to him for weapons but he's turned them down. Melvin is a bit concerned with the hero's well-being, tells him to take care. When DD wishes the same back Melvin replies that he is a reveals the Gladiator chest plate beneath his shirt. Enough foreplay, guys, ditch the Punisher and bring on the Gladiator!

There is a subtle line being drawn in this season so far, and was hinted at strongly in "Jessica Jones," especially in the episode "AKA 99 Friends," that battle lines are being drawn between human and non-human. This all led to Captain America: Civil War and continues in the fourth season of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," but it is interesting that it's rearing its ugly head here in the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Witness Officer Mahoney's distinction made between cops and criminals and 'you people' in his brief discussion with Daredevil.

Now you folks who have been following along as I've reviewed "Jessica Jones" and the first season of "Daredevil," you know I write these reviews as I watch them, so my expectations and speculations are sometimes a bit off. There was unfortunately one aspect of this season that was spoiled for me - Karen Page and the Punisher getting together. For me, that makes the brief gentle moments that Karen and Matt keep having both bittersweet and exceptionally cruel. Because of that foreknowledge, I kinda hate them.

Despite all that, I have to marvel at Karen's ability to track down the Punisher right down to his origins, and even his former family home. This is more than the police, the Feds, or even the Irish mob was able to do - and the Irish were able to take the Punisher down. I joked about the title of this series at the start of this review, but really how much of a hero is the titular hero when he's so ineffectual and supporting cast and B level bad guys show him up so easily?

With Finn, it's quite a character reveal that with much of his family dead, including his son, at the hands of the Punisher, that what he really wants once his prey is in his grasp, is his money back. The Punisher apparently stole millions from the IRA, and Finn is going to get it back even if he has to drill his point home. Frank gets one point for compassion when he gives up the location of the money after Finn threatens his dog. I still don't like the character.

I did like the subtle stealth and almost casualness with which Daredevil attacked the Irish mob's hideout. It was like he was taking a walk in the park, with his eyes closed - and I guess with Daredevil, that's almost a given everyday. Unfortunately after that however, it falls apart. Rather than letting Daredevil rescue the Punisher, the showrunners give the latter some sort of weird precognition that allowed to know what the Irish were up to, so he rigged his van with the money to explode, and sewed a razor blade into his arm for later. Holy Shark Repellent Bat-Spray!

Daredevil and the Punisher escape from the villains' lair like they're buddies in a seventies issue of The Brave and the Bold. They have a little after party in the cemetery, with Frank opening his heart to DD about the rhyme he says before he kills people. The episode title references it and the tale he tells is one of tragedy that many veterans of war know. Has our hero forgotten about all the people this villain has killed? All the horrible things he's done, all the crimes he's committed? Again props to Jon Bernthal's performance, but he is still the bad guy... why has DD forgotten that?

He hasn't. And when the police arrive, thankfully Daredevil does something heroic. He allows the police to take the Punisher in, specifically Officer Brett Mahoney, and makes sure he takes the credit in an attempt to clear any blurred lines he may have caused with the police. I'm just surprised the Punisher went in without a fight.

The episode almost ends with more gentle moments with Matt and Karen, and most significantly a very sensual kiss in the rain that both reminded me of, and consciously tried not to be, the kiss in the rain from the 2003 Daredevil film. I know that kiss is with Elektra and this one is with Karen, but Deborah Ann Woll is very Elektra here... which is a shame because the real thing is waiting for Matt when he gets home...

Next: Kinbaku!

Daredevil S02 E03: New York's Finest

The first episode of "Daredevil" Season Two ended with our hero shot in the head, and the second with his radar sense failing and the Punisher closing in. When the police arrive seconds later, both combatants are gone. So far, the cliffhangers are hot. But where did Daredevil and the Punisher go? Something tells me I don't want to know.

As we open in the pre-credits scene, Matt is hallucinating from his Catholic upbringing, until he slowly awakens in chains on a rooftop with the Punisher. This apparently right from the comics, from Garth Ennis' Punisher #3, but I can't comment much, having never read the issue before, but it's been praised for the philosophical discussion between these two protagonists. Daredevil's compromised position forcing him to engage his foe verbally as opposed to with his fists.

So I dug up the comic in question, and found it to be much what I expected, and worse. Garth Ennis is an extremely talented writer, but with one serious flaw, especially when working in the world of comic books - he hates superheroes. Unlike other comic book writers who hate superheroes, like Frank Miller, Ennis doesn't usually write superheroes, unless they're twisted parodies like The Boys or dark anti-heroes like Preacher, John Constantine, or, the Punisher.

In this dark and dreary world of Ennis' Punisher, no one is happy, as masterfully illustrated by the late Steve Dillon, rest in peace. Punisher lives in a skewed vision of our world where misery reigns, where he is the twisted mirror of heroism, and Daredevil is a clown that must be shown the error of his ways. On the rooftop chains of the comic book source material, the Punisher must remake Daredevil in his own image. If it wasn't so ridiculous, it would be horrifying.

I read comic books for escape from the real world, to see heroism as it should be, to be inspired to be a better person. Superhero comic books are supposed to make you want to be the hero and change the world. Reading Punisher #3 made me depressed, and most of all, it made me hate the Punisher more than I had before I opened that damned miserable comic. I do appreciate the talent and skill it takes to evoke such a reaction from a reader, but trust me, it will be a very long time before I ever read another Punisher comic.

But that was the comic, I hope the Netflix episode that is aping it can do better. Here it is also, as I described, a philosophical discussion between the two protagonists, but a far more sensible one. While the Punisher goes about his business, Daredevil (or Red as he calls him) remains in chains talking the shades of gray in what they do. It's a difficult chat, each exchange like pulling teeth, and even though they vehemently disagree with the other's method, there is a hint of hatred-tinged bromance at work. I get the feeling that under different circumstances Frank and Red could be friends.

There is some prime acting here, and while Charlie Cox's Daredevil plays a very good counter to Jon Bernthal's Punisher, but the latter is the star here. His performance is spellbinding, saying volumes with an economy of words and gestures. I wasn't impressed when I'd heard Shane from "The Walking Dead" was going to play the Punisher, but he is amazing in the role. The only thing Shane and Frank have in common are we love to hate them both. Serious props.

The bottom line of the debate is killing. Frank will and Red won't. The difference is when Daredevil hits a bad guy they get back up, maybe come back, and when the Punisher hits 'em, they don't. Simple as that. Daredevil's reluctance to kill makes him a "half-measure," a coward who won't finish the job he started. And then it all turns to sh!t, as the ghost of Garth Ennis ruins everything.

The Punisher duct tapes a gun into Daredevil's hand then produces Grotto, beating the man senseless until he confesses to the murder of an innocent. The terms of this ridiculous trap - Daredevil must 'man up' and kill the Punisher before he kills Grotto, and at this moment is when I really started to hate this show. Where are the Owl, Gladiator, and the Stilt-Man when you need them? I really hate what comics and their related media have become...

In a world where Captain America knows that the Winter Soldier murdered Tony Stark's parents, I guess it shouldn't surprise anyone that Daredevil is too late to save Grotto. The nearly six-minute fight sequence that follows as Daredevil battles his way down several flights of stairs against the Dogs of Hell motorcycle gang with a gun taped to one hand and a chain around the other is phenomenal and spectacular - topping the hallway fight from last season even - but it in no way makes up for how this turn of events made me feel.

Meanwhile back in the real world, Karen and Foggy bring the only real light and hope to this dismal situation. As Karen fights the very different evil of District Attorney Reyes and learns more about the Punisher's past, Foggy has a heart-to-heart with Night Nurse and breaks up a gang fight in an already insane emergency room. Both are more heroic than the two 'superheroes' we watched for most of the episode.

I always love seeing Rosario Dawson, and Jon Bernthal deserves serious accolades for his performance, and that stairway fight sequence is one of the most amazing I've seen - but I still hated this episode. I may have to take a break before I come back to the second season of "Daredevil." This was rough.

Deadpool

I didn't want to see this movie. I don't like this character. But I have to confess, against all odds, I kinda liked the movie.

To me, this Rob Liefield parody of DC's Deathstroke (Wade Wilson/Slade Wilson, Deadpool/Deathstroke, get it?) is not only silly, but the incessant violence and obnoxiousness of a hyperactive Ambush Bug represents several of the things I dislike about comics. More than that I think it bothers me that so many folks love Deadpool and the Punisher over more traditional heroes. I'm an old man, I'm stepping off my soapbox, get off my lawn. I just don't like Deadpool. In the comics.

As I said, I kinda enjoyed the movie. No, I really enjoyed the movie. I loved the irreverent credits, the opening fight scene, and even the merc with a mouth's incessant fourth wall breaking monologue. Yeah, I dug it, even when it took itself seriously, and even when it actually was a serious superhero movie, and it did accidentally slip into that gown from time to time.

I loved the fight scenes, even the messy ones. Teenage Negasonic Warhead (I love the Monster Magnet song but this was my introduction to the character) and the fully CGI Colossus were fun sidekicks and reminders that Deadpool is in fact part of the X-Men universe. Colossus comes across very well for CGI.

Ryan Reynolds has a lot of fun doing this and it shows. He makes the movie more often than not. Leslie Uggams is a hoot as well. I would see the sequel just for more of Reynolds as Deadpool. Yeah, for real, bring it on.