Be warned, longish mini essay about the Netflix Daredevil show from someone who hasn't finished season 1.
I think the similarities between Daredevil and Kingpin go hard. Both have very similar motivations and backstories. Ironically, Kingpin has a more traditionally good backstory. His harsh taskmaster was his father, and he rose to defend his mother, killing him in the process. But throughout the whole process, the torment of his father's rule, and dealing with the aftermath, he is in the company of his mother.
There is one thread throughout Wilson Fisk's life: he always has a companion. Not someone who can order him around, not always someone he can order, but always someone he is above in some way, and always someone who plays the role his mother did. Before he meets Vanessa, he has his assistant who chooses his meals, plans his itinerary, and is part of every difficult choice or conversation he must have.
Even Vanessa is, unfortunately, put into that mothering role, playing to the more traditional gender roles and even taking on the burden of the emotional turmoil his troubled past gives him. As long as he has his mother or a replacement, Wilson knows he's not a monster, and he can rationalize any sacrifice, usually on behalf of others. His decision to become a public figure is entirely out of his comfort zone, but also something he wouldn't have done if his assistant and Vanessa hadn't plotted to aid him in his turmoil. Functionally performing emotional labor on his behalf.
Daredevils, Mathew Murdock's, upbringing contrasts this. He had a loving, supportive father who had a violent career. Upon the death of his father to crime, he turns to another, harsher, violent father figure who abandons him when he gets attached. Every time someone fills a paternal role, they leave him. And there seem to have never been any takers for a maternal role. Instead, the influences on his life have always been highly masculine, sometimes soft, but always masculine.
In some respects, it seems as though Matt is a success story for toxic masculinity. He's a superhero and a lawyer, he's exceptionally romantically successful, he never lets anyone in, and he solves every problem as alone as he can with the strength of his body and his moral character. He suffers because of this, but even his downfalls still echo the toxic masculinity that's consumed his life.
But for all that, Matt and Wilson come at it from different angles, paternal and maternal, and they ultimately arrive at the same destination. They're both violent men trying to save Hell's kitchen through violent means. The only difference is the extremes they are willing to go to. And even then, Wilson is quite a bit older than Matt, and I'd be willing to believe a middle-aged Daredevil might kill.
Certainly, Kingpin's methodology is more classically villainous, but it is only Daredevil's superhuman abilities that allow him the moral high ground. They remove his ability to mistakenly target innocents, an advantage Wilson does not have.
It strikes me as interesting that the main difference between the two characters is what flavor of toxicity they were molded by: Wilson by a toxic level of support, by people egging him on when it might be time for introspection and pushing him forward when he turns inward and considers stopping. And Matt, by toxic masculinity, pushing him on even when he really should rest—not providing him the support he needed to heal from the trauma of his father's death or Stick's abandonment or even the emotional toll his vigilante career took. Forcing him to bottle everything up and 'stay strong' not to disappoint others, mostly Stick.
That's why I think, ultimately, neither should be doing what they're doing. Kingpin for, I think obvious reasons, he's doing just real bad stuff with vaguely good intentions, and Daredevil for less apparent reasons. He is doing good, and as Matt, I think his choices are solid, but as Daredevil, he's straight up using beating up people as a way to deal with his trauma. It's incredibly unhealthy and even if the violence doesn't take him out, he's still leaning on it to support him emotionally. I fear he can't stop, even if he wanted to. After all, if he did, he'd have to face his demons like the rest of us.
They're just two men running from their problems, and I guess I can't fault them for that. Wouldn't all of us if we could?
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i think its weird that i have to make this disclaimer but the internet is crazy so wtvr,, anyway,,
if i say i dont like something, that doesnt mean "that thing is bad and nobody should post it.."
i swear literally every time i even mention that i dislike something, people will go "wow does that mean u fucking hate me cuz i post that thing? ur a fucking stupid bitch and all ur opinions r wrong" LIKE ?? er.. no. just because i say i dont like certain characterizations of certain characters (the saiki k fandom is CRAZY about this cuz i can state an opinion on literally any character and a group of people will still go 'well only we're allowed to post our opinions about them because we're always right!1!1!'), or certain ship tropes (mentioned my hatred of toxic yaoi maybe once or twice on here months ago and people STILL get mad at me as if i said toxic yaoi lovers r evil or something), or certain ships, or WHATEVER, does not mean that i HATE the people who are posting them or that i think they shouldnt post them at all, NO, im just posting about my personal tastes on my personal blog and it would be extremely weird and hypocritical if i decided that i was the ONLY person that was allowed to do that,,
i think the only reason people assume that is because there are a lot of other people on here who ARE like that, and a lot of people toe the line between posting that they dont like something and posting that they think everyone who likes that thing is stupid, annoying, and wrong,, so i guess all i can say is, sorry for whatever made you make these assumptions but they arent true about me so plz leave me alone ʘ‿ʘ ur doing the same thing to me that ur accusing me of but i didnt do it in the first place so ur just actively being a dick for no reason
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new oc batch ready! 8 more of these guys lol. the whole deal with this set is they’re from the artisan guild- lunar flair! intentionally spelled like “flair” as in “style” or “a flare for ____” rather than “flare”
basically all the members of the guild are different kinds of artists with different niches (and varying degrees of diva-ness). it’s pretty easy to tell who does what based on the everything about them, but if you want more info their bios are still under the cut!
Name: Jupiter
Name Origin: The planet of course
Pronouns: He/him
Age: 52
Guild rank: Guildmaster
Weapon: Lightning rods
Ethos (Power): Gigantomachy. He can make himself (even more) giant
Flaw power is based on: His overly protective nature, especially where the guild is concerned.
Notes: Literally the nicest guy ever until you provoke him though
Name: Erinome (Erin)
Name Origin: A moon of jupiter, the exact meaning of it’s name is murky but it can refer to grace or purity
Pronouns: She/her
Age: 13
Guild rank: 2 star
Weapon: A Book.
Ethos (Power): Poetic Imagery. Illusions cast forth by his her poems that change the appearance of the physical environment
Flaw power is based on: Her escapist indulgence in fantasy
Notes: You know, like, the pen is mightier than the sword and all that.
Name: Pictor
Name Origin: The constellation meaning “painter”
Pronouns: He/him
Age: 23
Guild rank: 3 star
Weapon: Giant paintbrush
Ethos (Power): Ardor. He can create three-dimensional things with his paintbrush. However they are not animate or alive.
Flaw power is based on: His conceited nature in regards to his own work.
Notes: Goes to museums to talk about how he could probably do it better anyway
Name: Oberon
Name Origin: A moon of the planet Uranus, it gets it’s name from the king of the fairies in Renaissance literature. Notably in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream
Pronouns: He/him
Age: 29
Guild rank: 5 star
Weapon: Rapier
Ethos (Power): Fantasia. An illusion of changing his own appearance.
Flaw power is based on: His theatrical nature, of course
Notes: Why is he ourple?
Name: Syrma
Name Origin: A star in virgo, it’s name refers to the train of a garment (Typically worn by actors in tragedies)
Pronouns: She/her
Age: 25
Guild rank: 4 star
Weapon: Giant needle
Ethos (Power): Binding threads. She can create stitches on any solid objects and bind them to each other. Including people- The stitches are manifested energy and do not hurt.
Flaw power is based on: The dependency she often has on bonds- i.e. threads that bind people.
Notes: She makes and models all her own clothes.
Name: Parumleo
Name Origin: A star in Pisces, it’s name means “small lion”
Pronouns: They/he
Age: 19
Guild rank: 3 star
Weapon: Microphone bardiche
Ethos (Power): Persuasion. If they can make you laugh you’ll temporarily have to follow his orders. Though it’s too weak to call full-blown mind control, and fairly easy to snap out of.
Flaw power is based on: His desire to be liked by others.
Notes: They’re like a lolcat. They can haz cheezburger.
Name: Leda
Name Origin: A moon of jupiter, the name means swan.
Pronouns: She/her
Age: 28
Guild rank: 4 star
Weapon: Duel ribbons
Ethos (Power): Poise. Complete and utter weightlessness.
Flaw power is based on: Her carefree and utterly absent-minded nature.
Notes: You guys know swan lake right? Well, there ya go.
Name: Styx
Name Origin: A moon of pluto that gets it’s name from the river of the underworld. Yeah it’s also a rock band.
Pronouns: She/they
Age: 20
Guild rank: 3 star
Weapon: Axe-guitar.
Ethos (Power): Vibrato. Powerful soundwaves cast by her axe-guitar
Flaw power is based on: Her brash and blasé attitude
Notes: Calls everyone “baby” or “babe” because they’re a cool rockstar.
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