This article features spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8.
The inclusion of Daredevil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was always going to be one of those things that divided fans, and the arrival of Charlie Cox's Marvel hero this week didn't disappoint in that respect. Having returned to the role of Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Charlie Cox's second appearance in the MCU hasn't been as clear a winner as his first, and after being teased for the entire season, some fans were less than pleased with this "Daredevil Lite" version of the Hell's Kitchen lawyer.
Fans have been stoked for the appearance of Charlie Cox in his Daredevil persona for the first time in several years for weeks, and that could be the reason some older fans of the Netflix series were less than impressed with the jokey and lighter appearance of a character that led one of the most violent and mature TV adaptations from Marvel. However, others were happy to see Daredevil going toe to toe with some goons, in a brief glimpse of what could be coming in Daredevil: Born Again. Here are just some of the reactions.
She-Hulk's Introduction of Daredevil Was Never Going to Be Serious
Those expecting to see exactly the same dark Daredevil that Netflix initially delivered will have to wait a little longer to see whether that comes across to the MCU, as his She-Hulk appearance was never intended to be like that. From the moment it was known that Charlie Cox would appear in the show, She-Hulk head writer Jessica Gao set out exactly what should be expected of Daredevil in the series. She said:
“Charlie is so wonderful. He’s so game to do whatever, and he’s such a wonderful actor and a wonderful human being. What was so fun about bringing him and Daredevil into our world is that people have already seen a Daredevil who is very dramatic, a little bit on the heavy side, very dark, brooding. It was so fun to be able to do–and we do this with every character cameo from the MCU–is we take them from the environment that you know them from, which is a much more dramatic and action-oriented role, much more on the serious side, and we bring them into our world, and they get to play in the tone of She-Hulk. And they got to explore, and we get to see a lighter side of that character.”
Of course, in his previous outings, Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock became well-known for delivering a good quip, and his character development across the Netflix series was not likely to be ignored. Although Cox has said that Daredevil: Born Again is "a season one and not season 4," taking Murdock back to the beginning of his journey wouldn't work as it would just be retreading the same path as the previous series. The real start of Matt Murdock's MCU journey will begin in 2024 when he is back in Hell's Kitchen in his own show and not tagging onto someone else's vehicle.