This article contains so manyDaredevilspoilers…consider yourself warned.
NOTE: We originally ran this in April of 2015 whenDaredevilseason one premiered on Netflix.
It has been updated…a lot.
Were going to try and nail down all of the important ones.
Feel free to offer corrections, suggestions, and point out ones you think we might have missed.
There are nothing butDaredevilspoilers awaiting you.
Last chance to get out andread our spoiler-free review instead!
You see Matt Murdocks unfortunate blinding right up front, right?
No, seriously, the Daredevil origin was a major inspiration forthe original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics!
Matt is nine years old here.
I suppose its not that important, but you came here looking for weird trivia, right?
The priest who Matt is confessing to is referred to as Father Lantom in the press materials.
Hes a character who has appeared inThe Runawayscomics, and who has connections to Cloak and Dagger.
By the way,The Runawaysshould totally be Marvels next TV series.
The main bad guy in the pier fight is Turk Barrett.
Turk is a small-timer who has been hanging around the Daredevil world since Daredevil #69 back in 1970.
Basically, as far as non-super villains go, hes got an impressive pedigree.
It was also the second issue of Frank Millers legendary run asDaredevilartist.
This series takes place about 18 months after the events ofThe Avengers.
Wesley is another one of those non-super supervillain types who has been around the Daredevil block.
Basically, if you want to know whatDaredevilseason 3 or 4 should be, just go readBorn Again.
The Mr. Rigoletto Wesley refers to is Kingpins predecessor in the comics, as well.
Three guesses about how Kingpin came to power.
Heres a hint: Mr. Rigoletto didnt retire to Florida.
There was another, even earlier, Kingpin, as well.
The meeting of nasty baddies includes Leland Owsley (played by Bob Gunton).
Hes one of the great artists of the early eras of comics.
The thing is, Claire Temple in the comics was never actually Night Nurse, she wasDoctorClaire Temple.
Maybe in thatDoctor Strangemovie?
Claire keeps referring to Matt as Mike because she doesnt know his real name.
Well, Mike Murdock comes from a particularly weird bit of Daredevil history.
Now, heres the really crazy part: what if Matt actually IS Claires ex-boyfriend Mike?
Nah…they wouldnt do that.
There arent many (any?)
The snappily dressed Irish gentleman at Fogwells Gym (which is another Marvel Comics landmark) isRoscoe Sweeney.
Because, yknow, he fixes fights.
And he fixes palookas who are too dumb to lay down when theyre told.
Look, subtlety was never Stan Lees strong suit, okay?
Sweeneys flunky is named Silke.
He…ummmm…kinda ruined Matt Murdocks life by exposing his secret identity.
(thanks to James Huntfor jogging my memory on this one)
For real, Im not messing around.
In future seasons, I guarantee youeveryonewho matters (and then some) will learn who Daredevil really is.
Unfortunate secret identity reveals are as part of the territory with DD as, ummm…blindness.
By the way, you see the hideous red and yellow Daredevil costume in that Fixer panel up above?
In Fogwells Gym, you could spot a poster for Weeks vs. Barton.
It was fun while it lasted, though!
Is this or is this not the greatest piece of superhero fight choreography ever put on film?
Daredevil arch-enemy Bullseyelovesusing playing cards as a weapon.
Just throwing it out there, so to speak.
Episode 3 Rabbit in a Snowstorm
I believe the church that Matt frequents is St. Agnes.
At the very least, Ive heard St. Agnes mentioned elsewhere onDaredevil.
St. Agnes is a connection toAgents of SHIELD.
Father Lantom sure seems like he wants to tell Matt something, doesnt he?
Joe Pantoliano did a sterling job as Ben Urich in theDaredevilmovie that most of you are trying to forget.
The New York Bulletinis a tragedy, really.
This really should beThe Daily Bugle, as thats the paper that Ben Urich worked for in the comics.
Alas, the state of the Sony/Marvel situation was not as friendly duringDaredevilfilming as it is now.
Episode 4 In the Blood
Yes, were still talking about Ben Urich.
He makes reference to looking into Karen Pages past activities.
Well, needless to say, those past activities arent very nice.
Pages pastwillbecome a driving force in later episodes or seasons.
She has struggled with drug addiction and a side career in adult films.
The art gallery curator is Vanessa Mariana, and the future Vanessa Fisk.
Love at first sight doesnt just happen in comic books, folks…it happens on TV, too!
Mr. Potter is Melvin Potter, who at some point becomes the supervillain known as Gladiator.
Wait…wrong universe.
This episode features as good an explanation of Daredevils radar sense as were ever going to get.
Kind of a cool representation of how it looks, too.
Its amazing that they took five episodes to get us here.
Thats a joke and completely untrue and unfunny and Im ashamed for having taken the time to write it.
Karen sure seems rattled when they point out that shes fluent in Spanish, doesnt she?
Almost like shes hiding something in her past.
Let me just remind you one more time: shetotallyis.
Ummm…the events ofCaptain America: Civil Warwill say differently.
Yeah, well…it eventually has an effect on Willies fashion sense.
See for yourself…
Episode 6 Condemned
Were seeing some widespread police corruption in this show.
Its more than corruption, really.
These cops are sick bastards.
Unfortunately, we get the old villain tells the hero were so much alike nonsense here.
Its something thats been done to death, most notably in Sam Raimis firstSpider-Manmovie.
It istotallypossible that the faceless sniper working for Wilson Fisk who pops Detective Blake is Daredevil arch-foe, Bullseye!
He can also turn things that arent usually deadly into very deadly things.
See how playing cards keep turning up in this show?
Those are some of Bullseyes favorite things to kill with.
This would be a pretty cool, low-key way to bring Bullseye into the Marvel Cinematc Universe.
Until Marvel tells me otherwise, this is our guy.
Foggys line about guys with a mask have something to hide is some J. Jonah Jameson style Spider-Man logic.
Lets remember thiswhen Spidey joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe next year!
Episode 7 Stick
The angry blind guy with the sword is Stick (Scott Glenn).
He also trained another crucial player in Matts life, but well save that reference for down below.
This episode also gives us our first public reference to Matts nocturnal activities as something Devil-ish.
Its been bad news for years (and its looking shaky this year, too).
Id like to believe Daredevil is a Mets fan, since hes all about the underdog.
Fun fact, though: Spider-Man isdefinitelya Mets fan.
you’ve got the option to look it up.
Theres another reference to Karens mysterious past, here.
Ill eventually stop harping on it, but look for this to be a major problem in future seasons.
A couple of things about the scene in the orphanage with Matt and Stick.
First of all,everymember of the Church that weve met so far onDaredevilis hiding something about Matts mother.
To be fair, I have no idea what the Black Sky is supposed to be.
Clearly, though, that little boy is superhuman.
Could he be…Inhuman?
Well have more on Black Sky once we actually, yknow, figure out what the hell it is.
That shipping container reads Asano Robotics.
Yoshida Asano is an Iron Man villain by the name of Samurai Steel.
Stone is one of Sticks crew of warriors known as the Chaste.
Other Chaste members have similarly flashy names like Shaft (not that one) and Claw.
Check out this panel of John Romita Jr. artwork fromDaredevil: The Man Without Fear.
Its pretty much that last shot!
So this is now another Frank Miller creation that has made his way into this show.
I expect an all-ninja extravaganza for season two at this point.
Episode 8 Shadows in the Glass
Consider this episode the secret origin of the Kingpin.
In the comics, Fisk was Rigolettos bodyguard, who then betrayed and murdered him.
As promised, theres our first look at Melvin Potter, fitting Leland Owsley for his new suit.
Well get to more on Melvin in a few episodes, though.
So, its official: Nobu is the head of The Hand.
Fisk asks him to find someone from your organization to deal with Daredevil.
This is very exciting.
The Hand were introduced in 1981sDaredevil#174 by (who else?)
Since then, theyve become the go-to ninja army of choice for Marvel.
Theres only so much time, yknow.
Remember the big scary guy that Stick is chatting to at the end of episode seven?
Thats one of his Chaste warriors.
Maybe Nobu will be back, as The Hand doesnt always stay dead.
Maybe theyre saving Kirigi for season two.
Either way, I want more ninjas.
We just got to watch a flaming ninja fight Daredevil.
Now, in the comics, when Hand ninjas die, they dont just die.
They kind of crumble into ash.
That was totally on purpose.
(thanks, Autonomous!)
Urich is a trusted keeper of Matts secret identity.
Which, as far as secret identities go, tends to not be all that secret.
On the packets of heroin, theres a strange symbol.
So the two jerks who jumped Karen are named Joseph Pike and Stewart Schmidt.
Pike is another low-rent douchebag from the comics, a criminal informant, and a Josies bar regular.
He first showed up in the Frank Miller drawnDaredevil#165 in 1980.
I dont think I have any comics with him in them.
just dont think less of me.
Episode 10 Nelson vs. Murdock
During one of the Columbia University flashback sequences, Foggy blurts out…
The Greek girl…whatever happened to her?
That was, without question, a reference to Elektra Natchios.
Matt and Elektra have a, shall we say,complicatedrelationship.
Now we know Ben got the big bylines for the events ofThe AvengersandThe Incredible Hulk.
Roxxon is mentioned in the Landman/Zakk boardroom.
Roxxon has come up a few times, mostly in theIron Manmovies.
Basically, theyre all-purpose corporate douchebags, and theyve been doing douchebag corporate things since 1974 in the comics.
Its kinda fitting that a Marvel staple like Roxxon is ultimately what drives Matt out of corporate law.
Owsley mentions someone named Van Lunt, a guy who is obsessed with astrology.
This would be Cornelius Van Lunt,the unfortunately ridiculous Marvel supervillain known as Taurus.
double-check Richmonds on the guest list.
He wont come, but hell get pissy if he isnt invited.
Hes talking about Kyle Richmond, known as Nighthawk.
He first appeared inAvengers#71 in 1969, but he first metDaredevilin Daredevil #62.
To be fair, Matt was drunk when that happened, not recovering from a serious ninja whupping.
Episode 11 The Path of the Righteous
So, lets talk about Melvin Potter for a moment.
Melvin Potter, like I mentioned up above, is also the supervillain known as the Gladiator.
you might spot a Gladiator-themed movie poster in his workshop.
While thereisaRevenge of the Gladiatorsmovie, Im not sure this is a poster for the real one.
Anyway, check it out…
So, this workshop fight is awesome for about a million reasons.
First of all, its Daredevil vs. the super strong Gladiator in all but name.
But then, Melvin throws a freakin saw blade at him.
Poor guy is smitten with her.
Do you really think this is the first time Ive shot someone?
Havent I been telling you that Karen Page has a seriously dark past?
Its a shame about Wesley, though.
He might just have been the best villain Marvel has produced this side of Loki so far.
Its a cute touch.
(thanks, Ed Kauffmann!
That would have slipped by me.)
Once, my ass.
Before Marvel Comics was, well,Marvel, they were Atlas Comics.
Ummm…obviously that wont be happening.
Wheres her home that is considerably further away from China?
Until somebody can tell me otherwise, Im willing to go with this.
I suspect that series holds more answers about the future of Marvels assorted Netflix series, as well.
Episode 13 Daredevil
Holy moley.
On your mouthI will say it when the light shines!
Vanish, o night!
Fade, you stars!
Fade, you stars!
At dawn, I will win!I will win!
Gosh, does that sound like anyone we know?
And no, dont let my Italian last name fool you…I know nothing about opera.
I had to Shazam that aria just like everybody else.
Hes hanging on the wall in the police station!
Just let this sink in for a minute or two.
This guy:
The other is the blueprints for Gladiators buzz saw arm things.
You dont need me to tell you how cool buzz saw arm things are.
In the comics, that little stick is to Daredevil what the shield is to Captain America.
Then again, the action sequences up until this point have been so cool that I hardly missed it.
We finally get to see Kingpin in his white suit.
Probably not how we intended.
Mike Cecchini thinks Hells Kitchen is a great place for vegetarian food and expensive desserts.Kick his ass on Twitter.
