Spun: Daredevil – Return of the King & Moon Knight

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Every now and then, a successful TV show creates a spinoff that fans fall in love with (Frasier, Daria, even The Simpsons, believe it or not). Unfortunately, these gems are heavily overshadowed by the worst of the worst (Joey, Joanie Loves Chachi, Saved by the Bell: The College years). The term “spinoff” is now met with rolling eyes and groans, when its full potential hasn’t even been tapped. In the new Golden age of television, the fields are ripe for harvest! Sick of waiting for Hollywood to hurry the hell up, we’re just going to do it ourselves. Your favorite shows are about to be Spun. 

In honor of Free Comic Book day on Saturday, this week we’re spinning off Marvel’s extremely successful debut on Netflix. Daredevil took most critics by surprise when all 13 episodes of it’s first season landed at once in 2015, and immediately earned praise for t’s grit and realism, with showrunner Steven S. Deknight citing HBO’s The Wire as a source of inspiration. Rather than show the threats to the world (the types that the Avengers focus on) Daredevil set out to show viewers the world outside their window. Street level crimes and the vigilante who stops them. 

We all know the story by now. Matt Murdock, blinded by chemicals at a young age, is trained to not only live with his blindness, but to use it to his advantage. He trained in martial arts to fight criminals by night, and studied law to be a defense attorney by day. Foggy, Karen, Stick, and the rest of the gang filled out season 1, Elektra and Punisher join in later on, and boom; Daredevil is a runaway success where other comic book shows have failed. The introduction of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in Season 2 was itself a stroke of genius. He was a crucial element to season 2's plot, but his appearance was also a sort of pilot for his own spinoff. He served as both villain and anti-hero for the show, with Murdock needing a new focus since the Kingpin was placed behind bars in Season 1. The Punisher was so well received, a series order was quickly placed for Bernthal to continue as the fan favorite character. 

Here’s some harsh truth; Season 2 sucked compared to season 1. While the inclusion of Punisher certainly kept things exciting, it lacked the heart of the first season which saw Murdock’s origins and his evolution into the man without fear. It also introduced us to one of the most prolific villains in the Marvel Universe, The Kingpin. In addition to Daredevil, he’s had run ins and feuds with some of Marvels biggest names, including Spiderman, Doctor Strange, Night Nurse, Punisher, the X-Men, Ghost Rider…even The Runaways, at one point. That’s Sony, Disney, Netflix, Fox and Hulu, for those keeping count. If we were to explore this character more after the Disney/Fox merger, he could easily be the MCU’s new Nick Fury, if they so wanted. With a deep dive into his life and motivations in season 1, a surprise appearance in season 2 (…spoilers?) and an exciting return set for season 3, he’s one of the better portrayals of a villain Marvel has had over the last decade. The praise for that belongs to Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays the role with incredible intensity and emotion. It’s a fine enough performance, that it deserves more attention.

“Incredible intensity and emotion”

Title: Return of The King

This would work brilliantly as a limited series. I mentioned DeKnight earlier, and he really comes into play with this series as it was his idea. After the first season, DeKnight left the program to pursue greener pastures, like this years “Pacific Rim: Uprising”.

Good career move. (Italics are reserved for sarcasm).

DeKnight surprised fans recently by saying he’d love to return to the series, but only for a spinofff focused on Vincent D'Onofrio’s Kingpin. There have been many stories for the character over the years, but the “Return of the King” graphic novel is focused heavily on Kingpin’s struggle to get away from the life of crime he created for himself. It’s written with a vulnerability and anger that’s fit for the king, and it’s the type of narrative D’Onofrio would sink his teeth into easily if given the oppurtunity. Assuming he survives season 3 (please survive), a transition to this story could present itself very naturally. 

The Pitch:

Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin, now lives in Europe with Vanessa (last seen in Daredevil Season 1), his true love. He’s created a new day to day for himself there, believing that he’s successfully escaped his life of crime, but he’s unaware that his life of crime has followed him. Fisk arrives home one night only to find that Vanessa has been murdered, and all signs point the Hand as the assassins. Failing to protect the one he loves, Fisk begrudgingly returns to the life he's left behind seeking the necessary revenge. 

The Characters: 

First up is Wilson Fisk, who we know by now. He’s the most feared and most powerful crime-lord in the history of Marvel Comics. Then there’s Daredevil, who in this story reluctantly forms a temporary alliance with Fisk to collectively take down The Hand, and Foggy Nelson is in there doing his usual thing, but there’s also a couple of supporting characters we haven’t come across, namely Dakota North and Lady Bullseye. Now North is another private investigator in the city, hired by Nelson to look into the unusual alliance between Kingpin and Daredevil, but I personally would like to see that part of the story handed over to Jessica Jones. Fans clamor for the crossovers, so having Krysten Ritter appear on a season of Daredevil would be quite exciting indeed. 

The role that Lady Bullseye plays in the story is crucial (if you’re not familiar with that role, buy the comic this Saturday. Free Comic Book Day)! This would require some fresh casting. The role itself would be a fun narrative to explore, as she's not only Daredevils foe by night, but a prosecuter by day, making Matt Murdock's life difficult on all fronts.

I know it might be weird having Lady Bullseye in the universe before Bullseye shows up, but he could debut in Daredevil season 3. If he doesn’t, the Return of the King story might be an awesome way to discover him. We, the audience, would be introduced to him when Lady Bullseye sees him for the first time. Which is quite the awesome scene (again…check it out on Free Comic Book Day)!

Plan B Pitch: 

Speaking of DeKnight, he had another interesting idea for a Marvel show not long ago, focused on Moon Knight. People have been begging for Moon Knight to appear in the MCU for years. James Gunn tweeted a pic of Moon Knight to Marvel a year and a half ago, sparking hope that he would take it on after Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but has since said he doesn’t have the time to bring the film to life (though he does love the character). Recent rumors have popped up that Moon Knight could appear as part of the Netflix/Marvel family, and since then I’ve been dreaming of how that would work (speaking of dreaming, check out tomorrows "Cast This" to dream cast the character). Finding a way to introduce him without doing an Origin story would be incredibly difficult. He really should be getting his own series, but one option that could work is a second season of Defenders. 

The first season wasn’t the incredible success Netflix or Marvel had hoped for. A second team up seems difficult to come by, and Marvel has all but admitted there aren’t any current plans to do so. Maybe they need better inspiration; like Marvel Knights. Unfortunately, it would require some major changes to the story. Since we can’t just add any of Asgard, Black Widow, Doctor Strange or Nick Fury to the Netflix series, let’s fill those roles with the likes of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. 

Please give me another chance, Netflix! I've changed, I swear!

A mysterious and horrific massacre of Red Mafia members has Daredevil scratching his head. After sifting through what evidence he gets a hold of, it all points to one man: Frank Castle. The man without fear has disapproved of Castle’s methods in the past, but this simply went too far. He knows he’s no match for this type of fire power alone, so he attempts to bring the Defenders back together. Not having the means to track down Castle, the team is approached by Mark Spector, who offers to assist. A former CIA operative with an excess of money to help fund their cause if needed, the team is immediately weary of Spector and his motives. After finding Castle and discovering he wasn’t responsible for the massacre, a new threat emerges. The Defenders recruit the help of the Punisher and Spector for one final showdown. It’s only when the final showdown occurs during a full moon that the team begins to wonder…Who is the Moon Knight?

This backdoor approach to a pilot worked for Punisher, could it work for Fisk or Moon Knight? Sound off Schmoes! Do you want to see more or less Marvel on Netflix? Do you want them to give up on the shows and just tie into the movies already? Does Vincent D’Onofrio creep you out? Use your imagination!! You’ve got to feel what’s not there as much as what is! Let us know in the comments!