Daredevil’s MCU Return Shouldn’t Include Him Becoming An Avenger

Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) has returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe but Daredevil is better off not becoming an Avenger. The blind lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen was 0ne of the crowd-pleasing surprise cameos in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Murdock appeared in his new role as Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) attorney, which established that Netflix’s Daredevil is officially part of MCU canon, as did Wilson Fisk AKA The Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) being revealed as the main villain of Hawkeye. Now that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is back, the questions turn to Daredevil’s MCU future and whether or not he’ll eventually join the Avengers.

Of course, Daredevil joined the Avengers in Marvel Comics so there’s precedent in the source material. In Netflix’s Marvel canon, Daredevil was part of The Defenders, a superteam of street-level heroes that included Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Iron Fist (Finn Jones), and Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick). Matt Murdock was one of the more reluctant members of the Defenders but there was also no doubt Daredevil was the group’s headlining hero. Daredevil was the most popular of the Marvel Netflix series and it ran for three seasons before it was canceled in 2018. With Matt Murdock’s comeback in Spider-Man: No Way Home, audiences naturally are wondering what role Daredevil will play in MCU Phase 4, especially if and when the Avengers assemble again.

As much of a fan-favorite as Daredevil is, he’s not an ideal fit for the Avengers. Even more so than the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” Daredevil is a street-level superhero who prowls the dark corners of Hell’s Kitchen. Meanwhile, the Avengers take on “Avengers-level threats” such as Thanos (Josh Brolin), hordes of alien invaders like the Chitauri and the Black Order, and the android armies of Ultron (James Spader). The Avengers counted non-powered heroes like Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) as members but at least Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were highly-trained and technologically savvy Agents of SHIELD. By contrast, Matt Murdock is merely an excellent hand-to-hand combatant.

Matt Murdock does have superpowers but Daredevil’s enhanced senses and weapon of choice – an expandable billy club – aren’t what one would bring into a battle against the most powerful and deadly villains the MCU has to offer. For his part, Spider-Man is often considered a street-level hero but the amazing wall-crawler is packed with superpowers like super strength, incredible reflexes, the ability to stick to walls, and web-shooters. This lets Spidey more than hold his own against Avengers-level enemies. Until Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker also benefited from Stark Tech suits and weapons. In truth, Spider-Man is in a different league than Daredevil as a superhero. As the MCU’s new flagship hero now that Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is dead, Spidey’s status as an Avenger makes sense.

This isn’t to say Daredevil is useless by any means; he’s a formidable, experienced, and dangerous superhero. But Matt Murdock would simply be outclassed by most of the menaces the Avengers face since he’s not a Super-Soldier like Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and doesn’t even have the high-tech wings and training of Captain America Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). Daredevil’s best value would be as an attorney since most of the Avengers have various legal and financial issues they cope with when they’re not saving the world. Ultimately,

Daredevil is at his best stalking his classic stomping grounds of Hell’s Kitchen. Fighting the Kingpin, Elektra (Elodie Yung), Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), and the Hand is more Matt Murdock’s speed, and he’s been nearly killed by his enemies several times. While it would be novel to see the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen rocketing into space to battle Kang (Jonathan Majors) or zipping through the Quantum Realm with the Avengers, Matt Murdock might be the first to realize it’s really not where Daredevil belongs.

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