Highlights
- Daredevil's 60th anniversary calls for his own video game, given his existing popularity and intriguing narrative potential.
- Future Daredevil games should steer clear of overused villains like Kingpin and Bullseye, focusing instead on lesser-known foes.
- The Daredevil universe offers a rich array of villains beyond Kingpin and Bullseye, including characters like Typhoid Mary and the Purple Man.
Debuting all the way back in 1964, Marvel's Daredevil turns 60 this year, and it's about time he received his very own video game. While Daredevil may not be quite as popular as Spider-Man, Wolverine, or The Avengers, he's earned a pretty sizable following over the last six decades, with the 2015-2018 Daredevil Netflix show introducing the character to a whole new generation of fans. But while Daredevil has appeared in various Marvel team-up games over the years, he hasn't had the stage all to himself (besides a dismal movie tie-in), and it's time that changed.
As a character, Daredevil is already perfectly suited to the world of video games. With his main equipment being a pair of extensively modified billy clubs, Daredevil already has his video game traversal and combat mechanics laid out for him. And when it comes to narrative, a Daredevil game would have no shortage of excellent comic runs to draw from. But there's one big element of a Daredevil game that wouldn't be so easy to get right, and that's its potential villain, with two of the hero's most iconic foes having been run into the ground already.
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Future Daredevil Games Need to Avoid Kingpin and Bullseye
Undoubtedly, Kingpin and Bullseye are Daredevil's two best-known antagonists, and arguably, they're also the hero's best. Though he originally debuted as a Spider-Man villain, Kingpin quickly became one of Daredevil's most prolific enemies, appearing across the last 60 years of comics to torment the hero countless times. But when it comes to villains made specifically for Daredevil, few are quite as iconic or deadly as Bullseye. If Daredevil was to ever get his own major AAA solo game, Kingpin and Bullseye would be obvious picks for the game's main villains, but unfortunately, there's a big problem there.
Kingpin and Bullseye have been used in just about every piece of Daredevil-related media for decades now, and many fans are starting to get a little bored of seeing the same dynamics over and over again. In just the live-action space alone, both Kingpin and Bullseye have appeared as the primary antagonists in every iteration, with the much-maligned 2003 Daredevil movie using both characters, along with Netflix's Daredevil show just over a decade later. While Netflix's Daredevil featured excellent portrayals of the two iconic villains, it feels like more fans than ever have seen just about everything that these antagonists have to offer.
While not a single villain, The Hand is also getting a tad repetitive in modern Daredevil stories, with it appearing throughout the Netflix Marvel shows.
This will be even truer in a year, with the MCU's Daredevil: Born Again reportedly bringing both Kingpin and Bullseye back as main antagonists. Though a Daredevil video game could put a few spins on these villains, like putting players up against Lady Bullseye, the general dynamic between the characters would likely feel too familiar to what fans have already seen time and time again.
There Are Plenty of Other Villains for Daredevil to Fight
Thankfully, Bullseye and Kingpin aren't the only villains in Daredevil's rogue's gallery. Rather than focus on the same villains repeatedly, a hypothetical Daredevil game could pull from Daredevil's lesser-known ranks, including characters like Typhoid Mary. A fierce martial arts specialist and psychic, Typhoid Mary suffers from a dissociative identity disorder that determines her powers' severity and type, and she'd make an excellent primary villain in a Daredevil game, having run criminal empires plenty of times in the comics.
A few other lesser-known Daredevil villains could have the chops to take on a major antagonist role in a Daredevil game. The Purple Man - often associated with Jessica Jones - would offer some interesting gameplay and narrative opportunities, and the Owl is just waiting for a gritty modern-day interpretation. Alternatively, a Daredevil game could use the more well-known Elektra as its main villain, and put their personal relationship at the heart of the story.
Marvel
Marvel is a brand associated with a wide array of popular superhero comics, movies, television shows, and merchandise. The company owns the rights to popular characters like The Avengers, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Deadpool, and many more.
