Marvel's Daredevil has what Gotham Wants

Before I begin, let me just say that when it comes to the whole Marvel vs DC debate, I fall on neither side, and I fall on both sides. To me, they are all characters that I enjoy and I am not turned off by the comics label I see in the credits. That being said, let's talk about Marvel's latest offering, Daredevil on Netflix.

It's the show we deserve, but not the show we need... Pretty sure neither of that is true

Actually, let's compare it to the other comic book show that I was excited for until recently, Gotham. Being blunt, I am really dissappointed by Gotham. The characters are really one noted, and in some cases more cartoony than the animated counterpart, the story is dull, and it irritates me how it can never decide what it wants to be. I just want to shake it and ask it if it wants to be more like the Burton version of Batman, or the Nolan version of Batman. Either way, I will like whichever way they choose because I like both of those approaches, but when they swing back and forth week after week, it gets kind of irritating. On top of that, they are focusing too much on characters that we have seen a million times already, while completely forgetting about characters that haven't gotten that much attention in the past, that would be perfect for this show. Yeah, seeing awkward geeky Riddler is fun, and emo, possibly gay Penguin is a scene-stealer, but when are we gonna get Dr. Hugo Strange? And I swear to God, I will protest this show if I never hear anything to do with Black Mask.


                                                 
Seriously, less Jada Pinkett Smith, more of these two. I'll settle for any of these two, in exchange for zero Jada Pinkett Smith

Daredevil, on the other hand is a freaking masterpiece. While Gotham clutters its show with tons of characters that are all underdeveloped, Daredevil keeps the main cast tidy and gives each character (and the actor's playing them) time to shine. While Gotham is a real show that makes its characters feel very comic-book-ey, Daredevil is also a real show and makes its characters feel real. They don't feel like characters pulled from the panels of comics, they feel like real people. What Gotham is really missing is a strong central villain to drive the action of the overall story (again I bring up Black Mask). What Gotham needs is a character like Wesley's employer (we don't say his name), who should feel very cartoony, but actor Vincent D'onofrio plays him in a manner you wouldn't come to expect from a continuity that includes The Red Skull. His characteristics don't come across like they are a personality quirk or a disorder, as tends to be the case with a number of big screen villains, they come across as feeling like real characteristics of people we meet. He has anger issues, we all know someone like that. He's awkward when he is in public, we all have a friend like that. The most sympathetic aspect of his character is that he honest to God, hand over his heart believes that the horrible things he is doing are all for the benefit of his city, or at least will be in the long run. If I had to compare him to another on screen villain, it would be Anton from No Country for Old Men. He takes no real pleasure in doing what he does, but if he doesn't do them, then the world will be thrown off. Characters like that fascinate me, and in a world where we have embraced the villain who feels fully justified even when they are spreading misery and chaos (Red Skull, Loki), it's refreshing to have a character that actually admits "yeah, I've done and will do unforgivable things, and I hate that."

On top of that, his assistant, Wesley is a rather underrated highlight of the show. Where in the comics, he was just Kingpin's sniveling number 2, in the show, he is written as being the Kobayashi to Fisk's Keyser Soze. He's that asshole who you want to hate, but the actor plays him with such a supreme level of confidence and he is truly the best at what he does that he ends up being that villain you hate to love.

Okay, so I've touched on the villains quite a bit, and while I could probably write a whole essay on why I love these characters, there are other characters in the show that I like. Actually, all the characters in the show I like. That's the benefit of keeping your cast clutter free. And there are layers to each character. Sure, Matt's partner Foggy makes a ton of wisecracks, but the two have great chemistry, and it is also made clear that, for as much as Foggy moans about the path they chose vs the path they were offered, he believes that what he is doing is the right thing. Perhaps taking the prestigious job where they interned was the wiser option, but actually representing people in need is ultimately what helps him sleep at night, even if it doesn't always help pay the bills. At least at first.

See what I mean about these people feeling real and having some depth? And that's really what you want most in a tv show where the focus and what draws people to watching it is the characters. And the stronger the characters and relationships are, the more we believe in their emotional conflicts and sympathize with their struggles. The characters and stories in Gotham feel very cartoony and don't take a lot of risks, so we know that in the end, it's going to be alright, and that saps out all of the suspense. Daredevil sees its main character get in a brawl and get the crap kicked out of him almost every episode, and when we see him bruised, bloody, broken, almost die and still wanting to get up for the next round, that's just empowering. Especially when you consider he is blind.

Gotham, learn to take risks. Don't be afraid to drag your characters through hell. That idea may make writers shift a little, but the show will leave a bigger impression on people if you do.

My Idea for a Star Wars Spin Off: Star Wars Suicide Squad

Okay, bear with me here for a bit. With it being anounced that there are several Star Wars spin offs in the works, both in movie and graphic novel form, a lot of people have been wondering what they are going to be about. Some reports say that it will revolve around Han Solo, some think there will be a standalone Boba Fett movie, we know that at least one will be about Rogue Squadron (so think Top Gun in space). Anyway, I recently had an idea for a spin off that I hope will exist at some point, or already exists. Given the amount of books written about the expanded Star Wars universe, I wouldn't be surprised.

So here's how it began. I recently came across this poster in a Hot Topic:

For those of you who don't know, that is Darth Vader (duh) with the group of mercenaries that he had assembled to hunt down the Millenium Falcon in Empire Strikes Back, among them fan favorite Boba Fett and IG-88. I don't know about you, but I always wondered how Vader was able to gather them so quickly. But then I thought, what if this is not the first time that Vader has called upon these mercenaries to get the job done when the imperial stormtroopers are not up to snuff? And then I thought of this: What if these guys could be Star Wars' answer to The Expendables or the Suicide Squad?

So here's the storyline that I have mapped out in my head: The emperor has just come into ultimate power, and he needs to stamp out the remaining resistance from the Clone Wars, along with eliminate any remaining Jedi that managed to escape Order 66, and he needs to stop further seeds of rebellion from growing. However, he can't use Stormtroopers because they are too noticeable and are too formal to pull off any sort of espionage or subtle assassinations. In essence, they have the same weakness as the brithish redcoats. So, in the same way that the British empire called upon Hessian mercenaries to suppress the colonists, so too the emperor wants to employ mercenaries to do what his legions of stormtroopers cannot. He calls upon Darth Vader and Moff Tarkin. You know, this guy....

Tarkin is gonna be in this? Hell yeah he's gonna be in this! We are talking about the guy that was handed the keys to the Death Star and blew up Alderaan without seeking permission, just to prove a point. We are talking about a guy who's ambitious and has no moral compass whatsoever.

So Palpatine commissions Vader and Tarkin to bring together a group of mercenaries to eliminate imperial targets and suppress local rebellions throughout the systems. They search the dregs of their jails as well as recruit other well known bounty hunters like Boba Fett, given the large amount of resources at their disposal along with Vader's connection to the Force, this doesn't take too long. Along with that, Vader also gets his hand on the droid IG-88, and reprograms him to act as a sort of sleeper cell, so that Vader can keep an eye on them even when he's not in the room. He also has the droid fitted with explosives that Vader could detonate should the squad get too unruly or if he senses that they are about to defect to the rebels. That twist however, wouldn't be revealed until later.

So now they have their crack team of mercenaries assembled, with Tarkin and Vader acting as the Mr. Church or the Amanda Waller of the group. After Vader and Tarkin have their team assembled, Palpatine gives them free reign to get the job done however they please, just as long as they deliver the heads of their targets. Of course, being that they are bounty hunters, convincing them to go along with it is not hard because their loyalty is to the highest bidder. As time progresses, Tarkin sees the true benefit of having a ragtag group of deadly bounty hunters at your call. However, he doesn't like having to report to Palpatine, especially because he knows the Emperor will force him to have them executed once he feels their usefulness has run its course. Jumping in front of this, Vader and Tarkin arrange to have their deaths faked on what is supposed to be their last job for the Empire. That would be the end of book/season 1.

Part 2 begins and we are still several years before A New Hope and Vader and Tarkin are still using their squad in a similar capacity as they were before. The only difference is that in addition to eliminating threats to the Empire, they are also using them to blackmail and assassinate political within the Empire. Perhaps at some point Tarkin learns that he is the runner up for the Death Star job, so he has the squad eliminate his competition and blames the Rebel Alliance for his murder, thereby securing his place on the death star and furthering the need for a super weapon since everybody believes the rebels are responsible.Now we are at the halfway mark of part 2, and Vader and Tarkin are put in charge of the death star. However, the rebels have just stolen data discs containing the death star plans and now they have disappeared. With Princess Lea in custody and Tarkin plotting their next move, Vader dispatches the squad to find the death star plans, since he again knows that using stormtroopers attracts too much attention. Boba Fett follows a lead on Tatooine (thus explaining his presence there with Jabba), while the others follow other leads to no avail.After discovering who has them, but failing to recover the plans, Vader and Tarkin begin to question if their squad's usefulness truly has run its course as the Emperor thought. Before Tarkin can make that decision, however, he is killed when the death star is blown up, leaving them solely in the hands of Darth Vader. 

Part 3 begins with Vader, still pissed at the loss of his friend and the death star, considers briefly having them disavowed and executed, but also realizes that he still needs them, and gives them one last chance to prove their worth. After the rebels are driven from their base on Yavin, Vader orders them to eliminate all the rebel leaders, except for Skywalker, and bring him any leads that they can on where Skywalker may be hiding, since the rebels have scattered and very few of them have gone to the same place. On top of that, none of the separate groups know where exactly the other ones are hiding, they just know the general systems for security's sake. Using the information that they gain from the rebel leaders they have found, interrogated, and executed, they are able to regain Vader's favor by telling him that the rebels lead by Skywalker would be in the systems surrounding Hoth. 

From there, I don't really know where to take the story. Obviously that scene in Empire Strikes Back has to play a part, and at some point, they realize that IG-88 has been programmed with a self-detination function, thus leading to them to decide their time together and with the Empire is done. They wash their hands of each other and disappear after Boba Fett captures Han Solo. Vader wants to hunt them all down so Boba Fett fakes his own death by setting himself up to fall in the sarlaac pit. The only piece of expanded universe that I care to acknowledge is that Boba Fett gets out of that pit because that is a lame ass way for such an awesome character to go.

Okay so what do you think? Keep in mind that I only thought of this yesterday while driving to and from school, which is why there are parts that are just glossed over and I am aware of a few plotholes, but that's why I'm putting it out there so that the real writers can take it themselves and turn it into something beautiful. Like I said if there already is a concept like this out there in the form of a comic or novel, let me know, I want to see it. And if it contradicts a piece of expanded lore that was in a book, and not in any of the movies, I really don't care. Like I said I take the expanded universe with a grain of salt.