Editor’s Note: Spoilers ahead for Daredevil: Born Again
Now thatDaredevil: Born Againhas pitted the serial killer Muse (Hunter Doohan) against the Man Without Fear, the only thing that felt missing from the series' take on the villain was, well, superpowers. Yes, that’s right, Muse has superpowers in the comics, which makes him a far more formidable opponent to Daredevil (Charlie Cox) thanBorn Againmay have you believe.
No doubt, the MCU’s Muse certainly gave the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen a run for his money, but his superpowers could have made the whole battle between them even more intense. Here’s what the Disney+ series missed out on by axing this aspect of the Marvel villain…
Muse’s Comic Book Superpowers Explained
First introduced in 2016’sDaredevil#11, Muse was first introduced as a graffiti artist doubling asa serial killer who uses the blood of hundreds to paint his murals. But unlike inDaredevil: Born Again, where his victims largely seem random, in the comics, Musespecifically targeted Inhumans, having killed six of them by the time Daredevil and the vigilante Blindspot caught up with him. In fact,he was deemed both “the Inhuman artist” and “the Inhuman serial killer”(specifically inDaredevil#598) at various times throughout his comic book appearances. But what’s Muse’s superpower? Well, it runs in direct contrast to Daredevil’s abilities, making him quite the threat to the Man Without Fear in a one-on-one fight.
Muse has a sort of imperceptibility to him that turns his body into a vortex, making it difficult for Daredevil to gain any sensory information on him. Additionally, the serial killer has enhanced strength and speed, and many have theorized that he is an Inhuman because of his victims (not to mention his unexplainable abilities). But it’s this vortex-like aspect to Muse that makes him incredibly dangerous to Daredevil,whose enhanced senses struggle to locate and target the killer.
While Daredevil has gone up against villains who have learned to fight in near-complete silence, and even opponents who slow their heart rates to a crawl, Muse’s powers differ in that they essentially eat the surrounding space, making it difficult for Daredevil to get a clear sense of where the serial killer will be next. No doubt, his incredible speed makes it challenging as well.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Should Have Utilized Muse’s Frightening Abilities
HadDaredevil: Born Againdecided to follow the comic book route by giving Muse superpowers,he would not simply have been one of Daredevil’s most horrific foes, butone of the MCU’s most dangerous villains, period. Putting Matt at a disadvantage would have made their initial fight in New York’s subway system, where Daredevil battles the killeras Angela del Toro’s(Camila Rodriguez) life is drained away, infinitely more dramatic, adding an extra layer of intensity and urgency. One may argue that Matt gets back into the Daredevil gamea bit too easily in “Excessive Force,“and so this unanticipated resistance could have pushed him past any lingering fears and into greater depths of heroism. Not to mention the fact that a battle of abilities between Daredevil and Muse, with each trying to use their unique power sets against the other, would have been far cooler.
In the next episode, Muse (who is revealed to be a young man named Bastian) kidnaps Matt’s girlfriend Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva). Frankly, it all seems lost, andconsidering Heather’s tragic comic book fate, many of us thought that she might be killed off by the villain here.Adding the extra layer of superpowers to this scene, as Matt fights with everything he’s got to avoid losing yet another loved one, would have been seriously compelling.
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Explores Matt and Kingpin’s Parallels, but the Netflix Show Already Did It Better With This Character
They could never improve on the original dynamic.
He could have learned from his previous encounter with the villain, only for Heather to still end up shooting him dead anyway.Born Againmay have even offered more of Heather’s perspective during this fight, as she sees Daredevil struggle to defeat the serial killer. There’s no denying that the only thing scarier than Muse as seen inBorn Againwould be a super-powered Muse, so it’s too bad that the series didn’t take him in that comics-accurate direction.
Now That Daredevil Is Firmly Settled in the MCU, He Needs More Super-Powered Baddies
AsDaredevil’s presence within the Marvel Cinematic Universecontinues to grow, he needs to start engaging in more MCU-related threats. This isnotto say that Matt needs to start battling Super Skrulls or star in the nextAvengersmovie. Far from it. But there is something to be said that the world of the MCU, especially as it continues to build into something bigger, is one of aliens, superpowers, magic, and monsters. Even the very first season ofthe original NetflixDaredevilseries referencedThe Avengerson several occasions, because it could not be ignored. The same should be true ofDaredevil: Born Again, especially as it moves into its second season.
Although Muse would have been a great jumping off point to start pushing more powered opponents into Daredevil’s life, perhapsBorn Againcan learn from, well,She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Please, don’t misunderstand,the tone ofShe-Hulkis way off from what any of us wantsDaredevilto be. More than that, the series itself isn’t anything to write home about, apart from the Daredevil appearances. But at the very end of the series, Matt is called in to help against the Hulkified villains that have gathered, and that feels pretty Marvel Comics to us.
Born Againcould have used Muse as a gateway to broaden Daredevil’s horizons as a New York-based vigilante in a world where the Big Apple was once ground zero for extra-terrestrial (and extradimensional) threats in a way thatShe-Hulknever could be. Instead, the series avoided adapting one of the most interesting things about the serial killer, and that’s a shame.
Daredevil: Born Again
