--- description: In the Netflix show, Matt Murdock doles out vigilante justice title: How Netflix's "Daredevil" Fits Into the Greater Marvel Universe image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0a4bc17a0378255/6987ea63cd6848780709d713/marve_pds_010_h.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's How Netflix's _Daredevil_ Fits Into the Greater Marvel Universe  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Apr 10, 2015 3:00 PM CUT  Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in the Netflix Original Series “Marvel’s Daredevil” Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in the Netflix Original Series “Marvel’s Daredevil”© 2014 Netflix, Inc. All rights reserved.  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Apr 10, 2015 3:00 PM CUT _This article contains spoilers._ [_Click here_](void%280%29 "undefined") _to reveal them._ The Marvel universe has expanded from the big screen to small screens, and now, finally, to our laptops: Marvel Studios will premiere _Daredevil_, its first of several Netflix shows, on Friday. Because Marvel—like one of its fictional masterminds—seems to have a plan to take over the world, _Daredevil_ ties neatly into both the Marvel cinematic universe and the other Netflix shows to come. First some background on our hero Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, for those who haven’t read the comics and skipped the atrocious Ben Affleck film in 2003\. Murdock (played by Charlie Cox on the show) was blinded in an accident as a child. Though he doesn’t have true superpowers per se, his other senses were heightened by the incident—so heightened, in fact, that he can hear bad guys breathing three floors below, anticipate a gunshot and track people for blocks by their smell. For reasons that aren’t immediately clear in the first few episodes, Murdock plays lawyer by day and hero by night, doling out vigilante justice to those who escape his grasp in the court of law. Murdock does his crime-fighting in Hell’s Kitchen, a _very_ specific neighborhood in New York City that locals know more for its trendy restaurants than its crime syndicates. But suspend your disbelief, because location is important. Hell’s Kitchen, as those who were paying attention during _The Avengers_ will remember, was destroyed when Thor, Iron Man and the rest of the team had to battle off aliens invading through a wormhole created by Thor’s evil adopted brother, Loki. It turns out the Avengers are really good at destroying buildings, but not so great at rebuilding them—in _Daredevil_, crime bosses have stepped in to profit from the city’s devastation. They launder money through corporations involved in rebuilding Hell’s Kitchen while conducting shady practices, like drug dealing and human trafficking, at the neighborhood docks. Characters refer vaguely to the _Avengers_ battle all the time on the show. Murdock and his legal partner, who both grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, buy office space there after graduating from Columbia University because the prices are dirt cheap. Evildoers rationalize that every time Thor swings his hammer, there’s a profit to be made. And big bads often yell at their minions when they can’t stop Daredevil because, after all, it’s not like he even has an Iron Man suit. Eventually, Murdock will team up with Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage to create The Defenders—all of whom will get their own 13-part Netflix series, just like Daredevil. (See: Marvel taking over the world, above.) These will all be so-called “street level” shows: If the Avengers are saving the universe, the Defenders are saving the neighborhood. But don’t expect _Daredevil_ and the other Netflix shows to just be _Avengers_ spin-offs. _Daredevil_ is much darker and more violent than anything Marvel has shown on the big screen. One man commits suicide by stabbing his own head through a spike. As _Daredevil_ star Rosario Dawson [explained to TIME earlier this week](http://time.com/3774475/rosario-dawson-netflix-daredevil/ "undefined"), the show is really more of a crime drama or legal procedural than it is a superhero story. But to keep up with the _entire_ Marvel universe, you’re going to have to watch _both_ types of stories. **MORE:** [Rosario Dawson on Being a Hero, Not a Love Interest, in Netflix’s _Daredevil_](http://time.com/3774475/rosario-dawson-netflix-daredevil/ "undefined") ### See All the Avengers: Age of Ultron Character Posters  Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man Marvel/Disney  Chris Evans as Captain America Marvel/Disney  Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk Marvel/Disney  Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow Marvel/Disney  Chris Hemsworth as Thor Marvel/Disney  Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye Marvel/Disney  Paul Bettany as Vision Marvel/Disney  Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury Marvel/Disney  Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch Marvel/Disney  Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver Marvel/Disney  James Spader as the voice of Ultron Marvel/Disney ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3815524/daredevil-netflix-marvel-universe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3815524/daredevil-netflix-marvel-universe/"},"headline":"Here's How Netflix's Daredevil Fits Into the Greater Marvel Universe","datePublished":"2015-04-10T15:00:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:37.401Z","description":"In the Netflix show, Matt Murdock doles out vigilante justice","url":"https://time.com/3815524/daredevil-netflix-marvel-universe/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0a4bc17a0378255/6987ea63cd6848780709d713/marve_pds_010_h.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0a4bc17a0378255/6987ea63cd6848780709d713/marve_pds_010_h.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"MARVEL'S DAREDEVIL","caption":"MARVEL'S DAREDEVIL","creditText":"© 2014 Netflix, Inc. 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