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Phil Urich in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
The ne’er-do-well Phil Urich is one of my all-time favorite comic book characters, and there’s a very real chance that he now exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to the TV show Daredevil. For a geek like me, this is pretty exciting news — but it might only exist in my head. I don’t have any proof, this is just an elaborate fan theory.
But who doesn’t love fan theories?
My childhood hero, ladies and gentlemen
Due to the SPOILERS nature of my theory, I’m going to save the bulk of my evidence for after the jump. Some people haven’t watched the whole season yet, and they need to be protected from this mind-blowing news. Just know that Ben Urich is a main character in Daredevil, played by Vondie Curtis-Hall. And in the comics, Ben has a nephew named Phil, who sometimes works with him at the newspaper.
Phil started out as a superhero in the 90s, taking on the identity of the Green Goblin for a short-lived series (that just so happened to serve as my gateway into comic book fandom). But most recently, Phil has been a bad guy, jumping through various goblin identities, like Hobgoblin, Goblin Knight and, most recently, the Goblin King.
I doubt we’ll ever get to see any of these identities in the movies or TV show, but now that Spider-Man is back in Marvel’s loving arms, you never know…
Anyway, join me after the jump to see my evidence that Phil Urich is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe! And again, watch out for SPOILERS for Daredevil!
6 Thoughts on the First Season of Daredevil
Like most comic book geeks, I binge-watched the new Daredevil TV show on Netflix this past weekend and loved it. The action, the acting, the storytelling, the superheroics all came together for an amazing show, just like we all hoped it would be. And Daredevil is just the beginning of Marvel’s foray into prestige television, with several more Netflix shows lined up. I couldn’t be happier that Marvel is doing for TV what they did for movies.
And, I suppose, what they did for comics…
In lieu of an episode-by-episode review or anything more substantial, I’ve decided to devote this week’s List of Six to my thoughts on the season. I’ve been doing similar lists for the other superhero TV shows, with Arrow, Flash and Agents of SHIELD coming later this spring.
So join me after the jump for my rambling, ramshackle review of the first season of Daredevil! I will try to keep SPOILERS to a minimum, but no promises.
The Greatest Marvel Easter Egg of All Time is in Plain Sight in the Final Episode of Daredevil
I just finished marathoning the new Daredevil TV show and, while it was an amazing show, there is one thing in particular that I am still freaking out about. I’m writing this blog post at 2 a.m. because I just can’t wait until the morning to write this. I saw this Easter Egg with my own eyes and it almost threw me off the entire final episode. It’s right there, in plain sight; they weren’t even trying to hide it – and I love them even more for that.
Of course, I’m not going to spoil it for everyone without a little warning first.
He’s smirking because he saw it too
So take a moment. Make sure you’re sitting down. In fact, make sure you watch all 13 episodes of Daredevil first, because you don’t want to ruin the surprise for yourself. Seriously, it was a great show, from beginning to end, and I’ll have a deeper, better review next week. But this one Easter Egg, this tiny, insignificant bit of Marvel trivia, has elevated my entire life to new heights. This has to be seen to be believed.
Join me after the jump for the greatest Marvel Easter Egg of all time, from the final episode of Daredevil.
Red Daredevil Suit Revealed!
Our first official look at the classic, red Daredevil costume came today, on the even of the TV show premiere! You can check it out in the quick video below!
It’s just a bust shot, from the chest up, but it still looks pretty awesome! I’m definitely a fan. I like the gritty, realistic look. Ever since The Ultimates, I’ve been a big fan of superhero costumes that show all the bells, whistles, buttons and realistic elements. Keep the spandex to yourselves, comic books!
I’m definitely digging the mask and I can’t wait to see the costume in action! Hopefully Daredevil actually gets to wear the suit in the show and they don’t pull a Smallville on us.
What are your thoughts on the suit? Let me know in the comments!
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The One Thing That Always Bugged Me About the Daredevil Movie…
With a certain awesome TV show debuting tomorrow, the Internet is going crazy for Daredevil stuff. I myself had a one-two Daredevil punch yesterday. Well the fine folks at Screen Junkies have whipped together an Honest Trailer for the original Daredevil movie! I believe I’ve gone on record before that I like that movie, and I stand by that assessment. But hopefully the TV show will just rock all of our socks.
As for the one thing that’s always bugged me about the Daredevil movie, that would be the opening courtroom scene, where Matt Murdock is questioning that rapist on the stand. Matt loses the case and the guy goes free, despite clearly being guilty. And then Daredevil goes after him and throws the guy onto the train tracks to get run over by a subway.
My problem is this: what exactly is Matt Murdock’s role in that trial?
This is one that even the Screen Junkies missed.
The rapist is the one on trial, and there are references made to the guy getting ‘acquitted’ and being allowed to go free, so it definitely sounds like this is a criminal trial. And the scene clearly makes reference to Matt Murdock representing the rape victim. She’s sitting with him at his table.
But that’s not how the criminal justice system works! On any level!
When a criminal goes to court, there are two attorneys: the defense attorney, who represents the defendant, and the district attorney, who represents the government. NOBODY represents the victim in a criminal trial. Victims can hire an attorney if they want, to protect their interests, but that attorney does not participate in the trial.
District attorneys and defense attorneys do not inter-mingle. District attorneys are always district attorneys, and defense attorneys are always defense attorneys. In fact, a district attorney is an elected position. He or she is elected by the people to prosecute criminals.
So a private defense attorney, like Matt Murdock, is not randomly going to be assigned to prosecute a rapist.
The only way this trial scene makes sense is if this was a civil trial, and the rape victim was suing the rapist…except there are several clues that point towards this being a criminal trial. Like I said earlier, there are references to the rapist getting ‘acquitted’ and being allowed to go free. You don’t get ‘acquitted’ in a civil trial, and you’re most likely already free if you’re being sued in a civil trial.
I’d say that was a pretty big screw-up. I hope somebody got fired for it!
Also, if you’re interested, Cinema Sins tackled Daredevil a few years ago! They also missed the obvious sin of that trail scene.
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Henchman-4-Hire 