Summary
- Muse is a menacing serial killer villain in Daredevil with an accurate comic book costume.
- The MCU version of Muse remains mute, adding to his mystery and making him scarier.
- Daredevil: Born Again keeps Muse powerless, maintaining a grounded and realistic tone for the show.
Daredevil: Born Again has teased Muse from the very first episode. The graffiti artist has been terrorizing several influential people with his art in New York, and while he was initially perceived as any other street artist, the masked man turned out to be a serial killer.
Muse is definitely the most gruesome villain to be featured in the Daredevil series — he is a sadistic individual who likes to paint with the blood of his victims. Using this Marvel villain to revive the Daredevil series is a brilliant decision in itself. However, the true stroke of brilliance is how the writers tweaked the overall personality of the Marvel character to fit him into the universe of Daredevil: Born Again.
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Muse Does Talk In Comics, Unlike The MCU Version Of The Character
The Mute Muse Is Exactly What We Needed In Daredevil: Born Again
Muse became a significant character in Marvel Comics after appearing in Daredevil (Vol. 5) #11 in 2016. He is a serial killer who likes to paint the walls of New York using the blood of his victims. Muse's obsession with such a kind of art becomes the reason for the disappearance of over a hundred people in the comics. So, Muse's introduction in the TV show is very similar to how he appeared in the comics. The TV show also does justice to the character by giving him a comic-book-accurate costume, which, for sure, looks incredible on television. That being said, the Marvel Cinematic Universe does make some changes to Muse to make the character fit well in Daredevil: Born Again's dark universe.
While Muse isn't exactly a talkative character in Marvel Comics, he still speaks when the situation demands. The villain agrees with the "action speaks louder than words" policy, but he does unleash some cheeky or philosophical remarks to taunt his enemies. In fact, in the comics, Muse doesn't go silently in his final moments and says, "so much beauty left." You could say that while Muse wasn't an extremely talkative character in the comics, he still filled some gaps with interesting dialogue. The MCU, however, decided to make Muse mute, which, honestly, is a bold and better fit for Daredevil: Born Again.
"You're a real man of the people now" - Matt Murdock to Wilson Fisk.
Daredevil: Born Again treads on the eerie and darker side of New York, and a mute Muse goes incredibly well with the show's overall theme. Firstly, keeping the character mute adds to the mystery around his real identity. For now, the show has done an incredible job of confusing the fans with Muse's identity, and honestly, that wouldn't have been possible if Muse were given some dialogue.
A serial killer who doesn't speak is even harder to track for Matt Murdock, who uses his heightened senses to track down people. Daredevil will have to rely on heartbeats, breathing, or drops of blood to track down this sadistic killer or figure out who exactly he is behind the mask. That's the kind of challenge Matt needed to pick up his costume after a long break.
Muse is a menacing villain in Marvel Comics, but for some reason, the mute version of him in the MCU is even scarier. He doesn't have to utter a single word to flaunt the demons residing within him; instead, he unleashes those demons into the world through all the brutal killings and, of course, his art.
Daredevil: Born Again Doesn't Make Muse A Superhuman
A Powerless Villain Helps The Show Stay Grounded
In Marvel Comics, Muse has superhuman strength and speed. He is an expert combatant who can also stay undetected by absorbing all the sensory information around him. Daredevil wasn't exactly fighting a regular human wearing a strange, bloodied, white mask in the comics. But surprisingly, the MCU version of Muse doesn't hold such superpowers — he is a regular human wearing a strange, bloodied white mask. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though.
The MCU has more than enough TV shows and movies playing at a cosmic level, so it's a good thing that the studio refrained from painting Daredevil: Born Again with the same brush. Fans loved Netflix's Daredevil for its grounded and brutal setting, and they were hoping that the MCU wouldn't give the show a Disney makeover.
Fans wanted a street-level story with grounded and realistic action, and fortunately, a powerless Muse helps the show achieve just that. That's not to say that Matt couldn't handle an enemy with superpowers, but keeping the battles on a human level gives fans the best version of Daredevil.
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Similarly, Wilson Fisk is playing a political game to grow in power. He isn't a superhuman who can make New York bow down to him due to his powers; instead, he is a cunning individual who manipulates others to get their hands dirty for him. So, in a puzzling world where Matt Murdock, Frank Castle, and Wilson Fisk have only dealt with enemies on a human level, a "superhuman Muse" wouldn't have been a great fit. Muse's superpowers could have changed the power dynamic in the story, which wouldn't have landed well with Daredevil: Born Again fans.
Daredevil: Born Again
- Release Date
- March 4, 2025
- Network
- Disney+
- Showrunner
- Chris Ord
- Directors
- Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
- Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree
- Franchise(s)
- Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Cast
-
Charlie CoxMatt Murdock / Daredevil -
Vincent D'OnofrioWilson Fisk
WHERE TO WATCH
After Charlie Cox's cameo appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home and supporting role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Daredevil: Born Again gives Matt Murdock his first show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil: Born Again continues the story that started in Netflix's three-season Daredevil series and sees Wilson Fisk ascend to mayor of New York City.
- Main Genre
- Adventure
- Story By
- chris ord
- Number of Episodes
- 9
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+
