Daredevil and Spider-Man Wouldn’t Get On in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Kim Taylor-Foster
TV Movies
TV Movies Streaming Marvel MCU

Although Daredevil and Spider-Man have teamed up on more than a handful of occasions in the comic books, we haven’t seen them meet yet in the MCU. And while Marvel’s TV and movie universes are kept largely separate, they are connected — which leaves the opportunity for crossovers wide open. Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson has been known to travel between the two: the Agents of SHIELD regular is due to make his next big screen appearance in 2019’s Captain Marvel (though, granted, it’s thanks to the fact that the movie makes a time jump back to the mid-’90s). Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury also crosses the divide. But could Daredevil be about to make his big screen debut?

Rumours are that the meet-up will happen in the upcoming Homecoming sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home — which, according to Sony boss Amy Pascal, “will start a few minutes after Avengers 4 wraps as a story.” But we could even see Daredevil pop up during Avengers 4, potentially, as the Avengers and their superhero allies might look to assemble an even bigger team to undo Thanos’s devastating deed, ushering in the Defenders to help. While it’s unlikely we’ll see Spidey in Daredevil Season 3, the series could set up Matt Murdock’s transition to the big screen and an interaction with the webslinger.

Charlie Cox, who plays Daredevil in the Marvel series, has said he’d like to “do something” with Spider-Man in the future. However, while in the comic books, Daredevil and Spidey have something of a big brother/little brother relationship, it’s difficult to see how the Matt Murdock we know from the Daredevil TV series could ever get on with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Here’s why.

Murdock is Grumpy AF

Right now, Matt Murdock is dour, and deadly serious. He’s been through the mill, believing the love of his life, Elektra, is dead, and having survived – just – a building collapsing on top of him. In short, he’s at rock bottom. Daredevil Season 3 catches up with Matt immediately after the events of The Defenders and we meet him again recuperating with nuns – including a certain Sister Maggie, which could have a bunch of ramifications for Matt. It certainly sets in motion a crisis of faith. He’s always carried Catholic guilt but Season 3 sees Murdock really questioning what he believes, as well as his own purpose and identity. There is no way on earth he’d put up with a sparky Spidey knocking around. A young whippersnapper blown away by everything? There’s no place in Daredevil’s tortured R-rated world for an effervescent PG high-schooler.

He’s a Loner

Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil.

Going into Season 3, Matt is more a loner than ever before. Having only kept a few trusted people close, he’s now cutting himself off from his friends and loved ones. Peter Parker is the opposite: loving company, loving his friends, loving – hero-worshipping, even – his fellow superheroes. OK, he hasn’t yet really suffered and notched up the life experience Murdock has but the fizzy, wide-eyed Parker is in awe of everything. While Murdock, on the other hand — especially right now — is world-weary. He wouldn’t have it in him to entertain Peter Parker, despite being no stranger to a team-up. And though Marvel’s The Defenders – in which he struggled to get on with the rest of the team initially — did open Murdock up to the idea of accepting help, Season 3 sees him retreat right back into himself.

Daredevil and Spider-Man Are At Different Stages In Their Superhero Careers

Matt has always been about saving people, helping those that can’t help themselves. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is yet to fully reach that stage – particularly at the moment in time that Daredevil Season 3 picks up, before Thanos’s earth-shattering snap. While Murdock is happy to go about his work with just a scarf over his eyes in lieu of his suit, Parker still cares about whether his Spidey suit looks cool – and is still trying to prove himself. The two are simply at different stages, with Parker’s being a perky, upbeat one that frequently rubs Tony Stark up the wrong way, and Murdock’s being one that seems to be transitioning from a ‘thou shall not kill’ mindset to one where killing might be an option.

Their Life Experiences Are Poles Apart

Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk is just one of the many extra-heinous presences in Matt Murdock's life.

Following on from the notion that their careers are at different stages, it makes sense that they’d bristle because of Parker’s dearth of horrible life experiences (parents’ death notwithstanding) and Murdock’s tragic wealth of them.

In the films, Peter Parker is annoying. He’s a kid, over-enthusiastic, reckless and thinks he knows best. He really grinds Tony Stark’s gears at times. He’s breezy – but not especially quippy or funny, just irritating. Kind of sweet. But mostly irritating. In Homecoming, he demonstrates that he believes he knows better than Tony Stark and decides to run before he can walk, sending himself off on a mission to fell Vulture that lands him in a heap of trouble. Infuriating. And, of course, this would be magnified tenfold through the eyes of a man who’s seen what Matt Murdock has seen. Murdock has been embroiled in some really dark stuff throughout his series – human trafficking, the reprehensible actions of The Hand and hardcore gangster dealings. Not to mention getting sucked into facing off against criminal mastermind and deranged psychokiller, Wilson Fisk.

One Way To Make It Work

Mapone
Mapone Romanova thrashing everyone at pool.

With Daredevil Season 3 exploring Matt Murdock’s inability to be both Murdock and Daredevil, it offers the perfect opportunity for Murdock to prepare to hand over the mantle. The series’ new villain, Bullseye, whose origin story we learn, wears Daredevil’s costume this time around – paving the way for a handover further down the line. This is where the Daredevil/Spider-Man comic book relationship comes in.

In the comics, Murdock trains up a young protegé named Tim to take over from him in the role of Daredevil. Tim is the adopted son of Ben Urich. He also happens to be best friend to Peter Parker. So, in the MCU, could Murdock show up to train a youngster who’s a friend of Spidey’s perhaps? Whether it’s Tim or someone else. In the comics, Tim meets a young, blind, red-headed, pool-sharp woman in a bar one day called Mapone Romanova, who turns out to be the daughter of Matt Murdock and Natasha Romanova aka Black Widow. This could really shove a stick of dynamite up the MCU, introducing a backstory in which Murdock and Scarlett Johansson’s Romanoff were lovers. More interestingly, Mapone is apparently the reincarnation of Stick, Murdock’s former mentor.

Daredevil Season 3 hits screens on October 19.

Kim Taylor-Foster
Kim Taylor-Foster is Entertainment Editor for Fandom in the UK. She was raised on an unsteady diet of video nasties and violent action flicks.