Man, Marvel is on a roll these days. Season two of just dropped a few weeks ago, and Marvel is already trotting out the teaser trailer for third season. It’s clear Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock is in for a dark descent, psychologically, along with the regular beatings that leave him bloodied but unbowed.
(Mild spoilers for first two seasons below)
S1 is among my favorite stories in the universe, second only to S1, in large part because Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin, played to perfection by Vincent D’Onofrio) was such an incredibly complex and even occasionally sympathetic villain. Strong villains are key to these series’ success, and season two suffered a bit because of Fisk’s absence (apart from a brief prison appearance), focusing instead on introducing the Chinese crime syndicate the Hand in preparation for their role as the Big Bad in the first series. But a vast syndicate isn’t nearly as compelling as a violent psychopath with exquisite taste who also longs for love.
There are hints we could see Fisk’s return in the new trailer. Mostly, we see a bleeding (as usual) Matt Murdock under the stark light of a single bulb, delivering an ominous voice over. He’s always been the idealistic lawyer and reluctant vigilante, the one who advocated for mercy when Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), aka the Punisher, went on a murderous spree in S2—although Elektra (Elodie Yung), his former flame turned Ninja assassin, brought out his dark side. He fought it then, but it now seems that dark side is about to be unleashed.
“You can find a way to suffocate evil, put it behind bars,” he growls. “But it will find a way to come back even stronger.” He concludes that there’s only one way to end true evil once and for all: “Let the devil out.” Is he referring to Fisk, or his own dark instincts? Perhaps both. We’ll have to wait until S3 hits Netflix on October 19 to find out.
