Spider-Man: No Way Home has been the talk of the town ever since it dropped into theaters back in December. The third entry in the Tom Holland saga is the highest-grossing Spider-Man film of all time, and that’s due to the strong inclusion from past generations of heroes and villains of the live-action series. However, when you hear people talk about the film, it’s about how awesome Green Goblin was, or the exciting visual of seeing all three generations of Spider-Men working together. Or even the shocking death of Aunt May. There are plenty of great moments to choose from, but rarely though is there much talk about the official arrival of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil. To many, his cameo wasn’t too much of a surprise, like Andrew Garfield, Charlie Cox denied being a part of Spider-Man: No Way Home, but there were too many clues and (some leaks) that pointed otherwise.
However, despite the active denial from Andrew Garfield, everyone on planet earth knew that he was in Spider-Man: No Way Home. While there are some qualms about the lame, but funny entrance of Garfield’s, audiences still ate up his introduction. The main reason that Matt Murdock’s cameo isn’t really talked about much is that he doesn’t stand out. The good news? It confirmed that Charlie Cox was making his return to the popular franchise as the actor is simply perfect as the title character. However, Matt Murdock was in the middle of an extremely crowded film. It was hard for him to stand out when the likes of Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and the first and second-generation Spider-Man were set for the movie. Murdock needed to do something other than being Peter’s lawyer. When you really sit down and think about it, the cameo was weak. It’s been confirmed that Matt Murdock/Daredevil is in the MCU, but where the hell was Daredevil when the world was in chaos? It has you scratching your head over the purpose of Matt Murdock’s appearance. It was a moment that told fans that he was a part of the Marvel universe, nothing more.
That was a mistake. Spider-Man: No Way Home is an extremely crowded film so it’s understandable that they couldn’t exactly add another character into the madness of the multiverse storyline. In fact, The Lizard/Dr. Curt Connors and Flint Marko/Sandman are considered to be the weakest villains in the latest Spidey flick because the movie didn’t particularly have much time to focus on the two villains. However, this is Matt Murdock’s first official Disney MCU appearance. If there weren’t never any plans to do anything significant then he shouldn’t have been in the film overall. His debut should’ve really packed a punch. Daredevil should’ve been in the middle of that final fight. Again, it was odd that Matt Murdock was introduced, but he was nowhere in sight following that brief scene. At the very least, they could’ve addressed this issue by having Murdock kidnapped by one of the villains. The reason why Black Panther and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man stood out so well in Captain America: Civil War is due to the fact that the script gives them something to do that allows for their personalities to shine both in and off the battlefield.
This is a situation like X-Men: First Class where Charles and Erik try to talk to Logan, but all they get is a “f**k off”. That moment perfectly establishes that Wolverine is indeed in the X-Men universe, but you understand why he never shows up for big fights in First Class and Apocalypse. He’s dealing with his own problems and had no interest in being in the X-Men at the time. If the filmmakers found a clever way of incorporating Matt Murdock into the film that both told audiences that he’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he couldn’t be involved in the war in New York City then his cameo would’ve added value to the film. It’s not the fact that he’s not in action that makes his cameo weak, it’s that it kind of ruins his heroism by not lending a hand in the final battle. Maybe he was out of town? Co-writer Erik Sommers explains why we never see Daredevil on The Q&A With Jeff Goldsmith, basically stating that he didn’t want the spotlight off of Peter Parker. And that’s the way it should be because at the end of the day, this is Peter Parker’s story, not Matt Murdock’s, but Daredevil joining the big fight in the end wouldn’t have suddenly made him the protagonist. The story beats of No Way Home could’ve remained the same with the inclusion of Daredevil. Nevertheless, the bright side is that Daredevil will make his MCU return with solo adventures. His entry may have been a disappointment, but we’ll surely forget about it once he starts dawning the Daredevil suit.Green Goblin
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