This Daredevil episode gave us the best martial arts

Daredevil: Reborn will finally hit theaters in March 2025 and reignite the rivalry between them Charlie CoxThe Man Without Fear and his nemesis Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio). Cox and D'Onofrio have hinted at this Reborn will contain several elements that make up the original Daredevil series a popular hit, including a darker tone, characters like Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) and the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and the bloody, bone-crushing violence that it unleashed Daredevil Stand out from other Marvel TV shows. But while fans may immediately think of the impressive single-take fight scenes that were a hallmark of Daredevil's Netflix days, The best fight actually occurs in the season 1 episode “Speak of the Devil.” particularly in how it highlights Matt Murdock's fighting skills and superhuman senses.

Through Daredevil In Season 1, Murdock becomes aware of Fisk's activities and works to uncover the secret behind the mysterious “Kingpin.” But a visit from his mentor Stick (Scott Glenn) reveals that Fisk is in league with Nobu Yoshioka (Peter Shinkoda), a high-ranking member of the Yakuza who also happens to be a member of the Hand death cult. Finally, in “Speak of the Devil”, Murdock and Nobu face off against each other, resulting in an intense battle a perfect representation of everything that matters Daredevil Great.

Daredevil's fight against Nobu is the first real challenge he's ever had

The fight between Daredevil and Nobu is unique because It's the first fight where Daredevil is actually on the losing side. Up to this point, he had managed to take on various criminals and win through a combination of martial arts and/or pure adrenaline (see the first iconic hallway scene). Nobu, on the other hand, competes with him blow for blow, even dodging some of Daredevil's punches and landing some pretty damaging blows. The fight takes a turn for the worse when Nobu brings out his Kyoketsu-Shoge, a blade attached to a chain. With this weapon, Nobu inflicts some horrific wounds on Daredevil and comes dangerously close to killing him. The Man Without Fear only escapes with his life when he tricks Nobu into setting himself on fire. But his victory is short-lived as Fisk comes in and almost beats him to death. No other episode tests Murdock like “Speak of the Devil,” and it was just a harbinger of what was to come.

“Speak of the Devil” too emphasizes the intensity of the fight between Nobu and Daredevil by suppressing all sound except for their breathing and the punches they landputting the reader completely in Daredevil's shoes. Previous episodes had used a similar trick to highlight the workings of Daredevil's enhanced senses, but this was the first time the viewer truly felt like they were stepping into the hero's shoes. It also shows how fearsome an opponent Nobu is, as he can move just as quietly. When superpowered senses and melee abilities don't give you an advantage over an opponent, it almost spells danger for you.

The fight between Daredevil and Nobu sets up major plot points in future Marvel Netflix shows

The fight between Daredevil and Nobu was not only visual but also really cool began to lay the foundation for future projectsespecially season 2 of Daredevil And The defenders. Nobu would be brought back to life in Season 2 of Daredevilwhere it was revealed that the Hand was involved in a war with a mysterious group called the Chaste. Stick also resurfaced and revealed that he and Murdock's former girlfriend Elektra Natchios (Elodie Yung) were members of the Chaste. The Hand is also shown to be able to resurrect its soldiers from the dead, making them formidable opponents. The Hand wants Elektra because she is the Black Sky, the warrior destined to lead it; During a final battle with Murdock, Elektra and the Hand, Nobu kills them. She will be revived later The defendersShe fully embraces her status as Black Sky. Murdock, with the help of Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and the immortal iron fist Danny Rand (Finn Jones) can stop Elektra, but she dies again and Murdock is presumed dead after a building falls on him.

But even though they were portrayed as a major threat, The hand never fully reached its potential. Part of this was the way the group was presented Iron Fist; Although there was evidence of resorting to murder and blackmail to achieve their goals, one splinter group apparently aimed to truly alleviate the ills of humanity through peaceful means. This was an important element that could have caused major conflict, but was never brought up again. Shinkoda also revealed the then head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb a planned plot for Nobu was scrapped and made some extremely racist comments:

“Jeph Loeb told the writers not to write for Nobu and Gao – and this has been repeated many times by many writers and showrunners – that no one cares about Chinese and Asians. “There have been three previous Marvel films, a trilogy.” called
blade
that was done somewhere
Wesley Snipes
kills 200 Asians in every movie. “Nobody cares, so don’t write about Nobu and Gao,” so they were forced to give up and drop their plot.”

Even setting aside the obviously false claim that Wesley Snipes faced the majority of Asian opponents in the Blade trilogy, Loeb's decision meant that a potentially compelling opponent for Daredevil was not given a chance to shine. Not only did Shinkoda show great fighting skills, but he also took the time to make Nobu a menacing character. Even Fisk, who has a proven track record of making people not say his name, seemed to recoil in his presence during this Daredevil Season 1. Daredevil: Reborn gives the world of Daredevil a second chance, so it should go all the way and bring Shinkoda back and remind viewers that he's one of the few people who could take on Daredevil in more ways than one.

A blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night. Matt Murdock fights crime in New York as Daredevil.

Release date

April 10, 2015

Creator

Drew Goddard

Seasons

3

Daredevil is available to stream on Disney+ in the US Daredevil: Reborn will premiere on Disney+ on March 4, 2025.

Watch on Disney+