Daredevil

I was a big fan of Daredevil growing up. Jama had the Marked for Death trade when I was a kid. She kept it in the closet with all of her other comics.

Decades later I still have pages engraved into memory. I idolized heroes. I wanted to be a hero. Daredevil was more heroic to me, because he wasn't a superman. 

Of course, I'm talking about this because Netflix did a Daredevil reboot. I watched the first couple of episodes with Carrie. It's dark, but well done. I would have gone ape over it as a teenager.

It's different now.

At one point (I won't say when), Daredevil fights to rescue a kidnapped child. He's hurt badly, but he fights through the pain and pushes on for the boy. The odds are stacked. He shows no fear. Daredevil grits his teeth and goes and does what needs to be done when no one else would do it. He beats the crap out of a lot of bad guys,

It's all the things I idolized and wanted to be as a kid: strong, tough, and without fear. He risked it all, but walked away, victorious. Respected. A hero.

Now, I can't help but compare it to Jesus. Daredevil was a hero. He saved a little boy. He was strong and survived; Things the world values.

Jesus chose not to fight back and died. Not something the world would value. He took everything thrown and him and suffered and for who? He died for the same people who killed him as they mocked him. You and I are among them. "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7-8)"

Only Jesus picked up his life again when he was done. There's hope and life in that.

So, it's ironic I found myself thinking about that as Daredevil punched and kicked in faces. I prefer clever in my old age. If Daredevil walked around the corner, smiled, and turned off the lights I would have laughed out loud (they were in a basement!).

The kidnapped boy and some of the dark bits hit me harder than when I was a younger, too. Back then, they were foils for how awesome the rescue/hero would be. Now, they were more real. I was more glory-hungry as a teenager, too. I wanted to be that hero: strong and willing to give it all but never having to. 

I'll eventually watch episode three. I watch with Carrie, and I won't get to see her again until the weekend. Who knows about beyond that. We each pick up on different things. The cinematography in the fight I mention wowed her. It was one long progression in a single take with moving camera angles. It's a safe bet she'll be willing to continue to watch it with me. Carrie already binge-watched the whole series!