If I squint and imagine his hair as red...I still don't see it. (image from imdb.com)

So it has been announced. Charlie (or Chazz, as I know him) Cox will be playing the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil. And my reaction is…relatively non-existent.

To tease it out a bit, I’m glad he’s a relative unknown, I’m disappointed he does not superficially look the part. I haven’t seen him in anything that I’m aware so I do not feel comfortable commenting on his chops.

There. That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.

But it would be a shame to let this moment pass, wouldn’t it? So let’s hustle on to the next bit of idle speculation: the villains. Or rather, who I’d love to see show up. No casting, just me telling you, essentially, “hey, this guy’d be neat.”

Because despite what the people at Cracked might tell you, DD has some interesting villains to offer. So say I and you’d better believe it! Moreover, they don't begin and end with Kingpin, Bullseye, and Elektra. Thus, I invite you through my random musings on the bountiful variety of baddies in his canon.

(image derived from Marcos Martin variant cover to DAREDEVIL #1)

The Villains That Would be Fun But Are Absolutely Never Going to Happen and Why

Trump- Carlton Sanders is a children’s show host gone bad. He employs his professional skills as a magician, including sleight of hand, trick gloves, capes, and canes, and a host of magician themed weapons (dangerous decks of cards, suffocating scarves, etc) to commit crimes. Mostly a low-level guy, his first appearance saw him attempting to steal a shipment of guns and thwarted by Daredevil. He’s showed up one or two times since, but, again, was easily beaten by other Marvel heroes.

Why I Like Him- He has an interesting hook as a children’s show host and a low rent super villain all at once. His gimmicks could play on-screen pretty well with little financial investment. He could add a nice bit of color to the world of the series without overwhelming its (purported) street-level storytelling.

Why Not- Minimal appearances means almost zero recognition even amongst comic fans, sort of goofy.

Trixter- He’s a nameless stuntman with a chaos field creating belt dressed as an angel with a ram’s head. He seems to have a death wish. He’s only showed up once ever. I think he’s pretty damn great.

Why I Like Him- He’s just so odd. He’s broken, disconnected, and aching to be part of society, but he can only think to dress up like an angel and walk a tightrope high above New York City to get what he wants. A chaos field belt is a great “what does that mean” weapon that a talented director could have a lot of fun depicting on-screen. It also would allow DD to demonstrate his compassionate side not just his “bust you in the mouth” side.

Why Not- His entire description? Also, might be a villain so much as mentally ill.

Trixster in Angel garb (image from themattmurdockchronicles.blogspot.com)

The Nameless One- A zombie—in the voodoo tradition of the word—he’s chalk white with red markings. He’s also devoid of any personal agency, doing only as he ordered by whoever created him. Daredevil himself even spent some time as Nameless under the sway of Calypso.

Why I Like Him- The visual is intense with the truly white human being. And his inclusion is a way to nod to the fantastic-ness of the Marvel Universe without overwhelming the show.

Why Not- Zombies, even of the voodoo variety, are totally played out.

The Nameless One and Matt as the Nameless One (images from marvel.wikia.com and themattmurdockchronicles.blogspot,com, respectively)

Stilt-Man- Literally a man or woman in an exoskeleton on (incredibly tall) metal stilts. Typically Stilt-Men of either gender are pretty much just thieves with height. The image of Daredevil attempting to topple a Stilt-Man is always pretty great, a figure in red swinging between giant silver legs, all set against the New York skyline.

Why I Like Them- There’s something great about someone who has an incredibly impressive and technologically advanced item but only has the imagination to use it to commit grand larceny. Also, again, that image of DD dwarfed by any of the Stilt-Men and climbing up the legs is eye-catching.

Why Not- I’m sure ol’ Stilt plays kind of lame outside comics circles. Also, for a TV budget, Stilt-Man could be a pretty big cash suck.

Mister Fear- A title shared by four men who rocked, essentially, the same look and powers. All of them utilized a “flight pheromone” to induce fear in others. Unlike, say, the Batman villain Scarecrow who’s chemical induces hallucinations leading to fear, Fear’s induces fear which can sometimes lead to hallucinations as a side effect.

Why I Like Them- I’m a sucker for a skull-faced costume. The idea of pitting the Man without Fear against someone who calls himself Mister Fear is pretty delicious.

Why Not- That small difference between Scarecrow and Mister Fear is very small indeed and Scarecrow was just featured in three cinematic efforts in the past decade.

See you soon for my dark horse villain candidates. These baddies I think could, maybe, make the cut. But probably won't.