With Charlie Cox just recently announced as being Daredevil/Matt Murdock in the DAREDEVIL Netflix series, it would be a shame to let the moment pass without somehow taking advantage. So let’s hustle on to the next bit of idle speculation: the villains. No casting, just me going over the characters.

Last time out I talked the villains I have who I know did not have a ghost of a chance. This time, let’s look at the dark horses who might surprise.

The Villains That Have An Outside Chance

Bruiser- A henchmen for hire par excellent, Bruiser wears the patches of the various criminal organizations who employ him like sponsors on a NASCAR car. He also prides himself on his victories, keeping a running tally of the number and the names of the losers he has battered. In comics, he made Daredevil eat his proverbial lunch through his ability to shift his center of gravity at will.

Why Might He Be Used?- Easy costume to translate to the screen without worrying about it looking silly or cheap (see: Deathlok in AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.) and a power set that does not require much by way of special effects. His patches would also allow the show to introduce, tease, or call back to various Marvel Universe criminal organizations and the Marvel films and shows love that kind of world building.

Why He Probably Won’t?- The reason his power set is easy to avoid spending money on is that it is pretty much invisible. So cheap but also no visual pop. He also lacks a lot of name recognition, having appeared in only one arc and a fairly recent one at that so the writers, producers, etc will have to be doing a pretty deep dive to find him.

Gladiator- Melvin Potter suffers from a delusional disorder that manifests itself in violent persona that believes himself to be a Roman gladiator out to prove his worthiness through acts of physical brutality and cruelty. When not ill, however, he’s kind and a talented tailor.

Why He Might Be Used?- Even if you ditch the yellow and blue color scheme (which you probably should), Gladiator’s costume is striking. Done right, he can look like a walking nightmare machine, huge and covered with whirring blades with an unreadable face plate that resembles a skull by way of FRIDAY THE 13TH’s Jason.

The addition of the struggle between being the man he is versus the man his illness makes him act as though he is could be a hook and allow for some shades of grey for Daredevil to demonstrate his compassion within.

Why He Probably Won’t Be?- The mental illness depiction is a tough needle to thread and, as someone who does therapy for a living, I would hope they wouldn’t take it on unless they were absolutely sure they could do it right.

Ikari- A sort of opposite number of Daredevil, this red adorned ninja has all of Hornhead’s gifts without its biggest drawback. Ikari is one of the few villains that DD has encountered that is not just a physical threat to him, but actually made Murdock truly scared of what he could do to him.

Why Might He Be Used?- The opposite number thing is always a nice selling point and one that practically writes its own narrative. He has a great look and a competent fight choreographer could have a great time with he and DD working each other over. In comics, Ikari has a simple line, “Try the red one,” that is so bone chilling in the way and the moment it is delivered that I can’t imagine it not also killing on-screen.

Why He Probably Won’t Be?- As with Bruiser, he’s new and only has one appearance. Also, if you want to go about establishing your character’s cool and uniqueness, you probably don’t want to put him up against his evil semi-twin right away.

Jester- Jonathan Powers was a hungry actor given his big break only to have it blow up in his face when he was savaged by critics. Banished to the world of children’s theatre as little more than an object of ridicule to be embarrassed and abused, he cracks and becomes the Jester. Now a deadly version of the figure he was forced to be, Powers is unafraid to use his outlandish costumes and gimmick weapons to kill, maim, or help him steal.

Why He Might Be Used?- He’s get a lot of what I liked about Trump (see the last installment) and significantly larger and longer history as an antagonist for Daredevil. Cost-efficient flashiness that can hold the audience’s attention.

Why He Probably Won’t Be?- The potential for him to end up as “DD’s Joker” in the wrong hands is very high (although they are very different characters). Additionally, his costume works on the page in a way that it absolutely would not work on screen; too bright, too gaudy, too complex.

Nuke- Frank Simpson was one of the United States attempts to replicate the super soldier serum and, thus, produce a Captain America for a new generation while Cap was still frozen. It was an inexact process (to say the least) and the result was a mentally unbalanced drug addict who uses red, white, and blue pills to manage his mood, focus, adrenaline, and so.

Why Might He Be Used?- As with Bruiser, his existence connects to existing Marvel properties (Cap) while hinting on a larger universe. You can even tie his production into S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra as a yet another reminder of how the Hydra sub-group manipulated and stained U.S. history.

Why He Probably Won’t Be?- He has the American flag emblazoned on his face. That’s bound to court some controversy and I’m not sure Marvel wants that get of publicity to promote their show.

See you soon for the villain candidates that they just have to use (unless they won't). These baddies almost certainly make the cut. I think. Maybe. Hard to say.