Charlie Cox Has The Perfect Response To She-Hulk's Critics, Defends His 'Walk Of Shame' Scene
As much as people love to complain about the formulaic nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the truth is, you'd be hard-pressed to find two superhero TV shows more distinct in tone than "Daredevil" and "She-Hulk." Easily one of the best of Marvel's Netflix series, "Daredevil" aired for three seasons beginning in 2015, before being canceled with the rest of his fellow superheroes. Season 3 was fantastic and this writer was personally heartbroken when the show got axed, leaving all those loose plot threads dangling. Daredevil has long been one of my favorite heroes and I loved Charlie Cox for the role, so I was overjoyed when he reprised the role on "She-Hulk" earlier this year.
I have to admit, I did wonder how it would work tonally, since the two series are so drastically different. While the Netflix shows were intended to be a part of the MCU, they were never really integrated into this universe, and remain quite dissimilar from much of Marvel's other output. However, my doubts were put to rest when I saw just how well Matt Murdock fit into the "She-Hulk" narrative.
The Netflix series were probably the last time the MCU was ever actually sexy — the less we discuss the sex scene in "Eternals" the better — so the fact that Jen has an active sex life was both exciting and kind of surprising. In the context of this show, having Matt and Jen hook up after all that flirting and fighting makes total sense. Why on Earth would they not? That delightful scene was followed by another: Daredevil's "walk of shame" the next morning. Sadly, some fans hate fun and the plot point proved a bit divisive. But Cox had the perfect response.
Embracing a lighter tone
When speaking to Digital Spy, Charlie Cox delved into how he felt about the way some fans reacted to Matt's romance with Jen. He said:
"There are things that you do when you're playing a superhero. There are scenes that you read, and you go, 'The fans are going to love this. This is knock-out'. And then there's stuff like the walk of shame, where you're like, 'I don't know. This could go two ways. This could be something that the fans really enjoy, and it could be something that feels like it goes against the nature of what they love about the character and the tone of the piece'.
"The good thing about doing it on something like 'She-Hulk' is, it's not Daredevil's show. It was my job as the actor to come onto another person's show and embrace the tone, whilst staying as true to the character as I possibly could. In this world, Matt's in LA, and he lets his hair down a little bit. He's just having fun. He's killing it in the courtroom. You know, he has a fling with a really beautiful and charismatic lawyer. And then they get to do some superhero stuff.
"It tonally felt very different from everything I've done as that character, but that was also really exciting and new and different and in keeping with the character. If you read the comics, there are a series of Daredevil comics where the tone is much lighter, and he is much more kind of silly and goofy than perhaps we've done much of previously with this character. You can't please all the people all the time. If 'She-Hulk's' not your thing, then don't watch it. Watch something else."
Superheroes smash
Part of the fun of reading superhero comics is seeing one character cameo in another's book. Sometimes the MCU gets so concerned with the bigger picture that it doesn't pay enough attention to the project you're actually watching, but this didn't feel like that. In fact, none of "She-Hulk" did. That's part of what made it so refreshing. Besides, what's more relatable than Jen's dating struggles? These are two very attractive, single people with quite a lot in common, and we know Jen hasn't had the best of luck in this department lately. The MCU requires quite a suspension of disbelief, but one of the most difficult aspects to grasp might just be the fact that no one seems to be having sex in this universe populated by gorgeous super-powered people in skintight spandex! The MCU needs more of this.
As for the way Matt Murdock is written in the show, Charlie Cox is absolutely correct about the Daredevil comics. Sure, my favorite runs from Frank Miller or Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev might not see DD having a ton of fun, but Mark Waid's take on the character's lighter side — probably what Cox was referring to — is also great. I tend to follow writers and artists more than characters, because a good creative team can make me love any hero or villain. Perhaps that's why it's so easy for me to embrace this. It's like Daredevil showed up in She-Hulk's book.
We don't yet know what sort of tone Marvel will go with for the upcoming "Daredevil: Born Again," but I would imagine the studio knows what fans are hoping for. I'm sure Daredevil will be treated differently back in his own comic. Plus, Cox is right about something else: if you don't like it, don't watch it.