Being the first Marvel super hero to headline his own Netflix series, Daredevil (played by Charlie Cox) drew much scrutiny before the program debuted. After all, a TV series– even one that isn’t technically on TV– don’t have the same budgets as the live action Marvel films that captivate audiences. And early photos of Cox in a nondescript black costume, which seemed cobbled together from regular clothes and sporting gear certainly didn’t hold a candle to the get-ups worn by Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in the movies… much less Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) metal armory!
Fans held their breath and luckily producers delivered with Cox’s DD donning a dark red costume, complete with horns before the first season wrapped. Of course, the comic book version seems to wear nothing but a plain red spandex bodysuit, but nowadays no one expects movie adaptation versions to dress anything like that. No, more practically, the live action DD wears a more armored look, suiting a character that is a hand-to-hand combatant, but is also athletic, allowing for a wide range of motion.
Interestingly, the suit that wound up appearing on the show is extremely close to what the costume designer, Ryan Meinerding had in mind from the start. Sometimes when concept art is fashioned exactly as designed, it requires some tweaking to make it work on a real person in action. But the concept art for Daredevil’s costume has been released and if you compare it to Charlie Cox in the costume, only the smallest of alterations were made. (Assisting Meinerding on the design were Rodney Fuentebella, Andy Park, Joe Quesada, Jackson Sze, Josh Nizzi, and Anthony Francisco.)
First Charlie Cox in costume:
Now the concept art:
The suit has been adjusted very slightly, but otherwise, it looks pretty faithful to the original design. The only think that’s lacking is any sort of logo. In the comics, Daredevil has a DD logo on his chest, which may seem unimaginative, but at least it would be something.
Then again, it’s not uncommon for characters to get a slightly modified look from season-to-season. This Daredevil suit could be just one step in an evolution.
What do you think? Are you happy with this finished look or would you like to see further adjustments to the costume?
Source: Marvel