Marvel Daredevil was the answer to DC Comics, Batman. Ben Affleck’s Daredevil (2003) seemed to have none of it. Rather, it was criticized for its overindulgence in digital effects, which all but mocked the origin story of a popular superhero. Two years later, Christopher Nolan released Batman Begins (2005), the first part of the Dark Knight trilogy based on Frank Miller’s comic book creation. He later moved to Marvel to recreate Daredevil in the same lines.

Disappointed with the former, but saw genius in the latter’s dark narrative structure, inspired by Frank Miller’s work? Then you should check out the Netflix original production, Daredevil , starring British actor Charlie Cox, who shares the same sombre, menacing tone amidst a slew of realistic bloodshed and violence. Definitely not a series for children!

Daredevil : The second most pirated show after Game of Thrones!

The critically acclaimed Season 1 is a thirteen-episode crime thriller that follows a conspiracy of pension fraud and corrupt real estate developers in the New York City neighborhood known as Hell’s Kitchen. Gradually unfolding is the development of an ordinary boy, Matt Murdoch, with a deeply damaging past, who grows up to be a busy lawyer by day and rather disturbed yet violent with good intentions by night, Daredevil. Blinded in a childhood accident, Murdoch is overcompensated for his blindness with a radar-like superconscious of hearing, touch, sound, and smell. 

The unexpected success of an unconventional superhero

With a kind face, a sunny smile and a lean face, Cox hardly attracts attention as a fierce and menacing daredevil. Considering the initial stills, audiences were also quite dissatisfied with the cheap looking superhero suit. However, as the story unfolds, the vigilante transforms into full form towards the end of season one by donning the iconic red Daredevil suit.

Adding complexity and depth to a character without the use of eyes is a challenge that Cox has successfully met and that justifies the immediate renewal of the second season. He hired Joe Strechay, himself blind for twenty years, to teach him all the nuances of playing a blind person. To get the body language back in order, Charlie would often shadow his trainer in the street, blindfolded and with a cane.

As terrifying as it was initially, Charlie claimed that he found his other senses eventually began to amplify and come into play to compensate for his voluntary blindfold! His realistic portrayal of playing a blind superhero won him the Helen Keller Achievement Award in 2015.

Executive producer Jeph Loeb explains that Cox was hired because he’s good-natured enough for audiences to root for him and vulnerable enough to inspire sympathy for his affliction.

But what’s a Marvel superhero without muscles?

No superhero can pull through if he’s skinny. To justify his character, Charlie needed to put on 15 pounds of muscle and he only had a month before he showed up for on-site work!

Having No Time for Indiscriminate Filling, Cox began adding complex carbohydrates to all of his meals and protein shakes while avoiding simple sugars. He claims to consume tons of chicken, broccoli, yams, rice and pasta, and even recommends mixing yams into protein shakes as he rather liked this unusual combination.

Although in Men’s Fitness interview, he confessed that he felt like a kidding gym when he entered the Marvel set him up for a visit. He took the trouble to learn all about strength training and has maintained his fitness lifestyle long after the conclusion of season one.

Trainingsstil

Charlie often trained opposing body parts, like his chest and back, in a single workout, and fit in five minutes of treadmill runs after each superset to get a chiseled and conditioned look as you build muscle. Once a week he did a total body workout to keep his body fat percentage low.

Cox’s three most popular cardio products for burning fat and maintaining muscle mass

• Treadmill runs on incline. He starts at level four and adds the incline by one every minute until he reaches level fourteen. Then he decreases the incline by one level every minute for the next ten minutes until he returns to the fourth level.
• Prowler Sprints
• Hit and cross the punching bag for ten minutes

His fitness advice for busy people

• Exercise during the day when your energy levels are at their peak. Not everyone is a morning person. Charlie himself would rather work out at 10pm and then get up at 5am to exercise.
• Get ready for those first few weeks of aching post-workout pain. Once your body gets over the pain, attending the gym regularly is no longer a problem.
• Investing in madness. Charlie thinks the high intensity workouts are insane , ideal for home workouts and 2-3 times a week is good enough for most people.