Daredevil Born Again – Gloves Off review S2 E4
Gloves Off significantly escalates the war on vigilantes storyline as an innocent…mildly innocent someone with blood on their hands gets caught in the fray and possibly getting KO’d for good.
Wilson Fisk hasn’t made a lot of questionable moves since positioning himself as the honorable mayor with his cleaning the streets initiative. It’s certainly helped curtail vigilante activity in New York City as Swordsman is in custody; Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye II have been off radar and White Tiger got killed.
The big blemishes, however, are major. Daredevil is making a full nuisance of himself with his latest efforts bringing attention to the port thanks to The Northern Star incident. The Punisher escaped captivity and worst of all, Bullseye is on the loose. Daredevil is perhaps naive enough to think he can bring Fisk to justice and Frank Castle won’t try a full-scale frontal assault. But Bullseye? He’s a complete wild card who will use said card to slice the throats of 10 of Fisk’s men as evidenced in Gloves Off.
Watching Dex casually strolling around the city, playing with his neighbor’s cat and sitting down at a diner for breakfast in the opening of Gloves Off reveals a major flaw in Fisk’s handling of his biggest threat. Karen Paige and Matt Murdock’s faces are plastered on posters throughout the city albeit for different reasons. Fisk really needed to take the same approach for Bullseye. If for no other reason than to keep easier tabs on him.
Dex notices lobsters in the tank — it’s a fancy diner — and calls the Anti-Vigilante Task Force to report that he thinks he sees The Punisher. When they arrive, Dex plays it cool until he’s ready to begin the massacre using all kinds of casual items you’d find to munch on eggs, pancakes and apparently lobster sandwiches to maim and kill the task force members.
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This one sequence in Gloves Off is a quick reminder that the Born Again team fully understands how to portray Bullseye as an insanely (emphasis on insane) skilled marksman with no qualms about using his talents in the most violent means possible. And he also appreciates a good milkshake.
One of the diner patrons gets understandably rattled after witnessing the carnage, but Bullseye assures him “Don’t worry. I’m one of the good guys” before using ketchup dispensers to tag the door with his logo. Was this chaos really just about freeing the lobsters?
The anti-Kingpin videos are so slick and well-produced, really conveying a defiant anti-authority tone. Meanwhile, another series of video recording is underway as Karen interviews the detainees to share their stories. The Swordsman was happy to lend a hand, but after six months in a cage, he’s not trying to return to one or worst by joining Daredevil’s crusade.
“You’re not a hero. You’re a symbol of hope for an entire city.” Swordsman gets the absolute coolest lines lately. While he’s far more of a Hawkeye/Avengers-connected character, Swordsman has shined in his Daredevil scenes so maybe it makes more sense for him to officially suit up in a costume in Born Again?
Grateful to play a role in rescuing her aunt, Angela wants to be part of the team. Karen isn’t sure about involving a teenager in this war, but Matt simply asks if she understands the responsibility that comes with the white tiger amulet. Matt understands there’s no talking Angela out of this life and it’s better to have her working with him than out on her own with no one to properly train her and watch her back.
Angela might truly be about that (vigilante) life, but she shows in Gloves Off that she’s not reckless. She has her classmate Javi, who got her aunt arrested, to make the drop for her.
Fisk sends the AVTF to ransack Kirsten’s office and terrorize her staff in case they wanted to help any of the detainees. Classic bully move. Intimidate those close to the front line to make them afraid of retaliation. With the gloves off, Kirsten is appreciative of Karen dropping by. Karen invites Kirsten to the new hideout where she can chat with the Northern Star’s first mate, who can spill all the evidence needed to take Fisk down.
Well, not all of it since Fisk coldly sits back as Buck kills two of Mr. Charles’ men when he questions can Fisk deliver on the weapons his employers paid for. Charles is an interesting character whose role in Born Again seems to be to show that there are some irritants that even Fisk can’t quickly dispose of because they annoy him.
Gloves Off has another sequence showing Daredevil’s detective skills (ironically is more work than Batman has done in recent films) at the diner. He finds a unique coin Bullseye used that he traces back to the nearby church. The seminarian identifies Bullseye after some gentle prodding from Matt disguised as a task force member.
Daredevil is able to track down Bullseye leading to another vicious battle between the two rivals. This isn’t a novelty in the series at this point, but every Daredevil/Bullseye conflict is brutal and perfectly displays their distinct fighting styles. In Bullseye’s hands anything is a weapon while Daredevil relies on his agility and senses to strike fast to close the distance against him. Bullseye pledges to do what Daredevil won’t do, but Daredevil won’t let Fisk become a martyr. Would Fisk warrant the flags being flown at half-staff?
The city is buzzing for the Mike Melendez vs Fisk charity boxing match. This would seem to go against Fisk’s whole kinder, gentler friendly neighborhood mayor shtick. The governor definitely isn’t on board with Mayor Fisk, but after a chat with Vanessa says that she can back Mr. and Mrs. Fisk.
While Daniel and BB are in line for the fight, Javi smoothly asks to take a selfie with her so he can slip the flash drive in her pocket. Gloves Off director Solvan Naim shoots this segment in a very ambiguous manner to create some doubt if Daniel actually saw the hand off.
Fisk must have had Don King set this fight up as Melendez is a walking punching bag taking huge shots all over the ring from Fisk’s power punches. Buck doesn’t need multiple rounds to get his job done. He takes out the US marshals trying to get the first mate to a safe house. There’s not much to complain about with Gloves Off, but it sure felt silly to take the first mate from the hideout where everyone has been safe to someplace that needed coordination and more eyes and ears on the intel to get him to a “safe house.” Hopefully Kirsten took good notes.
Against Fisk’s wishes, Vanessa leaves her meeting with the governor to check out the fight. That distracts him enough to take a solid punch from Melendez, who immediately regrets it as he gets pummeled. The beatdown is so severe that some of the crowd is noticeably uncomfortable even before Melendez gets taken out on a stretcher.
But that was just the prelim as Bullseye arrives to skewer a bunch of task force members. Hey Dex, there’s no Money in the Bank in boxing! Vanessa didn’t have to get ready as she stayed ready. She pulled out a pistol and got Bullseye in the stomach. He goes for a revenge toss using one of the glass souvenir commemorative pieces, but Fisk blocks it with the title belt. Daredevil saves Fisk by getting Bullseye out of the arena.
It’s just then that Fisk turns to Vanessa, who’s talking a little funny — on account of the shard stuck in her head. It’s a shocking moment, but it makes for an unforgettable visual as the blood starts flowing all over Vanessa’s white dress. What’s the next step up from gloves off? Fisk is about to find out, and it probably won’t pay to be Bullseye or Daredevil.
Gloves Off provided another excellent Daredevil/Bullseye fight, serious advancement on the Northern Star case, solid work with the supporting cast before ending with a massive cliffhanger. This season is only four episodes in, but this halfway installment sets up what should be a very intense second half.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Photo Credit: Disney
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