When you’re a self-proclaimed comic book nerd that gets put in charge of a property as groundbreaking as Daredevil on Netflix, you’re going to be tempted to include more than a few specific references only meant for the most devout uber-nerds out there.
We recently got the chance to sit down with DeKnight to discuss life, Daredevil, and his fiancé’s upcoming web series Travel Boobs, a riotous comedy about three girls on the road and on the run (full disclosure, this writer is one of the writers on the project).
After discussing a few deleted scenes deemed too grisly for the show they wanted to make, we asked DeKnight which character he wanted to see more in season 2. We didn’t see the answer coming: Melvin Potter. In fact, DeKnight went on to tell us that if one seeks Daredevil Easter eggs, one would be wise to take a good look around Potter’s workshop.
Big legs, little arms
“A lot of fans of course caught the Stilt-Man legs in the back of Melvin Potter’s workshop,” said DeKnight, chuckling. “I don’t know if we’ll ever see Stilt-Man, but we all loved Stilt-Man growing up. Obviously, it’s a little hard to translate Stilt-Man into this grounded world. But we really wanted to just tip our hat to that.”
Indeed, a character with giant brass legs running around Murdock and Fisk’s Hell’s Kitchen would seem a little out of place. “There were lots of conversations about ‘How does Stilt-Man get away?’” said DeKnight. “He’s kinda easy to spot.”
Are you not entertained?!
Potter’s alter-ego, Gladiator, is one of DeKnight’s favorite characters from the Daredevil comics, so naturally, he wanted to leave fingerprints on the first season that could potentially lead to his introduction.
“There was a wonderful 12-year-old boy moment when I was writing and directing the finale of Daredevil,” said DeKnight. “I slipped in, I don’t even think it was in the script, I think I just told the production designer in one meeting that I wanted on Melvin Potter’s desk, when he puts down the case containing Daredevil’s suit, that I wanted schematics for the saw blades, and the straight blades that Gladiator uses, just as a little Easter egg for people to catch. When he showed me the designs, I was like, ‘Oh man, these are fantastic!’ I have no idea if or when they will move forward with his storyline, where he becomes Gladiator, but we really wanted to key that up in case we wanted to use it for later, and really put that different spin on it where Matt and Melvin are friends, which happens later in the comic book series, especially in the Brian Michael Bendis run.”
Canes don’t grow on trees, y’know
Clearly, DeKnight’s superior knowledge of comic nerdom was a crucial element of Daredevil’s success, so we had an extra-hard question for him that’s had fans wondering for months now: Where does Matt Murdock keep getting his canes? Does he have a closet full of them at home or something?
“I think that twice he threw away his cane, but I looked them up online, and they aren’t that expensive,” said DeKnight, matter-of-factly. “He can afford a few in his budget.”
So Matt Murdock has a cane budget. Awesome.
“I always assume that if he has to, he can go back and get it later,” added DeKnight.
About ‘Travel Boobs’
If you don’t have to waste your monthly budget to replenish your broken crime-fighting canes, consider donating to a really awesome, female-driven web series about three girls that discover running away from your problems isn’t as easy as it sounds.
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