Yes I know that wasn't the other title, I don't feel like retyping that whole thing(call me lazy on this one, that definitely earns it). I personally feel that there are a lot of similarities between the characters of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Daredevil/Matt Murdock. Even Aesthically, if you look at their costumes both of them have assumed looks that are menacing and meant to draw on your fears. Once DD got over his color blindedness (I will joke about that later) and donned his Blood Red Spandex those who broke the law in Hell's Kitchen really did see the devil. As for Gotham's underworld I give Nolan a huge nod in Batman Begins for having his caped Crusader glide overtop of the city during it's build to the climax while the entire city was under the influence of Scarecrows toxin looking like a nightmare instead of a savior.
Similarities of the Characters
Let's look at the two characters at their base. Daredevil: he is street tough, an extremely well trained fighter, uses gadgets and well designed weapons to get around the city as well as fight the bad guys, uses intimidation and fear to keep the local street toughs in line, is extremely protective of his area(Hell's Kitchen, you step in the kitchen and cause trouble they'll be the devil to pay. Look it up Marvel has used that line before), and while they may be a little weary of him all other heroes in the universe supremely respect and are in awe of his abilities and drive(the only other person in Marvel who tends to get that respect is Spider-man. Both he and Daredevil get loads of bad press and both continue to go at it even helping those in the press who tend to bash them the most). To the police Daredevil is usually treated as an Urban Legend, they don't support vigilantism and don't want to talk about it. I cut the NYPD a little slack on this one since they are like super hero central. It's a city full of whack jobs that they probably don't stand a chance against, and how much of it is because most of the worlds greatest heroes reside in their jurisdiction.
Batman: Highly trained martial artist, street tough, master linguist, master strategist, extremely prepared for almost any eventuality, uses gadgets and well designed weapons, vehicles, projectiles to get around the city as well as fight the bad guys, uses intimidation and fear to keep the local street toughs in line, is extremely protective of his area(See anytime someone else's villain traipses into Gotham), and is respected by all other heroes yadda yadda. By the police Batman is either treated as an Urban Legend or public enemy number 1. As seen in The Dark Knight there is an entire division of the Gotham PD that is assigned to track him down(and if you wish to talk about faulty electrical on the roof see Gotham Power).
There aren't that many non powered heroes in Marvel Comics, the Falcon may come the closest or even Tony Stark though as the majority of his fighting happens in a well designed high tech suit of battle armor it doesn't really compare to Batman's guy in peak condition, fighting only with his skills and wits, who only SOMETIMES don's a suit of mech armor to fight the bad guys. He has one, he just uses it selectively. I mean everybody interrogates the bad guys, only Daredevil and Batman tend to do it as a matter of habit then by need. Usually if you get caught by Batman or Daredevil you already have a library's worth of stories from your buddy(buddies) he beat up last week as to how it is about to go for you. I remember an episode of Justice League where a Gotham baddie mouthed of to the Flash by saying "I get caught by the Bat regularly exactly what are you gonna do to me" to which the Flash drops him off a building runs down and catches him. They did a similar scene when Superman visited Gotham once basically same deal, Superman drops the guy and catches him before he reaches the ground. While the Flash's next threat was to wait longer to catch him to see if he really was that fast, Superman threatened to drop the guy from higher. Batman and Daredevil are also "natural lie detectors", Batman because he has done extensive study in human physiology, micro expressions, pacifiers, and tendencies. Daredevil thanks to his super hearing can detect changes in heart rate, quickened breathing, and he can also smell when you start to get sweaty and nervous. Daredevil isn't alone in those tricks though, Superman has also been known to do it, as well as switch his sight to infrared to check changes in body temp.
So operationally save that one is blind and the other has no external super powers they are pretty similar. One might question Affleck's drive since he ducked out of any Daredevil sequels because he supposedly didn't want to do the wire work required anymore. He felt it was too grueling(or at least quotes along those lines surfaced after the movie came out and he let it known he wasn't interested in doing any more Daredevil movies) and wasn't looking to do that again. Those claims seem to pan out since while he has done a few action roles since Daredevil, most of them just required regular hand to hand combat skills and minor wire work. Plus the last time he donned a set of tights it was as George Reeves playing Superman, not as Superman himself and I don't think they actually did any shooting of Superman flying/fighting etc. Though since that would be the dawn of the TV age he would mainly be laying across a box or something. Anybody who saw the movie Paycheck knows that he actually took all that stick work for Daredevil to heart because he was just as good with a staff in the fight scenes of that movie. So close quarters to long distance fighter who specializes in one vs many fighting while taking comparably little damage himself, check. Kitsune complains to this day about Daredevil being so dark(he finds may jokes about it being a movie about a blind superhero to be inadequate, I swear no love) thing is Batman also uses darkness to his advantage.
Alright well the heroes are reasonably close in what they do, but let's get to the part that I feel really costs most Comic book movies: The alter ego. I to this day say that the main reason the Hulk was such a bomb wasn't just because Ang Lee got the story out of thin air but because who would believe anybody would pick on Eric Bana as a adult. Eric Bana looked like the bully, not like some frustrated, mentally imposing but physically impotent megabrain who didn't have the nerve to stand up for himself. Now yes almost all comic book hero types are normally physically fit, it's part of the mythos but for Banner he is best described as "wiry"(please say this mentally is Rhys Ifan's voice, ever since I saw the Replacement's I always do). Could he be a "rides a bike across the facility to cut down on his personal carbon emissions" type, yes I buy that. Could he be a vegetarian because he doesn't believe in killing innocent creatures, in the 21st century sure in the 20th meh he was doing full scale Gamma testing might be a stretch for early comics version. Banner is not some 6'4 athletic type though.
For the 4 men in the modern era who have played Batman on the silver screen only 3 in my estimation have nailed Wayne. Keaton, Clooney and Bale. It's kind of funny when you think about it, while Matt Murdock has it easy(who suspects a blind guy could be a superhero) if you were to take a look at who could AFFORD to be Batman Bruce Wayne's name would jump to the top of the list. The reason you think pffft oh please is because of who Bruce Wayne portrays himself to be. Anybody who saw Kill Bill 2 will remember Bill's unfortunate soliloquy about Superman. The reason I say unfortunate is because while yes, those were the clothes he came to earth from Krypton in, and while his Real name WAS Kal El he didn't learn most of that information until he was a grown man. Clark Kent(which is who he is UNTIL his parents give him the crystal and he spends that decade or so with Jor El) is as far as he is concerned the son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, yes he has special powers but he doesn't see himself as above humans. His sensibilities are that of a country boy, a sense of humility and a belief in basic fairness. Bill would of course grab on to Superman because Superman is this being of mythical power. Other than his birth name not being Batman, and his oft changing costume not being his birth clothes Bill's description to a T fits Batman.
While Clark Kent/Kal El see normal human beings as decent, fair and humble, Bruce Wayne sees the rich of Gotham as apathetic, lazy, ineffectual, and a disease. Because of them the parasite that killed his parents existed, if only they and the police would have gotten him off the streets his parents would still be alive. Bruce Wayne is the mask, the child Bruce died the same day as his parents while he had yet to be named, Batman was all that existed after that. A rage for justice that would never be quenched. While people railed against Keaton playing Batman because he was best known for his awesome comedic performances, nobody had a problem with him being Bruce Wayne. He was charming and yet bumbling, he was witty but you really wouldn't want to trust your life in his hands. Yes he might be willing to try and buy his way out of a problem, but actually see through a plan to it's end oh please unless that plan was to find the perfect Martini he'd palm it off on his butler or some other hired help.
George Clooney's Bruce Wayne(yeah yeah, we all hate the movie it was so campy that even Adam Wests Batman gave it the side eye) was still a spoiled playboy, who took nothing seriously and always seemed more interested in a great pair of legs and a drink but he also was slightly tempered by age and the illness of his life long friend and guardian. You bought that, his sort of keeping up appearances for the outsiders and yet at home being more somber. Even his playful competition with Dick Grayson in public, Bruce Wayne is supposed to be the constant juvenile so that fit too. Christian Bale was almost always pretending to be drunk or uninterested, even going so far as to be get into a car accident to save the life of the guy who was going to out him as Batman and play it off as if he was saving his life but had been cut off by a guy in the vehicle. Tortured, angry, petulant, and impatient that guy could NEVER be Batman.
As there was no Daredevil sequel I can't compare Ben Affleck to the next guy who played Daredevil, I can contrast the two "alter egos."
Bruce Wayne: Spoiled rich kid, silver spoon in his mouth, never even had a nightmare about doing a hard days work. Bruce has yet to meet a problem that his check book couldn't fix, first being a millionaire and then when being a millionaire stopped meaning the endless dollars it used to a Billionaire. It is family money that he has had since he was a young boy, Alfred Pennyworth is his guardian and has been in charge of the estate for the better part of his young life(and as the executor in all of Master Bruce's affairs continues to earn a pretty penny) so really Bruce doesn't even have to worry about spending his money if he doesn't want to. If there is a party he hasn't been invited to, he'll just buy out a bigger hotel and invite all of the guests and the Host/Hostess(hell even allow the Host to put their name on top of the bill, though who wouldn't invite Billionaire Bruce Wayne). And yes as in the Dark Knight he would run off with the Star Ballerina's for a once in a lifetime show if it suited his needs(say spoiling a date for a rival for the affections of a woman he loves).
Matt Murdock: He's a local boy made good. He grew up hard in the Kitchen orphaned by the neighborhood young, of course he was disabled so life didn't take it easy on him and yet he still became a top notch lawyer. And to prove he didn't forget his roots he takes most of his cases Pro Bono(accept in such instances as say when the Daily Bugle wants to pay to get off one Peter Parker) or for whatever you can pay. While he is quite handsome he seems to have lousy luck with the ladies, he can't see so of course he has to rely on his Side Kick Foggy Nelson to guide him in the somewhat right direction(Foggy can playa hate at times). He is mostly humble, but can be a little flamboyant when tried to impress the ladies nothing that will blow his cover as "the man without fear" just subtle tricks that anyone who has been long without their eyesight might pull. Noticing a background scent maybe of bath soap or shampoo underneath the more pronounced fragrance of perfume. As he did in the movie possibly hearing the subtle sound of a necklace scraping against the inside of a shirt. Of course he is blind so nobody even suspects he might be a super hero.
Both of them lost their blood parent(s) when young, to violent deaths, usually while they are in the area. Bruce in front of his face, Matt while he was somewhere at the arena. Both are haunted by these losses, Matt came up through the foster care system Bruce by his trusty Butler.
Batman's rogues gallery is colorful and pretty much his own. One of the problems with everybody being on top of each other or within a 45-1 hour and 30 minute drive is that if you get knocked into the wrong bar either the villain is about to get help or else the hero is. It's one of the reasons I usually call Marvel "Cross over land" you don't need a reason for Peter Parker to be in Hells Kitchen so that Spider-man can show up he can web past anytime. Captain America probably jogs past(or through, he's Captain America does anybody really think he is scared of muggers) Hells Kitchen all the time. Granted Batman does have Wards: Robin/Nightwing- Dick Grayson, Robin/Red Hood- Jason Todd, Robin/Red Robin- Tim Drake/Wayne, and Robin/current Robin(or is it Zombie Robin)- Damien Wayne. There is also Batgirl- Barbara Gordon and Batgirl- Casandra Cain. So yeah the Dark Knight is not without help but having an understudy show up at any time is not like having a top tier hero show up. Nightwing is good but he isn't on the level of getting help from say Wolverine because the bad guy threw you through his beer. While Daredevil can get a few zingers in here and there he is usually pretty serious and straightforward, Batman of course is the Ultimate Straight man. Daredevil is normally out for vengeance so he may be less inclined to not kill you as Batman would. It's less about "not saving you" as it is exactly what did you do to get on the Devil's visit list for tonight.
So yeah if you look a lot of their characteristics are similar, they even have had a bad guy girl friend or 5. Batman has Catwoman, Daredevil has Elektra(she's an assasin). Then there is Pam Isley(Poison Ivy) and Talia Al Ghul(Ra's Daughter), Mary Walker(Typhoid Mary) is Daredevil's other villain girlfriend. Now granted with an otherwise all star cast you can still screw a movie up(Superman Returns, I wanted to like that movie and it had some awesome parts but he should have just rebooted it instead of doing that MESS). I do not think that Ben Affleck is a deal breaker, he's got to play a spoiled, cocky(or crotchety if they go for an OLDER Batman/Bruce Wayne), rich guy who seems to have the world laid out for him on a silver platter. Then he has to play a brooding, menacing hero, who will most likely beat the crap out of you. Yeah 90% of the rest of the roles he has ever played.
I'm not saying I have never screamed "Noooooooooooo" at hearing an actor cast in a role(I'm thinking about doing an actor or direction decision blog on that), hell remember my hand wringing about Captain America, but let me get some video of him in action and see the costume and then you can either salute or bash to your hearts content. People have mentioned that there was no introduction of Kryptonite in Man of Steel, which of course makes a Superman vs Batman fight a little one sided. Superman has one real no way around it weakness Kryptonite especially Green or Gold, green poisons him and Gold(if it still exists in the new 52 universe) takes away all of his powers permanently and makes him human. I mean there is blue kryptonite that makes him temporarily while he is in contact with it but with gold it's one touch and bye bye last son of Krypton. Another form of Kryptonite is Red(which pretty much turns him into a rageaholic who beats the crap out of everybody even those he knows and loves) I believe there was a "Batman the brave and the bold" Episode where he came into contact with that. Batman(in his Biomech armor) and Krypto the Superdog had to hold him off for 12-24 hours so the effects would wear off. That is of course as long as the red kryptonite is no longer touching him. In the TV series Smallville once you remove the red Kryptonite from Clarks presence he went back to normal. Granted in smallvile Red Kryptonite turned everybody loopy not just Clark Kent. Is some on it's way, since Lex Corp was shown in Man of Steel will everybodies favorite Xenophobe(that was the change they made to Lex Luthor way back in crisis. He was a highly successful industrialist who hated all alien life not some bumbling criminal mastermind) find a way to draw some of the remnants planet Krypton to Earth in hopes of learning some of their secrets only to find out about it's effects on Superman. While the line used in the reveal was from the Dark Knight Returns(the comic book), with Lex Luthor involved(or that is the tease) hopefully they are doing something along the lines of World's Finest, or else Batman Superman Public Enemies. Batman is in Metropolis to figure out what dirty dealings Lex is dragging Gotham into and ends up at odds(Initially) with the "S."
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