I spent this past weekend in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s been some time since the sky opened up and that horde of aliens came spilling out onto the streets. Sure, Iron Man, Captain America (who’s looking pretty good for his age) and that giant green guy managed to beat them all, but by then the damage had been done. The ongoing gentrification and increasing affluence the old neighborhood was enjoying stopped cold, and the residents were plunged back into a world of crime and dilapidation. Fortunately, while the Avengers are busy fighting monsters and aliens from other worlds, there’s at least one guy in a mask who’s dedicated to standing up for the little guy.

And that’s the backdrop for Marvel’s Daredevil, the latest Netflix original series and the first of a new team of “street level” superheroes who’ll be making their live action debuts in the next year or two.

The last time the character appeared onscreen he was played by Ben Affleck, in an adaptation that was not well received by critics or fans alike. My knowledge of the character is limited to that campy, forgettable film and his appearances in the Spider-Man animated series from the 90’s.

This latest version, developed by Drew Goddard (co-writer/director of The Cabin in the Woods and writer on various genre shows, including Buffy and Angel) before Steven S. DeKnight (another Whedon alum) came onboard as showrunner, stars Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, an attorney born and raised in Hell’s Kitchen. A car accident involving a chemical spill robbed Matt of his sight at a young age, but those chemicals also heightened his other senses to superhuman degrees. For reasons that become clearer as the season goes on, he dons a black mask and beats down on thugs as he tries to get to the bottom of a criminal conspiracy.

Daredevil is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which I hope became obvious from the intro because the show itself keeps any references to that fact to a minimum. This is the opposite approach to Marvel’s two other shows on the air, Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter. The shadow of the MCU looms so large over both series (but especially the former) that neither is really able to stand on its own. Daredevil doesn’t suffer from this problem. It carves out its (relatively) small part of the world and tells a (relatively) small story that nonetheless feels every bit as crucial to the Marvel mythology as any of its blockbuster counterparts.

And even though it doesn’t have 9-figure budgets to play with, those Netflix dollars and the show’s tone have allowed Daredevil to become the most visually distinctive property in the entire MCU. It towers over the laughably cheap looking SHIELD, and while Agent Carter‘s visual effects artists give it a nice, sepia-toned period look, I wouldn’t bring it up as a defining attribute (it’s not Marvel’s Mad Men, in other words). Daredevil is darker and more graphic than the movies, with the level of violence often matching (at times exceeding) the grim and gritty tone of the crime story.

But it’s still Marvel, so there’s plenty of action. Murdock’s acrobatic and combat skills make for some inventive and brutal set pieces. The highlights of the season include an intricately choreographed one-take fight between Murdock and a gang of Russian gangsters, a bloody one-on-one duel with a deadly ninja, and the season-ending showdown between Daredevil (who eventually dons his iconic red suit) and his arch-nemesis, Wilson Fisk.

Played by Vincent D’Onofrio, Fisk doesn’t make his first appearance until a couple of episodes into the season, but the character’s presence is felt early through the deadly thugs he employs and by his right hand man Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore). Moore brings a ton of personality to what could’ve easily been a superfluous character. D’Onofrio, with his huge bald head and towering frame, brings Fisk to life as accurately as a human can (his comic counterpart, while human, is an inhumanly sized guy). You couldn’t be blamed for thinking such a commanding presence would be matched with an equally commanding temperament, but that’s not the case with Fisk. The first time we meet him is the first time he meets Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer), a beautiful woman working at an art gallery. When she notices him staring intently at a particular painting, their exchange makes an instant impression:

Vanessa: It’s not about the artist’s name or the skill required. Not even about the art itself. All that matters is, “How does it make you feel?”

Fisk: It makes me feel alone.

Has there ever been a more subdued introduction to a supervillain? No puffed chest, no display of power (that comes later), but a sad confession. Their next meeting is as close to a meet cute as you’re going to see in a story like this, as Fisk awkwardly asks Vanessa out to dinner. Fisk has a rough voice but a meek speech pattern. It’s jarring at first because it’s so unexpected, and I love that about D’Onofrio’s performance. By the same token, it seems like Fisk’s operation is the same as any other criminal organization, but again, expectations are turned on their head. Fisk has a plan for the city, born out of a troubled past. He’s so haunted by it that he’s willing to completely raze Hell’s Kitchen in order to keep it buried.

So far in the MCU the villain has rarely been afforded the same level of development as the hero, but Daredevil breaks from tradition by making Fisk just as interesting as Matt, if not more so. This is an advantage of doing a series, and of the Netflix model. Netflix shows are designed to be binge-watched, which allows the writers to parse out information at a slower pace. In the case of introducing Fisk, that method works beautifully. The slow build-up adds to the impact.

But not everything Netflix does works. Their original series episodes tend to be longer than network or cable, more in line with HBO, and I don’t think the extended runtime is particularly beneficial to Daredevil. There are a number of scenes throughout the season that feel like they go on longer than necessary, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these scenes usually involve Matt’s secretary, Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll). Her story parallels Matt’s in that she’s on a mission to uncover the truth about Fisk’s activities, but for a large chunk of time in the middle of the season, her development comes to a standstill. We can only learn so much about her character when her actions remain the same for several episodes. You could make the same argument about reporter Ben Urich, but he’s a richer character thanks to the pathos and world-weariness that Vondie Curtis-Hall brings to that role.

Yeah, the supporting cast of characters are a mixed bag. As Matt’s legal partner and best friend Foggy Nelson, Elden Henson is used almost exclusively for comic relief in the early going, but as the stakes start to rise the character does get balanced out, though there are times when Henson isn’t quite able to nail those dramatic moments.

Gahh, this is too long and I still have so much to talk about. I think I’ll stop here and do a Part 2 later.