This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Charlie Cox as Daredevil.

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I’ve been rewatching the Netflix Daredevil and The Defenders shows recently because I wanted to remind myself of just how good they were, and something stuck in my mind during the sixth episode of The Defenders, and that’s just how consistently good Charlie Cox has been throughout his tenure at Matt Murdock. It’s no secret at this point that Cox has returned to the role, much to the joy of fans – this one included – and I wanted to look at some of the subtler things in his performance in way of celebration of the actor returning to the role.

Cox has been lauded for his role as Matt Murdock across the three seasons of Daredevil and the lone Defenders offering, so I’m not going to focus on all the reasons that fans wanted to see the actor return, but rather on a couple of the more subtle things he does as Matt Murdock that I didn’t notice on the first viewing of the series.

What I found most impressive was the way Cox’s eyes don’t move; there’s a constant far away look in his eyes, and they remain unfocused on anything throughout the series. Obviously the character is blind, and while there are definitely times that Cox’s eyes are covered by glasses or a mask, the actor is never actually caught looking at anything. Seriously, next time you watch a scene where his eyes are exposed, watch them. Then pay attention to the way he cocks his head when masked to pick up the different sounds in the environment elevates the actor’s portrayal of the character; watching him processing the audio of the environment he’s in is something I took for granted, and it wasn’t until I’d been able to watch the show for the third time that I really clued in to the nuances of the performance.

The only downside (and I say that with a giant asterisk) was in watching Cox deliver such a strong performance as Daredevil and contrasting that to the more average portrayal of Iron Fist in Defenders. I’m not sure that Iron Fist will carry the same casting choice to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it would surprise me if we didn’t see the character recast.

Charlie Cox as Daredevil is right up there with Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine for my money. I can’t wait to see him return to the character again.

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Join us next week where there will doubtless be another movie, series, comic or comic related thing discussed that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.