The Marvel lull is growing greater and greater. 2020 has already been confirmed to be the first year since 2009 without an MCU film, and it's even been almost two months since Marvel's longest-running television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., came to a close. Before it finds new life later this year in the form of WandaVision, it's finally safe to officially say goodbye to the old era of Marvel TV.
That era brought to the surface some absolutely brilliant series, most notably Netflix's Daredevil and ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (A.O.S). Obviously, there have been some other incredible Marvel series made in the past decade, like Jessica Jones or The Punisher, the former two seem to stand a rank above the rest. That's a pretty bold statement, however, with so many great shows to choose from. So what was it that actually made Daredevil and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. two of the best Marvel TV shows of all-time?
Agents of SHIELD: MCU Connection
For years, Marvel TV shows have always been criticized for their connection, or lack thereof, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Through the lot of Marvel-Netflix shows, the MCU references were few and far between, never feeling like there was any chance at one influencing the other. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., however, was built from a connection to the MCU and carried that connection to the very end.
There are countless references of the MCU throughout the series, from Agent Phil Coulson himself to the many movie-tied storylines, but it's the way the show left off that really brought their connection full circle. Unlike any other Marvel TV show to this point, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has a real shot to influence upcoming films. How, and if, that'll happen is still unclear, but there are plenty of ways AOS and some of its main characters could finally appear in the MCU down the road.
Daredevil: Action
One thing that is not up for argument is that Daredevil had the best action sequences of any Marvel television series. Not only did it help establish a grounded tone to the whole series, but it set the bar for the rest of the Marvel-Netflix shows as well.
From the legendary hallway fight sequences that saw Matt Murdock tear through low-level thugs to the true boss villain fights with characters like Kingpin and Frank Castle, the beauty and flow of the action never skips a beat. It's by far one of the most notable aspects of the series that's earned it such tremendous acclaim. Maybe one-day Marvel will re-task the genius minds that made the action of Daredevil so amazing and bring that to future Marvel projects.
Agents of SHIELD: Portrayal of Powers
One thing that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can always be commended for is its portrayal of heroes. From the very beginning of the Inhuman storyline, the series did some fantastic things with a massive range of powered characters showcasing an equally wide range of different abilities.
There was never really a moment where fans felt like they were being snubbed a chance to see a given heroes' powers on display. Whether it was Daisy Johnson aka "Quake", Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, or even Ghost Rider, the series always made a point to showcase all of their unique abilities. It provided some wildly-exciting moments throughout the series and helped make the Inhuman storylines one of the best in any of the seven seasons.
Daredevil: Realism
While on the topic of showcasing powers, it's worth noting that Daredevil never truly had much to display in the way of larger-than-life superpowers. Matt Murdock's abilities don't bring much dramatic effect to them, despite how incredible they make him in action.
With all that in mind, it didn't do anything in terms of harming the quality of the show. In fact, it made it that much better. The lack of the extravagant superpowers allowed the series to stay grounded and realistic, making Matt's transition to a superhero feel that much more powerful. The realism of Daredevil and the other Marvel-Netflix series set them apart from any other superhero series or film, and hopefully, it's something Marvel utilizes in the future.
Agents of SHIELD: Storylines
Over the course of seven seasons and 136 episodes, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to tell so many elaborate, intertwined stories. From the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. to their entrapment in "the Framework" and finally, to their journey through time, the series gave each storyline its own deserved time to shine.
The way the series organized these narratives ultimately made them much better with each coming to an identifiable close before the next got started. Each of these over-arching stories was designated to a given season, with so many smaller narratives taking place within them. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was brilliant in the way it told these complex and overwhelming tales and their storytelling is going to be dearly missed now that the series has come to a close.
Daredevil: Cinematography & Tone
Outside of the MCU and before any Disney+ series gets started, Daredevil is easily one of the great cinematic achievements that we've seen from Marvel. There are countless breathtaking shots that fit right into the grounded and gritty tone that the show consistently produced.
In each of its three seasons, the series sticks with a fairly dark feel and elects to exclude the use of any vibrant color. Even Daredevil's iconic suit falls within the overall tone of the show, going with a much darker and muted red color instead of some bright and flashy costume. It's one of the true masterpieces of Marvel's catalog and even with all the years of praise for the show, its cinematic elements still feel far too underappreciated.
Agents of SHIELD: Character Roster
One of the greatest advantages that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. holds in the argument for best Marvel TV show is their incredible roster of characters. It should come as no surprise that the series has a remarkably larger number of recurring characters in comparison to Daredevil. While that certainly opens the door for many more great and memorable characters, it also adds more opportunity for more missable and outright bad ones as well.
Just looking at the series' main roster, however, there are few misses. By the time the series wraps up, it's a bittersweet goodbye with the original and main group led by Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson. After going on so many incredible adventures with that group, it's tough to think that they may have seen their last bit of action in the Marvel Universe. Hopefully, that isn't the case and some members of that fantastic roster get the chance to bring their characters to life in the MCU.
Daredevil: Defenders & The Punisher
What Daredevil arguably deserves the most credit for is the same thing that fans praise Iron Man for. Just like the original Iron Man film helped establish the foundations of the MCU, Daredevil did the same for the expanded Marvel-Netflix universe.
Without it setting the tone of this universe, we would've never seen the creation of shows like Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, and especially those connected series like The Punisher and The Defenders. It played such a critical role in setting up Netflix's own separate Marvel universe and deserves so much more than just three seasons and 39 episodes of action.
Agents of SHIELD: Character Development & Conclusion
Even with such an extensive roster of characters and seven seasons worth of stories to wrap, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. finale delivered the conclusion the series and its fans deserved.
While they certainly left some doors open for the potential return of some characters and even teased at the establishment of their own multiverse, the series brought its overall story and those of its expertly-developed and beloved characters to a satisfying end. After so many years of getting to know these characters, it was a pleasure to see them go out on such a positive and endearing note.
Daredevil: Main Character & Villains
One thing that truly these two series apart is their very foundation. While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. thrived on the dynamic of a team cast, Daredevil did so with a clear main role and a tremendous lineup of supporting characters. There is truly no one more fit to portray the man without fear than Charlie Cox.
To go alongside him, the series had some of the best villainous performances of all-time as well; mainly those of Vincent D'Onofrio (Kingpin) and Jon Bernthal (Punisher). They were able to establish real relationships between the hero and villains, and ones that lasted more than just a single season. In a perfect world, we'll get to see all three assume these roles once again in a future Daredevil project. Their performances and the stories of their characters are far too great to say goodbye to after just three seasons.