5

In Daredevil (S01E08), Wilson Fisk asks Nobu to get rid of the Man in the black Mask (DareDevil). So Nobu lures the Man in the black Mask to come at one place where they fought and in the end Daredevil killed Nobu.

Fisk came to that place after all this happened and he brutally beat Daredevil and then told his fellow to kill him but Daredevil was able to run from the scene eventually.

There was a situation when Fisk could easily remove his mask and reveal the true identity of the Man in the black mask. Why didn't he do that?

There are two reasons which I am thinking of why Fisk should remove Daredevil's mask:

  1. Even if Fisk was thinking that eventually he was going to kill that man and there was no need to know who Daredevil actually was, but still out of curiosity (or out of respect) he could remove it to know who was that person that came so close to Fisk.

  2. Or as smart as Fisk was I think he also considered the possibility that Daredevil might survive attack. In that situation also knowing true identity of DareDevil helped Wilson in following his strategy to kill DareDevil.

So why did Fisk make these kinds of mistakes?

| improve this question | |
  • 1
    because the bad guys ALWAYS make these mistakes, otherwise the identity of the "masked hero" would be reveiled in the very first episode of every series... – Torsten Link Dec 11 '17 at 8:51
  • sorry @TorstenLink but I am not agree with you . You can see Batman trilogy - Most of enemies like Ras al'gur,Joker,Bane knows about the identity of hero . In Spider-man Green Goblin knows about spider man's real identity so he uses mary jane watson as laverage. There are so many example where villain takes advantage to defeat hero by just knowing their identity. It is other thing that they all not successful in that but yes this make deep impact on superhero – KDeogharkar Dec 11 '17 at 9:04
7

There was a situation when Fisk could easily remove his mask and reveal the true identity of the Man in the black mask. Why didn't he do that?

Do you think Wilson Fisk knows the face of everyone in Hell's Kitchen?

He doesn't. So let's say he pulls off the mask, and reveals this face.

Now what?

Odds are, this person is not a public figure, nor is he in any way known to Fisk or his associates. Daredevil fights crime in general, and while he of course focuses on Fisk too, that doesn't mean that he's personally connected to him.

And even if he knew who the person was (after an extensive search), then what? This guy is still going to keep on doing what he does, regardless of whether you know his face or not. If anything, he'll be more incentivized to shut you up to keep his own identity a secret.

You even answered the question himself: Fisk wanted him to die then and there. There's little point to knowing the face of a man you don't know.

Not knowing the man's face would even help Fisk with plausible deniability, if the police one day show up on his doorstep with this picture and asking him is he has ever seen this person before.

And then there's also the storytelling perspective, where revealing the identity of a superhero is generally avoided unless it's relevant to the plot. Since it wasn't relevant to the plot, there was no point in making the viewer think that Fisk's knowledge of Daredevil's identity will develop the plot in a different way. It distracts from the actual plot.

To summarize:

  • Fisk was having him killed then and there. Knowing his face served no purpose.
  • There are significant odds that Fisk wouldn't know him by his face anyway. Due to Daredevil's general crime-fighting agenda, there's no reason for Fisk to think that Daredevil is personally connected to him.
  • Who says that Daredevil has a personal life when he's not fighting crime? It's just as likely that he lives off the grid; thus making it impossible to find him based on his face or name. Frank Castle is widely known by the public (due to the events in DD), yet he still keeps on doing his thing. Frank is nigh untouchable because he has no personal life that Fisk can use against him. Why would Fisk expect Daredevil to be any different from the Punisher?
  • If Daredevil somehow escapes, he's not going to stop just because his identity is known by Fisk. If anything, revealing his identity would make Fisk a personal problem to Daredevil, which he currently isn't.
  • Since it wouldn't have been relevant for the plot, a pointless face reveal was omitted. This is a correct application of Chekhov's gun.
| improve this answer | |
  • You seem to be either linking to the wrong image or trying to make some point that isn't clear. – Anthony Grist Dec 12 '17 at 15:30
  • 1
    @AnthonyGrist: It's a random male face that no one knows (in scope of the question that is asked), to prove the point that seeing a face doesn't necessarily reveal an identity. It only reveals the identity if you know the face. The viewer (and OP) knows Matt Murdock's face and are aware that Fisk would recognize him easily; but Fisk isn't expecting to see the face of someone he personally knows. – Flater Dec 12 '17 at 15:54

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .