It's fair to say Daredevil's profile has risen dramatically over the last couple weeks thanks to the long-awaited premiere of Netflix's live-action series. Some have argued that it's the best thing to come out of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. At the very least, it's a far better effort than the well-meaning but not particularly good 2003 film. Daredevil is finally getting his due outside of the comics. However, the success of this show is more than just the end result of a talented group of writers, actors, directors and producers coming together to craft a good superhero series. Daredevil has a primal and fundamental appeal that sets him apart from most heroes. Perhaps even more than Spider-Man, he is the most "Marvel" of Marvel's heroes. The Netflix series succeeded because it tapped into that appeal.

Marvel's Daredevil: Season 1 Review

Granted, it took a while for Daredevil to truly find his footing as a character. He was spawned from that same perfect storm of creativity in the early '60s that gave Marvel fans Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. But much as the X-Men didn't really come into their own until the introduction of the Giant-Size X-Men cast and the debut of Chris Claremont, Daredevil languished in relative obscurity until he found his own Claremont in the form of Frank Miller. Miller finally solidified all the core elements of the Daredevil mythos. He brought the hero into a darker, grittier realm, combined that with a healthy dose of ninja and martial arts trappings, and really brought out the pathos. Daredevil finally became the hero he needed to be.What makes Daredevil great nowadays is the combination of all these disparate elements. He still has an aura of swashbuckling adventure about him that calls back to his more innocent days. He's also a ninja, and few things in pop culture are cooler than ninja. And he's a real tortured soul. He was blinded in a freak accident. He had a rough upbringing independent of that injury, losing his mother at an early age and his father some years later. He suffers from the crushing weight of his Catholic guilt, whereas most superheroes have little or no religious background. His luck -- whether it concerns his professional career, his love life, or his general status in the Marvel U -- is lousy enough to make even Spider-Man feel bad for poor Matt Murdock.On an even more fundamental level, Daredevil is a fascinating figure because he's so darn flawed. He's a guy who purports to uphold the law and defend the innocent in court, yet he's not averse to taking the law into his own hands and beating criminals into a pulp when mere courtroom heroics don't win the day. He routinely fails to protect those he cares about from his enemies. In the comics, he suffered so much from losing lovers like Karen Page and Elektra and having his identity leaked to the world that he went insane, got himself possessed by an ancient demon, and became the leader of an evil ninja cult. Even now, despite all of Matt's attempts to put his past behind him and embrace the future, he suffers from a pretty serious case of clinical depression. Why wouldn't he at this point?To get back to the Spider-Man comparison, Spidey is often viewed as the quintessential Marvel hero. He struggles against great odds and sometimes stumbles, but he never gives up. But what sets Daredevil apart is the fact that no matter how hard he struggles and tries to be better, many times he still fails. You can always count on Spider-Man to ultimately triumph over evil. With Daredevil, you can't. Sometimes, he even becomes that evil. He's a guy who confronts the very worst the world has to offer and is too often beaten down by it. Yet, much like his pugilist father, Matt refuses to give up no matter how dark the odds. That's probably why Daredevil resonates so deeply with readers and creators. Maybe we aren't all ambitious lawyers with ninja training and a radar sense who spend our nights beating up overweight crime lords, but we can certainly connect with the painful struggles and fleeting moments of triumph Daredevil encounters.Daredevil is also interesting in just how malleable he and his comics can be. It doesn't always have to be about darkness and pathos. You can do lighthearted action/adventure comics with Daredevil. You can do romance comics with Daredevil. You can do gritty crime comics with Daredevil. You can do stylish martial arts romps or legal dramas or slice-of-life stories. Creators who stick with the series long enough tend to do a little of everything. He's one of the more adaptable heroes in comics.Taking his fundamental appeal, his "more Marvel than Spider-Man" qualities, and his malleability, it's little wonder Daredevil has enjoyed such a consistent comic book track record over the past few decades. Miller solidified the character in the early '80s and then went out with a bang thanks to stories like "Born Again" and "Man Without Fear." From there the torch has passed from Ann Nocenti to Kevin Smith to Brian Michael Bendis to Ed Brubaker to Andy Diggle and now to Mark Waid. Daredevil thrived even when the rest of the industry struggled. He practically saved Marvel during the tumultuous late '90s when Smith's relaunched series headlined the new Marvel Knights imprint and readers were reminded that superhero comics could be bold and gripping without being melodramatic or continuity-obsessed. More recently, Waid's Daredevil set a new benchmark for Marvel with its emphasis on clean, accessible storytelling free from excessive crossovers or other nonsense. Waid's Daredevil paved the way for critical darlings like Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel and Silver Surfer. Hopefully that long track record will remain unbroken as Waid and artist Chris Samnee wrap up their run and a new direction inevitably begins for Daredevil after Secret Wars.The hugely positive reception to the Netflix series proves that Daredevil is ripe for a bigger multimedia presence. He's a hero who can be every bit as appealing on screen as he has been in the comics. That first season was great, but it only scratches the surface of what Marvel can do with the franchise in TV and film. There are still many core characters to introduce and many elements of the DD mythos to explore. That's why it's depressing to think that we may not see this live-action Daredevil return in a significant role until Netflix's Defenders show finally premieres two years from now. That's simply unacceptable, and we can only hope there are now discussions about expanding Daredevil's TV or movie presence in the lead-up to Defenders.Daredevil may not be the most important hero in the Marvel Universe, but he is one of the most compelling. Even those who have never picked up a Daredevil comic are realizing that now. One of Marvel's goals with the MCU now needs to be ensuring that this character can develop the same incredible track record in live-action that he's built up in print.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter , or Kicksplode on MyIGN