Who Is Muse From ‘Daredevil Born Again’? - Origins

Who Is Muse From ‘Daredevil Born Again’? - Origins

Photo from Marvel.com

From Hugh Verheylewegen

Now that Daredevil Born Again begins has arrived, we know that the titular hero will face off against multiple foes on the streets of  Hell’s Kitchen, including one of the most deranged villains he has ever faced, a serial killer named Muse who believes his purpose is to kill people and turning them into “works of art.” But who is Muse? What threat does he pose to Daredevil and his allies? What terror does he bring to the people of Hell’s Kitchen? Find out more below!

Origin

As with most comic book characters there are multiple origins, identities, incarnations and adaptations of certain characters across comics and various media. For this overview we will be looking at the character’s origins from his first appearance in Daredevil (Vol. 5) #11 released in September 2016. Muse was a mysterious, deranged artist whose gruesome work of art was discovered after he anonymously sent the vigilante Blindspot the address of the warehouse in Washington Heights where he had planted it. This work consisted of a mural painted with blood from over a hundred different missing people. Some weeks later, he defaced the mural, and replaced most of it with the phrase, "You're only as good as your last performance" followed by a new address that directed the police to a vacant building. Inside one of the floors, Muse had planted the corpses of six Inhumans he had previously abducted, posing them with props as if they were performing mundane tasks. Matt Murdock, who was one of the people that discovered Muse's second artwork, sensed Muse's presence in the distance, witnessing as people unveiled his new work for the first time, and left the scene to change into his Daredevil suit and confront the villain. However, Muse drove him off using a dummy grenade, and made his escape.

During his first public appearance, Muse attacked a courtroom and kidnapped Judge Laird, who had been presented by Councilwoman Andrea Pearson with the case to shut down public access to the location of his blood mural. Muse took the judge to the sewers, where he had also abducted Pearson and two police officers, and planned to use all of them for a new work. Blindspot, who had witnessed the judge's kidnapping, followed Muse and caught his attention. Muse chased Blindspot deeper into the sewers, but the vigilante used his suit's camouflaging to disconcert Muse and return to the victims to tie them off and escort them to safety. Blindspot tried to lead Muse away again, but his suit ran out of batteries, and Muse captured him. Muse took Blindspot to his garret and while he was deciding what to do with him, Daredevil arrived, having tracked them down with his senses. Muse gouged Blindspot's eyes out and then escaped. On his way out, he passed by a room where all of the missing people used in his mural were hanging from the ceiling, drained of their blood, and still alive. He cut the ropes hanging them to distract Daredevil and save time, but he was stopped on the rooftop by Inhuman authorities, who had been assisting Daredevil in investigating Muse due to the crimes on Inhumans. Daredevil caught up with him once Muse had been cuffed, fueled by rage for Blindspot's injury. Having noticed Daredevil's intentions, Muse broke his own fingers, stating that's what Daredevil would've wanted, for him to be unable to create more works of "art." After Daredevil took off Muse's mask, the villain was taken away. Muse was subsequently imprisoned at the high-security detention level of New Attilan. His hands healed eventually.

Following the election of Wilson Fisk as Mayor of New York City and his implementation of strict anti-vigilante policies, Muse became inspired by Daredevil's continued fight for justice in spite of the persecution, and decided to escape, killing twelve guards in the process. He went on to vandalize numerous landmarks of Manhattan with giant-sized irremovable graffiti that featured different vigilantes showing support for them. A group of police officers intercepted Muse when he was finishing a mural of the Punisher. Muse slaughtered them and adorned the graffiti with their bodies. Mayor Fisk used the tragedy to push his anti-vigilantism agenda, by blaming the Punisher for it. Having regained his sight due to the intervention of The Hand, Blindspot decided to confront Muse on his own. He defaced one of Muse's murals to lure the murderous artist, and they fought. When Muse overpowered Blindspot, he was briefly taken over by the power of The Hand's Beast, and defeated Muse. However, he refused to kill him. In response, Muse walked into a burning pile of debris complaining that it was supposed to be his own story and not Blindspot's story. He succumbed to the fire, using his final words to lament because he had "so much beauty left."

Powers & Weaknesses

Muse's body acts like a vortex which can absorb any kind of sensory information that surrounds him, making Muse incredibly hard to track, with even Daredevil struggling to target him. Muse's superhuman speed also helps with this, as he is able to move faster than what the human eye can track, allowing him to remain out of sight. He has a level of superhuman strength that is far beyond the average human, proved by his ability to swiftly lift and move many dead bodies. Muse is also very agile, and may potentially be able to climb walls akin to Spider-Man, as he is able to quickly paint giant murals of various superheroes across the entire facades of buildings. He is also a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, being able to take down even the most skilled soldier or vigilante.

What to expect?

In the Daredevil Born Again marketing, Muse is teased to be a major villain in this first season and he is expected to be much like his comic counterpart in terms of his motives, his personality and journey in the season. With Wilson Fisk becoming Mayor of New York City as well as pushing his anti-vigilantism agenda in the series just like he does in comics it can be assumed that Muse will take on a similar role where he will be inspired to go on a killing spree and create horrific “works of art” in support of vigilantes, which in turn could bring him into conflict with Daredevil, Fisk and even the Punisher. Since he had a short journey that ended in his death in comics it can be assumed that he will have a similar path in this first season but there is always the chance the show’s creators may choose to spare him and keep him as a recurring villain for future seasons or even future MCU projects. There are many potential paths for Muse to take after this season if he survives but it will entirely depend on the character’s fate in this series.

New episodes of Daredevil Born Again drop every Tuesday on Disney+.

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