You can’t expect comic books to accurately portray the workings of the real world, especially as the real world evolves further and further out of sync with the underlying premise of a comic. The New York of the Marvel Universe, for instance, bears less and less resemblance to to my New York (and not just because Magneto didn’t do anything to fuck up my morning commute last year). Sure, I can walk by the Avengers Mansion or take the subway to Spider-Man’s neighborhood, but there’s not much more resemblance than that anymore. Marvel’s contemporary New York is still based on Stan Lee’s fictionalized version from a couple of generations ago, which hasn’t had the same churning real estate market as the real thing.
I get a huge kick out of the version of Hell’s Kitchen that Daredevil protects with such dedication. His Hell’s Kitchen is still about the poor and the downtrodden in their seedy apartments and dive bars, and the crime rings that prey on them. The actual Hell’s Kitchen (which the realtors are trying to get us to refer to as “Clinton”) is more about gays, tourists, and luxury rentals these days.
I would love to see Daredevil start interacting with the area’s steady influx of homos and realtors. Maybe another cocktail lounge or an Olive Garden could open up down the street from Nelson & Murdock’s office, or maybe Matt could look into subletting the first floor of his townhouse for a couple grand per month. Considering the city’s colorful history of gay bars getting protection from the mob, wouldn’t it be awesome if the Kingpin’s cronies opened up a huge gay disco in Matt’s favorite church? With go-go boys dressed like Daredevil? That would be more grittily realistic. And still ripe with dramatic potential, don’t you think? Daredevil could totally use a drag-queen sidekick.
