The series’ conceit, in blurring the line between hero and villain, isn’t especially novel. The mild-mannered professional by day, crimefighter by night trope invites immediate comparison to The Dark Knight trilogy and shows like Arrow. But Daredevil shines in the execution, which is as inspired as it is dark, darker than anything Marvel or DC has so far depicted onscreen.

It manages that first by being bloodier than anything audiences have seen out of the Big Two so far, verging on the edge of Sin City territory. This show is gruesome. The bloodletting is relentless here; at one point, a character slams his own head through a wall spike just to make a point. But what really sets this apart from Nolan’s films and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that Daredevil shows how superheroes fail us. The Avengers saved the world, but the New York they left behind is still scarred for it. Crime took root in the wreckage, and heroes like Iron Man are nowhere in sight. Matt Murdock is the kind of hero that environment now needs: the first street-level hero willing to get his hands dirty. And the blood he and those around him spill is a constant reminder of how morally compromised his part of the city has become. This is what the world is like with superheroes in it. This is how things go too far. It’s as cruel as it is compelling, adding weight to the proceedings without leaning so much on older stories as to prevent the story from standing on its own.