Listen, I love sad, pathetic, manbaby Matt Murdock as much as the next person, but quite frankly he has had a chokehold on this fandom for far too long. I blame season 3 primarily for this depiction since that's Matt at his lowest and most vulnerable point and until recently, that was the most recent Matt Murdock that we got, so it makes sense. But I'm glad to see cocky, angry, asshole Matt with a chip on his shoulder come back in Born Again, because THAT is Matt's default mode when he isn't Going Through It (tm). I think Charlie Cox plays Matt with a lot of depth and layers and he most definitely isn't ONLY a cocky, smug asshole, but that's canonically the biggest part of his personality. I think a lot of people come into the DD fandom and are fooled by Charlie Cox's soulful eyes and cinnamon roll personality and think that Matt is like that too. Matt does have moments where he can be very soft, but what makes those moments special is that they are pretty rare. Matt Murdock the character is 100% a confident, sarcastic, assertive, and aggressive bruiser, with rage issues so severe he has to go out at night and beat up people he's never met. It's the juxtaposition between the way he looks on the surface (mild mannered ivy league educated disabled attorney) and his true personality that makes him so interesting. You THINK that he's going to be a pitiful wet cat, and it turns out he's actually a German Shepherd straining at his leash.
Anyway the imposter syndrome is impostering and syndroming. But if you like this art and want it as a sticker, it's on my redbubble! Have a great pride!
The biggest difference we are meant to see between Marc and Steven is the fact that Steven is so open and expressive. When we first meet Marc, he is glaring, stone faced, and so stiff. He is a rock and Steven is water.
In reality, Marc is sand. Slowly breaking down beneath the brutal winds that have been beating at him all his life.
As the show progresses, we see Marc have little breakthroughs of exasperation, irritation, stress, and anger. An eye roll, a twitch of the lips, and pulling away to reset.
We see his exhausted and extreme control to control everything about his emotions. We see him fidget. We see his fingers twitch. We see him sigh and run his hands over his hair.
Ticks or someone that has been taught not to stim. Not to draw attention. Not to show weakness.
When he was younger, he probably bounced his legs till he was chastised to stop. He probably would vocal stim till he was told his voice was too much. He probably excitedly flapped his hands over his favorite show until he started to get hit.
This right here? This is a reset. A lapse in control that he catches and controls. We see it the most around Layla.
The peaks behind the curtain. The way she moves her hands when he starts to close in on himself. His hands are together pressed so tightly in on himself. Look at the way she moves to touch his fingers rather than holding him still or clasping his hands into a cage. She does this while watching his face so intently. She knows. She is opening him up, encouraging him to stim. To touch her fingers. To move.
Even here, when we first see him, cold and trying his best to be intimidating while frustrated. He knows he fucked up here. He knows he fucked up real bad and he isn't smart enough to fix it.
It's the way he settles into that spot. The shift. It's a small shift in feet. A shift from someone that used to walk a little differently. Someone used to the off balance and toe step. A step that has been drilled out of them.
Even just his eyes, intimidating, but honestly a stare that is locked and scared. Look at his arms slowly settle into that "standing man" position he's so good at. He's halfway debating on trying to pretend to be Steven. You can see it in the way his face shifts JUST the smallest bit around the jaw.
Even here. He's in so much pain physically and emotionally. His lips are SO pulled tight. He's probably been tortured before. Used to pain. Used to being hit. Used to hiding how much something hurts. He's breathing through it and rembering his training.
But he's tired and his system stability has been compromised by this point and he's been fighting Steven up to this point (and probably Jake who probably has thoughts about this situation).
The way he goes from full grimace to exhale to a perfectly calm face. He knows how to mask to the extreme.
So what is this? And of course....
Marc is unable to mask in the Duat. Not just because of the extreme stress he is under or the fact that he is dead.
I have a few theories on why:
Being dead, he has no body and has lost the fine control he has gained over the years. Before he could feel the need to express himself and his muscles would shut it down automatically. A sort of self preservation and natural response he has honed over the years.
This of course means that in their head space, he is also unable to mask. Remember the first time he spoke to Steven? The frustration in his voice as he demanded that Steven stop looking? Even when he's seen in the reflections, you see more of Marc's expressions than when he has the body.
2. He is being judged on the boat and being prevented from masking. The duat is seeing his true self to balance on the scales. All those who pass through, might lose the ability to hide themselves. Those who are evil are more evil and easy to see. So here, Marc's true feelings are exposed. His worries, his frustrations, his confusion, his utter reliance on Steven to tend to his emotional state.
In the scene here, Marc's hand is fidgeting and twitching. Many times when Steven is explaining things to Marc in the Duat, we see Marc look to him with utter trust, adoration, and eagerness. He is unable to hide how he feels about Steven. Not the irritation or impatience he showed in the real world, but kindness and love.
Here, we see the real Marc Spector. The real reason why his scales balanced.
A theory on why he was suddenly worthy when Steven went over the edge? All of Marc's love for Steven was realized. It wasn't because he was suddenly 'whole' or 'singular'. But because he was seen to care for Steven. To do everything for Steven. He himself suddenly realized how much he needed Steven and depended on him. (just one of the theories that avoids the implied able-ism that could be taken away from the scene because I am hopeful and want to see the good in Marc and in why he was worthy).
3. He has been separated from his head-mates. Steven, who is his emotional protector is not there to help him reign in his extreme emotions. Jake, who is (in my headcannon) gate keeper and physical protector, is not there to save him and keep away the more harmful memories.
Not to say that Jake or Steven keep Marc masked, but more along the lines of they help Marc not get overwhelmed in certain situations.
4. Mirroring. This is an unfamiliar situation. He has lost his body. He has been separated from Jake and Steven as mentioned above. He is exhibiting the ultimate form of masking, by copying the energy of those around him. He has the same excitement that Steven has. The same open face and more so: When with Harrow, he shuts down and pushes out the same cool exterior while desperately trying to figure out what Harrow wants and how to please him so he can get out of the situation. Something he probably did a lot with his mother. What can he do and display to appease her so she won't hurt him.
Ironically, when Marc mirrors Steven, it shows his true side and we get to see who Marc really is under his gruff exterior: A kind and loving man.
A man that needs someone to see him. To really see him. Who has been afraid his whole life of people seeing the real him while also desperately wishing to be understood.
He still masks once resurrected and out of the Duat, but we see him smile, really smile, when he sees that Layla is alright. We hear the joy in his voice when talking to Steven. We see the fear when he doesn't understand what happened when Jake saved them.
We even see how his face twists and contorts when faced with killing Harrow with Layla and Steven there.
He is a man that does not have to be seen as the cold killer. He is starting to understand that he has found his safe people. People that maybe...just maybe... He can trust enough to be vulnerable and open around. People he can love.
“Hear me, X-Men! No longer am I the woman you knew! I am Fire and Life incarnate! Now and forever - I am PHOENIX!”
— Uncanny X-Men #101
A digital painting depicting Jean Grey's fateful transformation into the Phoenix. Inspired by the moment she crashes the X-Men’s jet near Jamaica Bay.
The background is sparse — trembling reflections of distant houses flicker uncertainly on the water's surface. Above, the sky glows with heat, disturbed by the fiery aura rising from Jean’s burning hair. A faint outline of the Phoenix emblem glows in the heavens, a harbinger of what is to come.
At the center — or what should be the center — Jean Grey emerges from the water. Only her face and neck are visible, cast in shadows dancing from unseen flames. Her red hair blurs into fire as it merges with the light. Beneath the surface, the true Jean Grey can be glimpsed — her face hidden within the depths, a subtle nod to the canon cocoon she sleeps in. Let’s call it artistic license...
