Daredevil Bob Gunton is Leland Owlsley aka The Owl

[Six]

I doubt they will spend on money on that.

I think given Gunton's age, Owl will play the role Alexander Bont or Don Rigoletto played in the comics, the guy was in charge of the underworld before Kingpin displaced him. Since the first season seems to be about Kingpin's rise, it makes sense to show his predecessor and putting Owl in that role makes sense, Owl is the first crime boss DD faced off against in the comics. I doubt Owl will have any over the top powers or be very physical, given Gunton's age, but he will have a commanding presence.

I agree. I hope we see a much more grounded approach to the Owl, no super powers or anything resembling his comic book counterpart. I still want him to be more volatile and impulsive than Fisk though.

 

[Six]

According to IMDB, David Shumbris is Bob Gunton's stunt double.

 

[Gr0oT]

I agree. I hope we see a much more grounded approach to the Owl, no super powers or anything resembling his comic book counterpart. I still want him to be more volatile and impulsive than Fisk though.

It's a comic show, why does it need to be grounded?
So long as a competent direction is used a powered Owl could work.
Stunt double bodes well for a physical Owl after all.

 

[Six]

I doubt he'll glide or anything because thats just stupid. His name is already Owlsley, he doesn't need any more reason to be called the Owl. He'd need a stunt double if he got knocked down or anything like that, doesn't mean he'll have superpowers.

 

[Mike Murdock]

I don't think it's stupid. It may be off tone but we're talking about something in the same universe as a talking Raccoon.

I tend to agree it won't happen, but the Owl doesn't have to copy only his name.

 

[The Overlord]

It's a comic show, why does it need to be grounded?
So long as a competent direction is used a powered Owl could work.
Stunt double bodes well for a physical Owl after all.

Bob Gunton is almost 70, Owl will be that age in the series. It would be hard for a man of that age to do anything physically impressive. Owl in the comics seems to be in his early 40s, if he was 70 in the comics, he likely would not be very physical either. I think they choose Gunton for reason, if he is precursor to the Kingpin, his advanced age makes sense, plus there are other ways to make him unstable and blood thirsty, he could kill with a gun or order his men to commit unnecessarily violent acts.

I don't think it's stupid. It may be off tone but we're talking about something in the same universe as a talking Raccoon.

I tend to agree it won't happen, but the Owl doesn't have to copy only his name.

Movie Whiplash has very little with his comic book counterpart, ditto with Aldrich Killian. I also think in this series, Owl will be a composite character, combining aspects of various crime bosses we have seen over the decades in Daredevil. Frankly Owl is not the most important character in the DD mythos, so the writers are likely okay with changing his role in the series.

 

[Dark Raven]

Maybe Owl will have all-seeing surveillance - eyes everywhere metaphorically, instead of being able to turn his head 360 degrees.

 

[grace_Lim]

Maybe Owl will have all-seeing surveillance - eyes everywhere metaphorically, instead of being able to turn his head 360 degrees.

Actually, that's a pretty good idea.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Movie Whiplash has very little with his comic book counterpart, ditto with Aldrich Killian. I also think in this series, Owl will be a composite character, combining aspects of various crime bosses we have seen over the decades in Daredevil. Frankly Owl is not the most important character in the DD mythos, so the writers are likely okay with changing his role in the series.

Just to clarify, I have no problem with them changing it. I was just saying that I also wouldn't have had a problem had they not changed it.

Although, the relative lack of importance for the Owl is also why I had no problem with him not being here this season. Use someone like Eric Slaughter for the character they're using Owlsley as and then consider The Owl for a second season if the Kingpin falls (sort of how he appeared in BMB's Lowlife storyline). Not to copy Arrow too much, but a second season could be when they start dipping their toes into fantastical things with characters like Typhoid Mary instead of just a mob saga.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Actually, that's a pretty good idea.

It also seems like that's the direction they're now going with in the comics, based on his last appearance.

 

[Six]

I almost don't know what I'm more excited about... Vincent D'onofrio as Wilson Fisk, or Bob Gunton as the Owl. It'll be a treat to see them interact.

 

[fixxxer]

Unlike the Mockingbird thread over on the Agents Of SHIELD side, this character thread shows a curious lack of images. Double standards, I tells ya!

 

[Six]

I couldn't find any of him in a skintight bodysuit. This was the sexiest image I could find.

 

[Beast]

Sounds like a good choice for me

 

[The Overlord]

Just to clarify, I have no problem with them changing it. I was just saying that I also wouldn't have had a problem had they not changed it.

Although, the relative lack of importance for the Owl is also why I had no problem with him not being here this season. Use someone like Eric Slaughter for the character they're using Owlsley as and then consider The Owl for a second season if the Kingpin falls (sort of how he appeared in BMB's Lowlife storyline). Not to copy Arrow too much, but a second season could be when they start dipping their toes into fantastical things with characters like Typhoid Mary instead of just a mob saga.

But the thing is, Eric Slaughter is even more of a minor character then Owl is, Owl has far more appearances then Slaughter and I would argue that Owl has a more defined personality, with Owl being the anti Kingpin, very impulsive and prone to random violence rather then a cool and collected long term planer.

Also when Miller wrote him, Slaughter came off as a really minor character in the Marvel underworld. He seems more like some guy who happened to run a small business where he would rent out hired muscle for other people, not a powerful crime boss with fingers in every pie, Brubaker seemed to cast him as a more powerful crime boss, with the government wanting his assistance to monitor potential terrorist activity at the docks, but Brubaker did not go into details on how Slaugther's role in the underworld changed to any great detail.

Again I think Owl in this series will be a composite character, adding in elements from Slaughter and other crime bosses like Alexander Bont. Let's face it, both Whiplash and Willaim Stryker were composite characters, so this is nothing new.


Plus since it seems like this first season is about the rise of Kingpin, having the fall of Kingpin in season 2 will seem rather anti climatic and seem to be happening too quickly, a fall of the Kingpin story shouldn't happen till season 3 or 4.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Yeah, I don't disagree with that. It's a fine way of handling it. I was trying to come up with suggestions that kept the characters distinct. A composite character is fine, but the question is whether there are any elements of The Owl in the character besides his name.

 

[The Overlord]

Yeah, I don't disagree with that. It's a fine way of handling it. I was trying to come up with suggestions that kept the characters distinct. A composite character is fine, but the question is whether there are any elements of The Owl in the character besides his name.

But we are talking about rather minor characters being combined here, like I said I don't think Slaughter has much of a personality. I think the main thing to keep with Owl, the way he has been consistently written for the last 20 years or so, is that he is a violent, impulsive psychopath who sometimes tries to hide this under a mask of sophistication. Owl doesn't have to claw people or eat rats to be a violent psycho. He can simply shoot one his underlings for displeasing him, try to get at Fisk by planting a bomb in a area filled with civilians, like a restaurant, etc. If they wanted to make really evil, they could give that the criminal plot involving kidnapping children that Fisk did the Man Without Fear mini, I think that plan so evil it would make Fisk seem completely unsympathetic, but that wouldn't matter with a psycho like Owl.


An Owl closer to the comics could have worked and could have been fun, but was certainly was not necessary.

 

[JB-the-Hunter]

Owlsley seriously ended up being the single most entertaining character in season one for me, and what cemented it was what he did towards the end of the season.

 

[O'Haire]

Yeah, dude was awesome. Pretty much every line out of his mouth had me cracking up.

 

[Ghostcrow13]

Owlsley seriously ended up being the single most entertaining character in season one for me, and what cemented it was what he did towards the end of the season.

Here here, I loved his just bluntness towards Fisk, like he didn't give a crap.

My favorite line was

Fisk: The Russians were getting erratic

Owsley: Says the guy who just took a guy's head off with a car door.

 

[PacificBoy]

He has plenty of great retorts. "Complication. Well there's a word I'm hearing more and more."

 

[redlion2]

Oh man, I just loved Owlsley. The guy had me cracking up. Practically every line that came out of the guy's mouth was pure gold.

 

[Just_Human]

In every single episode I thought Fisk was going to kill him on the spot

 

[Virgo_Luxx]

In every single episode I thought Fisk was going to kill him on the spot

Yeah, that was my feeling about him in the first ep. Like "This guy is so pissy why are these other people putting up with it?" Then we learn he's probably the most important guy in their organization.

 

[Lencho01]

This character was hilarious. I don't think there was ever a scene where he didn't make me laugh or chuckle.