Throughout the entire first season of Netflix' "Daredevil," the obsessive comic book nerd in me kept scanning outdoor scenes for The Avengers Tower. I don't think I saw it once. But that didn't affect my enjoyment of a serial crime thriller that was so often fantastic.

And I think that sums up the program nicely. This is only a putative part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. References to the fantastical larger universe of Marvel's comic book movies are perfunctory and vague. The intergalactic invasion of the Chitauri lizard-men, engineered by the Norse God Loki, is referred to only as "the event" — even though the destruction in New York is part of this season's plot setup. Characters like Iron Man and Thor are referred to dryly by a secondary bad guy who doesn't even mention their names. And other "comic book connections" tend to be minor, obscure, and sparing for a 13-episode season. I actually gained the suspicion here that the screenwriters for this brutal crime drama were unconsciously embarrassed that their show was part of the MCU. Yes, I do know that Netflix will soon launch other related shows, for less iconic comic book characters such as Luke Cage and Iron Fist, and that this incarnation of Daredevil seems fated to join something called "The Defenders." (Ugh.) But that thankfully hasn't happened yet.

Even the comic book elements of the Daredevil mythos seemed to me to be underplayed here. His unusual powers (they don't even feel like "superpowers") rarely take center stage. His villains aren't garish. He's only nicknamed "Daredevil" via a news article in the final episode; nor does he don anything approaching his trademark costume until then. Wilson Fisk, our Big Bad, is never once referred to by his comic book appellation, "The Kingpin."

And you know what? All of that works just fine. The Hell's Kitchen we see in "Daredevil" might seem like a universe unto itself. But, given this show's quality, even a die-hard comic book fan like me can concede, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

It ain't broke. I'd rate Season 1 at a 9 out of 10. In many ways, "Daredevil" is far superior to anything else in the MCU. This show's distinguishing characteristic isn't that it's dark. It's that it's a well written, well directed, and usually quite well performed crime-thriller.