User:DReifGalaxyM31/Karen Page (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Karen Page
Marvel Cinematic Universe character
First appearance	"Into the Ring"
Created by	Drew Goddard
Portrayed by	Deborah Ann Woll
In-universe information
Nickname	"K"
Occupation	Secretary at Union Allied Construction (former) Secretary / officer manager at Nelson & Murdock (former) New York Bulletin news reporter
Family	Paxton Page (father) Penelope Page (mother) Kevin Paxton Page (brother; deceased)
Nationality	American

Karen Page is a character portrayed by Deborah Ann Woll in the television series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), based on the comic character of the same name. She first appeared in Daredevil, and later appears in The Defenders and The Punisher.

Biography

Daredevil Season 1

At the start of the series, Karen works as a secretary at Union Allied Construction. One day she is emailed a file which contains evidence of money laundering. Seeking to tell someone about what she had discovered, Karen asks Daniel Fisher, a coworker of hers from the legal department, to join her for drinks at a bar, believing him to be someone she can trust. Seeking to discredit her, Wilson Fisk has their drinks drugged. Fisk's men take Karen and Fisher back to her apartment, and stab Fisher to death. Karen wakes up on the floor of her living room next to Fisher's dead body with a bloody knife in her hands. Moments later, the police burst into the apartment and arrest Karen.

Karen is taken to the 15th Precinct. While awaiting to be questioned, Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson, who have been informed by Sgt. Brett Mahoney of Karen's arrest, show up to represent her. Matt, listening to Karen's heartbeat, believes her innocence, and he and Foggy take Karen on as her first client.

Matt and Foggy's arrival causes complications for Fisk, forcing him to change his plans. On Fisk's orders, James Wesley intimidates Clyde Farnum, a guard who owes Fisk money, and orders him to attack Karen in her cell in exchange for his debts being forgiven. Farnum tries to strangle Karen with her bedsheets to make it look like a suicide, but Karen fights back and scratches at his face, drawing blood from his eyes with her fingernails. She is later released from custody, and Matt offers to put her up at his apartment for the night.

While conversing with Karen, Matt realizes that she is being targeted because she has a copy of the Union Allied pension file. She lies and says she doesn't have a copy. Later that night, while Matt is fast asleep, Karen slips back to her apartment to retrieve the flashdrive containing the file. As she's leaving, she is attacked by an assassin sent by Fisk to kill her, but Matt shows up in a black mask and overpowers the assassin. He then delivers the assassin and the flashdrive to the New York Bulletin.

With the truth exposed and Karen cleared of all charges, Matt and Foggy hire her on as their new secretary at Nelson & Murdock.

Some days later, Wesley shows up at Nelson & Murdock to hire the firm to defend one of Fisk's assassins. Karen is offended when he makes a demeaning remark about her legal troubles. At the same time, Fisk attempts to have Karen bribed into silence by having lawyers for Union Allied ask her to sign a non-disclosure agreement wherein she will receive the equivalent of six months pay from Union Allied in exchange for not going to the media. Karen is incensed that the people who tried to have her killed are attempting to cover up their activities. After failing to secure the help of Daniel Fisher's widow, Karen goes to Ben Urich, the Bulletin reporter that published the Union Allied piece.

Karen believes that there is a money trail of the Union Allied assets that are being liquidated, but Ben shows no interest in the story and suggests that Karen, with her past, may not be a credible source, pointing out how many of the informants for his major investigative pieces got killed off by people trying to keep their secrets quiet. In an attempt to continue her research on her own, Karen attends an auction where Union Allied assets are being sold off and sketches several of the bidders, hoping to gain a lead. Ben crashes the auction and warns her that many of the bidders in attendance are looking for people like her to want to expose their organization. At Ben's suggestion, Karen bids on old office equipment and has it charged to Nelson & Murdock.

Daredevil Season 2

At the start of season 2, Karen is becoming closer and more attached to Matt. While they are playing an after-work game of pool at Josie's, Karen takes advantage of Foggy leaving for a bathroom break to "teach" Matt how to play, in the process sinking the eight-ball. While at Josie's, they encounter Grotto, who has come to Josie's after escaping a Punisher attack on the Kitchen Irish. They listen to Grotto's story as he recounts what happened, until he collapses, bleeding out from a shrapnel wound he sustained in the shooting.

While Matt and Foggy hunt down Brett at the scene of the massacre, Karen is tasked with guarding Grotto at the hospital while he recovers. This doesn't last long as Frank Castle tracks them down and tries to kill Grotto by shooting at them with a shotgun, then by sniping at them from the hospital roof.

The Defenders

Karen is a recurring character in The Defenders. She is introduced in "The H Word", running into Matt after he wins an $11 million lawsuit for a paraplegic boy. She invites him out to lunch at a diner to get a comment from him. They make small talk about their lives, with Karen admitting she is feeling settled in to her new career at the Bulletin. A few days later, when Matt returns to Daredevil activities to fight the Hand, Karen is the first person he warns, and she worries for Matt's safety as she and Foggy are forced to shelter in Misty Knight's precinct. During this time, she bonds with Trish Walker and they connect over their complicated relationships with Matt and Jessica Jones. After Matt is seemingly killed when Midland Circle is imploded to eliminate the Hand, Karen is devastated, but confides to Foggy that she has a gut feeling Matt is alive.

The Punisher

Still in the midst of mourning Matt, Karen is introduced in The Punisher when Frank approaches her to get information on Micro. After Frank interrupts a DHS sting operation to acquire weaponry for his crusade, Karen investigates, interviewing Dinah Madani and later meeting with Frank to ask him for his side of the story. Later on, Frank comes to rescue Karen when she and Senator Stan Ori are targeted by Lewis Wilson, a disillusioned soldier in Curtis Hoyle's support group who has carried out a string of bombings on government buildings and mailed a manifesto to Karen. Lewis takes Karen hostage in the confusion, but she frees herself after Frank gives her a cue to cut one of the wires on Lewis's suicide vest, and then shoots Lewis in the foot with a gun she took from one of Billy Russo's men. She later helps Frank escape by posing as his hostage.

Character development

Woll was cast as Karen Page in July 2014. On creating the character, after portraying Jessica Hamby in True Blood from 2008–14, Woll said, "I'm already starting to notice huge differences between the two characters ... I can feel myself go, 'Oh, if this was Jessica she would do this,' but wanting to kind of steer differently than that. It's always going to be me in some way. I think, as an actor, that's part of it." Woll had not previously read any Daredevil comics, and turned to her boyfriend E.J. Scott, who is "a huge comic book fan" for guidance. She also added that Karen's backstory would be different than the one from the comics, saying, "In the comic books, in the beginning Karen is very innocent, and then towards the end she's really swung a full 180, she's in a lot of trouble, so I wanted to find a way to make her both of those things at the same time. Can she be a really wonderful, kind person who is a little bit attracted to danger? She's not just always getting into trouble because 'Oh, silly woman!' Karen is actually looking for it, and she won't let her fear stop her from finding the truth." Woll does not watch the series, which helped in the second season where Karen was unaware of Matt's role as Daredevil, as she never saw Cox acting as Daredevil in the costume.

Maslansky looked to Karen's backstory within the show when designer her costumes, with Karen having dreams and fantasies of a life in New York along the lines of Katharine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall, and dressing according to those thoughts ("retro, slim skirts, tighter fitting tops and slim dresses"). Maslansky also said that "Page embodies innocence and knowingness. We referenced the comic illustrations and updated them, then built her wardrobe with the same retro nod as for the other characters....Her look is body conscious and professional."

Explaining why Karen does not tell Matt and Foggy that she has killed Wesley, DeKnight said, "There’s something that happened in Karen’s past — we allude to it, Ben alludes to it — and when she grabs the gun she says, “You think this is the first time I’ve ever shot somebody?” That's a secret from her past that she doesn’t want anyone to know. The fact that she shot him once, you can explain that as self-defense; but then she pretty much unloaded the gun into him. That crosses a bit of a line. The last thing she would want is for those two to be horrified by what she’s done."