TAGGED AS: Marvel, streaming, Superheroes, TV
Tuesday sees the arrival of Daredevil: Born Again, the highly anticipated return of fan favorite characters from the Netflix Daredevil series in the Disney+ Marvel Cinematic Universe milieu. Of course, questions remain for those who championed another series for blind attorney Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and his vigilante alter ego. Did the Netflix series happen? Were any of the characters Blipped? Can Born Again maintain the quality of its predecessor?
Luckily, we’ve had the chance to watch a few episodes and give fans and newcomers alike a handy guide for the Daredevil: Born Again experience.
No. Born Again does a good job reminding viewers of the key relationships — chief among them: the feud between Matt and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). More specific details — like the Hand’s raid on the hospital in Daredevil: Season 2 — are not pertinent to the story of Born Again. Also, as Cox has said it takes place six years after the events of Daredevil’s third season, which drew nearly every lingering storyline to a close, there is very little for Born Again to pick up directly from its predecessor.
Nevertheless, as it has been some time since any of the characters have been in a long-form television series, here’s a quick list of where we left them before the new series picks up.
Matt: Although he made a brief Daredevil appearance in last year’s Echo limited series, that proved to be a flashback to the Blip years. The last time we saw him chronologically, he was holding onto She-Hulk Jessica Walters (Tatiana Maslany) after she re-arranged reality to both defeat her long-time antagonist and spend a little more time with the yellow-suited Daredevil of Hell’s Kitchen. As far as we can tell, Walters has not followed Matt back to New York, so we doubt his relationship status from that last She-Hulk: Attorney at Law scene will matter.
Fisk: Echo is more pertinent to Fisk as he had a larger role in that story by chasing his ward, Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), back to her hometown. Once there, she received mysterious new powers and used them to alter Fisk in some way. After accepting that she would never rejoin his empire, he learned about the Mayoral Recall in New York and decided to run for the office. Maya potentially healing his heart may matter in Born Again. For one thing, his bid to run the city may have a genuinely altruistic motive. Then again, Fisk always thought he was being altruistic, even when he was planning to destroy all of Hell’s Kitchen in the first season of Netflix’s Daredevil. Meanwhile, even if the specifics of what occurred on Echo may not directly impact Born Again, Fisk’s behavior since Maya shot him in the final moments of Hawkeye may have a bearing on his Born Again story.
Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson): Foggy’s status matches his nickname. Last seen in the closing moments of Daredevil’s third season, he quit his job at a high-power law firm to start a new business with Matt and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll). He was also single — story of his life — by that point, but happy to be with his best friends once more. And as glimpsed in the trailers, he underwent a glow-up in the intervening six years. What that means for his love life is something viewers will have to learn for themselves.
Karen Page: Like Foggy, she was last seen in Daredevil having a celebratory drink with her new business associates at Nelson, Murdock & Page. She also subsequently assisted Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) in a daring escape. While details of her life afterward are scarce, she has braved so many close calls, kidnapping attempts, and other traumatic events that we imagine nothing in the gap years — even the Blip — could throw her. That said, we would like some more specifics on her life after Daredevil: Season 3. Also, we’re pretty sure neither she nor Foggy were Blipped. Clearly, Matt has some luck in that regard since so many other MCU denizens lost people close to them.
Frank Castle: At the conclusion of The Punisher’s second season, Frank was given the opportunity to do wetwork for the CIA. Naturally, he turned it down as he already has a job to do. We doubt, though, that anything covered in The Punisher will be referenced or carried over into Born Again. From what we’ve seen, he is another of New York’s known vigilantes, a list that includes a couple of familiar names and at least one new costumed identity.
That question lies at the heart of Born Again’s rocky development. Originally conceived as a more episodic program in the vein of She-Hulk, many worried the end product would also skew toward that show’s jokey, fourth wall-breaking irreverence. Then came the news in late 2023 that the original writers and directors had been let go. When replacements were hired on, their job was to convert the program, existing episodes and all, into something more akin to the Netflix Daredevil in format if not in tone.
And, in the end, it seems Born Again was always going to hew closer to Daredevil than She-Hulk. At least in tone. Since much of the season was shot before the creative upheaval, it is easy to see the original writers’ intent: a story featuring themes in keeping with the Netflix series. Visually, it might be a brighter-looking series than its predecessor, but that can be reasoned away thanks to: A) the program unambiguously taking place in the MCU, and B) more of the story occurring in daylight.
In the episodes we’ve seen, serialization is definitely present. A few plots slow-burn, others come to the fore and resolve within an episode or two. Characters arcs, meanwhile, seem built to run the duration of the first season, if not the whole series. And, as with the original Daredevil, the characters and their interactions are the real meat of the tale.
While Matt and Fisk always take center stage in a Daredevil TV show — with their associated supporting characters also getting screentime — every season introduced new characters to either welcome with open arms or push into the Hudson. In the case of season 3’s Dex (Wilson Bethel), it was both! But does Born Again offer characters as memorable as Stick (Scott Glenn) or Matt’s mother, Maggie Murdock (Joanne Whalley)?
In the episodes we’ve seen, Nikki M. James and Clark Johnson make immediate impressions as Kirsten McDuffie and Cherry, respectively. Both work with Matt for reasons best discovered when watching the show, but they bring a new vibe to office scenes. Of course, that’s to be expected with Johnson, who knows his way around a crime drama thanks to his years on Homicide: Life on the Street and directing shows like The Shield.
Fisk’s new circle, populated by Arty Froushan, Zabryna Guevara, and Michael Gandolfini, also offer some new energy – which is required considering how often Fisk changes out majordomos, underlings, and assorted hangers-on. They also offer a window into an underseen aspect of the MCU that is also consistent with the Daredevil approach to things.
Other characters come-and-go as well — including one or two new masked personas — and serve the tone of Born Again … even the one who is clearly present to be comic relief.
The return of Daredevil to episodic television naturally leads fans of the old show to ask about Matt’s vigilante cohort, the Defenders. As we mentioned before, Born Again does not expect the viewer to rewatch or closely recall the events of the Netflix shows, and the canonicity of The Defenders is still up in the air.
In fact, the series as a whole retains Daredevil’s more reserved approach to Marvel crossovers. Oh, there are definitely some layered in, and others are very easy to spot, but from what we’ve seen, Born Again keeps its focus squarely on Matt and Fisk’s corners of the universe as it is now. Naturally, that means the Avengers are on a far-off horizon and the Defenders, potentially, never fought the Hand together.
Eventually. In a departure from the Netflix series and even Echo, Born Again‘s nine episodes will be released weekly though mid-April. And as is the Disney+ way, the premiere week will feature the first two episodes, so there will be plenty of material to watch in week one, even if it is not the way Daredevil viewers are accustomed to enjoying the show. Although, once season 1 is complete, it will be available on demand and probably string together a lot like the Netflix days.
Usually, the answer to this question is, “Maybe?” But Born Again has the distinction of being the first Marvel Studios television series to be envisioned as an ongoing one from the start. And thanks to an initial 18-episode order, the program will definitely have a second nine-episode season before too long. Beyond that, though, it is unclear. Talent schedules, tighter budgets at Marvel and Disney, and the creative needs of Marvel Studios may conspire to put Matt on ice more effectively than Fisk can ever hope to accomplish. Then again, the third season of the Netflix series ended with a note of finality, and yet it was literally born again. Above all else, the recurring Daredevil characters are fighters and will likely fight on into the next decade.
Daredevil: Born Again: Season 1 premieres its first two episodes on Disney+ on March 4, 2025.
